Rashford to PSG, Brighton sell Ferguson: Best pure profit sale for every Premier League club

There is an obsession with ‘pure profit’ and with clubs battling to stay within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability guidelines, here is one player each club could use to easily make a few quid…

Arsenal – Eddie Nketiah
It could be any of Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith Rowe. Nelson would be the cheapest of the three while Nketiah and Smith Rowe would likely command a similar fee, probably in the region of £30million. The former gets the nod as it will be less painful to see him leave and the latter has at least shown he has what it takes to be an important player for Arsenal.

Nketiah has 38 goals in 168 appearances for the Gunners and is on a contract worth £100,000 a week, so he might be hard to shift…

👉 More: Arsenal had two starboys but Smith Rowe has been left in the shadows – where has it gone wrong?

Aston Villa – Jacob Ramsey
Ramsey was linked with a transfer away from Villa Park (to Newcastle, in the main) in January and the Villans’ heavy spending in recent seasons means they might have to entertain any renewed interest.

Villa would fetch a very decent price for Ramsey, who started only eight Premier League games last season.

Bournemouth – Gavin Kilkenny
There is always one team that gives you nothing to work with and Bournemouth are often the inconvenience here.

Kilkenny joined the Cherries from St. Kevins Boys in Ireland back in 2016 and has one assist in 25 first-team appearances for the Cherries. He played a little over half an hour against Swansea in the FA Cup in January before being shipped off on loan to Fleetwood.

Brentford – Thomas Strakosha
The sale of Ivan Toney would balance the books better than any at Brentford, but the former Peterborough striker cost around £4million back in 2020.

Goalkeeper Strakosha came for nothing and would surely welcome the chance to play some football somewhere. Anything has to be better than playing second fiddle to Mark Flekken.

Brighton – Evan Ferguson
Selling Lewis Dunk would make no sense and the potential transfer fee would come nowhere close to what Brighton could get from the sale of Irish striker Ferguson, who is on Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea’s radar.

Signed for the youth team in January 2021, Ferguson will probably leave for around £100m, because that is the sort of stunt Brighton pull off in their sleep.

We don’t think Chelsea are the right team for the 19-year-old, mind…

Chelsea – Armando Broja
The Blues reportedly want £30m for Broja, which is a lot but not the £50m they were hoping for in January, which was the equivalent of p*ssing squarely into a gale-force wind.

We thought some goals on loan at Fulham would benefit him and Chelsea but his arrival did nothing but give Rodrigo Muniz a kick up the backside.

Trevoh Chalobah is someone who will be sold for pure profit but will unlikely fetch the same fee as Broja. Selling Conor Gallagher, meanwhile, makes no sense to us.

Crystal Palace – Sam Johnstone
Tyrick Mitchell would cost a pretty penny but the left-back is too important to Palace.

Johnstone, meanwhile, has found himself flitting between the Palace goal and the bench. The bench will be a more permanent destination with Oliver Glasner preferring Dean Henderson. Johnstone could command a reasonable fee from another Premier League side. He is a very good goalkeeper.

Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
It is between Calvert-Lewin and Lewis Dobbin and the latter looks close to joining Aston Villa while the former has been linked with Newcastle United.

There have been lots of worries about his fitness but DCL played 32 games in the Premier League in 2023/24. He did well, scoring seven goals, and might help Everton bring in over £20m.

Fulham – Adama Traore
Injuries have limited Traore to substitute appearances after joining for free from Wolves last summer but given the Spain flying machine was linked with Europe’s biggest hitters not long ago, Fulham could net a decent profit if they chose to cash in after a year.

Ipswich Town – Axel Tuanzebe
The options are far from endless with Ipswich. Tuanzebe was signed on a free transfer last September and if they so please, Kieran McKenna’s side could sell him for pure profit to get off on the right foot with the Premier League.

Leicester City – Luke Thomas
Resigning themselves to relegation by selling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall would be silly, but if their financial situation means their hands are tied, then we would obviously understand it.

With the first part in mind, we reckon selling Luke Thomas makes the most sense. He won’t cost that much but is homegrown and unlikely to play much next season.

Liverpool – Curtis Jones
A lot of these suggestions will drive fans up the wall and this is probably the best example. We could hardly pick Trent Alexander-Arnold, could we?

Jones had some brilliant moments for Liverpool last season and came into his own right after Jurgen Klopp’s resignation letter was handed in. But will we see the same form under Arne Slot? Jones could be sold for a tasty price.

Manchester City – Rico Lewis
It’s never going to happen, but it’s marginally more likely than City selling Phil Foden. And if they did, City could make an absolute fortune.

Lewis is a full England international, can play in defensive midfield, left-back and right-back, and is only 19 years of age. According to Transfermarkt, he is worth a tidy €38m. Transfermarkt is underselling him.

Selling Lewis will not see those 115 charges disappear, mind.

Manchester United – Marcus Rashford
It’s all gone a little bit Pete Tong for Rashford at Manchester United, however much he tells us he is committed to his boyhood club.

PSG have been hovering around for a while and with Kylian Mbappe off to Madrid, they will be looking for a new left-sided forward…

Newcastle – Sean Longstaff
It was a toss-up between Longstaff and Elliott Anderson, who will probably command a larger fee due to his age, but we like his potential in this Newcastle side.

Longstaff might not bring in the £30m+ Eddie Howe wants to reinvest, but his sale would certainly help and he is a player who has hit his peak under the former Bournemouth head coach. Newcastle should sell while his stock is high-ish.

Nottingham Forest – Ryan Yates
Yates played a big role last season, but he is a rare opportunity to rake in pure profit in this Nottingham Forest squad.

He is a club hero having played a huge role in Forest’s long-awaited promotion back to the big time, so the departure would be a tough pill to swallow. But with the Premier League’s financial regulator breathing down their necks, the City Ground club might not have a choice.

Southampton – Will Smallbone
Will Smallbone impressed in Southampton’s promotion campaign but it’s got to be someone, doesn’t it? There is no chance it happens but if promotion hopefuls in the Championship fancy it, you never know.

Tottenham – Oliver Skipp
If Spurs can get £10m for Harry Winks, they can surely get a little bit more for young Skippy, who has already thrived in the Championship on loan at Norwich.

Ange Postecoglou has spent a fair whack since walking through the door and despite his lack of midfield depth, Skipp is clearly the best choice for a hit of pure profit.

West Ham – George Earthy
The Hammers are very proud of their youth academy, but Julen Lopetegui’s squad is not full of impressive graduates. Ben Johnson is out of contract at the end of the month so is ruled out, meaning we have little choice but to say West Ham’s pure profit man is George Earthy.

Earthy is a promising 19-year-old midfielder whose Premier League debut ended horrifically, being taken to hospital after a collision with team-mate Edson Alvarez.

Wolves – Max Kilman
Selling your captain is very bold, even if it is to balance the books. There is a lot of interest this summer. West Ham and Newcastle have reportedly had bids rejected, while Man Utd are ‘considering’ making a move.

Kilman is not just Wolves’ skipper, but their best player, so the sale would make Gary O’Neil’s team significantly worse, but the £45m they reportedly want could be invested elsewhere.

👉 More: Bespoke Premier League tables | Every completed transfer this summer | Five-year net spend in PL