AnalysisJune 3, 2026 12:12 am EDT Updated We’ve dealt with central midfielders — and now it’s time to look at their more attacking brethren.Over the last week, we have taken you inside a recruitment room for the summer window and talked you through the top nine options for goalkeepers, central defenders, full-backs and central midfielders.In today’s edition of Transfer Tiers, we are looking at attacking midfielders.Welcome to The Athletic’s Transfer Tiers. We’ve assembled a panel of experts to put together a list of players in each position heading into the summer. With the knowledge of those experts, we think we have pulled together a fairly comprehensive list of the top nine players that will be under consideration in each role going into the window.Want to read more about our methodology? That can be found here.Based on that methodology, our understanding of the attacking midfield market can be found below.Tier One, Tier Two and Tier Three can be divided into elite clubs, those from the level just below and the wealthy middle-class, respectively. But it is worth remembering that if the other options move or are unavailable, elite sides could quite easily fit a Tier Three player into their teams.Inclusion here does not mean a player wants to move or that they are necessarily going to be available this summer. However, it is who our experts, which includes sporting and technical directors, coaches, scouts, intermediaries, analysts and, in a few instances, people with important local knowledge, would present in a recruitment meeting going into the window.The expert view“I think his feeling for the game and ability to find solutions is so good. And obviously, he’s extremely technical and creative. He can score and create goals.”A private skills coach from EnglandPaz is a rarity in our project. He’s really the only unanimous selection at the head of his category that many fans will not have seen live. The 21-year-old Argentinian — who has been named in Lionel Scaloni’s World Cup squad — has been integral to Como’s rise under Cesc Fabregas. They finished fourth in Serie A this season, qualifying for the Champions League, but Paz (aside from a few token Real Madrid performances earlier in his career) has built his reputation almost exclusively within Italian domestic football.That makes this a tricky evaluation. Paz is clearly a highly elegant player and Como’s creative heart. He has a left foot to die for, and he plays with a casual shrug that, to older fans, will stir memories of Juan Roman Riquelme. But his data is not that compelling and does not automatically place him above some of the other players in this category.So, why is he here? Two factors, according to our respondents. The first is the buy-back clause Real Madrid insisted upon when Paz was sold to Como; the assumption is that it will eventually be activated. The second — and there was a lot of this — was the analysis offered by our skills coach above, which focused on the player’s more subliminal abilities.InfoAge: 21Current club: ComoThe expert viewAnother player who was only picked in Tier One. Following up with a few of the respondents, they each said that while they expect Tier Two clubs to show interest in Rogers this summer and make serious offers, they could only see him moving to the level above because of the platform Aston Villa are currently able to offer.Villa have just qualified for the Champions League and have just won a major European trophy for the first time in 44 years; anywhere other than the top of the game would be a sideways move.His virtues are well-established. Rogers is powerful and skilful, and plays with limitless ambition on the ball; he’s a source of goals, highlights and a level of attacking thrust that makes him dangerous in all sorts of ways, anywhere within the final third.There’s no argument here.InfoAge: 23Current club: Aston VillaThe expert viewFirst, an important clarification. While there is no indication that Odegaard is available, he made the list because a move cannot be entirely ruled out. He is not out of reach in the way that, say, Declan Rice would be at Arsenal.So, Odegaard makes the list and received as many Tier One votes as Morgan Rogers. This is understandable. The Norwegian is one of the most balanced attacking midfielders in Europe and can create chances by passing or carrying into attacking areas.Ironically, given that he captained Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years this season, Odegaard’s individual form has not been the best. One goal and six assists is a meagre return for a player of his ability, and the deeper data is not especially flattering, either. But the context for that is another season disrupted by injury — that’s part of the availability calculation too — and also that Arsenal are not as dependent on open-play chance creation as many other teams at their level.Our respondents were not troubled by that. In addition, the quality of his work without the ball was also mentioned, as was his role at the heart of what is — unquestionably — the best defensive team in world football.InfoAge: 27Current club: ArsenalThe expert viewTier Two? That was a surprise. Gibbs-White only had one fewer vote than Martin Odegaard (in Tier One), but was also the most selected player in Tier Two.An intermediary who made that selection explains why:“Where would he go? He would cost a lot of money, meaning that anybody signing him would want him to be a main player. But given that I put Rogers, Paz and Odegaard ahead of him, there aren’t many gaps left for him to fill. Based on what happened last summer, actually signing him would probably be very difficult as well.”Among all those left out, Gibbs-White might be the most unlucky not to have made England’s World Cup squad. But while 15 Premier League goals, four assists, and all sorts of impressive performances across the season were not enough to stamp his passport, they more than made a case for his value to teams well above Nottingham Forest’s current station.InfoAge: 26Current club: Nottingham ForestThe expert viewPicked exclusively in Tier Two, Kubo is still only 24, despite seemingly having been around for a long time. Partly, that’s because the Japan international first became known as a result of a Barcelona scandal when he was in his mid-teens. Kubo joined the club when he was 10, staying for four years before FIFA ruled him (and other players) ineligible following breaches of the international transfer regulations.He returned to Japan before moving back to Spain, this time with Real Madrid, in 2019. He never played a competitive game for Madrid, instead spending three years on loan before joining Real Sociedad, his current club, in 2022.Among our respondents, there was some dispute over whether Kubo is an attacking midfielder or a winger. He has the attributes for either role — a slaloming dribbler with a fabulous left foot and an eye for a cute, cutting pass — but it would depend on his situation and team.Why did nobody pick him as at the level above?“There are too many uncertainties”, says a former technical director who has worked in two of the top-five leagues, “and it’s not just about talent.“Can he play for one of the biggest clubs in the world? Yes, but think about the queue of players for those positions. We’re talking maybe 20 spots at fewer than 10 clubs, most of which are already filled.”InfoAge: 24Current club: Real SociedadThe expert viewKaretsas went mainstream all the way back in 2023, when — aged 15 — he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Belgian second division. It was no tap-in, either. Karetsas found the top corner with a rasping drive from outside the box, and that has made him internet-famous ever since.Three years on, his progress through the game has been rapid. He was born in Genk and graduated from their academy. He has just completed his second full season at first team level — over 2,500 minutes in all competitions in 2025-26 — and is now a full international. Karetsas’s parents are Greek, and despite representing Belgium as a youth international, he switched his allegiance in 2025.Scotland fans will remember him. Karetsas was part of the Greek side that won 3-0 at Hampden Park in 2025, during which he became the youngest goalscorer in the country’s history (17 years, 124 days). Beyond the goal, his performance in that game was typical of his profile. Karetsas heavily favours his left foot, but has a dancing dribbling technique that makes him stand out and which has placed him on ones-to-watch lists for years now.He’s awfully slender still, which might limit his options. Two of our respondents placed him in Tier 3, presumably with those physical issues in mind, but the consensus is that he will make a big leap this summer, all the way up to the Champions League.InfoAge: 18Current club: Racing GenkThe expert viewAll the way through the series, Tier Three has shown a preference for experience. Instead of predicting that clubs in this category will gamble on development, our experts have consistently prioritised players who provide a guaranteed return on the pitch, rather than a potential future windfall in the market.It’s now what we were expecting, and Wilson is a fine example of that. He’s 29, available on a free transfer from Fulham, and will never command a significant sale revenue ever again. No matter: 17 goal involvements (10 goals, seven assists) in the Premier League alone this season have been enough to make him the highest-selected player in the tier.It’s a surprise. The data is not overwhelmingly supportive of his goalscoring or creative output — that’s reflected in Wilson not receiving a single vote for Tier One or Two — but the lack of a transfer fee does make him very low-risk for clubs without European revenue or big budgets.An important point, well-made by several respondents: Wilson is not necessarily seen as someone a team can build around, but he is an almost indisputably valuable squad signing for all sorts of clubs across Europe. We left the exercise open to interpretation, so that’s more than reasonable.InfoAge: 29Current club: FulhamThe expert viewBaumgartner was a target for clubs in this category last summer, before RB Leipzig decided that, with a young squad and having sanctioned so many departures, the Austrian was not for sale.It was a good decision. Baumgartner scored 13 goals in the Bundesliga, providing a further eight assists, and that was the best season of his career in either category. It was enough to help Leipzig requalify for the Champions League, but not to see Baumgartner move up a category; he received two Tier Two votes only.Still, a very solid player. He’s a runner and a finisher, rather than a creator with the ball at his feet, meaning that his impact depends on being surrounded by team-mates capable of creating chances for him.InfoAge: 26Current club: RB LeipzigThe expert viewMane is more typical of the kind of player we expected to see selected in Tier Three. Young, with obvious talent and a clear resale value, it fits the common logic that clubs should combine impact and revenue to make significant progress.Votes in this category were spread thinly. Mane only needed five selections to make it ahead of — among others — Julian Brandt and Harvey Elliott. In this instance, performances in a poor Wolves team seemed to reflect well on him, both in terms of his technical ability and his emotional resilience at a young age, while his team’s relegation makes him theoretically more obtainable.Another point raised: Mane was born in Portugal and currently represents the country’s Under-21 international side, but is a British citizen who spent time in Rochdale’s academy and thereby qualifies as a homegrown player for Premier League teams.That was evidently a strength of his candidacy, as was the fact that he has already shown himself capable of standing up to the Premier League’s attritional physicality.InfoAge: 18Current club: Wolverhampton WanderersJun 3, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms