Wait, he’s still there?! A wild Premier League XI of players everyone forgot existed in 2026 | OneFootball

Forgotten footballers at Leeds United, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa feature in our wild XI that you (probably) totally forgot are still Premier League footballers in 2026.

Time, transfers and selective memory have done a number on these lads. Consider this your formal reintroduction to players you were certain had disappeared.

Here’s a full XI of forgotten players who are still at Premier League clubs.

GK: Illan Meslier

Leeds United’s No.1 for their previous three-year stint in the top flight, Meslier racked up over a hundred Premier League appearances over that period. A very promising breakthrough season even saw him talked up as Hugo Lloris’ successor for France.

But the Frenchman’s stock has taken a bit of a battering during the club’s subsequent struggles, while a series of high-profile errors eventually saw him dropped by Daniel Farke for last season’s promotion run-in.

He remains at Elland Road after only a whisper of transfer interest over the previous two windows, happy to see out the final year of his contract and assess his options as a free agent in the summer.

After signing Lucas Perri, Meslier is now Leeds’ third – arguably fourth – choice ‘keeper. He hasn’t played a minute of action in 2025-26 and only made the bench on a handful of occasions.

RWB: Seamus Coleman

Everton’s long-serving club captain has played considerably more minutes for the Republic of Ireland than his club over the past six months.

After signing a one-year contract extension to lead the club into their new home, Coleman has struggled for opportunities. He was written off as past it, but played a superb, inspirational role in Ireland’s World Cup qualifier victories over Portugal and Hungary in November – and was immediately rewarded with a first Premier League start of the campaign.

But the 37-year-old was substituted off after just 10 minutes away to Manchester United and he hasn’t been seen since. His only experience at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium amounts to 90 minutes in the League Cup against Mansfield and an injury-time cameo to help see out a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

Everton are no longer dependent on Coleman, but he has returned to their bench in recent outings. Great news for Ireland ahead of their all-important play-offs next month.

CB: Rhys Williams

Alongside Nat Phillips, Williams is one of the cult heroes of Liverpool’s push to qualify for the Champions League in 2020-21.

The defender returned from a loan at non-league Kidderminster Harriers to play an unlikely role for his parent club after they suffered the mother of all defensive injury crises. Jurgen Klopp ultimately preferred him to January reinforcements Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak as they made it over the line for a top-four finish.

Williams hasn’t played for his boyhood Reds again since that season, but – amazingly, five years on – he remains on their books following loans away to Swansea City, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Port Vale and Morecambe.

CB: Willy Boly

Remember when Conor Coady and Willy Boly was one of the Premier League’s most formidable defensive partnerships? Things move quickly in football.

Unlike Coady, who has struggled badly to find form since leaving Molineux in 2023, Boly does at least possess the excuse of his advancing years. Fading gracefully into the periphery is probably about right for a 35-year-old grizzled veteran.

Boly hasn’t played a minute in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest this season, he’s yet to feature under Sean Dyche, and his only appearance of note was the 3-2 League Cup defeat to Swansea City under Ange Postecoglou.

CB: Adam Webster

The centre-back has played well over a hundred Premier League games since Brighton signed him from Bristol City in 2019.

But while he was once among the first names on the Seagulls’ teamsheet, his role in recent years has been diminished. An ACL injury suffered in pre-season has seen him completely out of the picture this season.

Out of contract at the end of the season, we expect the 31-year-old to try rebuild his career elsewhere come the summer.

LWB: Sam Byram

Byram left Leeds United when they were a Championship basket case back in 2016. Unfortunately, he struggled badly with injuries during what should have been his prime years at West Ham and Norwich City, and made a romantic return to his boyhood club following their relegation in 2023.

The experienced defender played way more than anyone would’ve expected – 76 times in two years – and was the perfect dependable squad option. But his opportunities have been limited following Leeds’ summer reinforcements, with just seven minutes of Premier League football this season.

CM: Mateo Kovacic

City have done such a wholesale rebuild of their treble-winning squad over the past 18 months that we forget who’s actually still there.

For example, we could’ve sworn that Nathan Ake had moved to the Turkish Super Lig before his recent run back in the team.

Likewise, Kovacic has a low-key move to a midtable Saudi Pro League outfit written all over him.

Except he’s still part of Pep Guardiola’s squad and has just struggled badly with injuries once again. Four minutes back in October is the sum of his contributions in the Premier League this season.

CM: Ross Barkley

Another injury case, Barkley has actually proven a pretty useful player on his return to Aston Villa following that fairly forgettable loan five years back.

The midfielder has played more than most of the names in this XI, with a run of sub appearances back in the autumn, but a knee injury has kept him out of action since November.

Barkley did return to the bench for their most recent defeat to Brentford. Let’s see if he can have a role to play in reviving their unlikely title tilt.

FWR: Reiss Nelson

Arsenal’s record sale remains Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool. That was yonks ago. The funds raised in the transfer market under Mikel Arteta are a fraction of what the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have accrued over the same period.

You can look at Nelson as a case in point. The Hale End graduate has stagnated in recent years, and his negligible impact on loan at Brentford this season (six sub appearances, 50 minutes, zero goals or assists) means that there’ll be little by way of pure profit when his parent club decide to cash in.

ST: Ashley Barnes

Ashley Barnes. A Premier League striker in the year 2026. What a world.

To be fair, only on a technicality can you really call him that. He is part of Scott Parker’s Clarets squad, but has made just two Premier League appearances, totalling 10 minutes.

You imagine he’s there for his experience in the dressing room as much as anything else. But, to be fair, he did score twice in Burnley’s FA Cup third round victory over Millwall. Get him in.

FWL: Fabio Carvalho

Another flighty forward struggling to make his stamp at Keith Andrews’ high-flying Brentford, there’s undoubtedly some talent there with Carvalho – but his technical skillset seems a bit at odds with Premier League football in 2026.

And particularly the more robust, transitional style favoured by the Bees.

Carvalho started Brentford’s first game of the Andrews era, a 3-1 defeat away to Nottingham Forest, and has barely been seen since. We’re amazed he didn’t move in January.

Exactly the kind of player you can imagine shining at, say, Sporting Lisbon… But it just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for him in the English game.