The opening month of the 2025–26 Premier League season concluded with the official release of the August Player and Manager of the Month nominees. The shortlist reflects a mix of attacking returns, defensive leadership and encouraging starts for newly aligned teams.

Riccardo Calafiori has been Arsenal’s starting left back so far this season. That freedom to get involved further up the field produced one goal and two assists across three games in August, with two clean sheets adding to a strong month for the Italian.

Liverpool supply two names. Hugo Ekitiké had two goals and an assist in his first three Premier League games, while Dominik Szoboszlai claimed headlines with a free-kick winner against Arsenal before the international break.

Jack Grealish returned to these shortlists after joining Everton on loan from Manchester City. Four assists in three games have underlined his early impact following his transfer, which was described in earlier reporting as a £100 million ($134.3 million) move to the Etihad.

Marc Guéhi navigated transfer uncertainty to produce a series of solid displays for Crystal Palace, overseeing two away clean sheets at Aston Villa and Chelsea and scoring a long-range goal against Villa.

Erling Haaland, who won this award in August 2024, registered three goals in as many games for Manchester City, finding the net against Brighton & Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

João Pedro matched Grealish for direct goal contributions across August, scoring twice against Fulham and West Ham United and adding two assists in the latter fixture while leading Chelsea’s midfield in the absence of the injured Cole Palmer.

Antoine Semenyo, who made allegations of racist abuse against a Liverpool fan in Bournemouth’s opening game, responded on the pitch with two goals against Liverpool and an assist against Wolves.

Sunderland began life back in the Premier League strongly under Régis Le Bris, who has two wins from three games. Wilson Isidor grabbed attention with two goals off the bench.

On the managerial side, Chelsea remain unbeaten under Enzo Maresca after recovering from a stuttering home draw with Crystal Palace to beat West Ham and Fulham. David Moyes has overseen Everton’s resurgence, with Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye central to two wins in three. Arne Slot’s Liverpool sit top with the only remaining perfect record, claiming wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal prior to the arrival of Alexander Isak.

Ilkay Gündogan has completed a move to Galatasaray after one year back at Manchester City. The 34-year-old left the Etihad following a summer agreement that ended his contract despite a clause that had automatically triggered a one-year extension after he reached a specified number of appearances.

Gündogan made 54 appearances across all competitions during what the club described as the worst campaign of Guardiola’s City tenure. His exit freed the club of a sizeable wage packet and helped trim a squad Guardiola has repeatedly described as too big.

The transfer carried a strong personal element for Gündogan. He arrived in Istanbul to a rapturous reception and summed up his feelings plainly on social media: “I’m reunited with my childhood love,” and “Happiness is being at Galatasaray.” The German-born midfielder has been open about his Turkish roots and the summers he spent visiting his grandparents.

In an emotional farewell to City supporters, Gündogan explained the move combined sentiment and playing priorities, referring to the club he supported as a child: joining his “childhood favourite club, in a country that means so much to me.”

He also set out his professional motives in a longer message. “Dear Cityzens, I want to be honest with you… the reason why I’m leaving is very simple: I still want to play football as often as possible, because that’s what I love the most,” he wrote. “I’ll turn 35 soon, but I still feel very fit and I truly believe I can continue to perform at a high level for a Champions League team.”

Gündogan acknowledged Manchester City’s decision to refresh the squad: “Man City want a new beginning after an incredible era—something I can fully understand and respect,” and paid tribute to the club’s role in his career by adding, “I will never, ever forget what this great club has done for me over so many years.”

Gianluigi Donnarumma will become the first player in Premier League history to wear the No. 99 shirt after choosing the number he has long identified with for Manchester City.

Donnarumma is filling the void left by Éderson’s switch to Fenerbahçe but has not opted to take up the No. 31 he vacated. James Trafford started the season as Pep Guardiola’s first-choice goalkeeper and wears the No. 1 shirt, which Donnarumma might have been expected to take. Instead he has selected a figure that has followed him since his breakthrough.

Players in England’s top flight are permitted to wear any number between 1 and 99, yet until now no one had chosen 99. The highest squad numbers in recent seasons included Conor Bradley wearing 84 last season and Donnarumma’s new Manchester City teammate Rico Lewis wearing 82. Donnarumma’s choice sets a new benchmark for Premier League shirt numbers.

The number has a personal history. When a 16-year-old Donnarumma made his senior debut for Milan he became the second-youngest goalkeeper ever to appear in Italian football, 73 years to the day after the holder of that record, Giuseppe Sacchi. The prodigious teenager achieved that feat with 99 on his back, a number that underscored his youth because it represented the year he was born: 1999.

Age and size marked much of Donnarumma’s early development. At youth team games his mother would have him carry his ID card to hand to accusing parents who questioned his age. By the age of 10, he was already 6’0″.

At Manchester City the selection of No. 99 is both a nod to that past and a novelty in the Premier League register. It closes the shirt-number gap left by Éderson’s departure while keeping Donnarumma’s long-standing connection to the digits he first wore as a teenager.