While the Premier League season is underway, the transfer window still has a couple of weeks left to run.

The start of the action has not meant the end of the off-pitch negotiation. Players are waiting to find out where their futures lie, clubs are hoping to bring in extra quality before the window closes on September 1 and as this all goes on, teams are expected to play football.

However, the market limbo is being felt on the pitch. There were absentees across the Premier League, with certain players not playing as they navigate transfer sagas. Others featured for their sides, even knowing they might move elsewhere soon.

Here, The Athletic’s experts take a look at those who weren’t involved and those who were amid brewing transfer situations.

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The players not involved in their club’s squads

Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)

As Isak sat out Newcastle’s 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday, fans acknowledged their missing No 14. At the end of the match, travelling supporters sang, “One greedy b******”, presumably referring to the improved wages Isak could expect if he moved to Anfield.

That saga — easily one of the most dramatic of the summer — lingers on. Isak has told Newcastle he doesn’t want to play for them and Liverpool have bid for him, but significantly below Newcastle’s £150million ($203m) valuation. Newcastle have said he is not for sale and, in any case, haven’t found a replacement. Eddie Howe says the door is “well and truly open” for him to return.

George Caulkin

Ederson (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that Ederson would start the season as his first-choice goalkeeper, if fit.

The caveat proved important. Just over 24 hours later, Ederson was absent from the squad, with City saying he was suffering from gastroenteritis.

It did little to quell the speculation that Ederson could be on his way out. The availability of Gianluigi Donnarumma at Paris Saint-Germain presents a possible replacement.

James Trafford made his debut in Ederson’s absence and put in an assured performance, but it is a messy situation, especially as backup Stefan Ortega is also seeking a new club.

Jordan Campbell

Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur)

In his post-match press conference, Thomas Frank said he left Bissouma out of the squad for Saturday’s 3-0 win against Burnley due to an injury sustained in training the previous day. Bissouma also missed Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup penalty shootout defeat against PSG, with Frank leaving him in north London and citing repeated lateness in pre-season.

Frank suggested the 28-year-old would be in the squad during Friday’s pre-Burnley press conference, which took place before training, but Bissouma’s absences raise questions about whether the new head coach sees him as part of his plans. Following the season-long loan signing of Joao Palhinha and Archie Gray’s emergence as a viable starter in defensive midfield, Spurs appear adequately stocked in Bissouma’s position.

Elias Burke

Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa, now Newcastle United)

It must have felt like an odd quirk of the fixture list. Days after Newcastle had reached an agreement to sign Ramsey from Villa, the two sides met on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Ramsey did not play. There was no great drama to his absence. While a transfer had been agreed between the two teams, worth £39million upfront with a further £5m in harder-to-achieve add-ons, it was not completed before the 0-0 draw. “He’s a player we love,” Newcastle head coach Howe said after the game, before the transfer went through on Sunday.

George Caulkin

Yoane Wissa (Brentford)

Wissa played in 35 of Brentford’s 38 Premier League games last season but when Keith Andrews named the first line-up of his tenure against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, the forward was absent. Igor Thiago, who ended up scoring a penalty in their 3-1 defeat, led the line instead.

Brentford rejected a £25million bid from Newcastle for Wissa in July. Forest also had an approach knocked back. Wissa, 28, withdrew from Brentford’s training camp in Portugal and did not play a single game in pre-season.

It was not a surprise, then, that Andrews announced on Thursday that he was making Wissa unavailable for Brentford’s Premier League opener. “It has been a very disrupted pre-season and the interest in Yoane is very clear,” he said.

Amitai Winehouse

Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)

There was absolutely no surprise when Jackson’s name was absent from Chelsea’s team sheet for their opening game of the season against Crystal Palace.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had already said as much at Friday’s pre-match press conference: “He is training with us but he is not going to be involved. You know the situation already. The window is open, he can leave and we (will) see.”

Jackson also hadn’t featured for Chelsea’s pre-season wins against Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. Selling Jackson isn’t a necessity, but it’s felt a departure would suit all parties after the summer arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, who both featured in the 0-0 draw against Palace.

Tim Spiers

Rasmus Hojlund and Manchester United’s other absentees

The message to Hojlund could not have been much clearer. His resolve to stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford is going to be seriously tested after he was left out of the matchday squad against Arsenal.

Hojlund faces an uphill task to earn minutes under Ruben Amorim following the arrival of Benjamin Sesko, but the 22-year-old has been resistant to interest from clubs, including Milan and RB Leipzig, opting instead to try to work his way back into favour.

Without European football, Amorim does not have many opportunities to give to any fringe players looking for a chance to prove themselves.

Andre Onana was also omitted on Sunday. A hamstring injury had put the 29-year-old’s involvement in doubt. Amorim declared him fit and “ready to go to the game” in his pre-match press conference, but he trained only three times at Carrington during the week. United have monitored the goalkeeping market over the summer.

There is also the ‘bomb squad’ of Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia, who have been exiled from the rest of the first team all summer as United explore their departures.

Mark Critchley

Savinho (Manchester City)

Spurs remain interested in Savinho after making an initial approach over his availability.

Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference last week that he hoped Savinho would stay for several years, but it was only when pressed on whether he would play against Wolverhampton Wanderers that the manager remembered that the winger had picked up an injury and would miss the game.

The estimated timeline was a few weeks, which would take us past the transfer deadline.

Oscar Bobb started in his place and excelled, suggesting that City may have an in-house replacement waiting in the wings should Savinho make the move to Spurs.

Jordan Campbell

Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth, now Brentford)

Bournemouth’s already thin squad was stretched further at Anfield, with Ouattara putting the finishing touches on his move to Brentford in a club-record £42.5million deal. His form had been erratic in his time at Bournemouth, but, in the final months of last season, the wide player showed his potential. If he was not on the way out, Ouattara probably would have started the game against Liverpool, with head coach Andoni Iraola keen for his pace and versatility across the front line.

However, Ouattara believed he did not have Iraola’s trust and made it clear he wished to leave, so Bournemouth sanctioned his sale. The club aim to strengthen in wide areas in the coming fortnight and are in talks to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Amine Adli and Liverpool’s Ben Doak.

Jacob Tanswell

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The players who played, despite transfer interest

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)

Speculation was swirling around the midfielder’s future and a possible transfer to Spurs but Palace manager Oliver Glasner named Eze in his starting XI.

For the second season running, he had a goal from a free kick ruled out on the opening weekend, with his thumping strike disallowed due to team-mate Marc Guehi not being far enough from the wall.

Late on, Eze’s strike stung Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s hands before he was substituted. Whether that was the 27-year-old’s final act as a Palace player remains to be seen. He took a moment to appreciate and applaud the Palace fans as they sang, “Eze’s on fire”, but did not linger too long. It could have been a goodbye, but if so, it was not an especially emotional one.

Matt Woosnam

Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)

Like Eze, Guehi’s future is uncertain.

Liverpool have held talks with Palace over a move for the 25-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract. Palace chairman Steve Parish has conceded they may have to sell Guehi.

The club captain also started against Chelsea, though, playing the full 90 minutes.

Matt Woosnam

Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

As if to keep us guessing, a day after it was confirmed that Nottingham Forest were exploring a deal for Lewis, Guardiola named the full-back in the starting line-up.

Lewis performed well, notching an assist for Erling Haaland’s first goal, and both he and his manager downplayed talk of his exit. The 20-year-old said he could not see himself at another club and explained his target to better the 21 league starts he made last term. Guardiola spoke glowingly about Lewis and tentatively suggested he would remain.

“Today, I think he is going to stay, but I don’t know what is going to happen,” Guardiola said.

However, the City boss still believes the bloated size of his squad is “unhealthy”, so the futures of Lewis, Ederson and Savinho remain deeply uncertain.

Jordan Campbell

(Top photos: Getty Images)