Manchester City have broken their transfer record, Chelsea are on the verge of doing so, while Manchester United have spent nearly $150 million fixing two of their most vulnerable positions.
Liverpool? Well, they are happy to have their best player back from a serious injury.
For very different reasons, each of the Premier League’s top four teams from last season are heading towards the 2021–22 campaign, which will be played in front of a capacity crowd for the first time in 17 months.
City, United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal have been the so-called “Big Six” in England’s lucrative top division for some time. Leicester, an unlikely champion in 2016 and a fifth-place finisher in the past two seasons, might rightly argue that it should be the “Big Seven”.
The coming season, however, appears to be a four-team race for the title, even though some late movement in the transfer window that closes on 31 August could change things dramatically.
Manchester City
Signing Jack Grealish for $139 million was a great statement of intent by City, but it only served to strengthen a midfield department where Pep Guardiola already had plenty of money. This is a striker that the champions really need after the departure of Sergio Aguero 10 years later, and a striker they are particularly targeting.
Harry Kane will cost Grealish more – potentially much more – and City are willing to spend another British-record figure if only Tottenham would negotiate. But, according to Guardiola, that is not the case at present, even though Kane is keen on the move.
If that happens – and it’s a big “if” given how tough a negotiator is to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy – City will have a squad powerful enough to blow away their rivals. There will hardly be any weakness. Even City’s other team could pose a challenge in the top four.
Anyway, the lack of a genuine top-class striker – Gabriel Jesus doesn’t refuse his job rate as a finisher, despite – leaves England’s other top teams with a glimmer of hope.
Chelsea
Chelsea have already proved to be a real rival for City, having won their last three meetings – capped by a 1-0 victory in the Champions League final in May.
After building up the strongest defense in Europe, defending a back five with Jorginho and relentless N’Golo Kante, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has focused on adding an attacking spearhead to the team and it’s like Romelu Lukaku. Looks. The Belgian striker reportedly underwent a medical examination on Monday ahead of a club-record $135 million transfer from Inter Milan.
Lukaku’s return to Stamford Bridge – he was at Chelsea from 2011-14 – will turn the London club into a huge title challenge, potentially giving Tuchel a team as strong as Guardiola. After all, it comes after Chelsea spent nearly $300 million last season.
Last season there was only one brilliant striker left for Tuchel and Lukaku would solve that.
Manchester United
While the signing of Jadon Sancho for $100 million was no real surprise, the acquisition of Rafael Varane by United for a potential fee of around $50 million was not far behind. As a fast and hassle-free way for the club to conclude deals was impossible, the recent transfer window at Old Trafford was a far cry from the start.
It points to a club that is looking to build and build a strong team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who still hasn’t won a trophy since joining late in 2018. . United may just be a defensive center midfielder one title away. -Winning team, but that too can’t stop them this season.
The key will be for striker Edinson Cavani to stay fit and if Mason Greenwood, the young forward with so much hope and expectation, kicks in again. Paul Pogba appears to be on hold for another season, and Solskjaer will be hoping the midfielder can transfer his international form with France to his club.
United finished second, 12 points behind City, last season and will believe the gap can be closed.
liverpool
Liverpool’s defense of their 2019–20 title could be described as their lowest – the team fell 17 points behind champions third-placed City by 19 points – but there was a bigger reason for that.
Virgil van Dijk’s knee injury kept him out of the campaign for all but a month and called off a season when Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp suffered a back-to-back defensive injury. In the end, a crawl into the Champions League qualification position after a strong finish was regarded as a breakthrough.
Van Dijk is now back, although he may need another month to come back to full fitness, and it will come as a big relief for Klopp, who has boosted his defense by signing Ibrahima Konate from Leipzig. and strengthened. Suddenly, the biggest issues could be in the midfield.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain robbed Liverpool of one of their most consistent performers of the past four years and has not been replaced. This will put more pressure on captain Jordan Henderson, who starts picking up injuries regularly, and Fabinho. Klopp will need Thiago Alcantara for a better second than his first as he struggles to adapt to the pace of the league.
That said, a lot of goals can be counted on the front four of Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. And with Van Dijk moving into the rear, another title fee is likely at Anfield.
Other top-four contenders
Leicester are expected to have another solid year, especially now that they have plenty of options in the attack after the signing of Patton Dacca, but the team does not have the financial strength of the top four and will have to compete again in domestic and European competition. There has to be a balance. fronts
Not so for Arsenal, which failed to qualify for European competition for the first time in 25 years. That should ensure Mikel Arteta’s team improve on an eighth-place finish, but returning to the Champions League is a big question and will require a much more prolific season from striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
For Tottenham, under a new manager at Nuno Espirito Santo, it really depends on whether Kane stays or goes. Man City will attest to this.
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