Man City
Liverpool
Liverpool
has buckets full of experienced players with young talents to impart that
knowledge to albeit in the middle of the park. The Reds have seemingly completed
all their business before pre-season began, so Jurgen Klopp’s system
prevails. But one thing to question is his faith in the present midfield.
Seemingly,
no midfielders are joining this window, so at the very least they have to
justify Jurgen Klopp’s faith in those already present. Klopp’s trust in Fabio
Carvalho, Harvey Elliott, and Curtis Jones to step up a level is intriguing.
Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain picking up an injury in the warm-up games was a reminder of
how quickly moving pieces can be affected.
Trusting
Klopp’s judgment is not the most difficult task, but his faith in the next
generation alongside a much older generation in the engine room does leave my
nerves on edge, so I can only imagine that of the Liverpool faithful.
Chelsea
Chelsea
needs a major defensive overhaul, while up front is slowly becoming an area to
address. Several of Thomas Tuchel’s first team players are rumoured to want out
of Stamford Bridge. Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta, Timo Werner, and possibly
Hakim Ziyech are the names in question.
Kalidou
Koulibaly has arrived from Serie A side Napoli for £33m, but the new owners
need to get another defender over the line. Head coach Thomas Tuchel is hoping
to land Presnel Kimpembe from Paris Saint-Germain, while Barcelona continues to
be a thorn in the side of everyone involved with Chelsea, reportedly close to
an agreement with the Club’s target Jules Kounde.
Tuchel,
ideally wanted three new defenders with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen
leaving to face each other in El-Classico, so anything less may be seen as a
disappointment.
All the
current focus is on strengthening the defense, there are other areas Tuchel
would also like to add greater quality and depth.
The German
tactician will look at his attacking options again before the transfer window
shuts. Especially, since Chelsea failed with a bid to sign Raphinha and Ousmane
Dembele coupled with rumours of Ziyech and Werner wanting out, Tuchel would like
to add at least one more forward signing to Raheem Sterling’s £47.5m deal.
Thankfully,
for Blues supporters, money is seemingly not an issue even after the change in
ownership.
Tottenham
Tottenham
Hotspur had plenty of arrivals, but now it’s time for Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici
to trim and tone the squad. The majority of Spurs’ signings have been through a
sufficient pre-season, which as we have all come to know, under Conte is one of
the most grueling. The players had the opportunity to get familiar with one
another and work together in a stringent system. On the flip side, the axing is
now set to begin with players that can put money back into the Club.
The end-of-season injection of finance into Spurs has meant a big summer. Djed Spence from
Middlesbrough is the sixth arrival at the London Stadium, a left-back who was a
star in Nottingham Forest’s promotion campaign. Richarlison is the biggest
name, signed to give the Kane-Son duo relief with the pressure of Champions
League football on the horizon.
Every arrival
looks like a first XI challenger with the exception of Fraser Forster not going
near Hugo Lloris. The obvious priority now will be moving to those who have
been viable challengers, such as Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele, and Giovani Lo
Celso.
Arsenal
Outgoings
for Arsenal have in recent times been a lot more difficult than incomings. Gunners’
technical director Edu Gaspar has completed deals for five players this summer,
including £45m striker Gabriel Jesus, £30m midfielder Fabio Vieira, and £32m Oleksandr
Zinchenko. The outgoings have been less than straightforward with Bernd Leno,
Alex Runarsson, Hector Bellerin, Pablo Mari, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles,
and Nicolas Pepe all sitting fairly tight at the club despite not featuring
prominently in Mikel Arteta’s process.
With the
difficult decisions of Mesut Ozil and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, as well as Shkodran
Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have
all gone for free, to loosen up Arsenal’s wage bill, that is not a sustainable
way of doing business. Arteta will not want these players hanging around this
season, and Arsenal will almost certainly need to raise money through sales if
they are to strengthen further.
After much
talk of Nicolas Pepe finding elsewhere to ply his trade, the Ivorian has
seemingly committed his time to The Arsenal via an Instagram post stating: “I
worked hard during the summer. Changed a lot of things. I’m focused and
determined with @arsenal and my teammates.”
Arsenal are
one or two signings away from having a proper go at fourth or even third place
this season coupled with decent cup runs. The big push now before the final days
of the transfer window is moving players on to build up capital to bring the
final deals to fruition.
Manchester United
For the
mighty Manchester United, no deal has ever seemed impossible, until recently.
With no Champions League, and players actively seeking an exit from United, times are
changing. Erik Ten Hag joining the Club after managers’ reputations have been
dragged in recent years is in my opinion United’s last hope at remaining a top
six club.
The Dutch
manager has brought in three players thus far, two of which have been groomed
in the Dutch Eredivisie. Tyrell Malacia joins from Feyenoord for a minimal fee,
while Ten Hag’s ex-player, Lisandro Martinez comes into the fray for £57m,
alongside free transfer Christian Eriksen. All these players have similar
qualities, and one that stands out the most is the work ethic in playing to a
system.
In
addition, Man United have already agreed to a £72 million fee with Barcelona for
Frenkie de Jong but the deal hinges on the Catalan club coughing up £17m in
deferred wages they owe the Dutch midfielder.
The crucial
holding midfield role Erik ten Hag has earmarked for his former Ajax player,
the prospect of failing to land him after all this time and effort would be a
huge setback. United are likely to persist even if De Jong has not signed by
the time, they face Brighton in their season opener on August 7, but the time
is quickly passing by.
Written by Joshua Gaillard