Transfer wise it has been a relatively busy summer as clubs look to bolster their ranks for the gruelling campaign ahead, with over £1.63 billion (B70.5bn) outlayed thus far between the 20 teams.
Liverpool have splashed out to defend their Premier League title as champions but face stiff competition from an Arsenal side desperate to shake off their tag as nearly men and a rejuvenated Manchester City.
After storming to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, Liverpool have looked to build from a position of strength during a summer marked by tragedy.
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota was killed in a car accident alongside his brother last month, plunging the club into mourning.
Tributes to Jota will continue throughout the season with “Forever 20” - his shirt number, which the club have now retired - printed on Liverpool’s jerseys.
The Reds have already spent close to £300mn on five players; Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth (£40mn); Florian Wirtz (£116mn) and Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5mn) from Bayer Leverkusen; Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia, £29mn; and Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for £79mn.
However, after the departures of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, they are not yet done in strengthening their forward line and are expected to launch a fresh bid for Alexander Isak, with Newcastle demanding a British transfer record fee for the Swedish striker.
Liverpool’s rivals will hope Wirtz and Ekitike take time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League after shining in Germany’s Bundesliga, while there are defensive doubts for Slot’s men to answer.
The Dutch coach said his side need to defend better after leaky performances in pre-season were followed by defeat in the Community Shield to Crystal Palace last Sunday after twice blowing the lead.
Can Gyokeres fire?
After finishing second for the past three seasons, Arsenal are longing for their first title in 22 years and have backed Mikel Arteta with another near £200mn investment in the transfer market.
Spanish international Martin Zubimendi will be the new anchor of the midfield, while the signings of Christian Norgaard, Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga add depth to the squad.
But Arsenal’s season is likely to be defined by whether Viktor Gyokeres proves to be the answer to their need for a prolific striker.
The Swede struck 97 times in 102 games during two years at Sporting Lisbon, but the 27-year-old failed to make a breakthrough in the Premier League during his previous experience in England.
After coming up short at Brighton, Gyokeres scored 41 goals in 121 games in England’s second tier with Coventry and Swansea.
“He’s a player that, when you leave him with the space one against one, he’s going to destroy you,” said Arteta of his new striker.
Manchester City were dethroned last season after an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles as the wheels came off for Pep Guardiola’s men without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.
The Spaniard has been ruled out till September due to a setback in his return from a serious knee injury, but City have refreshed their squad with the additions of Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan, £46.3mn), Rayan Ait Nouri (Wolves, £36.3mn), Rayan Cherki (Lyon, £34mn) and James Trafford (Burnley, £31mn).
After a first trophyless season since 2016/17, City expect to be back in the fight for the title.
World champions Chelsea
Chelsea were the last side other than City and Liverpool to lift the title back in 2017 and showed they are a coming force once more by winning the Club World Cup in the US last month.
The Blues finished fourth, 15 points behind Liverpool last season, but their transfer policy of investing heavily in scores of young prospects is beginning to bear fruit.
Joao Pedro made an instant impact with three goals in three games at the Club World Cup after a £55mn move from Brighton and could solve Chelsea’s need for a world class goalscorer.
Enzo Maresca;s side have also acquired Jamie Gittens (Dortmund, £51.5mn), Liam Delap (Ipswich, £30mn), Estevao Willian (Palmeiras, £29.1mn) and Dario Essugo (Sporting, £18.5mn) and are many people’s tip as a dark horse title contender this time around.
Manchester United have transformed their forward line with the signings of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo after finishing 15th last season and will be looking to realign the club under Ruben Amorim.
Beating United in the Europa League final was not enough for Ange Postecoglou to keep his job as Tottenham manager and former Brentford boss Thomas Frank has taken over in north London with Mohammed Kudus (West Ham, £55mn) their only major signing so far.
It will be interesting to see how Wolves fare, having lost key players Ait Nouri and Cunha, with Fer Lopez (Celta, £19.5mn) and Jhon Arias (Fluminense, £15mn) the two additions.
Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have all been quiet on the transfer front so far, although Forest have sold influential winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55mn.
Everton welcome several new players to their new home at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Charly Alcaraz (Flamengo, £12.6mn), Thierno Barry (Villarreal, £27mn), Mark Travers (Bournemouth, £4mn) and Adam Aznou (Bayern Munich, £10.4mn) all signing on the dotted line. However, it was the confirmation on Monday that Jack Grealish has signed a season-long loan from Manchester City that will excite the Toffees’ fans most with the England international looking to make an impression ahead of the World Cup next summer.
Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge, £17.3mn) and Charalampos Kostoulas (Olympiacos, £31.7mn) are Brighton’s stand out aquisitions so far, while south coast nighbours Bournemouth, so impressive last season under Andoni Iraola, have signed Djordje Petrovic from Chelsea for £25mn.
Promoted trio Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley are aiming to avoid a worrying trend for the competitive balance.
For the past two seasons all three promoted clubs have gone straight back down as the gap between the riches of the Premier League and the second tier continues to grow.
Burnley have added Kyle Walker (Manchester City, £5mn) and Loum Tchaouna (Lazio, £12mn), while Leeds have spent £75mn and Sunderland a staggering £120mn on seven players respectively.
The summer transfer window runs until Sept 1 so expect many more big moves to come yet as the season gets underway and clubs look to flourish as best as they can in England’s top tier.
- Additional reporting by The Phuket News