Premier League

The English Premier League is back – just as we recover from the European Championships in Germany which resulted in the disappointment of England’s 2-1 defeat in the final to Spain.

The opening game of this season is on the 16^th August when Manchester Utd takes on Fulham. The remaining teams will then be kicking-off throughout the following weekend. 

Inside Sport this month is in two parts; starting with a preview and transfer news of your favourite club in our predicted finishing order for the 2024/2025 season. 

Man City: Victory in their last match of the season ensured that City became the first team to win four titles in a row and few would back against a fifth this coming season. However, with Pep Guardiola entering the last year of his contract, and the result of 115 FFP (Financial Fair Play) FA charges hanging over them, it may not be all plain sailing!

Transfer News In: Savio £33.6m from Troyes. Out: Taylor Harwood-Bellis £20m to Southampton, Liam Delap £20m to Ipswich.

Rumours In: Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich, Out: Ederson £25m to Al-Nassr.

Arsenal: Mikel Arteta’s side continue to improve, having finished second to Man City in the last two seasons – 5 points adrift in 22/23 and by just 2 points in May. If the Gunners can add a couple of players, particularly a striker, to an already well established squad then who’s to say it couldn’t be their year?

Transfer News In: David Raya £27m from Brentford. Out: Mohamed Elneny (released). 

Rumours In: Riccardo Calafiori, Bologna, Nico Williams, Atletico Bilbao. Out: Emile Smith Rowe to Crystal Palace or Fulham.

Liverpool: The departure of Jurgen Klopp triggers the strains; a new era on Merseyside as Dutchman Arne Slot arrives from Feyenoord to take the reins. Slot inherits a strong squad that finished in 3^rd place last year and who tactically plays a very similar high press to Klopp. 

Transfer News In: None. Out: Thiago & Joel Matip (released). Rumours In: Anthony Gordon from Newcastle. Out: Mo Salah to Al-Ittihad. 

Man Utd: An inconsistent season for the Red Devils, which saw them finish in a disappointing 8^th place, culminated in a surprising victory in the FA Cup at Wembley where they overcame their Manchester rivals 2-1. This subsequently led to manager Erik Ten Hag being handed a new contract. It’s imperative that they get off to a good start.

Transfer News In: Joshua Zirkzee £36.5m from Bologna, Leny Yoro £58.9m from Lille. Out: Mason Greenwood £26.6m to Marseille, Donny Van De Beek £7.6m to Girona, Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial (released). Rumours In: Leny Yoro from Lille, Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton. Out: Mason Greenwood (Marseille), Jadon Sancho (Dortmund).

Newcastle: A solid 7^th place finish – however Man. Utd’s victory in the FA Cup means that they miss out on European football this year at St James Park. However, this could help the Magpies focus on the league and target a top 4 place once again. Off the pitch, manager Eddie Howe is one of the favourites to take the now vacant England job and instrumental directors Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have left the club.

Transfer News In: Lewis Hall £28m from Chelsea Out: Elliott Anderson £35m to Forest, Yankuba Minteh £30m to Brighton. Rumours In: Wilfried Gnonto, Leeds, Miguel Almiron to AI-Ittihad.

Tottenham: After a really promising start to last season, despite the departure of Harry Kane, everything slowly drifted away – resulting in a disappointing 8^th place finish. However enigmatic Australian manager Ange Postecoglou is a popular appointment and a European place is surely likely this year.

Transfer News In: Lucas Bergvall £8.5m from Djurgarden, Timo Werner (loan) RB Leipzig, Archie Gray £27m from Leeds. Out: Eric Dier £3m to Bayern Munich, Ivan Perisic (free) Hajduk Split, Troy Parrott £6.7 to AZ Alkmaar. Rumours: Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea).

Chelsea: Never a dull moment at the Bridge! Coach Mauricio Pochettino finally seemed to salvage a disappointing season and find some consistent form – dragging them up to what looked a very unlikely 6^th place finish; only to part company after the final game. Former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca has been brought in…for how long who knows?

Transfer News In: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester £30m, Estevao Willian £29.1 Palmeiras. Out: Ian Maatsen £37.5m to Aston Villa, Thiago Silva (free) Fluminense. Rumours In: Victor Osimhen (Napoli). Out: Conor Gallagher (Spurs).

Aston Villa: A remarkable season in which Unai Emery managed to steer Villa into a 4^th place finish, thus qualifying them for the Champions League. Emery’s European experience will be invaluable; however with this distraction you feel they will need to add to the squad and keep hold of England hero Ollie Watkins in what will potentially be a more challenging season. 

Transfer News In: Ross Barkley (undisclosed) Luton, Ian Maatsen from Chelsea £37.5m, Cameron Archer £14m from Sheff Utd.

Out: Douglas Luiz £21m to Juventus, Omari Kellyman to Chelsea £19m. Rumours In: Amadou Onana £50m from Everton. Out: Moussa Diaby £46m to Al-Ittihad.

West Ham: An inconsistent season for the Hammers, which saw them finish in 9^th place, led to the end of David Moyes second spell in charge – his replacement being former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui who be targeting to bring back European football to the London Stadium.

Transfer News In: Luis Guilherme £25m from Palmeiras, Max Kilman £40m from Wolves. Out: Said Benrahma £13m to Lyon, Thilo Kehrer £9.5m to Monaco, Flynn Downes £18m to Southampton. Rumours In: Jhon Duran from Aston Villa.

Crystal Palace: Few had heard of Austrian Oliver Glasner when he took over from Roy Hodgson in February, but by the end of the season he had managed to stamp his attractive attacking style of play on Palace which saw them finish in an unlikely 10^th position. Can the Eagles soar even higher this time around?

Transfer News In: Chadi Riad £14m from Barcelona. Out: Michael Olise £50.8 to Bayern Munich.   Rumours In: Marcus Edwards (Sporting), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal). Out: Marc Guehi to  Liverpool.

The Great Debate: Is Financial Fair Play fair?

The tail end of last season was disrupted by Financial Fair Play (FFP) or Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) as it’s now been rebadged by the Premier League. Everton were docked 10 points (reduced to 6 points after an appeal) and then a further 2 points for a separate breach. Nottingham Forest were also docked 4 points. FFP was initially brought in at the start of the 2011/2012 season. So, is Financial Fair Play really fair?

YES

The purpose of it being introduced is to prevent clubs getting into financial difficulties which could threaten their existence. In recent years, countless clubs have found themselves being forced into administration, e.g. Portsmouth, Wigan, Derby, Charlton, Middlesbrough and even Chelsea.

Clubs also face the prospect of expulsion from the league. When the people of  Bury lost their club of 134 years in 2019, it left a massive hole in this relatively small local community.

FFP helps to help create a fair playing field for all clubs, and to prevent billionaire owners taking control of clubs and bank-rolling them overnight.

No

According to Deloitte, two-thirds of the league’s total revenue is claimed by six clubs, the ‘big six‘ as they are often referred to. This allows the richest teams to gain a much bigger advantage, as they can spend significantly more than the rest of the league.

Another criticism is its exclusion of youth development spending from the financial calculations. This is a disadvantage to smaller clubs who often rely heavily on developing their own talent due to limited financial resources for transfers.

Some fans believe that the rules actually make things less exciting – waking up in the morning and reading that your club has just been bankrolled by a ‘sugar daddy’ and they are looking to buy 5 or 6 of the best players in the world is a dream for most fans! Just ask Chelsea or Man City supporters pre-Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour.