Premier League

August sees the return of the English Premier League and with the transfer window now wide open the usual player merry-go-round is well underway. With the emergence of the new Saudi Pro League, which has already acquired world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, it could be a very interesting end to the summer!

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners improved dramatically last season but faltered in the final 8 games – managing only draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, followed by a 4-1 defeat at the hands of eventual champions Manch-ester City effectively ending their title challenge.

In: Declan Rice £105m (West Ham), Kai Havertz £65m (Chelsea), Jurrien Timber (Ajax) £38m. 

Out: Granit Xhaka £21.4m (Leverkusen).

Aston Villa

When Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in November, Villa were 15th in the table and considered relegation contenders. The experienced Spaniard made an immediate impact, with Villa going on to win 15 of their remaining 25 games, finishing 7th and securing European Conference League qualification.

In: Pau Torres £33m (Villarreal), Moussa Diaby undisclosed (Leverkusen), Youri Tielemans Free (Leceister)

Out: Ashley Young – Free (Everton). 

Bournemouth

Comparable to Emery at Villa, Bournemouth appointed Gary O’Neil as manager after an impressive 12 game interim spell following the sacking of Scott Parker last November. However, despite O’Neil steering the Cherries away from relegation to finish 15th he was subsequently sacked and replaced by former Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola. With no premiership experience, will this prove to be the right decision?

In: Justin Kluivert (Patrick’s son) (Roma), for an undisclosed sum, Romain Faivre £12.8m (Lyon), Hamed Traore £20m (Sassuolo).

Brentford

Thomas Frank’s free-flowing attacking Bees have become many people’s second team to follow. An impressive 9th place finish last season will be hard to live up to, particularly as they will be without star striker Ivan Toney until January as he serves an eight-month ban for breaking FA betting rules.

In: Nathan Collins £23m (Wolves), Kevin Schade £20m (Freiburg), David Beckham’s son Romeo (Inter Miami) – free.

Brighton

The Seagulls swooped into a 6th place finish, qualifying them for European football for the first time in their history. Highly rated manager Roberto De Zerbi will be without World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool). De Zerbi will be hoping that having turned down a £70m offer from Chelsea he can keep hold of Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo. 

In: James Milner (Liverpool) – free, Bart Verbruggen £16.3m (Anderlecht).

Burnley

Championship winners Burnley, managed by former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, return to the top flight after just one season away and will kick-off the Premiership season on Friday 11th August when they host, yes, you’ve guessed it, treble winners Manchester City at Turf Moor! Will Kompany’s organised hardworking style of play have enough quality to stay up?

In: James Trafford 19m (Man City)

Chelsea

Last season’s 12th place finish was certainly one to forget for the fans at Stamford Bridge. However, with the appointment of new manager Mauricio Pochettino you can’t help feeling that they have the right man to turn things around. Big squad changes are needed and well underway. 

In: Nicolas Jackson £30.1m (Villarreal), Christopher Nkunku £52m (RB Leipzig) and Angelo Gabriel £13m (Santos). 

Out: Kai Havertz £60m (Arsenal), Mateo Kovacic £30m (Man City), Mason Mount £60m (Man Utd), Christian Pulisic £18.8m (AC Milan), Kalidou Koulibaly undisclosed (Al Hilal), Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahl) undisclosed, Cezar Azpilicueta (Atletico Madrid) – free, N’Golo Kante – free (AI- Ittihad).

Crystal Palace

Former England manager Roy Hodgson guided Palace to safety last year, picking up 5 wins and 3 draws from his 10 games in charge after taking over in March from Patrick Viera. A verbal agreement is in place for the 75-year-old to continue at Selhurst Park.

In: Jeferson Lerma – free (Bournemouth), Luka Milivojevic (Al Nassr) and James McArthur released. 

Wilfred Zaha is rumoured to be tempted for a move to Al Galatasaray.

Everton

The Toffees will desperately be hoping to avoid another season ending in a relegation battle. Sean Dyche has now had his first full pre-season in charge and fans will expect a much better start to the coming campaign. Dele Alli returns from his loan spell at Besiktas in Turkey and the football world hopes that he can recapture his old form following a recent heart-

wrenching interview and spell in rehab.

In: Ashley Young – free (Aston Villa).

Out: Tom Davies, Yerry Mina released. 

Fulham

The Cottagers were one of last season’s over-achievers (10th) and much of the credit must go to manager Marco Silva, however due to the lack of transfer activity he has yet to commit himself for the coming season. Adding insult to injury, star striker Aleksander Mitrovic’s future is in serious doubt having reportedly personally asked the club chairman to accept a recent Al Hilal £34m bid. Will losing his firepower result in a much tougher season at Craven Cottage?

Liverpool

A disappointing season last year was salvaged with a 5th place finish, although big midfield changes are required. Will Klopp play Trent Alexander-Arnold in there I wonder? Fabino has been permitted to move to Al Ittihad (£40m) and Stephen Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq have also had a £12m bid accepted for Jordan Henderson.

In: Midfielders Alexis Mac Allister £35m (Brighton), Dominik Szoboslai £60m (RB Leipzig).

Out: Firmino (Al Ahli), Keita (Werder Bremen), James Milner (Brighton), Alex Oxlade Chamberlain all released. 

Luton

Having secured a dramatic promotion on penalties in the play-offs, the Hatters are frantically undergoing a £10m development on the Bobbers Stand. Kenilworth Road has a current capacity of 10,356, which is the smallest in the league. Captain Tom Lockyer has signed a new contract and been cleared to play after recovering from his heart scare after he collapsed in the play-off final. Can the fairytale continue and can they survive relegation?

In: Mads Andersen – undisclosed sum (Barnsley), Tahith Chong £4m (Birmingham).

Manchester City

Can the incredible treble winners improve on last season? Perhaps the quadruple … surely not! No doubt Pep will freshen up his squad, particularly with the likely departure of Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva to Bayern Munich and PSG.

In: Mateo Kovacic £30m (Chelsea).

Out: Riyhad Mahrez £30m (Al Ahli), Ilkay Gundogan – free (Barcelona), Benjamin Mendy – free (Lorient).

Manchester Utd

Under the leadership of Erik ten Hag, the Red Devils made good progress finishing 3rd last season and qualifying for the Champions League. Harry Maguire has been stripped of the captaincy and his Manchester United career looks over. Marcus Rashford has signed a new 5-year contract but after 12 seasons David de Gea has been released. Will they manage to sign that much-needed striker though?

In: Mason Mount £60m (Chelsea), Andre Onana £47.2m (Inter Milan), Johnny Evans – free (Leicester).

Out: David de Gea, Phil Jones, both released. Alex Telles Undisclosed (Al-Nassr)

Newcastle

Exciting times for the Toon Army as Eddie Howe looks to continue his Northeast revolution. Having now also qualified for the Champions League, Howe will surely be seeking to spend some of the Saudi owner’s money to strengthen his squad.

In: Sandro Tonali £55m (AC Milan), Harvey Barnes £39m (Leicester).

Out: Chris Wood – released (Nottingham Forest).

Nottingham Forest

Last year was all about survival and you can’t help thinking that a repeat of that feat would be deemed an achievement. Having signed 22 new players before the start of last season, who knows what could happen in the coming weeks? 

In: Chris Wood – undisclosed (Newcastle).

Out: Jesse Lingard – released.

Sheffield Utd

The Blades return to the top flight two years after being relegated and will surely be inspired by teams like Notts. Forest and Fulham to believe they can compete with the big boys. However, with a distinct financial disadvantage boss Paul Heckingbottom needs to be shrewd in the transfer market.

In: Anis Ben Slimane – undisclosed (Brondby), Yasser Larouci – loan (Troyes).

Out: Billy Sharp – released.

Tottenham

New beginnings for Spurs as former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou takes charge. The Australian’s first challenge is to try and persuade England captain Harry Kane to stay. With Bayern Munich rumoured as Kane’s likely destination, talks are said to be ‘ongoing’ but if Kane does move can Spurs realistically challenge for the top four?

In: Dejan Kulusevski £25.6m (Juventus), James Maddison £40m (Leicester), Guglielmo Vicario £17.2m (Empoli), Manor Solomon – free (Shakhtar Donetsk).

Out: Harry Winks £10m (Leicester), Lucas Moura released.

West Ham

Inconsistent league form last year was overshadowed by winning the Europa Confer-ence League, their first major trophy in 43 years. Will the Irons be able to transfer that form into the league this year? With the Declan Rice deal finalised, David Moyes is looking to bring in a replacement – with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher reportedly top of the list.

Out: Declan Rice £105 (Arsenal), Arthur Masuaku – Undisclosed sum (Besiktas), Manuel Lanzini released.

Wolves

Now an established mid-table team, Julen Lopetegui’s side’s summer was disrupted with the unexpected departure of star midfielder Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabia and many fear that this could be something of a transitional season for them… for better or worse, only time will tell.

In: Boubacar Traore £9.5m (Metz).

Out: Rueben Neves £47m (Al Hilal), Conor Coady £7.5m (Leicester), Nathan Collins £23m (Brentford,) Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa released. 

The super-rich Saudi Pro League is certainly ruffling some feathers, but on reflection is this really that much different to when the Premier League was formed back in 1992? 

Al Hilal’s staggering world record £259m bid to sign Kylian Mbappé from Paris St-Germain is proof that the money mayhem is far from over.