Mouthwatering tidbits to whet appetite
WITH the new Premier League season kicking off today, we look at some questions ahead of the new campaign:
Just three months after lifting the Premier League trophy, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has described the new season as the most difficult test of his career.
In the past two seasons, Chelsea and Leicester City have both sacked their managers less than a year after winning the title.
Conte has spent over £100-million (R1.7-billion) on Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger to avoid becoming the third axed champion.
Despite ending last season on a high thanks to their FA Cup triumph against Chelsea, divisions still run deep at Arsenal over Arsene Wenger’s lack of success in the Premier League and Europe over the last 13 years.
Out of the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, Arsenal must make a fast start and avoid their usual winter swoon to keep the natives from becoming more restless.
Spending over £200-million (R3.4billion) on six new players, including Tottenham Hotspur’s Kyle Walker and Monaco duo Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva, puts Pep Guardiola in position to mount a stronger challenge this time.
Jose Mourinho’s first season at Manchester United was a qualified success, with a disappointing sixthplace finish in the Premier League offset by Europa League and League Cup silverware.
Not content with that, Mourinho has spent over £140-million (R2.4-billion) on Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof in a bid to win United’s first league title since 2013.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has assembled a side capable of holding their own against anyone, but for two years in a row they have fallen short in the title race.
Having finished seven points behind Chelsea, Spurs have yet to make a single signing, while Walker’s sale to City and a season playing their home games at Wembley adds to Pochettino’s problems.
After a fourth-place finish last season, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp splashed out a club-record £43.9-million (R762-million) on Roma winger Mohamed Salah, boosting a squad already brimming with potential.
But with Barcelona chasing star man Philippe Coutinho, winning Liverpool’s first title since 1990 would be a remarkable achievement for Klopp.
Spurning interest from his former club Chelsea, Lukaku opted to join Manchester United in a £75-million (R1.3-billion) deal that was a record for a transfer between British clubs.
Encouraged by Everton’s seventhplace finish last season, manager Ronald Koeman has gone for broke in a bid to crack the top four.
He has brought former Toffees star Wayne Rooney back home, and spent over £90-million (R1.5-billion) on Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford and others.
With the future of unsettled Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez still up in the air, France striker Alexandre Lacazette arrives as the long-term face of Arsenal’s attack after his clubrecord switch from Lyon.
Lacazette hit 37 goals in 45 games last season and Wenger needs the 26year-old to emulate that form.
It seems a lot longer than 15 months since Leicester City’s fairytale title win in 2016. A dismal title defence and the shock sacking of Claudio Ranieri raised questions about the players’ character, but a run to the Champions League quarterfinals under Craig Shakespeare augured well. — AFP