PL newcomers face survival battle
BRIGHTON and Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town are the fresh-faced newcomers in the Premier League this season, while Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United return after a term in the Championship.
AFP Sport runs the rule over the Premier League's new boys.
Brighton face reality check Back among the elite for the first time in 34 years after finishing second in the Championship, Brighton will not have to wait long for an indication of just how tough it will be to retain that long-prized status.
When manager Chris Hughton surveys the team-sheet for his side's opener against Manchester City, he will see an opposing line-up bolstered by over £200 million ($264.8 million, 233.5 million euros) of new signings.
Hughton broke Brighton's transfer record to sign PSV Eindhoven midfielder Davy Propper on Monday and is set to shatter that mark with a £13.5 million swoop for Club Brugge winger Jose Izquierdo before the season starts.
But those deals pale in comparison to City's spending and Hughton said: "Whatever City's starting team is against our starting team, there's no doubt there is going to be an incredibly massive difference.
"They are expected to win league titles, Champions Leagues. Our aim is to make sure we are in the Premier League come the following season."
Against that backdrop, it would be a managerial masterstroke if Hughton can emulate Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe by keeping another modest club from England's sleepy south coast in the top flight.
Wagner has Huddersfield dreaming big As David Wagner and his players danced joyously in front of 35 000 ecstatic Huddersfield fans at Wembley last season, the Terriers manager was already starting to dream of scaling even greater heights.
Huddersfield's dramatic penalty shootout victory over Reading in the Championship play-off final was the culmination of the unglamourous Yorkshire club's remarkable rise under Wagner's astute leadership.
Plucked from Borussia Dortmund's reserve team two years ago by Huddersfield owner Dean Hoyle, the German coach has lived up to his billing as the protege of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Having silenced the critics who wrote off him and his team 12 months ago, Wagner will again start this season with few giving Huddersfield a chance on their first appearance in the top flight since 1972.
He will not be intimidated by the Premier League big guns and has already broken the club's transfer record three times in the close-season in a £35 million spree on Laurent Depoitre, Aaron Mooy and Steve Mounie.
Taking inspiration from his former club Mainz's survival in Germany, Wagner said: "Mainz were promoted and got established in the Bundesliga. There are several examples comparable with a club like ours."
Transfer woes worry Benitez Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez cemented his place in the hearts of Magpies fans by staying loyal following their Premier League relegation and then leading the club to promotion as Championship winners.
But winning the financial backing of Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has proved much tougher and Newcastle's travails in the transfer market over the last two months threaten to lead to a messy divorce.
Frustrated by Newcastle's failure to sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who instead joined Chelsea, Benitez tried to shame Ashley into action. "Hopefully Mike can keep his word and we can do what we want to do," he said.
"He said he would give us 'every last penny'. I'm confident he will." — AFP.