The Premier League is seeing astonishing spending from all corners, whether that’s newly promoted sides like Nottingham, established giants like Chelsea, or teams in the middle like Spurs. The recent $98 million transfer of Ajax’s Antony to Manchester United, reported on by The Guardian, is the latest in a spending spree that has already seen the all-time transfer record broken. This makeover has seen teams entirely change their starting XI, with Chelsea’s new lineup one of the most difficult to predict. With that in mind, it’s perhaps time to look at some dark horses to make a run on the title.
Can Spurs become consistent?
Tottenham have conducted some of the most impressive transfer business since manager Antonio Conte has come in. As highlighted by ESPN, Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet have all come through the door, providing real quality and huge strength in depth. As a result, Tottenham are flying – despite some less-than-convincing performances, they’ve brought in the same number of points over 4 games as Man City. What is less clear is whether Spurs can shed their reputation of the past. No Premier League bingo card is complete without a mention of being Spursy, or St Totteringham’s Day – Tottenham still have a lot of work to do in the mentality department before they can be considered long-term contenders.
Across North London
Arsenal have been equally impressive over the past half-season, and picked up a perfect start in their first four fixtures of the current Premier League season. Picking up out-of-favor stars from league juggernaut Man City in the form of Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko, alongside Portuguese star Fabio Vieira, has seen them start flying in the table. Coupled with the long-awaited debut of William Saliba, who is creating a strong partnership with Gabriel Magalhães, Arsenal have a lot to be excited about. Once again, there are questions over the strength in depth they have. They could do with another midfielder given the mercurial form of Granit Xhaka. If they can maintain these performances and pick up points from Liverpool and City, however, then the sky’s the limit.
Can Utd reverse?
Man Utd had an atrocious start to the season, losing twice: first to a solid Brighton, then in a humiliating 4-0 defeat to mid-table outfit Brentford. While both teams are strong in their own right, a team like Man Utd shouldn’t have lost like that to those teams. However, their unexpected 2-1 victory over Liverpool (who, the following week, took out their frustration in a 9-0 demolition of Bournemouth) led to the signings of Casemiro and Antony for a combined $170 million, in the process plugging some major gaps in their team. The Telegraph still put Man Utd at a miserly 66/1 to win the title, but with a genuinely excellent manager at the helm in Erik Ten Hag, there is a chance.
All in all, it’s going to be an exciting season. Man City are still excelling; Liverpool have blown off the cobwebs. Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal have all invested heavily, and even Nottingham Forest have put pounds behind their promotion.