After a busy transfer window period that closed on Aug. 31, teams in the English Premiership League are stocked with talent to take the new season head on. Here’s a recap of the significant moves made by the top five teams of last year’s season.
Arsenal F.C. lost eight-year veteran and team captain Cesc Fabregas, who has returned to his hometown to play for Barcelona, his boyhood club. The London-based club also lost Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue, three experienced players, while signing Lille OSC striker Gervinho. With the exodus of experienced players, Arsenal will be relying heavily on promising youngsters, such as English internationals Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott. If they can manage to keep their injuries down to a minimum, it is quite possible for Arsenal to stay in the top four by season’s end.
Chelsea’s new 33-year-old manager Andre Villas-Boas recently secured the signing of Juan Mata from his former Spanish club, Valencia. They also scooped up promising Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. To add more youth to their side, Chelsea signed two 19-year-olds: from Barcelona B, midfielder Oriol Romeu and from Racing Genk, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, with the latter immediately loaned to Atlético Madrid.
These rejuvenating signings will help Villas-Boas keep Chealsea near the top of the league standings again this season.
Following a handful of disappointing seasons, Liverpool manager and club legend Kenny Dalglish is in the process of refurbishing his team and has brought in four experienced Premiership players: Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing, Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam, Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and Newcastle left back Sanchez Jose Enrique. These new signings give Liverpool more options and insures a bright future for an already strong midfield. Add in the returning duo of Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez, and suddenly every Liverpool attack is a potential scoring opportunity.
Manchester United went looking for a replacement goalkeeper after Edwin Van der Sar retired at the end of last season. Sir Alex Ferguson signed David de Gea from Atlético Madrid, hoping to nurture him into a world-class goalkeeper. The veteran manager also signed English midfielder Ashley Young from Aston Villa, where he scored 38 goals in 190 games. The Red Devils also signed Phil Jones, a 19-year-old English defender from Blackburn Rovers. After winning their 19th Premiership title in 2010-11, Manchester United show no signs of slowing down, having already won the Community Shield against their arch rivals Manchester City. If the other top clubs want the prestige of the Premiership title, they will have to go through the Red Devils to get it.
The star-studded Manchester City FC is the newest title contender and have the potential of contesting in every big competition this season. Having won the FA cup last season, they hope to bring more silverware to their club in 2012, and their latest signings will definitely help them in their quest to achieve their goal.
Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero brings his knack for finding the goal, having scored 127 goals in a total 292 competitive matches. Manchester City also grabbed two Arsenal players: midfielder Samir Nasri and left-back Gael Clichy.
The club already had a number of big stars to fill those positions, but they had the financial capabilities to upgrade as they saw fit. If you you’re looking for a fun and exciting team to watch this season, Manchester City has it all; they have big name players, play nice attractive football and are playing other big teams. The results of their transfer window moves should leave Man City fans elated.
