The 2015/16 season was an exciting and very unpredictable season, and with the summer transfer window in full swing there’s not long until the 2016/17 season will begin. So that is now all behind us and this is the Ultimate season.
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As usual, Arsenal have been linked with a wealth of talent this year with Granit Xhaka completing his £30 million move earlier in the window; Takuma Asano and Rob Holding have also joined the Emirates outfit, although the future seems to be in mind with these two.
The number of foreign players in the Premier League is also testament to the fact that it is the best league in the world.
Manchester City’s sustained dip in form in the first few months of 2016 was widely blamed on the announcement that Pep Guardiola would replace Manuel Pellegrini as the club’s manager this summer, but perhaps the knee injury De Bruyne sustained in January was the more significant factor in the downturn in results. The Gunners are now linked strongly with the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Aleksandr Lacazette and last year’s Premier League player of the year, Riyadh Mahrez.
However, both Liverpool and Manchester City want to sell their unwanted stars rather than loan them out, and Hull might have to come back with more formal offers if they’re serious about landing their targets.
Why does the transfer window shut after the beginning of the season and will it ever change?
This basic level of contingency planning continues to be ignored by Premier League clubs. Mourinho has been busy already after securing Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the latter creating a genuine buzz around the city.
The 25-year-old will be hoping to head into the new campaign in the best possible shape as the Blues prepare for their first season under Antonio Conte.
Along with their title defence Leicester will have to manage a more crowded fixture list, but Eriksson believes they can cause a splash in Europe, even without departed midfielder N’Golo Kante.
And Hazard has stated his desire to make sure he is fit for Chelsea’s opener against the Hammers at Stamford Bridge later this month. With no European football to get distracted by, Chelsea are genuine contenders for the title and have to be up amongst the favorites.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have new managers and will battle hard for the Premier League title this season. Daniel Carvajal has developed into one of the finest right-backs in Europe after being sold to Bayer Leverkusen for a season before returning in 2013, while it has also been reported, though a somewhat different scenario, that Real have first refusal on Mesut Ozil should he ever grow exhausted of Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to sign a new striker and wish to leave Arsenal. Klopp certainly means business and with no European football, just like Chelsea, will Liverpool be pushing for a top three/four finish this year?
The current figure of £475 million is slightly less than the £515 million spent by Premier League teams at the same stage in 2015, which led to an eventual £870 million outlay in the whole window.
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Meanwhile, it is nearly impossible to pick a victor in the Premier League this season, and there’s always a possibility that another title challenger could arrive out of the blue.
