Claudio Ranieri has fired the starting gun on the Premier League race by claiming it is more likely that “ET comes to Piccadilly Circus” than his Leicester City side retain their title.
Advertisement
The fairytale title triumph came against the backdrop of Chelsea’s spectacular fall from grace under Jose Mourinho.
Now former Arsenal hero and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has delivered his verdict on how the two Blues will fare.
Pep Guardiola, who has marquee signing John Stones available after his £47.5 million move from Everton, starts his Manchester City career at home on Saturday against Sunderland and their new manager David Moyes, a replacement for recently appointed England boss Sam Allardyce.
But to some, the Thai-owned Foxes’ rise was aided by the complete lack of a sustained challenge from any of England’s traditional superpowers.
Ranieri’s side are unlikely to have such an easy ride this time as City, United and Chelsea all look stronger as their new managers splash out on a host of costly signings.
Ranieri told the club’s official website: “From the moment I talked to the owners about their vision for Leicester City, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of for a long time”.
“But I think now we have less pressure than last season”. With Kante moving on, Ranieri has turned to Mendy and Wales worldwide Andy King to fill the void.
His consistency at creating chances has been the most impressive aspect of the 24-year old’s game and that was evident in the fact that he failed to create a single chance in just one of the 35 games he featured in the last season. “We must be smarter”.
“We know we upset the applecart last season with what we did and we are expecting a reaction from the top teams”, King said.
Advertisement
“We’re building and slowly getting better”. “I will start with the same philosophy and humility”.
