Armed with around 260 million pounds worth of new signings, Liverpool have spared no expense in trying to ensure last season’s Premier League title marked the dawn of a new age of domination in English football.
The post-Juergen Klopp era began with Dutchman Arne Slot’s side wrestling control from Manchester City and turning the title race into a procession as their rivals imploded.
Winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 1984 is likely to prove a rather more arduous challenge.
Premier League clubs have already splurged in excess of two billion pounds, with the likes of Arsenal, City and Chelsea all flexing their muscles with statement signings.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will surely improve drastically on woeful domestic campaigns last season, while the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United will again be making themselves heard at the top table.
While Liverpool won’t care, last season’s Premier League campaign was not a vintage edition, with the title sewn up early, the relegation victims all too predictable and the main interest being the jostle for European qualification.
Hopes are high that the new season will offer more intrigue.
It will be a sombre occasion as Liverpool and Bournemouth kick off a 380-match Premier League slog on Friday with the Anfield faithful remembering Diogo Jota, the club’s Portugal forward who died alongside his brother in a car crash, in July.
While Jota will forever have a place in the hearts of the Kop, new heroes are ready to emerge, none more so than German midfielder Florian Wirtz and French forward Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool smashed their transfer record when they paid Bayer Leverkusen an initial 100 million pounds to sign the 22-year-old Germany international, who scored 57 goals and provided 65 assists in 197 appearances for the Bundesliga club.
Allied with the pace and power of 23-year-old Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial 69 million pounds, Liverpool will have more cutting edge this season.
They have also upgraded in defence with highly-rated left back Milos Kerkez set to challenge Andy Robertson and Jeremie Frimpong to fill the hole left by the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid.”I think there’s always room for improvement in every department,” Slot said after Liverpool beat Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in a pre-season friendly.
“We’ve added a few extra weapons.”
The Dutchman was also quick to point out that Liverpool’s rivals have not “stood still”, especially Arsenal and City.
Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have been agonisingly close to a first Premier League title since 2004, twice pushing Manchester City hard and last season emerging as Liverpool’s sole rivals before falling away.
Fans have long lamented the lack of a genuine goal poacher, but their prayers may have been answered with the signing of Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting as part of a near 200 million pounds outlay in the close season.
The 27-year-old scored 54 goals in all competitions last season and should he come anywhere near the level of club record scorer Thierry Henry, whose number 14 shirt he will wear, the 63.5 million euros ($73.93 million) fee will seem a bargain.
Defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi arrived from Real Sociedad, while Noni Madueke made the short trip across London from Chelsea to offer attacking support to Bukayo Saka.
While Arsenal, who visit Manchester United in their opener next Sunday, trailed in 10 points behind Liverpool last term, City were 13 adrift as their stranglehold ended.
Pep Guardiola’s rebuilding job began last season and with talisman Kevin de Bruyne gone, that has accelerated with the signings of Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, Wolverhampton Wanderers left back Rayan Ait-Nouri and winger Rayan Cherki.
City visit Wolves in the late game, next Saturday. Fresh from winning the Club World Cup, Chelsea will also be expected to mount a challenge with striker Joao Pedro their standout signing of another busy transfer window. The Blues start their season at home to Crystal Palace next Sunday.
Former Brentford manager Thomas Frank takes charge of a Spurs team that finished 17th but won the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou and are back in the Champions League without talisman Son Heung-min, who ended his 10-year stint, this week.
Quite what the Dane will make of the jigsaw puzzle he has inherited from the sacked Postecoglou is anyone’s guess, but fans will expect to see a vast domestic improvement as they get under way at home to promoted Burnley next Saturday.
Likewise, at Manchester United, where Ruben Amorim begins his first full season in charge with the pain of their worst league campaign since 1974 still painfully fresh.
For Daniel Farke, Scott Parker and Regis Le Bris, managers of promoted trio Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland, the brief is simple, survival.
The omens are not good with the last six teams to gain promotion to the top flight going straight back down. Leeds open their campaign at home to Everton two days after Sunderland welcome West Ham United, next Saturday.
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