Season Preview 2024/25

The new Premier League season is upon us, and football fans across the world are bursting with fresh hope for the teams they support. They say, “It’s the hope that kills you”, but that doesn’t change the expectations – whether your team is Manchester City or Ipswich Town.

Talking of these two… it’s highly likely that they will be at opposite ends of the Premier League table when the final ball is kicked on May 18th 2025, but a lot can happen in the 380 matches that will take place over the next few months. So let’s take a look at how the top ten clubs have moved and shaken things up over the summer break.

Manchester City have won 7 of the last 8 Premier League titles, and it would be foolish to think that they won’t add another one this season, in what might be Pep Guardiola’s farewell campaign. What’s left for him to achieve? The club’s transfer business has been quiet, so far at least, with Brazilian winger Savinho’s arrival from French club Troyes the only notable addition. Perhaps the biggest news has been the departure of World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who has joined Atetico Madrid. Realistically Alvarez was never going to displace Erling Haaland, and is probably too good to spend so much time on the bench, and the profit City have made on him is impressive.

Arsenal have led the chasing pack for a couple of years, and will hope to go one step further this season. As with City, the Gunners haven’t gone big in the transfer market – 22 year old Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival from Bologna the only big signing made by Mikel Arteta. Will that be enough to topple City at the top of the Premier League table? Many Arsenal fans are hoping for a big name centre forward to give them a boost, but so far it’s been pretty quiet in North London.

Liverpool have been extremely quiet over the summer – on the pitch at least… The big new arrival is Jurgen Klopp’s replacement, Arne Slot. He’s spent the pre-season looking at the players he has available, and assessing their quality rather than going straight into the transfer market. This could prove to be a shrewd move in terms of bringing some notion of stability at a time of obvious upheaval.

Aston Villa have seen lots of incomings and outgoings, as Unai Emery looks to develop a squad capable of having an impact in the Champions League. In the midfield, Douglas Luiz has joined Juventus, and has been replaced by the returning Ross Barkley, who excelled at Luton last season, and Amadou Onana from Everton. Ian Maatsen, who played in last season’s Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund, has joined from Chelsea, as he looks to settle at a permanent club after several years of being out on loan.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou spent last season running the rule over his squad, and has used this summer to make some changes, in an attempt to push for a top 4 place in the Premier League. The big signing, and probably the worst kept secret of the window, is the arrival of Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth, for something in the region of £65m. Will he prove to be the replacement for Harry Kane that Spurs seemed to miss last year? Young defender Archie Gray has also joined from Leeds United, as well as a season-long loan return for Timo Werner. This all looks like shrewd business from Spurs, and there are rightly big expectations for the season.

Chelsea seem to have a rebuild under a new manager every season, and this one is no different. Enzo Maresca has recruited his former Leicester player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, along with a number of other signings – notably Tosin Adadabioyo from West London neighbours Fulham, and Pedro Neto from Wolves. As ever, big things are expected from Chelsea, and failure to reach the Champions League may result in another turn of the managerial merry-go-round.

The departure of England manager Gareth Southgate after the Euros was likely to send a few Geordie hearts fluttering, as the expectation was that Eddie Howe would be on the shortlist for the national job. But that all seems to have quietened down, and Newcastle will look to build on the consistency of the last couple of seasons. Compared with many of the top clubs, they have been quiet during pre-season, Lewis Hall and Lloyd Kelly coming in, along with Sheffield United’s young Danish forward William Osula – who is widely considered to have a promising future.

Manchester United have been busy, after Erik ten Hag’s future was finally sorted out. Leny Yoro (when he recovers from his unfortunate pre-season injury) should bolster a defence which no longer has Raphael Varane to call upon; Moussair Mazraoui is a direct replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has joined West Ham; Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna is a forward whose impact may come a bit further down the line; and his fellow Dutchman Matthijs de Ligt will be expected to be the main man in the defensive ranks following his arrival from Bayern Munich. As with Chelsea, the expectations at Old Trafford are always huge, and United’s owners will hope to see a quick return on their financial outlay.

West Ham are another club under new management, in the shape of Julen Lopetegui, who was briefly in charge of Wolves two seasons ago. In replacing David Moyes, the Spaniard has big shoes to fill – Moyes led the club to success in Europe, and a top 10 finish last year is a real mark of success. As well as Wan-Bissaka, the Hammers have brought in Max Kilman from Lopetegui’s former club Wolves, German forward Niclas Fulkrug and mercurial Leeds attacker Crysencio Summerville. Sustaining a place in the top half of the division will be the hope for West Ham fans, and anything above that has to be regarded as a huge success in this competitive league.

Crystal Palace boasted more players in the England Euros squad this summer than any other club, which is a mark of the improvements they’ve made in recent seasons. Keeping hold of the three fantastic forwards – Eze, Mateta and Olise was always going to be tough, but (so far) only Frenchman Olise has departed – to Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. Ismaila Sarr has been brought in from Marseille, which will go some way to mitigate this loss. The other big transfer
talking point at Selhurst Park has been the future of England centre back Marc Guehi, who has been courted by Newcastle since his superb Euros campaign that helped England reach the final in Germany.

That covers last years top 10 in the Premier League, but what can fans of the 7 teams that survived in the bottom half of the table last year, and the three that achieved promotion from the Championship expect this season.

Starting with Brighton, who are no strangers to a tumultuous transfer window… but the days of having huge assets like Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister to sell for big bucks seem to have passed. Perhaps the biggest deal of the summer saw midfielder Pascal Gross leave the Amex after seven years to join his boyhood club Borussia Dortmund. Young Gambian Yankuba Minteh has joined from Newcastle, for a fee of around £30m, after a season on loan at Feyenoord, and is joined by another player from the Dutch club, defensive midfielder Mats Wieffer, in another multimillion pound deal. The fitness and form of Irish forward Evan Ferguson is likely to be a big factor in the Sussex side’s success this season, under new boss Fabian Hurzeler, who at the age of 31 is younger than a number of his first team squad, including skipper Lewis Dunk, James Milner and Danny Welbeck.

Last season Bournemouth, under Spanish boss Andoni Iraola, achieved their highest ever Premier League points tally, reaching 48 points for the first time. A huge factor in their success was the goalscoring prowess of Dominic Solanke – and the big question is whether the Cherries can replace him now that he has moved on to Tottenham for a huge sum. The arrivals at the Vitality Stadium include young Juventus defender Dean Huijsen, Julian Araujo from Barcelona, plus the permanent signings of former loanees Luis Sinisterra and Enes Unal. Whether this will this be enough to keep the South Coast club out of danger remains to be seen, although things may seem more positive if the Solanke cash can be used to attract a goalscorer with Premier League experience – Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal perhaps…

Fulham’s business under Marco Silva this summer looks to have been pretty shrewd. The departure of Tosin Adarabioyo to Chelsea was a blow, but the acquisition of Emile Smith Rowe and the returning Ryan Sessegnon from North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham respectively is sure to inject some hope into the Fulham fanbase. Add to this the signing of Jorge Cuenca from Villarreal, and Silva’s squad looks in good shape ahead of the opening weekend. A 13th place finish last season is probably below the level the Cottagers should expect, and as the Spanish manager enters his 4th season in charge of the club, they will be looking to push towards the top half of the table.

Wolves ended last season with a whimper – picking up just one win in their final 5 Premier League matches. And the indications are that this season will not be much easier for Gary O’Neil and his team. Tommy Doyle has made his loan move from Manchester City a permanent one, which will bolster the midfield, but the loss of Max Kilman to West Ham, and Pedro Neto to Chelsea will undoubtedly weaken the group.

It’s difficult to know what to expect of Everton. Last season was a challenge, on and off the pitch, with points deductions blighting every positive move Sean Dyche’s side made. Had it not been for the punishments, Everton would have finished 12th, but as it was, their survival quest went into the last few weeks of the season before 3 wins from the last 5 matches saw them comfortably secure. This campaign will be the last one at Goodison Park, before the move to the banks of the Mersey in the magnificent arena at Bramley Moore Dock, a building which is already looming large
on the riverside. If they fail to make the move as a Premier League side, things could take a very troubling turn, but on the flip side, a successful takeover of the cub and top flight survival will be the perfect platform for the club’s future endeavours. Inevitably the upheaval has meant a quiet transfer window, with the biggest deal being the departure of Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana to Aston Villa. But they have so far managed to hold on to the much-coveted Jarrad Branthwaite, who was hotly pursued by Manchester United early in the summer. Dyche has added promising Irish defender Jake O’Brien from Lyon, whose 6 foot 6 inch frame will come in handy at both ends of the pitch, and Jack Harrison has returned for another loan spell from Leeds, along with another loanee, attacking midfielder Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli. The club will be hoping that most of the news from Goodison this year is about what happens on the pitch rather than off it.

Thomas Frank’s Brentford will definitely feel that they underperformed last season, finishing just two places above the drop zone. Their form clearly wasn’t helped by the absence of Ivan Toney – a player whose future in West London is forever a topic of conversation and transfer gossip. But should he stay, he will certainly benefit from the addition of Liverpool midfielder Fabio Carvalho to the Bees squad. The attacking midfielder will bring a guile and creativity to the side that was perhaps in short supply last time around.

19 players have left Nottingham Forest this summer, either returning to their parent clubs or seeking new opportunities elsewhere. And a handful of new faces have arrived, including Elliot Anderson from Newcastle, who could get the first team opportunities his quality deserves at Forest, after struggling for consistent game time at St James’ Park. Anderson is joined by big Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic, fresh from playing every minute of his country’s Euro 2024 campaign, and Portuguese international forward Jota Silva, who has joined from Vitoria de
Guimaraes. His compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo was brought in last December to keep the club in the Premier League, and having achieved that he’ll be looking for an upward trajectory in his first full season in charge.

Champions of the Championship Leicester surprised a few people this summer by appointing the man Nuno succeeded at Forest, Steve Cooper, as their new manager, to replace Chelsea-bound Enzo Maresca. The club achieved promotion with relative ease in the end, winning the title for a record 8th time in their history. Whether they can carry this form through into the Premier League is unclear, but having only been out of the division for a year, they should know what is required of them. Losing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea is a blow, but bringing in the experienced and
versatile Fulham stalwart Bobby Decordova-Reid could prove to be a good move, as is the permanent signing of Abdul Fatawu from Sporting Lisbon – a player who excited the home fans during his loan spell last season.

Ipswich Town have achieved back to back promotions from League 1 to the Premier League, and with momentum on their side you never know what might happen. As with Luton last season, the Tractor Boys have already been written off by most pundits, but under the guidance of former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna they’ve achieved the unthinkable, and their fans will certainly enjoy the season whatever the outcome. Tempting though it must be, Ipswich haven’t gone crazy in the transfer window, adding some players with top flight experience like Ben Johnson from West Ham, and goalkeeper Aro Muric from Burnley, plus the permanent acquisition of Chelsea’s Omar Hutchinson, a forward who made a massive impact at Portman Road last season.

Southampton are the third of the promoted sides, having beaten Leeds at Wembley in the play off final back in May, and like Leicester they’re returning to the Premier League after only a single season. The current Saints side is quite different from the one that was relegated in 2023, with a few familiar faces like Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek and Adam Armstrong still around. Manager Russell Martin has permanently signed a couple of people who played a big part in their promotion – West Ham midfielder Flynn Downes, and central defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis from
Manchester City, plus Chilean forward Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal. For clubs like Southampton, it’s a case of brokering good deals for promising players, and hopefully unearthing a diamond or two. Also returning to St Mary’s is veteran Adam Lallana, who captained the club during its successful period in the 2010s. He might not be as influential on the pitch as he once was, but is a great lieutenant for Martin to have around the place, and a man who knows the
values of the club inside out.

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