Sport

Premier League set for an unpredictable season

While the best players in the world dream of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona more often than not, the Premier League has always been regarded as the place the best managers of the modern era work.

But for the first time in some 40 years, none of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Carlo Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola will be on the touchline in England’s top flight this season.

There are a number of reasons why this could be one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory. Arsenal look strong with the signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, but there is a sense they are still in need of more firepower to be ready to defend their crown and go one further in the Champions League, having lost in the final.

Liverpool are struggling to sign a new star to replace Mohammed Salah, having missed out on top target Yan Diomande to Real Madrid. PSG’s Bradley Barcola is the man in focus now, but the French champions are said to want upwards of £110m for him, slowing negotiations down.

With Hugo Ekitike still recovering from an Achilles injury, pressure is also on Alexander Isak to put his own fitness struggles behind him and hit the ground running. Andoni Iraola has proven himself capable of punching above his weight with Bournemouth, but taking over at Anfield brings a whole new level of expectation and responsibility.

Like Isak, Florian Wirtz is still waiting for lift off with the Reds. Fitting them both, plus Ekitike, into the team was a challenge Arne Slot failed. Iraola will be expected to do that and improve on last season’s fifth-placed finish. Like Arsenal this year, they were backed to defend their Premier League title, won in 2024-25. But now they are seen as outsiders, perhaps that could work in their favour, but Iraola has attempted to temper expectation by saying his side is not yet ready to go full throttle in the opening game at Newcastle a week on Sunday.

With his Liverpool connections, it felt strange that Xabi Alonso didn’t replace Slot, especially given he broke Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga dominance with Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in 2024. But he’d already joined Chelsea by the time the decision for a change was made. Working with Todd Boehly and Clearlake is a bold choice for the Spaniard, who is looking to rebuild his reputation after a disastrous spell at Real Madrid.

So much of Chelsea’s approach has revolved around the signing and development of young players, which critics say has created an unbalanced squad incapable of success despite the owners famously spending over £1bn. Coaches haven’t had the authority to go against that in the past, but control was presumably one of Alonso’s non-negotiable when he took over. Experience is needed, but the arrivals of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, who last played together at Sunderland some 16 years ago, don’t appear to be the most ambitious of moves.

Perhaps it is part of a greater plan.

Enzo Maresca has the unenviable task of replacing Pep Guardiola, who has been the driving force behind their decade of unparalleled success. Losing Rodri, the Golden Ball winner at the World Cup this summer, would be a hammer blow as Real Madrid and Barcelona circle. Not even City are a team you can hang your hat on.

Manchester United’s spending has been curbed due to squad cost rules, and Champions League football will be something for Michael Carrick to juggle at Old Trafford. Tottenham have spent big but still need attacking reinforcements to convince, while traditional outsiders Aston Villa and Newcastle have had tough off seasons for different reasons.

Losing Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon has completely reset targets at St James’ Park, with Eddie Howe now out of the door and replaced by 38-year-old Matthias Jaissle. Meanwhile, for the second summer running, Villa’s spending has been curbed, with midfielder Johan Manzambi their only addition of note.

Teams with big expectations like Nottingham Forest and Sunderland are struggling to impact the market too.

With so much change across the league (nine new managers in total) it is very hard to tell what will happen this season. Maybe that could finally break the streak of repetition which has diluted the quality over recent seasons.