Our feature columnist, John Newsome, returns with his all-clubs rundown of the 2025/26 Premier League: new signings, rumoured arrivals, and honest predictions for where every team will finish. Man United’s hopeful? Arsenal’s dreaming? Liverpool fans, brace yourselves again… You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
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Be sure to check out John’s new book, entitled “Three Days At Anfield“, a riotous and heartfelt tribute to Barnsley FC that blends football nostalgia, fan memoir, and a love letter to the beautiful game. Available on Amazon now.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
ARSENAL
Opening fixture-
Manchester United Away
Arsenal went early in the Transfer Market and have brought in the ex-Chelsea Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth.
Kepa the Keeper cost Chelsea £72 Million, Arsenal have paid Chelsea £5 Million.
That, in anyone’s opinion, is a great bit of business for the Gunners and not so brilliant for the Blues, taking a £67 Million hit.
Ouch!
Regarding the Goalkeeper position, it’s worth reiterating about the new rule that comes into play this season.
The GK is only allowed 8 seconds when he picks up the ball.
If the referee deems the lad has held on to the ball for longer, then a corner will be awarded to the opposition.
It will be interesting to see how many times that rule is applied.
Kepa’s Chelsea mate Noni Madueke has also made the short journey from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates with Arsenal paying Chelsea £52 Million for the England International’s services.
The next incoming signing is another Spaniard, Martin Zubimendi, who Arsenal have brought in from Real Sociedad for a fee of around £51 Million.
Martin is a Spanish international and a great player, however, Arsenal did still need an out-and-out Striker otherwise the same problems would occur that have happened over the past three seasons.
It was touch and go early in Transfer negotiations but the deal was finally done with Viktor Gyokeres coming in from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of around £73 Million.
Viktor’s agent eventually agreed to waive his fee to make the move happen, don’t worry, the lad won’t go hungry as one’s sure he will get paid some other way.
It could easily have been assumed that Viktor would link up with his old boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford, however, United’s demise, sees the Red Devils fall down the pecking order when bidding on potential players.
A high-level footballer isn’t going to choose Old Trafford at the moment as there isn’t any European action next season.
Viktor was a Coventry City player from 2020-2023 scoring a total of 41 Championship goals.
None of the Premier League Big Guns wanted the Sweden International back then, so the lad left England and headed to Portugal to join Sporting Lisbon, famously scoring a hat-trick against Man City in the 2024/25 Champions League-League Phase.
It’s now the Emirates, where Viktor’s goals could see Arsenal push on for that elusive Premier League Title after finishing as Runners-Up in the last 3 campaigns.
Christian Norgaard has been signed from Brentford for a fee of £15 Million.
A few have questioned that particular move but one person who hasn’t is Christian himself, who will be excited to join the Gunners from the Bees.
Arsenal have brought in the young Spanish Defender Cristhian Mosquera (it’s spelt Cristhian) from Valencia for £13 Million.
The 21-year-old can play as a Centre-Back or Right-Back and is considered one of the ‘strongest Defenders’ out there.
Some high-profile players who have left Arsenal are Jorginho, who has headed over to Brazil and joined Flamengo, featuring for the Brazilians in the recent Club World Cup.
Kieran Tierney has rejoined Celtic so he should feature more in the Pub League and the Champions League.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey have both been released.
Thomas will be a big miss from the Gunners’ Midfield, however, the lad has some off-field issues to deal with so probably Arsenal as a club are better off without him.
If one looks, there hasn’t been any money recouped by the Gunners up to now, other than around £4-£5 Million for Nuno Tavares.
Arsenal will be there or thereabouts this season but the big question is-
Can Mikel Arteta get his Young Guns to go one better?
The answer is probably not as Liverpool will take some beating.
Betfred offer Arsenal at 9/4 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 1/5 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 3rd
ASTON VILLA
Opening fixture-
Newcastle Home
Marcus Rashford must have made a great impression on everyone at Aston Villa.
After coming in on loan and turning out 17 times in the Premier League (10) and various Cup Competitions (7), the hierarchy at Villa Park have said ‘thanks but no thanks Marcus!’ and sent the lad back to Old Trafford.
Manchester United are sniffing around Ollie Watkins but it’s whether Villa will sell.
As with everything in football, if the ‘Price is Right’ as Leslie Crowther and Bruce Forsyth used to say, then a deal will always be made.
A few have come into Villa Park, those being Yasin Ozcan, who is a young Defender and probably one for the future, with Villa paying the Turkish club Kasimpasa around £7 Million.
The Dutch Striker Zepiqueno Redmond signs from Feyenoord on a Free Transfer.
Marco Bizot comes in from Brest, probably as the back-up Goalkeeper to Emiliano Martinez for an undisclosed fee, however, he could step between the sticks if Emiliano moves on.
Modou Keba Cisse signs from the Austrian club LASK for a fee of around £5 Million.
Modou is 19 years old and plays in Defence.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 66/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 4/1 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 6th
BOURNEMOUTH
Opening fixture-
Liverpool Away
Bournemouth have had an interesting Transfer Window, with Adrien Truffert coming in from Rennes for £15 Million.
Whilst that doesn’t appear too interesting, the ‘interesting’ part of the Cherries Transfers are the ones who have left the Vitality.
Dean Huijsen has left and joined Real Madrid for around £50 Million.
Dean’s fellow Defender Milos Kerkez has joined Liverpool with the Anfield club paying around £40 Million for the Left-Back’s services.
Adrien Truffert comes in as a replacement for Milos.
It should be an interesting first game for Mr Kerkez.
Jaidon Anthony has left and joined the Premier League new boys Burnley, with Bournemouth recouping around £10 Million.
Daniel Jebbison has headed to the Championship joining Preston North End initially on loan.
Max Aarons and Joe Rothwell have shared the same car and headed to the Pub League, joining Russell Martin at Rangers.
Djordje Petrovic has been signed from Chelsea for £25 Million.
Djordje replaces the ex-Chelsea ‘Keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was on loan from the Blues but has left the Vitality and gone to Arsenal.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 300/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 10/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 11th
BRENTFORD
Opening fixture-
Nottingham Forest Away
The Bees have also had an interesting Summer.
Firstly, Thomas Frank has left the club and headed across London to take over as the Manager of Tottenham after Ange Postecoglou was sacked.
This is a great move for Thomas but are Brentford now going to find life in the Promised Land quite difficult?
The Brentford hierarchy have promoted the ‘Set Piece Coach’ Keith Andrews to the Manager position.
Keith is an ex-Republic of Ireland International and turned out for quite a few clubs in his playing career, such as MK Dons, Blackburn, Bolton and Brighton to name a few, however, KA doesn’t have much experience in the Manager Seat.
That said, the Brentford hierarchy have previously appointed Managers who haven’t done the job before.
Mark Warburton was appointed in 2013.
Mark had previously worked in the London Stock Exchange, so didn’t exactly fill the Bees faithful with confidence, however, MW did oversee promotion to the Championship back in 2013/14.
Thomas Frank was the Assistant Manager to Dean Smith and when Dean left for Aston Villa, the hierarchy appointed Thomas.
So although Keith hasn’t necessarily got the Management experience, it doesn’t mean the Brentford Bosses are wrong about the appointment.
Probably what is more of a concern for the faithful is the loss of certain players such as Mark Flekken, Christian Norgaard, Bryan Mbeumo and possibly Yoane Wissa who Newcastle are interested in.
Brentford have rejected a £25 Million bid from the Geordies for Yoane but as with any Transfers, money talks and a higher bid close to £40 Million should see the deal done.
Obviously, the Bees won’t want to lose Yoane and Bryan in the same Window but unfortunately, that’s football.
That said, the Bees have brought in the ex-Liverpool Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher who could well turn out to be an upgrade on Mark Flekken.
Another ex-Liverpool player, Jordan Henderson has signed a 2-year deal at the GTech after his contract at Ajax was terminated.
If one remembers, Jordan did take the Saudi Ryal after leaving Anfield but didn’t last long in the Desert and went over to the Netherlands.
Without going into depth about that deal with Ajax, there was a Tax-Loophole that would have allowed Jordan to keep most of his Saudi money by going to the Netherlands and not initially coming back to England, however, in the end, it was reported that JH didn’t actually receive any money from Al-Ettifaq, eventually forfeiting his vast wages to get an early termination of his contract.
Jordan Henderson is 35 years old now so obviously not the same dynamic player but his knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the Bees.
Antoni Milambo comes in from Feyenoord for around £19 Million.
Michael Kayode signs from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, to bolster the defence, along with Romelle Donovan from Birmingham for the same undisclosed price.
Romelle will look to get into the new look Bees team as an Attacking Midfielder.
Betfred offer Brentford at 750/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Brentford at 3/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 18th
BRIGHTON
Opening fixture-
Fulham Home
The Seagulls have brought in a few players to offset the departures of Simon Adingra and Joao Pedro.
Maxim De Cuyper, a Defender, comes in from Club Brugge for £18 Million.
Tom Watson (Winger) joins from Sunderland for £10 Million with Simon Adingra going the other way joining the New Premier League Boys, with Sunderland paying £21 Million.
The Italian Centre-Back Diego Coppola comes in from Hellas Verona with Brighton paying around £9 Million.
Another Defender, Olivier Boscagli is signed from PSV Eindhoven on a Free Transfer.
The big Signing is the Greek Youngster Charalampos Kostoulas, who is 18 years old and plays as a Forward coming into the Amex from Olympiacos with Brighton paying the Greek club around £32 Million.
A negative for the Seagull Faithful is the loss of Joao Pedro who has already shown his worth for Chelsea in the recent Club World Cup, helping the Blues get to the Final and subsequently winning the competition.
Evan Ferguson, who was tipped to be the next big-name Striker, spent the 2nd half of last season on loan at West Ham, scoring a total of zero goals.
Now the Irish international has headed over to Italy joining Roma, again on loan to see if he can get his career back on track.
The lad did score the only goal on his debut for Roma against Kaiserslautern in a recent friendly and is only 20 years old so has plenty of time still.
Betfred offer Brighton at 250/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Brighton at 16/1 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 10th
BURNLEY
Opening fixture-
Tottenham Away
Burnley could have possibly pulled off a coup by bringing in Kyle Walker, paying Man City £5 Million for the Right-Back’s services.
That’s dependent on Kyle being able to perform somewhere near his best.
One says somewhere near as it’s obvious KW isn’t the player of old as time waits for no man and Kyle, now aged 35 years old is past his best but the Turf Moor faithful will be hoping not past his sell-by!
At worst Kyle Walker’s vast experience will be beneficial to the rest of the Burnley Squad.
Scott Parker has been busy this Summer, not only bringing in Kyle but quite a few others.
Loum Tchaouna is a French Forward brought in from Lazio for around £12 Million.
The ex-Manchester United Defender Axel Tuanzebe was relegated with Ipswich, however, stays in the Premier League for another season having jumped ship joining the Clarets on a Free Transfer.
The Dutchman Quilindschy Hartman signs from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee and will be vying for a spot at Left-Back.
Bashir Humphrey joins on a permanent deal from Chelsea, after spending a year on loan at Turf Moor and will compete with Quilindschy Hartman for the Left-Back position.
Jaidon Anthony spent the year on loan with Burnley but has now signed a permanent deal with Bournemouth receiving around £10 Million.
Burnley have paid Karlsruher £5 Million for Max Weiss, a young Goalkeeper, who could be thrust straight into the starting eleven now that James Trafford has left.
Jacob Bruun Larsen, like a couple of others, has played for Burnley on loan but now signs a permanent contract from Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee.
Marcus Edwards is another who was on loan at Turf Moor last season but has now signed a permanent deal from Sporting Lisbon.
Marcus is English and started his football career at Tottenham being an Enfield lad.
Zian Flemming signs a permanent deal from Millwall after spending last season on loan with the Clarets.
Zian is a Dutchman who plays as an Attacking Midfielder.
A couple of old boys have departed Turf Moor, with most probably not even knowing the pair were Burnley players.
Nathan Redmond and Jonjo Shelvey have both been released, free to find another club.
Betfred offer Burnley at 1500/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Burnley at Odds On 1/3 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 20th
CHELSEA
Opening fixture-
Crystal Palace Home
Chelsea are the New Club World Champions after gaining a convincing victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Final over in New Jersey.
It was assumed by most (even this EveryTip column) that PSG, after dismantling Real Madrid in the Semi-Final, would be too good for Enzo’s Blues, however, not the case.
Enzo Maresca outthought his PSG counterpart Luis Enrique and along with Cole Palmer scoring twice and setting up the 3rd, Chelsea gained the Trophy with a 3-0 score.
President Donald Trump was happy and wanted to help lift the Club World Cup.
Rumours that John Terry had told Donald to wear a Chelsea strip were fiercely denied.
Most had been critical of the Club World Cup but in truth, it was an entertaining competition which was a forerunner for next year’s World Cup that takes place in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
It will be hot, however, Chelsea coped and so did Cole Palmer, who hopefully for the England faithful, will show similar form next year.
Chelsea have signed Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30 Million.
Liam made a few appearances at the Club World Cup, scoring 1 goal.
Along with Liam, Joao Pedro comes in from Brighton for £60 Million and again featured in the CWC, scoring 2 in the Semi-Final and 1 in the Final.
One could say that Joao benefited from Liam picking up 2 Yellow Cards and subsequently being suspended for the Semi-Final against Fluminense.
Jamie Gittens has also signed for the Blues with Chelsea paying Borussia Dortmund around £52 Million.
Unlike Joao and Liam, Jamie didn’t take part in the Club World Cup but will be a good addition to an already successful squad, who could be the surprise 2025/26 Premier League Champions.
Estevao Willian comes in from Palmeiras for a fee of £29 Million, along with Dario Essugo whom the Blues have paid Sporting Lisbon £19 Million.
Estevao actually played against Chelsea for Palmeiras in the CWC Quarter-Final, even scoring against his new employers.
Mamadou Sarr is another signing coming in from Strasbourg and was part of the Chelsea Club World Cup squad but didn’t make an appearance, however, he was seen fighting with Don Trump vying to hold the Trophy.
‘Get off Mamadou!’
There are rumours that the Blues are after Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho but it’s unlikely that the deal will be done until Chelsea offload a few more such as Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson.
Betfred offer at 7/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Chelsea at Odds On 8/13 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 2nd
CRYSTAL PALACE
Opening fixture-
Chelsea Away
Crystal Palace’s reward for winning the FA Cup was a place in the Europa League-League Phase and a lucrative set of Thursday Night Football fixtures.
Unfortunately, for the Eagle Ultras, the place in the Europa League has been downgraded to a place in the Europa Conference League-League Phase.
It’s still a set of Thursday Night fixtures but the money isn’t as lucrative as the Europa League.
The reason for the downgrade is that one of Crystal Palace’s owners, a certain John Textor has also shares in the French Club Lyon, who themselves have qualified for the Europa League.
UEFA have strict rules regarding dual ownership and won’t allow both in the same competition.
As Lyon finished 5th in Ligue Un and Palace finished 12th in the Premier League, the Europa League place goes to Lyon and Palace are now in the Europa Conference League.
There was a March 1st deadline for John Textor to put his Palace shares into a holding fund to avoid this scenario, however, John didn’t so UEFA have now confirmed the Europa Conference League situation.
Whilst folk might be annoyed with John missing the March 1st deadline, could anyone honestly say back in February that Crystal Palace would win the FA Cup?
Palace shouldn’t have won the Cup on the day never mind thinking they could back in February.
It was more to do with Man City’s performance than that of Palace’s.
Remember, Erling Haaland refused to take a penalty which was subsequently missed by Omar Marmoush.
Palace got the victory over City by a 1-0 score.
***There is the possibility that the Europa League and Conference League decisions for Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace could be reversed due to Palace going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, however, that decision won’t be known until around the 11th of August after this EveryTip column is published.***
Another reward for beating Man City is a place in the iconic season opener at Wembley which the older listeners will know as the Charity Shield, however, it has been rebranded into the Community Shield, which pits the FA Cup Winners against the Premier League Winners, usually a week before the season starts.
That particular game is on Sunday the 10th of August at 15.00 hours.
Whilst Liverpool have appeared in some memorable Charity/Community Shield games over the years, this will be Crystal Palace’s first outing in the showpiece opener.
Eberechi Eze is still an Eagle for the time being with the faithful hoping not to lose the inspirational Attacking Midfielder, however, Arsenal are still interested, which if Double E left, would be a big loss for the Palace.
Marc Guehi is also still at Selhurst Park (again, for the time being) but is wanted by Liverpool.
Walter Benitez has come in from PSV Eindhoven on a ‘free’ with Palace paying £3 Million to another Dutch club Ajax for the services of Borna Sosa.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 500/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 8/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 14th
EVERTON
Opening fixture-
Leeds United Away
The Toffee faithful will have to wait a wee while longer to see their idols in the New Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
Goodison Park is no more but won’t be demolished or destroyed, as the iconic stadium has been given to the Everton Women who will now play all their WSL (Women’s Super League) matches there, which is fair play to the New Owners who could easily have wanted to take some Dollar by selling.
David Moyes has brought in a few as well as letting a few leave.
Carlos ‘Charly’ Alcaraz, who played a few games for the Toffees last season on loan from Flamengo, signs a permanent contract for a fee of around £13 Million.
Everton have brought in Thierno Barry from Villarreal for £27 Million.
The French Under/21s Striker has signed a four-year contract until the end of June 2029.
Mr Barry had a £34.5 Million release clause in his Villarreal contract but Everton negotiated a lower fee for the 22-year-old, who scored 11 goals and provided 4 assists in 38 games last season helping Villarreal to finish 5th in La Liga and qualify for the Champions League.
The lad will be hoping to step into the boots of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has left Everton for pastures new.
The ex-Bournemouth Goalkeeper Mark Travers signs as back-up to Jordan Pickford, with the Toffees paying the Cherries around £4 Million.
The Toffees have brought in Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich paying the Germans around £10 Million.
The 19-year-old Left-Back has signed a 4-year deal.
A few others who have left the Toffees include Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ashley Young, Asmir Begovic, Neal Maupay and Mason Holgate.
Maybe this is a tenuous link but the Americans don’t understand the term ‘irony’ as in the Alanis Morrisette tune, ‘Ironic’!
Granted Alanis is Canadian but play along!
The song is supposed to be about irony but the young girl, like the rest of America and Canada, doesn’t get the term.
‘It’s like rain, on your wedding day!’
That’s not irony, that just means it’s raining on one’s special day.
If one wanted to use the term ‘irony’ in that sense, then it would be something like-
‘One of the bride or groom is a Weatherman (woman) and picked the day because they used their job and thought it would be sunny!’
Now for proper irony,
Ashley Young (that’s his name!) is still playing on after being released by Everton and has now signed for Ipswich at the ‘Young age’ of 40.
Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?
All the best Ashley.
Betfred offer Everton at 500/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Everton at 9/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 12th
FULHAM
Opening fixture-
Brighton Away
The Fulham faithful must be rubbing their hands at the exciting New Signings that have come into Craven Cottage.
(Well they will be when the signings finally arrive!)
The Cottagers’ first signing through the door is the Goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.
The 34-year-old has joined on a 2-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
Mr Lecomte has played 329 times in Ligue Un and is expected to come in to provide back-up for Bernd Leno.
For the time being, that’s all at the moment but there are still a few weeks to go so hopefully for the faithful, some more will come in.
The old boy Willian has left Craven Cottage after being released by Fulham.
Betfred offer Fulham at 500/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Fulham at 7/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 13th
LEEDS UNITED
Opening fixture-
Everton Home
The West Yorkshire Puddings are back in the Premier League after storming the Championship last season.
Well, when one says ‘storming’ as the Marching On Together crew will have you believe, although Leeds did finish at the summit, the Whites had the same 100 points as Burnley but with a better goal difference.
There were rumours that Daniel Farke’s position as Manager was under threat, with talks of Jose Mourinho heading to Elland Rd.
At the moment, Daniel is still the Boss but if Leeds start the season disastrously, then Jose may just get a call.
Leeds have paid £17 Million for the Hoffenheim Defensive Midfielder Anton Stach.
Sean Longstaff comes in from Newcastle for a fee of £12 Million which is a great bit of business for the Elland Rd outfit.
Sebastiaan Bornauw signs from Wolfsburg for £5 Million.
(Treble A) Sebastiaan’s Wolfsburg teammate Lukas Nmecha jumped into the Lada and headed to Elland Rd too, however, the Elland Rd outfit got a ‘BOGOF’ from the German Team, getting Lukas for free.
Jaka Bijol signs from Udinese for £15 Million, along with Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille for around £10 Million.
Jaka and Gabriel are both Defenders, hoping to prevent the goals from going into their own net, past the enigmatic Illan Meslier.
The strange anomaly about the signings of Sebastiaan, Lukas, Jaka and Gabriel is that all 4 players are 26 years old.
Is that a coincidence or by design?
Regarding Illan Meslier, Leeds have signed the Brazilian Stopper Lucas Perri from Lyon for around £16 Million.
When a team spends £16 Million, it isn’t for the purpose of a backup Goalkeeper to Illan so the Frenchman will be up against it and may find his time sitting on the bench, if the lad puts in performances akin to a few last season.
One thing that is guaranteed, whether Leeds win or lose, the West Yorkshire Puddings will be blasting out their infamous tune,
‘Marching On Together!’
Betfred offer Leeds United at 1000/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Leeds United at Evens 1/1 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 17th
LIVERPOOL
Opening fixture-
Bournemouth Home
Although the opening fixture does state Bournemouth, Liverpool do have the little matter of competing in the Iconic Showpiece Opener, that being the Community Shield against Crystal Palace at Wembley on August 10th, 5 days before the visit of the Cherries.
Arne Slot’s Premier League Champions have had a busy Transfer Window, with Liverpool bringing in several players.
Hugo Ekitike joins Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of around £70 Million plus add ons which could eventually get near to £80 Million.
Ekitike is the same spelt backwards!
It was thought that Liverpool signed Hugo because the Reds couldn’t get Alexander Isak from Newcastle, however, that situation has changed when Alexander thought to himself,
‘Aye aye, I could join the Premier League Champions!’ and decided to down tools at St James Park to seal a move to Anfield, which the Reds will have to pay close to £150 Million for the Sweden Striker.
There has been an initial bid of £120 Million which was rejected straight away but that will increase and it’s more than likely that Alexander Isak will be a Liverpool player sooner rather than later.
Milos Kerkez comes in from Bournemouth for a fee of £40 Million.
Florian Wirtz heads to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen for an astonishing £116 Million.
Florian’s Leverkusen mate Jeremie Frimpong came along too, joining Liverpool for £30 Million.
So that’s a new Right-Back and a new Left-Back for the Reds.
Obviously, Trent Alexander-Arnold has departed for Real Madrid but it was assumed Conor Bradley would step into TAA’s shoes, however, with Jeremie signing, that means there is fierce competition for the Right-Back slot.
That’s also the same at Left-Back with Andy Robertson now competing with Milos, who has shown some great talent whilst at Bournemouth.
Giorgi Mamardashvili comes in from Valencia for £30 Million and Freddie Woodman signs from Preston on a free, both Goalkeepers vying for the back-up to Allison, now that Caoimhin Kelleher has left.
Liverpool have recouped some money with the sales of Caoimhin Kelleher (£18 Million) to Brentford, Jarrell Quansah (£35 Million) to Bayer Leverkusen, Nat Phillips (£3 Million) to West Brom and amazingly £10 Million from Real Madrid for Trent who was available as a Free Transfer on the expiry of his contract but Real wanted the lad earlier to compete in the Club World Cup.
In truth, TAA didn’t do too badly at the CWC, however, was it worth paying Liverpool £10 Million?
Added to that, Trent picked up an injury before Real Madrid’s humiliating defeat against Paris Saint-Germain.
Luis Diaz has also left Anfield joining Bayern Munich for a fee of close to £70 Million.
That is a bit of a shame for the Anfield Rappers as Luis was a fans’ favourite and good to watch but wanted a move away with Bayern being the preferred choice of the Colombian.
It was touch and go at first as to whether Liverpool would sell Luis but once it was clear that Alexander Isak was available, the Reds thought ‘That’s £70 Million towards the £150 Million needed!’
Betfred offer Liverpool at 2/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 1/7 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 1st
Check out John Newsome’s book ‘Three Days At Anfield’ available on Amazon.
MAN CITY
Opening fixture-
Wolves Away
Pep Guardiola went early in the Transfer Window, due to the Club World Cup, bringing in Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves for £37 Million.
Who have City got in the first game of the season?
The Dutch Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders signs from AC Milan for around £46 Million.
Rayan Cherki heads to the Etihad from Lyon, with City paying £34 Million for the French International Striker.
The Citizens will be hoping that the 2 Rayans and Tijjani can turn the fortunes around from last season’s disastrous campaign.
Marcus Bettinelli comes in from Chelsea originally as the back-up Goalkeeper to Ederson, however, with the Brazilian possibly leaving, Marcus could be vying for the Number One spot with James Trafford, who is re-signed from Burnley.
The regular stand-in Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega looks a certainty to leave with Sunderland a potential destination.
James was originally a City player but when sold on, the Blues put a buy-back clause which has been triggered, with City paying £31 Million.
The Norway Under/21 Midfielder Sverre Nypan who has been likened to Martin Odegaard comes into the Etihad with City paying around £12 Million to Rosenborg for the youngster’s services.
Rodri is back, which is like a new signing and will be a big boost for everyone connected with Pep’s High Flying Blues.
From watching the Club World Cup it does appear quite obvious what Man City need to do to get anywhere near winning the Premier League and that is bolster the Defence.
Man City will score goals for fun with Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush and the rest, however, that’s not the problem, the problem is at the other end, where City leak goals.
The case in point being the CWC game against Al-Hilal.
Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden all scored, however, the Defence, including Ederson, conceded 4 to ultimately see City suffer a defeat by a 4-3 scoreline.
City scored 5 against Juventus but conceded 2.
There was a 6-0 victory over Al-Ain and a 2-0 win over Wydad, without conceding, however, both unknown teams did have numerous chances against a poor Man City backline.
Rayan Ait-Nouri looked superb in the outings over in America but that was as an attacking option.
The defensive side of Rayan’s game was non-existent.
Kevin De Bruyne has left and headed to Italy joining Napoli.
Kyle Walker makes the short trip up the road to Turf Moor, joining the newly promoted team Burnley.
Ederson is still at the Etihad for the time being but could potentially join the other high-profile players who have left with the Brazil Stopper wanted by Galatasaray.
At the moment Jack Grealish is still a City player but would it be better for the lad’s career if JG moved on with a few clubs lining up for Jack’s signature including Everton, Tottenham and Napoli.
It is difficult to see Man City overhauling Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to become Premier League Champions again.
Betfred offer Man City at 11/4 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 1/5 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 4th
MANCHESTER UNITED
Opening fixture-
Arsenal Home
Check out the opening fixture.
Manchester United initially went early in the Transfer Window bringing in Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62 Million.
Then the deals stalled for a while, with the protracted negotiations for Bryan Mbeumo taking time but eventually getting over the line with United paying around £71 Million for the ex-Bee Forward.
Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all informed Manchester United they wanted to leave the club this summer, however, there are not many takers at the moment, mainly due to the vast wages these players are on.
Marcus did end up at Barcelona on a loan deal but as for Antony, Tyrell, Jadon and Alejandro, it really is a guessing game as to who wants them.
Antony could head back to Real Betis, Jadon could end up back at Borussia Dortmund and Alejandro could possibly end up at Chelsea.
There is plenty of time yet for those deals to be made.
It’s a good move for Mr Rashford who will get the chance to play for another iconic club and once again play in the Champions League.
Ruben has brought in a young Left-Back, the Paraguayan Diego Leon from Cerro Porteno, who has been given the shirt number of 30 and has played a few games in the pre-season friendlies.
Diego is supposedly only 18 years old but does look older than God’s dog.
The lad must have had Double Paraguayan Chronicles on a Friday whilst doing his paper round as a youngster.
Speaking of shirt numbers, Matheus Cunha has been given Marcus Rashford’s number 10.
RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is on Manchester United’s radar this summer and has reportedly stated that he would like to join United (who are not in the Champions League) rather than join Newcastle (who are in the Champions League).
The Slovenian Striker must have headed the ball too many times, there’s a reason the youngsters are banned from that particular art form.
Manchester United have signed former Mercedes F1 Senior Performance Engineer Michael Sansoni as the club’s Director of Data.
Manchester United said-
‘Mr Sansoni will be responsible for transforming the club’s capabilities in data and artificial intelligence, drawing on his experience in machine learning and advanced modelling in Formula 1.’
‘He has been tasked with establishing Manchester United as a data-led organisation, embedding predictive and AI-driven decision-making across football and the wider club.’
A couple of questions regarding that, can Michael play in Ruben’s 4-3-3 formation and whilst AI is here to stay, rightly or wrongly, can AI prevent Andre Onana from letting goals in?
The legendary Italian Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is on United’s wanted list with the Paris Saint-Germain Stopper considering a move, especially with the lad being in the final year of his contract.
A few high-profile players that have left Old Trafford are Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof, who one assumes the Red Devil faithful will wish all the best for the future.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 28/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 4/1 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 5th
NEWCASTLE
Opening fixture-
Aston Villa Away
Newcastle have done a great bit of business, bringing in the ex-Manchester United Forward Anthony Elanga, paying Nottingham Forest around £55 Million.
Anthony is one of the fastest players in the Premier League and recently recorded the 100 Metres in 10.93 seconds.
The problem with any football speedster is trying to utilise that ability.
There’s no point being able to run fast if there’s nowhere to run.
At Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espírito Santo set up his players to counterattack which allowed Anthony to use his pace, however, is Eddie Howe’s way of playing football, conducive to Anthony Elanga’s speed?
There’s been ongoing speculation that Alexander Isak is leaving St James Park, with Liverpool being the front runner to sign the Sweden Forward, however, for the time being, Alexander is still a Magpie.
It’s understood that Newcastle would want a fee North of £150 Million for Alexander.
Aaron Ramsdale is signed from Southampton initially on loan with the option of a permanent deal.
Aaron comes in as backup to Nick Pope.
It’s hoped that the ‘Curse of Aaron Ramsdale’ doesn’t befall the Magpies.
What’s meant by that is Old Aaron played for Bournemouth in the 2019/20 season and was relegated with the Cherries.
Then it was Sheffield United the season after, eventually being relegated at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
Arsenal took a chance on the Stopper and surprisingly weren’t relegated but eventually Aaron left and joined Southampton for the 2024/25 season.
Unfortunately, the curse continued at the Saints with Southampton being relegated last term.
Added to those Premier League relegation stats, Aaron was on loan at the League 2 club Chesterfield back in the 2017/18 season which saw Chesterfield relegated to the National League.
Get ready for the ‘Curse of Aaron Ramsdale’ Toon Army!
The Spanish youngster Antonio Cordero comes in from Malaga on a Free Transfer.
Antonio is also a speedy winger and will probably be used as back-up to the 2 Anthony’s, Gordon and Elanga.
Lloyd Kelly has joined Juventus with Newcastle receiving around £20 Million from the Italians.
Callum Wilson has left St James Park after 5 years, released by the club, so free to join whoever.
If Callum can stay clear of injuries, someone is going to get a great player with just the lad’s wages to pay.
It’s now just a matter of how much Newcastle can get for Mr Isak and whether there’s anyone left who can be brought in to St James Park.
Betfred offer Newcastle at 28/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Newcastle at 7/4 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 7th
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Opening fixture-
Brentford Home
Forest eventually finished 7th last season and gained entry into the Europa Conference League, which initially did irk the owner Evangelos Marinakis, who wanted to finish in the Champions League positions.
As it’s turned out, Nottingham Forest have been upgraded to the Europa League swapping places with Crystal Palace due to Palace’s dual ownership issues.
The strange anomaly in all of the dual ownership issues is that Evangelos Marinakis is a joint owner of Olympiacos and earlier in the season put his Forest shares in a holding trust when it was assumed that the Tricky Trees would make the Champions League along with Olympiacos.
This is something that one of the Crystal Palace owners, John Textor didn’t do, hence the reason that Palace have been demoted to the Europa Conference League and Forest upgraded to the Europa League.
Football, eh?
***There is the possibility that the Europa League and Conference League decisions for Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace could be reversed due to Palace going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, however, that decision won’t be known until around the 11th of August after this EveryTip column is published.***
Forest have brought in a couple of players from Botafogo with the Striker Igor Jesus joining for an undisclosed fee.
Igor did play in the recent Club World Cup scoring 2 goals including the solitary winner against Paris Saint-Germain.
Jair Cunha jumped on the same plane as Igor and headed over to the East Midlands Airport joining Forest for the same undisclosed fee.
Jair also turned out for Botafogo in the CWC and along with Igor, scored against Seattle Sounders.
Cherif Yaya comes in from the Portuguese club Rio Ave, again with an undisclosed tag next to the fee.
Cherif is probably one for the future and more than likely will join Forest’s Academy.
One notable departure is Anthony Elanga who heads up the road to St James Park joining Newcastle for around £55 Million.
Dan Ndoye signs from Bologna for a fee of around £31 Million.
Dan is a Forward hoping to slot into Anthony Elanga’s vacant position.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 150/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 20/1 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 8th
SUNDERLAND
Opening fixture-
West Ham Home
Sunderland are back in the Premier League after 8 years in the wilderness going from the Premier League to the Championship in the 2016/17 campaign then to League One the following season in 2018 and not returning back to the Championship until 2022.
Now it’s back in the Promised Land for the Black Cats following a Play-off victory over Sheffield United at Wembley back in May.
Jobe Bellingham, who helped Sunderland gain promotion has departed and headed to Borussia Dortmund following in the same footsteps as his Big Brother Jude.
The youngster Tom Watson who was also part of the promotion team has left for Brighton with the Seagulls paying £10 Million for the Striker.
Sunderland received around £32 Million from Dortmund for Jobe so that’s £42 Million in the kitty.
The ex-Arsenal Skipper Granit Xhaka heads to the Stadium of Light from Bayer Leverkusen.
It’s understood that the fee is in the region of £17 Million, with Sunderland paying an initial £13 Million plus up to £4 Million in add-ons.
Simon Adingra swaps places with Tom Watson coming in from Brighton for a fee of around £21 Million.
Habib Diarra comes in for Strasbourg with Sunderland paying £30 Million for the 21-year-old Senegalese Midfielder.
The French Midfielder Enzo Le Fee heads to the Stadium of Light from Roma for ‘Le Fee’ of £20 Million.
Noah Sadiki, who is a DR Congo Full-Back comes in from the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise, with Sunderland paying around £17 Million.
There’s a bit of experience heading to the North East with the ex-Atletico Madrid Defender Reinildo Mandava coming in on a Free Transfer.
Reinildo did have a run-out against Paris Saint-Germain at the recent Club World Cup before heading to Sunderland.
The ex-Club Brugge Winger Chemsdine Talbi comes in for a fee of £19 Million, so the £42 Million collected for Jobe and Tom has been spent.
Only time will tell whether that was money ‘well spent’.
Sunderland have brought in Robin Roefs possibly as the new Number One Goalkeeper, however, Stefan Ortega is a potential new signing.
The Netherlands U/21 International, who is 22 (don’t ask!) comes in for a fee of around £11 Million.
The promotion-winning Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson has been injured throughout the summer so Double R might just start the opener against West Ham.
There’s also the possibility that Anthony could be sold on, with a number of suitors interested.
Betfred offer Sunderland at 2000/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Sunderland at Odds On 4/11 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 19th
TOTTENHAM
Opening fixture-
Burnley Home
Ange Postecoglou achieved the stated aim of winning a trophy in his second season by winning the Europa League thus gaining entry into next season’s Champions League.
Unfortunately, for Big Ange, that wasn’t enough for the Tottenham hierarchy who sacked the Aussie and replaced Ange with Thomas Frank.
Good luck TF!
Tottenham have brought in Mohammed Kudos for £55 Million from their London neighbours West Ham.
That will go down well with the Bubbles who do like a moan.
Mathys Tel signs on a permanent deal after initially being on loan from Bayern Munich with Tottenham paying £30 Million for the Striker.
Kevin Danso signed a loan deal in February but now comes in permanently with Tottenham paying around £21 Million to Lens for the Centre-Back’s services.
Tottenham have paid the Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale £5 Million for the services of Centre-Back Kota Takai.
Tottenham have brought in a young Croatian Centre-Back from Hajduk Split called Luka Vuskovic with the fee being undisclosed.
There’s a theme developing regarding Centre-Backs.
The ex-Fulham Midfielder Joao Palhinha is a possible target after not cementing a place in the Bayern Munich team.
Spurs could take the Portuguese player on loan for the season.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has left Tottenham heading to Marseille with Spurs recouping £17 Million.
Fraser Forster and Sergio Reguilon have both been released.
Sergio did have a few games on loan at Brentford under Thomas Frank but must not have impressed Thomas too much and has been allowed to leave.
The highly rated young Striker Mikey Moore, who is 18 years old at the beginning of August, has joined Rangers in the Scottish Premier League on a season-long loan.
Betfred offer Tottenham at 50/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Tottenham at 5/1 to Finish in the Top 4.
Premier League Finish 9th
WEST HAM
Opening fixture-
Sunderland Away
Jean-Clair Todibo has had a season on loan at the London Stadium but now joins on a permanent deal with West Ham paying the French club Nice £35 Million.
Nice!
The youngster Daniel Cummings, who is a Striker, comes in from Celtic on a Free Transfer.
El Hadji Malick Diouf heads to the London Stadium from Slavia Prague with the Hammers paying around £19 Million for the services of the Senegalese footballer who can play as a Left-Back or Left-Wing-Back depending on how Graham Potter wants to set up his Bubbles.
Kyle Walker-Peters has joined West Ham after his contract expired at Southampton.
Betfred offer West Ham at 500/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer West Ham at 11/2 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 15th
WOLVES
Opening fixture-
Man City Home
As mentioned earlier, Wolves face Man City in the opener, meaning an immediate return to Molineux for Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Will the Gold and Black faithful give Rayan a good ovation or a bit of abuse for leaving?
One thinks the latter will be the case.
That said, Wolves did receive £37 Million for Rayan which is a profit of £27 Million after Wolves paid Angers £10 Million for the Left-Back back in 2021.
The Norwegian Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is signed on a permanent deal from Celta Vigo for an undisclosed fee after spending last season at Molineux on loan from the Spaniards.
Jorgen scored 14 goals for Wolves in those 35 games on loan.
Fernando Lopez also comes in from Celta Vigo for a fee of around £20 Million.
Fer, as the lad likes to be called, is an Attacking Midfielder who will give Wolves options on the right side.
The Colombian Striker Jhon Arias comes in for Fluminense for £15 Million.
Jhon (and it’s spelt that way instead of the conventional John) played for Fluminense in the recent Club World Cup, scoring 1 goal against Ulsan HD.
Rayan Ait-Nouri departs, as does Matheus Cunha who joins Manchester United, with Wolves getting £63 Million.
So that’s £100 Million Wolves have received from the Manchester clubs for the 2 players.
Some might say, that’s not a bad couple of deals the Molineux outfit have done.
Betfred offer Wolves at 1000/1 to Win the 2024/25 Premier League.
Betfred offer Wolves at 10/3 to be Relegated.
Premier League Finish 16th
Potential 2025/26 Premier League Final Standings-
1- Liverpool
2- Chelsea
3- Arsenal
4- Man City
5- Manchester United
6- Aston Villa
7- Newcastle
8- Nottingham Forest
9- Tottenham
10- Brighton
11- Bournemouth
12- Everton
13- Fulham
14- Crystal Palace
15- West Ham
16- Wolves
17- Leeds United
18- Brentford
19- Sunderland
20- Burnley
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