In this instalment of Premier League Transfer Window Preview we will be talking about: Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Liverpool- Liverpool surprised everybody last season with their second spot and just missing out on the crown.But since then star man Luis Suarez has left for Barcelona and it's a bit of a case of selling an smart phone and buying a phone, a camera, a clock, a calendar, a games console and a music player. So since they have bought: Divock Origi, Dejan Lovren, Javier Manquillo, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Rickie Lambert and Lazar Markovic. But Liverpool still need that little something extra. Suarez last season was creator and goal scorer and talisman and there does not seem to be a stand out player to win them the tough games when people are not playing their best. Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema would be perfect as he has a real eye for goal and is also a big dominant striker who can win balls in the air to play along side Sturridge. Though Real are unlikely to sell cheaply as Benzema is the only big name recognised striker they posses.They should try and get a solid central defender as they do not seem strong enough at the back with the same players as last season. They should get Athletico Madrid's Uruguayan centre back Diego Godin or Bayer Leverkusen's Turkish centre back Omir Toprak, who had a superb season in the Bundesliga last time out.
Manchester City- The current champions have so far hardly strengthened upon last seasons success and puts me in mind of the last time they won the title and didn't strengthen upon the victories and were poor and had no cutting edge in crucial moments which handed the title to neighbours United. With others buying like crazy around them Manchester City need to buy a big name with the remaining money they are allowed to spend. With the pull of being on the big table of Europe and being Premier League champions they are an attractive prospect for any player not playing for Real or Barcelona. The fault in their squad last season was defensively. Without Kompany City looked easy to score against and even Pablo Zabaleta had a poor season. Martin Demichelis had moments where he looked good but not often enough and Matia Nastasic has still not got near his potential. They need a rock of a centre back or a full back as Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov have both been abysmal for City for almost their whole stay. German World Cup winner Mats Hummels would be ideal, as in my eyes, he is the best centre back in the world, or Juventus centre back Georgio Chiellini is also a proven hard man at the back. At full back Barcelona and Brazil full back Dani Alves is unsettled and vying for a move elsewhere, or Everton's Leighton Baines is also a good option and is experienced at Premier League level.
Manchester United- Last season was a disaster for United as they ended up finishing outside of the top four for the first time in a while. But now pride has been restored to the club after a great pre-season with new manage, Louis Van Gaal. His new training techniques have made an impression on the players who now look more motivated. He has publicly expressed his need for a new centre back and rumours have surfaced about Mats Hummels, but I find it unlikely that he will move to a club outside of the Champions League. They will need more realistic targets, players who are not competing on Europe's big table this season. Like Inter Milan's Andrea Ranocchia, who is a young talent who will not be competing in the Champions League. Or Schalke's Kyriakos Papadopoulos, the young Greek has bags of potential and is likely to agree to join United.
Newcastle United- Last season started off very well but they lost star player Yohan Cabaye and the wheels fell off the cart and they dropped back very far and very quickly. So an obvious area for improvement is in centre midfield. A creative player to set up chances for the forwards. A good choice would be Wolfsburg and Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne, although unlikely to want to relocate so soon after signing from Chelsea in January. Although Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian midfielder Bernard would also be a good choice although possibly expensive.
Liverpool- Liverpool surprised everybody last season with their second spot and just missing out on the crown.But since then star man Luis Suarez has left for Barcelona and it's a bit of a case of selling an smart phone and buying a phone, a camera, a clock, a calendar, a games console and a music player. So since they have bought: Divock Origi, Dejan Lovren, Javier Manquillo, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Rickie Lambert and Lazar Markovic. But Liverpool still need that little something extra. Suarez last season was creator and goal scorer and talisman and there does not seem to be a stand out player to win them the tough games when people are not playing their best. Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema would be perfect as he has a real eye for goal and is also a big dominant striker who can win balls in the air to play along side Sturridge. Though Real are unlikely to sell cheaply as Benzema is the only big name recognised striker they posses.They should try and get a solid central defender as they do not seem strong enough at the back with the same players as last season. They should get Athletico Madrid's Uruguayan centre back Diego Godin or Bayer Leverkusen's Turkish centre back Omir Toprak, who had a superb season in the Bundesliga last time out.
Manchester City- The current champions have so far hardly strengthened upon last seasons success and puts me in mind of the last time they won the title and didn't strengthen upon the victories and were poor and had no cutting edge in crucial moments which handed the title to neighbours United. With others buying like crazy around them Manchester City need to buy a big name with the remaining money they are allowed to spend. With the pull of being on the big table of Europe and being Premier League champions they are an attractive prospect for any player not playing for Real or Barcelona. The fault in their squad last season was defensively. Without Kompany City looked easy to score against and even Pablo Zabaleta had a poor season. Martin Demichelis had moments where he looked good but not often enough and Matia Nastasic has still not got near his potential. They need a rock of a centre back or a full back as Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov have both been abysmal for City for almost their whole stay. German World Cup winner Mats Hummels would be ideal, as in my eyes, he is the best centre back in the world, or Juventus centre back Georgio Chiellini is also a proven hard man at the back. At full back Barcelona and Brazil full back Dani Alves is unsettled and vying for a move elsewhere, or Everton's Leighton Baines is also a good option and is experienced at Premier League level.
Manchester United- Last season was a disaster for United as they ended up finishing outside of the top four for the first time in a while. But now pride has been restored to the club after a great pre-season with new manage, Louis Van Gaal. His new training techniques have made an impression on the players who now look more motivated. He has publicly expressed his need for a new centre back and rumours have surfaced about Mats Hummels, but I find it unlikely that he will move to a club outside of the Champions League. They will need more realistic targets, players who are not competing on Europe's big table this season. Like Inter Milan's Andrea Ranocchia, who is a young talent who will not be competing in the Champions League. Or Schalke's Kyriakos Papadopoulos, the young Greek has bags of potential and is likely to agree to join United.
Newcastle United- Last season started off very well but they lost star player Yohan Cabaye and the wheels fell off the cart and they dropped back very far and very quickly. So an obvious area for improvement is in centre midfield. A creative player to set up chances for the forwards. A good choice would be Wolfsburg and Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne, although unlikely to want to relocate so soon after signing from Chelsea in January. Although Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian midfielder Bernard would also be a good choice although possibly expensive.