Despite the appeal and excitement the Premier League provides, there are fears that Manchester City and Liverpool will continue to dominate, threatening the reputation of the tournament as a top-flight tournament.
The rest of the “Big Six” intend to close the gap and get back into the game at least when they return to play on Friday, with results still difficult to predict.
Manchester City have won four titles in the past five seasons, while Liverpool got a taste of victory in 2020, the only time they’ve stopped Pep Guardiola’s side.
Since Chelsea’s coronation in 2017, a year after Leicester City’s surprise title triumph, the game has not had a winner outside of two clubs in the north-west of England.
Conte makes a strong comeback
Chelsea’s success has come under coach Antonio Conte, who has now moved to north London with Tottenham and is eager to threaten the dominance of Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Tottenham finished fourth last season and qualified for the Champions League, but the better integration of the team with the Italian manager and the wise choice of the manager during the transfer period gives them a feeling that they can go further this season.
Brazilian Richarlison joined Tottenham from Everton as part of a squad that includes England captain Harry Kane and South Korean Son Heung-min, who was the league’s top scorer last season. Son Heung-min is on par with Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, scoring 23 goals.
Croatian Ivan Perisic, who has partnered with Conte at Inter, will give Spurs an extra boost, while Brighton’s Yves Bisoma will energize the midfield.
Chelsea will not give up
Chelsea and coach Thomas Tuchel finished third last season as they try to build on their domestic 2021 Champions League crown but with former club Russian Roman Abramovich sanctioned , the attempt failed.
With a new group of owners now at the helm of Stamford Bridge’s operations, led by American Todd Polly, Tuchel has begun tweaking his squad.
Romelu Lukaku’s unremarkable return came to an end soon after, when he was loaned back to Inter Milan and replaced by English striker Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have left their positions at the back of the Chelsea defence, but the arrival of Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli will ease the burden on the squad.
Amazing move by Arsenal
Arsenal have been slow to develop under Spanish boss Mikel Arteta and finished fifth last season, with the manager’s impressive moves in the transfer market increasing his chances of returning to the top four.
Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus and Ukrainian Aleksandr Zinchenko have joined from Manchester City and are expected to boost Arteta’s attacking capabilities.
Fabio Vieira, 22, from Porto will be the candidate to back the young midfielder.
Manchester United doubts
Manchester United were supposed to make big changes this summer after a difficult season, with Ole Solskjaer losing his place and interim boss Ralph Rangnick failing to improve the squad situation.
Doubts remain over whether Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at the club and the expected transfer revolution has not happened.
New coach Eric Ten Hag has brought under former club Ajax centre-back Lisandro Martinez and Feyenoord left-back Tyrrell Marasia, while Denmark’s Christian Eise Rickerson joined the team on a free transfer after returning to fitness at Brentford.
But Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, the club’s main target in the transfer window, remains at Barcelona despite Manchester United’s efforts to bring him to Old Trafford.
Hope for Newcastle United
Backed by Saudi investors, Newcastle United are hoping to compete with West Ham and Leicester City for a place in the Big Six, despite a lack of activity in the transfer market, contrary to expectations.
Three emerging clubs, Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, will be content to stay in the spotlight for another year. Nottingham Forest, which returned after 23 years, was the most active club during the transfer period, and its most prominent deal was the recruitment of striker Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.