With the 2022/23 Premier League season around the corner, it’s time to look at the five biggest storylines looming over the biggest domestic league in the world.
Whether it’s the battle of the next generation of world-class strikers or the tense situation involving one of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League and a new manager, there’s going to be plenty of thrilling storylines set to play out in the upcoming season.
Haaland vs Nunez
It’s the start of a new era in the Premier League, as the new generation takes centre stage with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez both set to play crucial roles in their side’s respective title aspirations.
Starting off with the reigning champions Manchester City, who have finally found a replacement to one of the greatest strikers in the league’s history, Sergio Aguero with Haaland.
After departing City at the end of 2020/21 season, Aguero left a massive hole in the City attack and one that looked too big to overcome for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Guardiola played the majority of last season without a traditional number nine and managed City to another Premier League title, whilst having the most goals scored in the competition.
As the summer transfer window approached, City looked set for a minor clean-out of the playing roster to open up the potential room to sign their first striker since Aguero’s departure.
When Haaland became available from Borussia Dortmund, the most obvious move seemed to be a switch to the blue side of Manchester – a place where his father, Alfie spent three years of his career.
Erling followed in father’s footsteps and arrived in Manchester with an immediate expectation to bag plenty of goals.
Haaland enters the 2022/23 season as the betting favourite to take out the golden boot, but has shown signs of growing pains in preseason for City.
The Norweigian-native has drawn early comparisons to Darwin Nunez, after both secured big money moves to the Premier League this season.
Nunez arrived in Merseyside on the heels of a breakout season at Benfica in the Portuguese League, scoring 34 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions.
The 23-year-old looks destined to slide straight into the starting line-up for Liverpool, taking the place of the recently departed Sadio Mane.
After netting a goal in the Community Shield, Nunez took the first advantage in the battle with Haaland, as some began to question if City had signed the right prospect.
With both players having similar careers to get to the spot they are today, it’s easy to see why these two will remain tightly aligned in conversations for the foreseeable future.
The first season will be critical for both players’ success at the highest level of football and it looks like Nunez has the upper-hand heading into the matchday one.
Will Ronaldo stay and be committed to the ten Hag rebuild?
It was undoubtedly the biggest story of the summer in football, with Cristiano Ronaldo breaking the hearts of Manchester United fans around the world after handing in a transfer request in a bid to play in the Champions League this season.
Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford last year was a success, with 24 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions, whilst becoming United’s only real threat in attack.
With Erik ten Hag signing on for the 2022/23 season, many questioned if Ronaldo’s lack of off-ball movement would make him an odd-man out in the Dutchman’s high off-ball pressing style.
Within weeks of ten Hag’s reign, Ronaldo handed in a transfer request and had a healthy absence from preseason training, citing family issues for his time away from the side.
After shopping himself around to some of the top clubs in Europe to no success, Ronaldo was resigned to returning to Manchester just two weeks before the start of the season.
The new United manager has been adamant that Ronaldo is a crucial part of his plans, after many reports of discussions between the pair leading to no resolution.
The latest twist in the saga came in a friendly game against Rayo Vallecano, where Ronaldo was taken off at halftime and subsequently left the game during the break.
Erik ten Hag publicly admitted this was not acceptable, leading to speculation that a divorce between Ronaldo and the club is imminent.
However, with little to no interest from clubs in the Champions League this year, the greatest goal scorer in that competition may have no other choice but to stay with the Red Devils for one more season, as he is contracted to do.
If Ronaldo stays past the August 31st transfer deadline, United’s hopes of a top-four finish may heavily revolve around the relationship between the manager and star player.
Six into four
With all of the ‘top six’ clubs all making major moves in the transfer window, the race for top four is set to be one of the most competitive in recent history.
Unless a major disaster strikes, Manchester City and Liverpool will more than likely take up the top two spots on the ladder, leaving the other four clubs in a dog-fight for the final two spots.
Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and United will all be expected by their owners to finish in the top four, with the name and lucrative Champions League money being a massive motivating factor.
Last year it was Chelsea who spent the majority of the season in third behind City and Liverpool, as a three-way battle between Arsenal, Spurs and United ensued for the final spot in the Champions League.
It was Tottenham who made a late-season surge under Antonio Conte that ended up taking out fourth spot, leaving United and Arsenal in the Europa League spots.
Although no manager’s job seems to be in any serious danger if any of the aforementioned clubs failed to make the top four, there will be serious implications both financially and amongst the playing squad.
Just take Manchester United for example, missing out on Champions League severely reduced their transfer budget and has all but ruled them out of the race for new signings like Frenkie de Jong – not to mention Ronaldo’s desire to leave without Champions League.
Each side has their own flaws that could hinder their chances of a top four finish, starting with Chelsea who enter this season without a proven goal scorer.
Tottenham have made a lot of good moves, but it’s yet to be seen if Antonio Conte can keep his players engaged for the whole season.
Arsenal look rejuvenated across the board, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding if their defence is able to keep up with the lethal attacks of the top clubs.
United feel like the odd team out but have looked improved in preseason, but with the Ronaldo saga looking likely to loom over the club for the majority of the season it’ll be a massive test for ten Hag to get the Red Devils back into the Champions League
Only four teams can finish in the Champions League places and with six teams all preparing for a massive season with big ambitions, it may very well go down to the wire with two unfortunate teams playing in the Europa League next season.
Is it doomsday for a couple of ‘big clubs’?
Last season’s relegation race was one of the most thrilling storylines in the later stages of the season, with Everton and Leeds United both narrowly avoiding the drop-zone.
Everton hold the impressive record of being one of only six sides to never have been relegated from the Premier League in its near 30-year existence.
The Merseyside-based club endured one of their worst seasons in recent memory, with both Rafa Benetiz and Frank Lampard struggling to manage the team with injuries and squad chemistry plaguing the club’s season – leaving them to fight for their Premier League survival.
Everton haven’t been relegated from the English top-flight since the 1950/51 season and they look likely to be in another relegation battle this year.
The Toffees had an interesting transfer window after agreeing to sell one of their best players in Richarlison to Tottenham, they failed to replace him with a player of similar quality.
The signing of Dwight McNeil on a free from Burnley adds some squad depth, but with the recent injury history of Dominic Calvert-Lewin its clear to see Everton need more genuine goal scorers.
Everton’s struggles in front of goals was one of the reasons they found themselves towards the bottom of the table, finishing in third for least amount of goals scored.
Frank Lampard’s job will be under pressure if the results don’t go his way in the early stages of the season and Everton may yet again bet fighting for it’s Premier League life.
The other ‘big club’ that could be under serious pressure at the bottom of the table is Leeds United, who failed to improve their squad after losing its two best players.
Although injuries plagued both of their seasons, the loss of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha cannot be understated and with a fresh manager in Jesse Marsch, Leeds will be under pressure from the first game of the season.
Leeds will welcome back Patrick Bamford after missing the majority of last season, but the attacking spark of Raphinha will now come from Brendan Aaronson who showed plenty of potential at RB Salzburg last year.
Although he is unproven in an elite domestic league, Aaaronson joins Leeds with a lot of high praise and his relationship with fellow countrymen and manager Jesse Marsch will be helpful in the American’s adjustment to Premier League football.
The financial troubles that clouded the club for many years look to be well behind them, but with another relegation in 2022/23 it could spell disaster for the historic club.
The one thing that could play into Leeds’ advantage is that two of the relegation spots look destined to be taken up by Bournemouth and Fulham, giving them a much better chance at surviving.
Leeds success will heavily rely on if Marsch can improve his sides’ defence and if they can carry on in midfield without Phillips.
With a bad start for both teams we could be looking at a repeat of last season and it could be doomsday for two of England’s most historic clubs.
How will the season look before and after the World Cup?
The 2022 Qatar World Cup is set to take place from mid-November to mid-December, leaving the Premier League and most football leagues in a tricky spot as they will all have to pause mid-season.
Although this is common practice for the majority of other European leagues, England is not one to stop for the holidays, with the Boxing Day and New Years matches becoming some of the most famous fixtures on the calendar.
The Premier League is currently scheduled to start the World Cup break just three days before the start of the tournament before returning on Boxing Day.
Every Premier League side is all but guaranteed to have a representative in Qatar, so the question remains, will players begin to ease off in the weeks leading up to the World Cup.
With some of the older players who may be experiencing their last global tournament, it seems like a no-brainer to reduce the workload in order to give it all for their home nation.
Players including Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo, Hugo Lloris, Thiago Silva and Jordan Henderson will more than likely look to preserve their bodies in preparation for Qatar.
These players all serve a crucial purpose in their squad and will need to be at their best for the majority of the season in order for their respective clubs to achieve their preseason goals.
The aftermath of the World Cup could significantly affect the final stages of the season, with injuries and fatigue looking more than inevitable.
The clubs towards the bottom of the table will more than likely feel the greater effects of the World Cup, as one major injury during the tournament could all but relegate a side under bad circumstances.
World Cups are destined to have players injured and return to their clubs with consistent problems as the season progresses, but with a break that could be under ten days for some players, squad depth and management will become one of the most crucial factors in success.
It’s tough to determine what the real effects of a mid-season World Cup will be on the teams, but as seen with the Asian Cup and African Cup of Nations, players have shown a positive history of returning to their clubs looking fit for the final period of the season.
