[ad_1]
Alan Shearer joins Gary Lineker and Ian Wright in the match of the day at 22:20 BST on Saturday on BBC One and the BBC Sport website to watch the highlights of four Premier League matches. You can also listen to Shearer with a preview of the new season from 12: 00-12: 25 Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Live, which then has live commentary from Crystal Palace v Southampton at 3pm, the first of its 140 Premier League commentary in 2020-21.
Here he looks at the contenders in the title race and the prospects for his former club, Newcastle.
It’s only been 42 days since the FA Cup final, so it doesn’t really look like we’ve been out, but we’re free again with the first game of the season on Saturday, and I can’t wait.
This is just the beginning of a fascinating few months and the race for the Premier League title is going to be much closer than it was last time, when Liverpool fixed it for him for Christmas.
I have gone with Manchester city To be champions this time, but it is very difficult to make predictions now about what will happen as the transfer window does not close until October 5.
If anyone needs some proof of the huge difference one or two transfers can make, they need look no further than Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United.
When he joined United in late January, they had just been booed at Old Trafford after losing to Burnley, their fourth loss in seven games. If I had said then that United would go on an unbeaten streak of 17 games, I would have laughed at the study.
But the arrival of Fernandes transformed the entire team, not just because of his own skill and ability to find a killer pass, but because his presence seemed to add an additional 10% to all the other United players as well.
That kind of impact is what every team wants from the signings that have already made this summer, or those that they hope are yet to come.
‘There are still doubts about the City defense’
I thought Liverpool They would have been more active by now in terms of signing players from the squad, but there is still time for that to happen, and there is also strong talk that they will get Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
It would be an excellent purchase. It would take some player to join Liverpool and go straight to their starting eleven and improve it, but they would if they can get it.
However, when I talk about game-changing transfers, nothing compares to how special it would have been to have seen Lionel Messi in the Premier League.
It’s a real shame he didn’t come to Manchester City for some reason. Instead, Pep Guardiola will have to carry on with the firepower of Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Jesús and Raheem Sterling, which is going to be difficult for him!
Seriously though, I expect a great reaction from City as they try to regain the title.
The great unknown on Guardiola’s side continues to be his defense, and we will have to wait and see if they have solved it. They just have to improve there, but I hope they spend more money to do it.
Aymeric Laporte, who missed much of last season, is back in shape and Nathan Ake is a good signing, but I can understand why they are still linked to more reinforcements in that department.
Can Chelsea or Man Utd challenge too?
City are not the only team that will think they can close the gap with Liverpool. Chelsea They have already spent £ 200 million, so it is clear what their intentions are.
Frank Lampard had a very positive first season in charge given the circumstances, with the club under transfer embargo, but now that the money has been wasted, the level of expectations changes.
Suddenly their goal shifts from hoping they can be in the top four, to demanding that they challenge for the title. Otherwise you don’t spend that much money but while I’m sure they will improve, I still think winning the league will be beyond them.
United will also be looking up the table after their great streak to finish third, but improving that finish will be extremely difficult for them as things stand.
I’m not sure they have the depth to sustain a challenge, although I hope one or two more signings will go with Donny van de Beek and if Jadon Sancho is one of them I could understand if the fans were starting to get excited.
It will be good to see United even if they don’t get Sancho, but I’m really interested to see how their goalkeeping situation unfolds because we could see a real battle for number one between David de Gea and Dean Henderson.
Is Newcastle improving, finally?
| 1. Man City | 2. Liverpool | 3. Chelsea | 4. Man Utd |
The title race is really between Liverpool and City, but the fight for the top four will be interesting in itself. Many teams will like it.
Leicester and Wolves I’ll be there again and I won’t discount Tottenham, either. They will be better organized than they were last season and, in Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, José Mourinho has made a couple of very astute signings although they are not necessarily glamorous purchases.
Arsenal They are another team that seems to be going places, and you can’t help but be impressed by what Mikel Arteta has done since he took over late last year.
They have won the FA Cup and now the Community Shield and when you look to their side you can see that they look much tighter and are a suitable unit when facing the best teams.
However, it’s not just transfers that can change the mood of a club. Keeping a player can be huge and what could be key for the Gunners and where they go from here is what happens next with their star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsenal fans are sitting and waiting, desperate for Aubameyang to sign his new contract. I know he has a year left on his contract, but it would be a great boost if he committed his future to the club.
As for my old team Newcastle, well, we’re not going to be in the mix for the Champions League places, but there have been some signs that things are possibly looking up at last.
The signings Steve Bruce has made so far are definitely encouraging – we desperately needed a goalscorer, but the Callum Wilson purchase has covered him. He is a player I think very well of and is capable of scoring goals to keep us out of another relegation battle.
Our top scorer in the league last season was a midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey, with six goals, so it was pretty obvious that our attack was somewhere we needed to improve. Ryan Fraser will help in that area as well.
Callum is 28 and a proven Premier League scorer – a few years ago he was valued at around £ 30-40 million, but Newcastle got it for £ 20 million, which is a steal. If he gets in shape, he could be part of the England team again too, hopefully anyway.
He contacted me before joining to ask about the club and the area. As you can imagine, I was very positive about it.
In fact, it would have taken him to St James’ Park to sign his contract, if he had wanted one!
Alan Shearer was talking to Chris Bevan of BBC Sport.
