The Summer Break is coming to an end and the Premier League is all set to start in 2 days. Out of the 20 teams that will be competing in the English top flight, there are a few teams that have been quite busy in the Transfer market. West Ham, Aston Villa and Chelsea, both have made considerable additions to their squad. And while winning the league will be a distant dream for either team, all three teams will definitely be battling it out for the top 6 spots with all of them capable of achieving it.
Chelsea Football Club, ever since coming under the ownership of Todd Boehly, has been spending recklessly on players. The American owner since taking over the London club, has spent a total of 1.32 bn on buying players. This figure alone ranks in 10th place in the list of, “Money spent on transfer fees in the history of English football”. Just a reminder that it’s been only 2 years since Todd Boehly bought Chelsea.
Currently, the Chelsea Squad has a total of seventeen players out of the 43 players in total, who are on a contract expiring in 2030 or later. 43 players in the first team is absolutely ridiculous. What’s more concerning for Chelsea is that except for a handful of players, all others are unproven on the big stage and aren’t really all that differential.
On the other side of London is West Ham. The ‘Hammers’, have bought in quality players to strengthen positions which needed strengthening. Guido Rodrigues, Maximilian Kilman, Niclas Füllkrug, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. On paper, West Ham United’s first team doesn’t look any weaker than that of Chelsea’s. With their new head coach in Julian Lopetugui, West Ham stands a good chance that they finish over Chelsea.
Last season, Aston Villa under manager Unai Emery finished inside the top 4 of the Premier League. This season, the Birmingham-based club will play Champions League football after over 40 years. With a very capable squad already at hand, Emery has made two big additions to the squad: defensive midfielder Amadou Onana, who is an absolute steal, and the German fullback Ian Maatsen.
Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer are two other young talents that Aston Villa managed to get their hands on. With their already strong core in place, Villa will pose a huge hurdle for Chelsea in their hustle to get top 4. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Aston Villa will finish not just above Chelsea but even maybe 2-3 places above them this season.
Chelsea might have the funds to fund all their “Quantity buys” in the transfer market, but it’s Aston Villa and West Ham United who have had a much better summer transfer window owing to the sheer “Quality” they have managed to add to their sides.
