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It is July which means that English domestic football is only just over a month away but it also signals the start of pre season and the opening of the transfer window where there will be fresh rumours all over the internet. The first day has already seen Ibrahimovic move to Manchester United, Xhaka move to Arsenal and Nolito to Manchester City. But it also gives the chance for the newly promoted sides to strengthen their teams for the new season.
Burnley won the Championship last season meaning they bounced straight back up from a relegation the year before and will want to last more than a year in the Premier League this time. For Middlesbrough this will be their first Premier League season for 7 years when their 11 year stay finished in 2009 and after Karanka’s men worked tirelessly hard with all the drama of last season, they won’t want their hard work to go to waste. Finally Hull City, like Burnley, bounced straight back up after a relegation in the previous season by beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the play-off final in late May. Steve Bruce will be looking to improve from last season as they had a patch of bad form which cost them an automatic place.
All three teams will need to improve in one place or another and they will all be motivated to survive by the giant cash pot that will be over £100 million for every team this year. The financial implications makes this year’s Premier League the biggest ever money pot for any team to win. Any team that comes up from the Championship from next season onward will find it hard to survive as the financial differences will be too severe. Here is where Burnley, Middlesbrough and Hull need to improve in order to stay up.
Burnley
Last season, Burnley were much of an all-round team in the Championship and that is why they won the league. They scored the joint most goals in the league with 72 goals and conceded the joint second least amount of goals with 35 goals. It is hard to see where they need to improve but with Joey Barton moving to Rangers, they will need a new holding midfielder to take over from Barton as they will have to be strong down the centre of the pitch.
A speedy winger may be needed alongside their fast full backs. Where Burnley had an excellent striker who could finish off chances well, there weren’t very many chances created as they only had 350 chances whilst Hull and Middlesbrough both had over 450. Keepers in the Premier League are much better and as Gray, though a great striker, lacks Premier League experience and can’t always be relied on to convert as many chances as he did last season so they will need new ways of creating chances.
Possible signings
Rio Mavuba-CM-Losc Lille- Mavuba had a good season in Ligue 1 last season for Lille and proved to be a solid holding central midfielder which made it hard for the other teams. He will be a good replacement for Barton and won’t cost too much.
Gonzalo Castro-LM-Real Sociedad- Castro is a left winger who likes to control the left hand side in a game, he is quick on the ball and can provide crucial chances in a game with great crosses. He will fit right in the Burnley set up and will slot straight in the squad.
Martin Stranzl-CB-Broussia Mochengladbach-Stanzl has had a good Euros with Austria proving to be a solid defender though the Championships weren’t the best overall for them. He has impressed at the top level of German football and will be a good player in the Premier League.
In’s an Out’s
In: No one to date
Out: Joey Barton-Rangers-free
Luke Conlan-Morecambe-free
Matt Gilks-Rangers-free
Middlesbrough
Last season, Middlesbrough’s problem was a lack of goals scored and this will be the main area of improvement this season. Defensively Boro were solid only conceding 31 goals and keeping 22 clean sheets out of 46 however they only managed to scored 63 goals which is over 10 less than the other 2 teams around them. Middlesbrough can’t rely on their defence keeping them in the game in every game next season and they will need a new striker. The two out and out strikers that they have are Nugent who has played in the Premier League but is yet to impress as well as Rhodes who has never played at this level before.
They will also need cover for various positions to add depth and to cover positions for any injuries or suspensions that may happen throughout the season. They have already bought Fischer who is an attacking midfielder and Espinaosa who is a CB and they have struck a deal for Ramirez who is waiting for a work permit but they will also need cover for both full backs and also another versatile winger to add cover for Adomah and Downing.
Possible signings
Mario Gaspar-Villarreal-RB- Gaspar had a good season for the La Liga side last year and as he is a speedy right back he will fit right into Boro’s set up. He is strong enough to keep the right hand side free from possible threat but also fast enough to help the wingers out.
Fernando Llorente-Sevilla-ST- Llorente has already been linked with the Premier League side and he will definitely provide the goals which Boro will need to stay up. He will come at a €15 mil but he is definitely worth the money that they will have to pay for him.
Felipe Anderson-Lazio-LM-Anderson is a pacey winger and will be able to link up with George Friend on the left hand side easily. He can also play as a CAM though with the potential addition of Gaston Ramirez, he wouldn’t be needed in this position.
In’s and Out’s
In: Viktor Fischer-Ajax-£3.8 mil
Bernado Espinosa-Sporting Gijon-Free
Marten De Roon-Atalanta-£11.7 mil
Jordan McGhee-Hearts-Loan
Out: Jonathan Woodgate-released
Damia Abella-released
Rhys Williams-Perth Glory-free
Hull City
Hull lacked in consistency last season and will require another strong striker if they wish to stay up this season. Though Abel Hernandez managed to score 20 goals last season, he dried up during February,March and April and Hull found it hard to score. If Hernandez finds it hard to score this season then Hull could find survival hard unless they get another striker as their other striker is Diomande who is yet to impress at Hull.
Like the other two teams, they will also need to add depth to strengthen their squad and provide competition for the other players that they have in their squad. Hull don’t have an out and out LM and only 1 good RB so there will need to add players in this area in order to impress in the Premier League. They will also want to look into getting a new keeper as their current one, McGregor, looked a bit shaky in goal and wasn’t overly confident in goal towards the end of last season.
Possible Signing’s
Islam Slimani-ST-Sporting Lisbon- Slimani is an Algerian striker who scored 31 goals for Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon last year and could impress in the Premier League. Slimani will provide crucial back up and competition for Hernandez and will impress.
Elsei Hysaj- RB-Napoli- Hysaj is a right back who had a good Euro’s for Albania after impressing in the Serie A for Napoli. He is fast and will help provide vital chances on the right and side as well as being strong and solid on the right hand side.
Paul-Georges Ntep-LM-Stade Rennais- The speedy French winger created many chances for Stade Rennais last season and even scored 2 goals for them. He will fit in the Hull set-up well and he would be a vital player and he has the potential to be a great player at only 23 years old.
In’s and Out’s
In:No one yet
Out: Sone Aluko-Released
Ryan Taylor-Released
Ben Clappison-York City-Free
All stats found on squawka.com, signings found on Sky Sports and they are all correct to 14:00 on the 5th July 2016.
