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After a quite brilliant World Cup ended on Sunday with France as world champions, all eyes have rightly turned to the transfer window. There are less than four weeks left for Premier League teams to get all their business done, and there is an awful lot still to do.
It looks like we are set for yet another unpredictable Premier League season. Manchester City ran away with the league title last year, with many claiming they were up there with the best teams that we have seen in England.
This season, teams will be looking to close that gap on City. Liverpool have already spent big on Naby Keita and Fabinho, while there could be more to come in the shape of Alisson from Roma. Manchester United paid around £50 million to sign Fred from Shakhtar, and you get the feeling that there is more to come from Jose Mourinho’s men this summer.
In London, both Arsenal and Chelsea have turned to new managers to change their fortunes, and both look to have done good business in the transfer window, and they will still want more. Arsenal turned to Unai Emery after Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign came to an end, while Chelsea went for Maurizio Sarri, after sacking Antonio Conte.
One thing we haven’t seen much of yet in the Premier League is strikers on the move. It is usually the number nines who demand the highest transfer fees, as it is often them who make the difference in the big moments. All the rumours in recent days have revolved around possible foreign imports, with Gonzalo Higuain to Chelsea one which could go through. But there are some already in England who could be on the move, and here are five of them.
#1 Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
A few years ago, Sturridge was one of the hottest prospects in English football. He scored 21 Premier League goals for Liverpool during the 2013/14 season and went to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as England’s main striker. However, his career has stalled in recent years, as he suffered persistently from injuries, and he hasn’t found a way to get back into this Liverpool team.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom but failed to keep the Baggies in the Premier League, partly because of yet another injury. He is back at Anfield for pre-season, but given the impressive form of Liverpool’s front three of last season, it looks like Sturridge could have a real job on his hands if he is to get regular first-team football this year. He has been linked with a possible move to Sevilla, and it could be a move abroad that he needs to really kick-start his career.
#2 Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle United)
Not many players can have had as great an impact on the Championship last season as Mitrovic. He only moved to Fulham in January but played a crucial role in their 23-game unbeaten run that earned them a spot in the playoffs, before helping them return to the Premier League after four years away. He scored 12 goals in the Championship after moving to London, and there is no doubt that Fulham will want to make him part of their team now they are back in the top flight.
If he is to leave Newcastle, and that looks likely, it will be to join Fulham. His discipline has been called into question in the past, but he seemed to control his temper under a new manager, and fellow Serb Slavisa Jokanovic. It seems almost inevitable that a deal goes through. Fulham are willing to buy, and Newcastle are willing to sell, as they look to finance a move for West Brom’s Salomon Rondon.
#3 Alvaro Morata (Chelsea)
Last summer, Chelsea paid a club record fee of £60 million to sign Morata from Real Madrid. He was bought in to replace Diego Costa, who was banished from the first team after being told by Antonio Conte via text that he was no longer part of his plans. They were big boots for Morata to fill, having seen Costa score 20 goals the previous season to fire Chelsea to the title. Things didn’t quite work as he intended though.
After a strong start, goals totally dried up after Christmas, and he finished the season with just 11 goals, and out of the side having been replaced in the starting XI by Olivier Giroud. It seemed that Conte wanted to offer him as much chance as possible to return to form, but Maurizio Sarri may not be so willing. They have been linked with a move for Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain, and if he is to move to Stamford Bridge, it will be as a direct replacement to Morata.
#4 Islam Slimani (Leicester City)
Slimani was one of the players who moved to Leicester City after their Premier League title success in the 2016/17 season, as the club looked to build for the Champions League. The Algerian remains the Foxes’ most expensive signing, having cost £30 million when he left Sporting Lisbon. He never really had the sort of impact he’d have wanted at the King Power Stadium though. He was a regular under Claudio Ranieri, but when he was sacked, he struggled to get into the team when Craig Shakespeare took over.
In his 35 league games for Leicester in his first 18 months there, he scored just eight goals and ended up moving to Newcastle for the second half of last season. He suffered from injuries in that time at St. James’ Park and appeared in the Premier League just four times. Kelechi Iheanacho began to establish himself in Leicester’s team towards the end of last season, and that will likely mean Slimani remains down the pecking order, meaning his best chance of regular football is to leave the club this summer.
#5 Jordan Hugill (West Ham)
It seems harsh on Hugill that he will likely have to leave West Ham this summer for the good of his career. He was very much a panic buy for the Hammers when he joined from Preston North End in January and went on to make just three appearances in the Premier League. There is some debate as to who sanctioned his signing, as it never looked like he was wanted at the club.
West Ham have spent big this summer, and it looks likely that Hugill will be down the pecking order. There isn’t much chance that he has a role to play at the London Stadium, so a move away is his best chance of playing regular football. This will most likely have to be back to the Championship, as he hasn’t proven himself enough in the Premier League to stay there.
