Given that, we believe certain top teams need to prioritise and strengthen certain critical positions that have been an area of concern for them in the recent past.
Liverpool- Defensive Midfielder
Ever since the club let go of the dynamic defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano, the club’s fortunes have gone down the hill as they have failed to replace him with an enforcer in a similar mould. Even though Lucas Leiva, the side’s first choice defensive midfielder, has been a fine servant to the club, making some critical contributions over the years he has been with the club, his deficiencies as a player have often cost his side and it’s time Jurgen Klopp brings in a destroyer in true sense.
The side is not short on attacking firepower with the likes of Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum joining the likes of Phillipe Coutinho, Firmino and Daniel Sturridge at the club. However, many pundits and fans believe that the side has grown soft in recent years and lacks bite, something that a roguish midfielder in the mould of Mascherano or even a Gary Medel would instantly improve and the issue has remained unresolved for years now.
While Emre Can can play as a defensive midfielder, he has been trained as a central midfielder and his industriousness and creativity would best serve the club if they provide him the opportunity to function as a box-to-box midfielder with a destroyer sitting deep disrupting the rhythm of the opposition.
Arsenal – Striker
Arsenal’s pursuit of the mercurial Jamie Vardy and the prolific Gonzalo Higuain yielded no result and the London giants are back to square one as they seek to add more quality to their attack. Currently, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck are the only recognised strikers at the club, and an inability to add at least one more striker to its ranks might cost the club in the current season.
The club records its lowest goal tally in the Premier League since 2006-07 with 65 goals (they scored 63 goals in the 2006-07 season), with only Giroud and Alexis Sanchez finding the back of the net on more than 10 occasions. With the problem at hand more apparent and critical than ever, Wenger will need to quickly resolve the issue before the transfer window closes.
The club has been increasingly linked with Alexandre Lacazette over the course of the last few days and should the club wrap up the deal for the mercurial Frenchman, we believe Arsene Wenger would have redeemed himself of his mistakes so far in the transfer window. Given the creativity in the side, Lacazzette would instantly benefit from the quality around while Arsene Wenger will have a proven goal scorer at his disposal.
Southampton- Striker
Southampton, who finished an impressive 6th in the 2015-16 already have a huge task cut out for themselves if they are to replicate their exploits in the previous season, especially with the departures of key players such as Graziano Pelle, Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama. For a club that is set to feature in 4 major competitions in the 2016-17 season, the side’s attacking unit looks extremely thin on paper, with Shane Long being the only recognised striker at the club.
The departures vis-a-vis the arrivals at the club has left the side with a humongous gap of 23 goals to cover (Wanyama, Mane and Pelle scored a total of 23 league goals, while Nathan Redmond, Jeremy Pied and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg scored a mere 6 goals between them in their respective leagues last season) and the same could prove to be the reason for the side’s downfall in the coming season.
Long, who scored a career-high 10 goals in the top division of English Football is by no means a striker, who can be relied upon to knock in goals at will against a quality opposition and Claude Puel should add at least one recognised striker to his squad in order for Southampton to remain competitive across competitions in the upcoming season. Surprisingly, the side has not been linked with any striker in recent times and should they start the league with the current set of front-men, even finishing in the top half of the super competitive Premier League could be deemed as a miracle.
Chelsea- Centre back
While a lot of blame for Chelsea’s lacklustre performance in the last season was largely attributed to the failure of the club in front of the goal, it was their defence that truly let them down conceding a whopping 53 goals during the course of the season. The current centre-back pairing at the club of John Terry and Gary Cahill might not be the best way to start the new season for Antonio Conte, the new man at the helm of affairs at the club.
While Terry is one of the best centre-backs England has ever produced, age is catching with him and he has looked clueless on certain occasions in the recent past. On the other hand, Gary Cahill’s inconsistencies also caused the club a few concerns in the last season. The issues that came to the fore when young Kurt Zouma sustained a long-term injury has not been addressed so far and the Chelsea faithful worldwide are growing restless with the side’s ability to add to its defensive muscle.
It comes as no surprise that Conte, a man whose footballing philosophy thrives around having a strong defensive unit, has been linked with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly in a bid to add some much-needed quality to his back-line. However, Napoli are holding on dearly to one of the best defenders in the Serie A last season and the Italian would be well served to ensure he has his man in place before it gets too late.
Tottenham Hotspurs- Striker
Despite signing the Dutch forward Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar, Tottenham Hotspur still appear thin on the attacking front, especially given the number of trophies they will be competing in during the upcoming season. While Harry Kane had a great last season, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 25 goals, he is not immune to a dip in form.
Should he experience one like he did last season, where he failed to score in the opening 6 league games, Tottenham could be in a spot of bother. Dele Alli was the only other Spurs player to score 10 or more goals in the league last season and the credentials of the Spurs attacking unit has been further depreciated by the unimpressive performances of Clinton N’Jie and Son Heung-Min since making the move to White Hart Lane.
With Janssen coming into a faster and more physical league than the Dutch Eredivisie, Spurs look really thin in the attacking department, despite the hype that surrounds them as they go into the new season.
Surprisingly, the club has not been linked with a proven Premier League striker in recent times and it seems highly likely that the club could go into the new season with Kane and Janssen as their first choice strikers. We believe this move could prove to be a costly gamble for Mauricio Pochettino’s men and the hierarchy must add at least one more player to add the depth required to remain a top side in England.
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