An accurate reflection of next season’s final standings?
The Premier League table – based on money spent so far this summer:
1) Manchester City – £52.8m (Biggest signing: Fernandinho £34m)
2) Chelsea – £27m (Biggest signing: Andre Schurrle £19m)
3) Liverpool – £23.5m (Biggest signing: Simon Mignolet £9m)
4) Southampton – £21m (Biggest signing: Victor Wanyama £12m)
5) Swansea City – £20.4m (Biggest signing: Wilfried Bony £12m)
6) Norwich City – £19m (Biggest signing: Ricky Van Wolfswinkel £8.8m)
7) Tottenham – £17m (Biggest signing: Paulinho £17m)
8) West Ham -£15m (Biggest signing: Andy Carroll £15m)
9) Sunderland -£12m (Biggest signing: Jozy Altidore £8m)
10) Aston Villa – £10m (Biggest signing: Jores Okore £4m)
11) Everton – £9m (Biggest signing: Arouna Kone £6m)
12) Crystal Palace – £7.5m (Biggest signing: Dwight Gayle £4.5m)
13) Cardiff City -£7m (Biggest signing: Andreas Cornelius £7m)
14) Fulham -£6m (Biggest signing: Maarten Stekelenberg £4.5m)
15) Hull City – £5.6m (Biggest signing: Curtis Davies £2.3m)
16) Stoke City – £3.4m (Biggest signing: Erik Pieters £3.4m)
17) Manchester United – £1.5m (Biggest signing: Guillermo Varela £1.5m)
18) Newcastle United – £0m (No players signed yet)
19) West Brom – £0m (Biggest signing: Nicolas Anelka free)
20) Arsenal – £0m (Biggest signing: Yaya Sanogo free)
Analysis:
–The top three here is could be an accurate reflection of next season’s final standings – with Chelsea and City early title favourites, and Liverpool having moved quickly in the transfer market. United could struggle without Sir Alex Ferguson in charge, but we would still expect them to finish easily within the top four.
-The bottom three indicate the three clubs that have not yet spent a penny on a transfer fee. However, Newcastle are expected to move soon, as new director of football Joe Kinnear is desperate for a new striker – as are Arsenal, who could shoot right up this table if a mega-money bid for a world-class forward is accepted.
–Clubs like Southampton, Swansea and Norwich have been extremely ambitious this summer. It could see one of them mounting a serious challenge for a Europa League spot, although the clubs’ directors would be nervous after spending large sums of money – if the signings didn’t work out and a relegation battle ensued.
-Clubs like Fulham, Hull, Stoke, Palace and Cardiff have spent carefully, and like in this table, they would be expected to finish in the bottom half next season. Unless of course, Fulham’s new owner supplies a cash injection.
–None of the newly promoted team features in the top half of this table, as they probably won’t in the real league table, either.
-Once Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal spend the rest of their transfer budgets – the top six clubs in this table could include the exact same teams the real league table will at the end of the season.
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