Five expensive players ready to set the Premier League alight
Rice, Hojlund and Szoboszlai are among the many new recruits with huge price tags to live up to
Lee U-Wen
Seventy-six days after Manchester City captured yet another English Premier League (EPL) trophy, the new season of the most-watched football league in the world begins this weekend.
By the time this column is out, the Citizens would have already embarked on their title defence with an away trip to Burnley, a team managed by former City captain Vincent Kompany.
Champions of the last three seasons, Pep Guardiola’s men are on a relentless quest to do what no other club in the history of English football have managed, and that is to win the top division four times in a row.
There are nine other fixtures to look forward to in this opening round, with Chelsea’s home clash against Liverpool (Sunday 11.30 pm kickoff, Singapore time) the standout game. Last season’s runners-up Arsenal welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates Stadium (Saturday, 7.30 pm), while newly-promoted Luton Town will play their first-ever EPL match at Brighton and Hove Albion (Saturday, 10 pm).
Ahead of the new campaign, BT Weekend looks at five of the EPL’s newest stars who will be looking to make an instant impact and live up to their expensive transfer fees.
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
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Arsenal broke the bank in July when they secured the signature of Rice, the 24-year-old midfielder who jumped ship from fellow London club West Ham for £105 million (S$179.8 million). The expectation is that Rice will be the central figure in Mikel Arteta’s squad to help the Gunners challenge Manchester City for the title.
Known for his vision on the pitch and dribbling ability, Rice is an established England international who captained West Ham to the Europa Conference League trophy last season. Arteta is hoping he will bring that winning mentality to the Arsenal dressing room and deliver a first EPL championship in two decades.
Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United)
The biggest problem for Manchester United last season was their glaring inability to score goals on a consistent basis. Manager Erik ten Hag desperately wanted a new striker during the summer, and he got his wish in the form of Hojlund.
The 20-year-old joined from Italian club Atalanta for £64 million, with the fee possibly rising to £72 million based on performance-related add-ons in the Dane’s five-year deal.
Hojlund is still unproven at the highest levels of the game, but he certainly has many of the attributes needed to succeed in the EPL and the Champions League. His 1.91-metre frame means he towers over many defenders, and he has a keen eye for goal.
He made his international debut for Denmark in March this year, netting a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Finland in a qualifying match for Euro 2024. He also scored 10 goals in 34 appearances for Atalanta, including four goals in four consecutive games.
Red Devils fans will have to wait several weeks to see Hojlund make his debut due to the back injury he picked up in pre-season training.
Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
Adding some much-needed steel to City’s backline is Croatian defender Gvardiol, a 21-year-old who arrived from Germany’s RB Leipzig for a princely sum of £77.6 million.
The centre back is the second Croatian to join the treble winners, after the recent signing of his countryman Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea.
Gvardiol has already won plenty of silverware in his young career. In the two seasons he spent at Dinamo Zagreb, he won back-to-back Croatian League titles, one Croatian Cup and a Super Cup.
He is also an established starter for the national team with 21 caps so far. He was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the World Cup in Qatar last December.
Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
Only 22 years old and already the captain of the Hungarian national team, Szoboszlai is part of the new-look Liverpool midfield following the departure of the experienced trio of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Alongside World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, Szoboszlai – a £60 million transfer from RB Leipzig – is an extremely athletic and hardworking player who has the ability to both score goals and assist them.
Liverpool fans in Singapore had a glimpse of Szoboszlai’s talents a fortnight ago when he played in both of the club’s pre-season friendlies against Leicester City and Bayern Munich.
Sandro Tonali (Newcastle)
This 23-year-old Tonali caught the eye with his role in helping AC Milan reach the Champions League semi-finals last season, and it was little surprise when the continent’s top teams tried to lure the Italian over. In the end, it was Newcastle that forked out £55 million for his signature on a five-year contract.
He won the Serie A title with Milan in 2022, becoming the youngest midfielder to score at least five league goals that season. His commanding presence and leadership have drawn praise from many Italian legends such as Roberto Donadoni and Fabio Capello.
Tonali is the captain of Italy’s Under-21 side, and he last donned the national colours at the recent European Championships held in Georgia and Romania.
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