Ederson Jersey

[Ilse Marseau]

Inthe last week of July, Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson was on the verge of being handed a fresh contract extension that would tie the Brazilian sweeper-keeper to the club until he turns 34. He is 27 now.

This is indicative of the kind of dynasty City Football Group, which runs affairs at the Etihad, has set about building. So much so that even Pep Guardiola, bit of an agnostic to such matters when at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, has seemingly bought into the idea.

As the Catalan begins his sixth season in charge, the reigning champion will be the side to beat when the Premier League kicks off on August 13. City is the only outfit since Manchester United in 2008-09 to successfully defend the title (2018-19) and it enters the coming season with the confidence that it can do so again.

The pursuit of England striker Harry Kane and midfielder Jack Grealish in the transfer market for a whopping 200 million pounds combined means that Guardiola is on a mission to make his side more complete than ever.

Raheem Sterling and John Stones return from Euro 2020 with great confidence, while the likes of Ruben Dias (centreback), Ferran Torres and Phil Foden (wingers) have their best years in front. All-time top-scorer Sergio Aguero has left the club, but City coped well last year when the Argentine striker spent large spells on the sidelines.

Brentford and Manchester United battle it out during the English Premier League pre-season friendly match at Old Trafford. Brentford will make a historic entry to the top flight for the first time since 1947.

One area of concern for Tuchel, however, will be the lack of consistent quality in the final third of the pitch, with Timo Werner misfiring. Under Tuchel, Chelsea has scored just 25 goals in 19 league games. Signing an elite No. 9 like Erling Haaland will go a significant way in making Chelsea well-rounded.

The club has backed Solskjaer in the transfer market, adding the brilliant forward Jadon Sancho and seasoned defender Raphael Varane to an already impressive array of footballers comprising Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani among others.

The German coach has however done well to strengthen the defence by signing Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig for around the 35 million pounds. With star centreback Virgil van Dijk set to return after a nine-month injury layoff, and Joe Gomez recovering from a knee injury which had kept him out for an equally long period, Liverpool can look ahead with optimism.

It will be interesting to see how each of these four clubs plays. The limited window for pre-season training after exhausting periods at the Euros and Copa America may mean that Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, all three who swear by high-octane football, may have to ease their players in, instead of going full throttle from day one.

This has resulted in midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, who impressed in the 33 appearances he made last year across competitions after being promoted from the youth ranks, getting the coveted No. 10 jersey.

At Everton, the managerial churn has continued with Rafael Benitez becoming the fifth full-time appointment in as many years. His biggest challenge, however, will be to convince the fans of his suitability, with his past tenure at archrival Liverpool not going down well with the faithful.

Elsewhere, David Moyes and Marcelo Bielsa will consider their jobs well done if they can help West Ham United and Leeds United punch above their weights again and keep them in the top-10 for a second consecutive season.

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