Premier League kicks off: Liverpool hunt in league that has spent over 2.5 billion on the transfer market

The Premier League restarts this August weekend, with Arsenal and Manchester City leading the charge against champions Liverpool . It's a season where redemption is especially expected from Manchester United and Tottenham , coming off disappointing campaigns.

The main market moves

The big clubs spared no expense in strengthening their ranks. Liverpool made the most expensive signings, signing attacking midfielder Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for €125 million and striker Ekitiké from Eintracht Frankfurt for €80 million. Manchester United also made waves, paying €77 million to Leipzig, €75 million to Brentford, and €74 million to Wolverhampton Wanderers to secure strikers Sesko, Mbeumo, and Cunha. Finally, Arsenal took the top spot, paying Real Sociedad €70 million for Zubimendi and Sporting €66 million to secure Gyokeres . Among the many arrivals, it is worth noting the departures of Luis Diaz and Nunez , sold by Liverpool for 70 and 53 million respectively to Bayern and Al-Hilal, and those of Son and De Bruyne who, after 10 years, said goodbye to Tottenham and Manchester City, moving to Los Angeles and Napoli.

Over two billion spent

In total, Premier League clubs have spent €2.4 billion so far, with a deficit of over €1 billion (over €52 million each). The teams that invested the most were Manchester United (-€230 million), Arsenal (-€216 million), Manchester City (-€144 million), Tottenham (-€110 million), Sunderland (-€110 million), Liverpool (-€97 million), Burnley (-€91 million), Everton (-€83 million), Leeds (-€79 million), and Newcastle (-€70 million). The most profitable teams were Bournemouth (+€110 million, thanks to the transfers of Zabarnyi to PSG for €63 million, Huijsen to Real Madrid for €62.5 million, and Kerkez to Liverpool for €47 million), Nottingham Forest (+€46 million thanks to the departure of Elanga, sold to Newcastle for €62 million), and the Brighton-Brentford duo (+€42 million).

What's new

It will be the first full season with the use of the semi-automatic offside device, introduced last April. The match balls will be made by Puma, which has replaced Nike as the official supplier. Relegated Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton have been replaced by newly promoted Leeds, Burney, and Sunderland , who will thus return to the Tyne-Wear derby (also known as the North East derby) against Newcastle after a 10-year absence. Everton, for the first time in 132 years, will no longer play at Goodison Park but at the brand-new Everton Stadium, which can hold 51,565 spectators, 12,000 more than the old stadium.

The new faces

In addition to the more expensive arrivals, there is curiosity to see if Gittens, Hato and Estevao, bought by Chelsea respectively from Dortmund (for 56 million), Ajax (for 45) and Palmeiras (for 34), will be able to confirm their qualities, Reijnders , who arrived via Milan at Manchester City for 55 million, Frimpong , who moved from Leverkusen to Liverpool for 40 million, Tel , formerly of Bayern, signed by Tottenham for 35 million and Ndoye who is attempting the big leap from Bologna by moving to Nottingham Forest for 42 million.

The first day of the Premier League (15-18 August)

Liverpool-Bournemouth (15/8 at 9pm)Aston Villa-Newcastle (16/8 at 1.30pm)Brighton-Fulham (16/8 at 4pm)Sunderland-West Ham (16/8 at 4pm)Tottenham-Burnley (16/8 at 4pm)Wolverhampton-Manchester City (16/8 at 6.30pm)Nottingham Forest-Brentford (17/8 at 3pm)Chelsea-Crystal Palace (17/8 at 3pm)Manchester United-Arsenal (17/8 at 5.30pm)Leeds-Everton (18/8 at 9pm)