It's hard to believe that United are the only club other than City or Liverpool to finish in the top two in the past five seasons. Not only that, but they did it twice. And yet last season's sixth-place finish means that manager Erik ten Hag begins work with the club at their lowest ebb.
The former Ajax coach has maintained an Eredivisie connection with his summer signings: Lisandro Martinez followed him from Amsterdam, Tyrell Malacia arrives from Feyenoord and even Christian Eriksen began his senior career in the Dutch capital. Several big personalities and long-standing players have been moved on after last season petered out under interim boss Ralf Rangnick, but settling the future of Cristiano Ronaldo -- who has said he wants to leave despite struggling to find any interested clubs -- could be the most pivotal piece of transfer business United do this summer.
Ten Hag will find it difficult to implement his playing style on a team that has the 37-year-old forward in it, but can he risk doing without last season's top scorer, who netted more than twice as many goals as anyone else at the club?
Even if Ten Hag can get his own house in order in time, that will only take him so far. He told ESPN's Rob Dawson this summer that one of his key aims is "to bring the confidence back" to Old Trafford, but there is little cause for optimism when looking at their main rivals for a top-four place next season.
Ten Hag faces a lot of challenges both inside Man United and around the league if he's to have a successful first season at Old Trafford. Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
3. Will we see the highest-scoring Golden Boot race in years?
Since Mohamed Salah shocked everyone in his first season at Liverpool by scoring 32 Premier League goals to claim the 2017-18 Golden Boot, the figures required to win the award have fallen back to normal levels. Salah shared the prize with fellow Africans Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the following season despite scoring 10 fewer goals (22), while he needed only one more than that to get his hands on it for a third time (shared with Son Heung-Min) last term. (That tally, 23, was also enough to make Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy top scorer in the previous two campaigns.)
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It's all a far cry from the days when the lead striker at a top club could make hitting the 30-goal mark a realistic target, but this coming season promises to bring that back. Haaland averaged almost a goal per game in the Bundesliga while at Dortmund (22 in 24 appearances last season, and 62 in 67 overall), so the main obstacle to a clear run at the Golden Boot for him could be his own injury issues. Nunez's 26 goals in 28 league games for Benfica last term is similarly prodigious, although he'll need a strong start to erase any whispers of "one-season wonder."
Tottenham's Son will be backing himself to at least match last season's tally now that Spurs have had a full preseason of prep under Antonio Conte, while teammate Kane is out to equal Thierry Henry's record of four Golden Boots. Over at Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus has the chance to fully affirm his status as a top striker as the Gunners' undisputed first-choice No. 9 with a rotating cast of busy young midfielders working to create the chances for him.
Is Haaland the favorite to win the top scorer race? He'll face a lot of tough competition from the likes of Salah, Son and even Gabriel Jesus, who seems a perfect fit at Arsenal. (Photo by Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea don't have an immediately obvious candidate to join this race, but in the 27-year-old Raheem Sterling, they now have a player who has hit 20 league goals in a season before and is approaching what should be his peak years. Plus, if Ronaldo ends up staying at Manchester United this summer, then we also have the greatest goal scorer of modern times in the mix. And we can't rule out a contender from the fringes, either: After scoring 43 goals in the Championship last season, could Aleksandar Mitrovic finally make his mark on the top flight with Fulham after two previous failed attempts?
4. Will new-look Newcastle break up the big six?
It shouldn't be difficult for Eddie Howe to have a better start to this season with Newcastle United than his predecessor, Steve Bruce, did last term. Without a win in his first nine games of the season before the club was taken over by the Saudi-backed PFI, Bruce was afforded one farewell match at St James' Park in the form of a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham before he was sacked. After two draws and a defeat under caretaker Graeme Jones, Howe was appointed as the man to lead Newcastle into a brave new era.
The former Bournemouth manager claimed just one win before the January transfer window opened -- a 1-0 home victory over Burnley -- but the midseason arrivals of Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn, along with Joelinton's conversion from a misfiring striker into an all-action central midfielder, spurred Newcastle on to claim 12 more wins and secure a comfortable mid-table finish. This summer's transfer business has been similarly sensible, with England goalkeeper Nick Pope coming in from Burnley and Matt Targett's loan from Aston Villa being made permanent, while defender Sven Botman is the closest thing to a glamorous, big-money foreign signing.
Newcastle should continue to improve this season with their owners' backing and with January signings like Bruno Guimaraes working out so well. Gualter Fatia/Getty Images
These are not signings to get the casual fan's pulse racing, but they do consolidate Newcastle's rapid improvement over the first half of the year and give them a real platform to target being this season's "best of the rest." And if they can set up camp below the top six this season, next summer's window will see the next phase of the PFI plan come into effect. Also, if they can surprise everyone by looking like outside bets for the top four come January, who knows what they might be able to do to give their campaign a boost?
Howe is too sensible to be looking too far ahead, and he can't afford to: Fixtures against Man City and Liverpool before the end of August will be at the forefront of his mind.
5. Can the yo-yoing between Premier League and Championship stop?
This will be the fifth consecutive Premier League season to feature either Fulham or Norwich City, but at no time in that run have both been in the top flight at the same time. Those two clubs, plus Watford and West Bromwich Albion, form a clutch of clubs that have been bouncing between the top two tiers of English football for the past few years without ever settling in either. Bournemouth -- back up this season at the second attempt -- and Burnley could also establish themselves as part of that group if they swap divisions again next summer.
Those clubs that are regularly accruing Premier League parachute payments -- perhaps in addition to generous backing from their owners -- are finding it ever harder to break out of this purgatory, as all the other Premier League clubs are getting ever richer and the increasing gulf between the Big Six and the rest means that there are fewer points that are realistically available for newly promoted sides.
The aforementioned Mitrovic will be key to Fulham's chances of staying up -- although this was said the last time they came up, and the time before that. If the Serbia international can get even close to half of the 43 league goals he got last season, Marco Silva's side might just have something to build on.
-- Tony Mabert
Team-by-team guide
Jump to: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds United | Leicester City | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Nottingham Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | West Ham | Wolves
- Transfers in: FW Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), DF Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City), MF Fabio Vieira (Porto), GK Matt Turner (New England Revolution), FW Marquinhos (Sao Paulo)
- Transfers out: MF Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille), DF Dinos Mavropanos (Stuttgart), DF Daniel Ballard (Sunderland), GK Bernd Leno (Fulham)
- Last season: Premier League (fifth), FA Cup (third round), Carabao Cup (semifinals)
Will they be better or worse this season?
Better than last year for Arsenal means Champions League qualification, and that is the benchmark against which Mikel Arteta will be judged this term. The club opted not to strengthen in January when they were well-placed to secure a top-four finish amid wage restructuring due to financial fair play concerns and a lack of availability over their preferred targets. Missing out on Europe's premier club competition to Tottenham was a huge blow, but it has not derailed the Gunners from their long-term plan, which has seen further investment including a couple of shrewd acquisitions from Manchester City in Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arteta knows both players well, having worked with the pair at City, and they add useful versatility that should make Arsenal more unpredictable. However, the team had no European football to contend with last term, and the return of Europa League engagements will make things tougher for them.
Jesus already looks like he's been an Arsenal player for years. Can he inspire them to actually complete their rebuild and secure a top-four finish? Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Key player: Gabriel Jesus
Jesus adds a potent goal threat at the top end of the pitch that Arsenal have lacked since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went off the boil before joining Barcelona. Seven goals for the Brazilian in five preseason games is encouraging, displaying both a promising understanding with his new teammates and the range of finishes he is capable of producing. Jesus' success in transitioning from City will be a significant factor in determining whether Arsenal can crack the top four, given goals were an issue last season; Bukayo Saka was the club's top scorer last season with just 12, while their Premier League tally of 61 was the lowest in the top five, with City (99), Liverpool (94), Chelsea (76) and Tottenham (69) all superior.
Will their manager last the season?
Yes. There remains some scepticism toward Arteta after Arsenal fell away last term, and that will quickly grow if the Gunners get off to a slow start. But the 40-year-old's backing among Arsenal's hierarchy remains total. Despite this being his first managerial role, the Spaniard has been given a huge amount of influence at the club, ranging from staffing changes to decisions over paying off the contracts of unwanted players, all with the aim of creating a more efficient and professional work environment. That, in turn, brings its own pressure.
With a month left to go in this transfer window, Arsenal's spending totals more than £250m in the past two summers. There can be no referencing hangovers from different eras: This squad is undeniably Arteta's, and they have to improve. Having shown so much faith in him to this point, something would have to go badly wrong for Arsenal to dispense with Arteta this season.
-- James Olley
- Transfers in: DF Diego Carlos (Sevilla), MF Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), GK Robin Olsen (AS Roma), MF Boubacar Kamara (free agent)
- Transfers out: DF Matt Targett (Newcastle United), FW Mahmoud Trezeguet (Trabzonspor), MF Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea)
- Last season: Premier League (14th), FA Cup (third round), Carabao Cup (third round)
Will they be better or worse this season?
Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard will do better than 14th place last season. However, the question should be different. It should read: Will Villa do better than they did under Gerrard last season? Because if we count only the points won by the team after his arrival in November, they would have finished ninth.
It was a very different Villa before Gerrard, even if they had a rough patch toward the end of the season with two wins in their last 11 games, but this team should keep improving with Gerrard, especially with the players they've brought in this summer. Defender Diego Carlos and defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara are great additions, while the permanent signing of Philippe Coutinho should allow him to play with more freedom. They're not done yet given that they need a striker, too.
It's a shame they lost Carney Chukwuemeka to Chelsea, but they are still very strong in midfield, especially if Jacob Ramsey keeps developing. Collectively, Gerrard has made the team much stronger and more structured with better patterns of play, especially on the right flank with Matty Cash. If Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins get more clinical and Coutinho is more consistently at his best, this team can surprise.
Now that he's joined Villa permanently after a successful loan spell from Barcelona last season, can Coutinho push Villa into the top half of the table? David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images
Key player: Philippe Coutinho
Which Coutinho will we get? The one who dazzled after his arrival on loan from Barcelona in January and put on some superb performances? Or the one who was anonymous in too many games toward the end of the season? Or both, maybe, if the Brazil international can't find some consistency? Whatever happens, Coutinho will be the key. He is the creative brain of this team and arguably their greatest threat on the ball. He is the most gifted player in this squad, but he has to show it now. At 30 years old, this is a huge season for him, especially if he has a shot at making the Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup. He needs a sharp start to the season to get momentum and beat the scepticism around him.
Will their manager last the season?
This is the Gerrard Project. Everything Aston Villa are doing right now is around him, and even if they start slowly, this club is committed to him and to this process. Gerrard got the players he wanted in the transfer window so far and expects (and should get) more. He has been backed up by the club, and he will deliver.
-- Julien Laurens
- Transfers in: MF Joe Rothwell (free agent), DF Ryan Fredericks (free agent), MF Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough)
- Transfers out: DF Zeno Ibsen Rossi (Cambridge United), DF Sam Sherring (Northampton Town), FW Robbie Brady (free agent), DF Gary Cahill (released)
- Last season: Championship (2nd, promoted), FA Cup (fourth round), Carabao Cup (second round)
Will they be better or worse this season?
Bournemouth did much of their big business in January when they brought in Kieffer Moore and James Hill, but it's been a quiet summer. They have a strong spine to the team with Lewis Cook, Dominic Solanke, Lloyd Kelly, Ryan Christie and David Brooks all key, but manager Scott Parker is clearly banking on the team that got them promoted, along with three new additions, being good enough to keep them in the Premier League. Fredericks will offer a new option at right-back, while Rothwell impressed for Blackburn last season. Tavernier will slot in nicely on the flanks or behind the striker, but they are going to have to hit the ground running.
Their opening fixtures are brutal -- they play Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in August -- and no doubt their fans will have taken note of the big spending by their fellow promoted teams, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, but they will be putting all their chips on Bournemouth's familiarity and cohesion being enough to keep them in the top flight. Anything above 18th will be a huge achievement.
Key player: Dominic Solanke
Highly rated Cook will be key alongside the likes of Kelly and Christie, and you should keep an eye on the fiercely talented Jefferson Lerma. But if Bournemouth are to survive, they need Solanke -- who arrived for a £17m fee in 2019 -- to take his championship goal-scoring form into the top flight. He scored 29 last term, following 15 the previous season, and Bournemouth will be banking on him finding the back of the net this time out. He needs to continue using that chemistry he's forged with Philip Billing and Christie to find the goals that could keep Bournemouth afloat.
Will their manager last the season?
Bournemouth really should have won the championship last term, but had an awful habit of giving away leads. Parker knows they cannot afford to leave any points out there this season. His sole season in the Premier League with Fulham saw them relegated in 2020-21 and he will have learned from that, but this promises to be a tough season. I'd say his chances are 50-50 of being in charge by May.
-- Tom Hamilton
