Players & Managers

When Cisse joined Newcastle in January 2012 he took the Premier League by storm scoring 13 goals in 14 games in the Premier league. His notable goals came at Swansea, where he brilliantly curled the ball into the top corner off balance followed by 1 of the goals of the season against Chelsea where he bent the ball in from all of 30 yards from what seemed like an impossible angle.

This will be a very important season for the Senegalese and with Loic Remy now back and QPR and expected to leave; Cisse has the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong after a 18 months where he has only scored 10 goals in 60 games.

Arsenal fans thought they had signed the Montenegrin last summer and were very excited for his arrival after it was reported a medical had been successful for him to move to London. Man City came in late and took him from under their noses. He has been given very little game time and a player of his ability should be playing a lot more.

He only got on the pitch 16 times in 2013/14 scoring 6 times which isn’t a bad return but Jovetic will be hoping Pellegrini doesn’t decide to sign anymore attacking players as his opportunities were very limited last campaign.

It may seem a bit harsh to include the 18 year old England International in the list but Man Utd shelled out £32m to sign the former Southampton man so he will have to warrant some of that transfer fee in the upcoming season. He showed his qualities at Southampton so he should be in no doubt that he can take that form to Manchester.

He became the most expensive teenager of all time and he may feel some of the pressure from the start. United’s campaign does begin with a lot of winnable games so maybe he can build his confidence early and run with it throughout the season. Louis Van Gaal may decide to sign another left back to keep Shaw on his toes.

The Spaniard may still move on from North London after an appalling debut season at Tottenham. He became the butt of a lot of jokes from fans as he only netted 6 times in 28 games and 4 of those were penalties. He missed out on the Spain World Cup squad because of his poor domestic form and will be desperate to impress new manager Poccetinho.

Soldado came for £28m which is an extortionate amount of money considering how bad he has been for Tottenham. He was a fox in the box at Valencia and had very impressive stats while in his native Spain so he may choose to return there or somewhere in Europe where it is easier to adjust to lifestyle and the style of play.

Recently been pictured on holiday with Joe Hart and James Milner smoking, pressure is starting to build on the England midfielder to live up to his potential having shown such early promise from the age of 17. His man of the match performance against Barcelona seems like an age ago and with Arsenal expected to bring in a defensive midfielder, competition for places is going to be incredibly high at Arsenal and Wilshere is going to need to step up.

With Aaron Ramsey in Wilshere’s preferred role it will be difficult for him to break back into the first team and with players like Oxlade Chamberlain, Rosicky, Cazorla and Arteta all playing in the central midfield role Wilshere is going to have to work very hard to get back in and priority 1 will be to stop getting photographed smoking!

The Premier league has another villain! Diego Costa had a very poor World Cup having switched alliances from Brazil to Spain and I’m sure opposing fans will let him know this fact. He didn’t manage a single goal at the World Cup but a clash of styles may be the reason he didn’t perform for Spain. Mourinho will make him into a monster, I’m sure of that.

He had a fantastic season at Athletico last season and scored a cool-as-you-like penalty at Stamford Bridge in front of the baying Chelsea fans. The South West Londoners will be hoping to see the best of Costa next season and with compatriot Cesc Fabregas behind him they could form a scary partnership with their link up play.

Considered 1 of the worst buys of last season during the ill-fated reign of David Moyes at Manchester United. It was rumoured that Moyes opted not to spend a few million more on Ozil to pursue the big Belgian. He was operated in the wrong way under Moyes and also was very disappointing in the World Cup for Belgium. Like Soldado, it is unknown whether Van Gaal will keep or sell Fellaini at this stage.

He will have a lot to prove this season and if Van Gaal does keep him it would be expected for him to play a bit further forward and off the strikers, where he had great success at Everton, rather than the deeper role with Michael Carrick or Ander Herrera.

On 30 August 2013, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur completed the transfer of Lamela from Roma for a deal worth an initial £25.8 million, plus up to £4.2 million in bonus payments. The fee for Lamela made him the most expensive player in the club’s history, breaking the two previous records that had been set earlier in the transfer window, first for Paulinho and then Roberto Soldado.

Little can be said about his performance as he only played 9 games, with no goals or assists to speak of. He had troubles with injuries and a bout of homesickness but if he can get fully fit and show some of the talent he had at Roma, Tottenham fans will begin to see why such a price tag was splashed on the Argentinian. He didn’t go to the World Cup so he should be firing fit for the upcoming season.

He has been the scapegoat of the summer after England’s dismal performance at the World Cup and the weight of expectation that was on his shoulders to be the star performer and match winner. He scored his first goal at a World cup so that will give him some confidence. With Louis Van Gaal arriving, Robin Van Persie is expected to be made captain and the main man at United. It will be interesting to see how Rooney reacts to this.

He could kick up a fuss, hand in a transfer a request and try and force a move away, like we have seen before. Alternatively he could use it as determination to prove that he has more worth to the team then the Dutch striker. He was United’s best player last season and will hope to do the same in the upcoming campaign.

Arsenal’s marquee signing and record breaker. Ozil burst onto the scene in fantastic style and was an instant hit with Arsenal fans linking up brilliantly with Theo Walcott. His form took a dramatic dip at the end of last season and he was heavily criticised by the media and opposing fans being brandished a ‘flop’. At 25 and it being his debut season I thought this criticism was a little harsh.

He played every game for Germany and was a crucial part of the World Champions team. This should give him great confidence going into the new campaign and he will be out to prove to Arsenal fans and other teams that he isn’t the lightweight player the media made him out to be. He can’t ask for more having seen Alexis Sanchez arrive at the club and Theo Walcott returning to full fitness.