July of course means transfer window time in the Premier League and while, by the top flight's standards it has been a fairly quiet period so far there have been some recent eye catching transfers. Declan Rice has become the first West Ham player in history to join Arsenal, we have seen it happen the other way round on numerous occasions but not Hammers to the Gunners. Already Rice has been quite vocal as an Arsenal player praising Mikel Arteta and praising the training methods and making subtle hints of what a step up it is to be at Arsenal, this currently isn't going down too well with West Ham fans. Rice was regarded as a legend at the club only a few months ago, but maybe the fans have a point. There is a way of saying things and Rice has shown little etiquette to his former club so far. Surely he doesn't mean it and there is no hard feelings and who knows with football perhaps Rice will one day be back at the Hammers and all will be forgiven.
Newcastle have bolstered their squad with the arrival of Harvey Barnes from Leicester for £38m and while the Foxes were relegated Barnes did look impressive and is all round a solid player and purchase. The Premier League has bid farewell to Jordan Henderson who has decided to take the money and hook up in Saudi Arabia with Steven Gerrard. Wilfried Zaha's Crystal Palace exit feels more like a surprise as he has joined Turkish giants Galatasaray, true that means Champions League football for Zaha but surely he had more to give in the Premier League?
Liverpool will be looking to bounce back after last season's nightmare campaign and they have got an absolute bargain paying just £35m for Alexis MacAllister and that will be a big loss for Brighton. The Reds have also signed Dominik Szoboszlai and it remains to be seen how fans and commentators are going to deal with pronouncing his surname, at a guess we can predict he will be affectionately known as 'Dom'. Harry Kane's future is undecided yet again but Tottenham cannot allow the forward to leave for free next season and he surely looks like he will be sold this summer. But to whom? Two clubs have emerged as the favourites, one is Bayern Munich and the other is Manchester United. United would feel like the perfect fit given how much experience Kane has in the Premier League but playing for Bayern may just add more to Kane's overall game. Although of course there is the question of breaking Alan Shearer's goalscoring record, and you can't do that playing in the Bundesliga. However Kane is 30 and players in the modern age can easily go on to play until their late 30s even into their early 40s it seems Kane could have his Bayern move and still return to the Premier League for the record, all options are open.
Finally let's dip into Ligue 1 and PSG where the mother of all transfer sagas is taking place with Kylian Mbappe. It is a sorry state if truth be told because Mbappe is set to run out his contract and leave PSG for Real Madrid on a free transfer next season. PSG having spent £160m on him want something back, Mbappe promised this a year ago but he won't sign a new deal. At the same time Al Hilal have stepped in with a world record offer of a quarter of a billion pounds and would still let the player leave for Real Madrid next season. However Madrid want Mbappe for free, this transfer feels like a mess, but will Mbappe really want to stay with the French champions this season and feel the wrath of their fans?
Premier League Preview:
The new season kicks off on the weekend of August 11th and for the next few blogs we will have small previews of each game. Last week we took a look at games 1-3 and this week we will look at games 4-6.
Sheffield United v Crystal Palace
The Blades are back and they will be thrilled to be playing their opening game at home in what will be a thrilling atmosphere. Roy Hodgson is back full time for Crystal Palace and will want a final season to remember but the smart money could be on the home side to pick up all three points so early in the season.
Latest odds: Sheffield United 3.00, Crystal Palace 2.50, Draw 3.25
Brighton v Luton
Brighton continue to lose quality players and it will hinder them at one point, it is unfortunate as they have been progressing well in the last few seasons. Luton are finally back in the top flight, but so much has changed at the elite end of the English league and they are expected to really struggle this season.
Latest Odds: Brighton 1.30, Luton 8.00, Draw 5.00
Everton v Fulham
Fulham used to have a dreadful record at Everton but that has changed over the last few seasons and they come here with a threat. All of the pressure is on Everton after two awful seasons and 3 points feels like six already, they really need to get off to a positive start, this first game could tell us a lot about how their season could pan out.
Latest odds: Everton 2.10, Fulham 3.25, Draw 3.25
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