LONDON:
Armed with around 260 million pounds ($348.56 million) worth of new signings, Liverpool have spared no expense in trying to ensure last season’s Premier League title marked the dawn of a new age of domination in English football.
The post-Juergen Klopp era began with Dutchman Arne Slot’s side wrestling control from Manchester City and turning the title race into a procession as their rivals imploded.
Winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 1984 is likely to prove a rather more arduous challenge.
Premier League clubs have already splurged in excess of two billion pounds with the likes of Arsenal, City and Chelsea all flexing their muscles with statement signings.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will surely improve drastically on woeful domestic campaigns last season while the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United will again be making themselves heard at the top table.
While Liverpool won’t care, last season’s Premier League campaign was not a vintage edition, with the title sewn up early, the relegation victims all too predictable and the main interest being the jostle for European qualification. Hopes are high that the new season will offer more intrigue.
LFC ready to defend crown
It will be a sombre occasion as Liverpool and Bournemouth kick off a 380-match Premier League slog on Friday with the Anfield faithful remembering Diogo Jota, the club’s Portugal forward who died alongside his brother in a car crash in July.
While Jota will forever have a place in the hearts of the Kop, new heroes are ready to emerge, none more so than German midfielder Florian Wirtz and French forward Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool smashed their transfer record when they paid Bayer Leverkusen an initial 100 million pounds to sign the 22-year-old Germany international, who scored 57 goals and provided 65 assists in 197 appearances for the Bundesliga club.
Allied with the pace and power of 23-year-old Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial 69 million pounds, Liverpool will have more cutting edge this season.
They have also upgraded in defence with highly-rated left back Milos Kerkez set to challenge Andy Robertson and Jeremie Frimpong to fill the hole left by the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid.
“I think there’s always room for improvement in every department,” Slot said after Liverpool beat Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in a pre-season friendly. “We’ve added a few extra weapons.” The Dutchman was also quick to point out that Liverpool’s rivals have not “stood still”, especially Arsenal and City.
Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have been agonisingly close to a first Premier League title since 2004, twice pushing Manchester City hard and last season emerging as Liverpool’s sole rivals before falling away.
