Can you believe it? August 11th signals the start of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, and it doesn’t seem long at all since Manchester City completed their historic treble.
The reigning champions open their title defence on Friday 11th with a mouthwatering clash away to Burnley. It’s Pep Guardiola versus his ex-Sky Blues captain Vincent Kompany at Turf Moor in the top-flight curtain raiser.
The Clarets are back in the big time after a season in the Championship, and there will be a lot of interest in the new-look Burnley.
The summer is flying by, and there has been none stop Premier League 2023 news on the transfer front, in particular, and there is still the matter of Harry Kane’s future to resolve.
And of course, there has been much attention on the happenings in the Middle East where the Saudi Pro League has been recruiting from Europe’s top leagues.
So that’s where we’ll start with this latest SBOTOP update.
Liverpool name Van Dijk as captain
Jordan Henderson’s move to Al-Ettifaq has left a void in the midfield at Anfieldand has also opened up a vacancy for a new captain, and centre-back Virgil Van Dijk is the man.
The Dutch master has been given the captaincy with Trent Alexander-Arnold as his vice-captain. It’s the end of an era on Merseyside, as Henderson has been the skipper at Liverpool for eight seasons since the retirement of Steven Gerrard, and now he is joining his predecessor, who is the head coach at Al-Ettifaq.
The 6’5” Van Dijk is a commanding figure, and he has captaincy experience with the Netherlands, leading them to the inaugural UEFA Nations League final and, with 161 appearances for Liverpool, he has plenty of red blood in him.
As well as Henderson, Fabinho has also gone to Saudi and James Milner has departed to Brighton, so the Liverpool midfield is going through a transition. Trent morphed successfully into a midfielder last season, and Alexis Mac Allister has arrived on a switch from Brighton.
The early Premier League 2023 betting odds seem happy with the goings on at Anfield, installing Jurgen Klopp’s team as third favourites ahead of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Newcastle United.
Could Mbappe land in the Premier League?
PSG star Kylian Mbappe’s future is still in the balance, and the deadline for the player to activate a contract extension passed on 31st July. He is surely about to be sold now, but the Frenchman is owed a whopping £34 million in loyalty bonuses, so there is a lot of work to be done on all sides.
Real Madrid have been the favourites to sign Mbappe, but guess who is the latest club to be linked? Yep, it’s Todd Boehly’s Chelsea, the fastest spending club in modern European history.
To be fair, Arsenal and Liverpool have also been rumoured to be tracking the striker, but Chelsea fans were teased by footage in the aftermath of Chelsea’s friendly victory over Fulham when a player was heard saying “And Mbappe ain’t here”.
Read into that what you like, but some sections of the UK press are suggesting Chelsea are mooting a player plus cash deal to bring Mbappe to West London.
Money talks, but I’m struggling to see Mbappe going to a club without Champions League football, which would make Arsenal a more likely candidate.
Newcastle and Arsenal join the race to sign Lindstrom
Eintracht Frankfurt’s attacking midfielder Jesper Lindstrom is a man in demand, and two Premier League clubs have joined the race for the Danish international’s signature.
The 23-year-old is one of Denmark’s hottest properties because he can play on the wing or through the middle, and he is now ready for a new challenge, with all respect to Frankfurt.
Lindstrom made 22 starts for the Bundesliga side last season, scoring seven goals and making two assists, and he made seven Champions League appearances, scoring one goal.
Bundesliga title hopefuls RB Leipzig have been linked to Lindstrom along with Serie A big guns Napoli, Inter Milan, and Juventus, and now Newcastle United and Arsenal have joined the list of the player’s admirers.
The Gunners have allegedly already been in touch with Frankfurt who value the player at £35 million. That price may be too much to tempt Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, and he is already blessed with a number of attacking midfielders, such as Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka.
A move for Lindstrom might make more sense for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United, who won Champions League football with a fourth place finish last term, and they have owners with very deep pockets.
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