The question many Premier League supporters are asking themselves going into the 2022-23 season has to be: Can any other team step up and dethrone Manchester City off its perch?
City won the last two England Premier League championships and may be favored by many a fan and pundit to claim the top spot, yet again, when all is said and done.
Besides wondering if City will make it a three-peat or another team will claim premiership supremacy (And how teams will be affected by the World Cup break during November and December?), there are many of the league’s top footballers that fans will be watching for as the season commences in a few weeks.
Find the teams, schedules, answers and more in the Premier League guide.
Mohamed Salah
When one signs a contract worth the money that Salah did en route to becoming the highest Liverpool FC player in history, LFC supporters are sure to expect plenty from the Egyptian star.
Salah signed a 3-year, £54.6 million deal that will keep him in a Liverpool uniform until 2025. He was one of the top goal scorers during the 2021-22 season, putting 23 balls into the net for a Liverpool team that was one of four from the premiership that qualified for the Champions League.
Phil Foden
Foden is unarguably one of the leaders of the youth movement that is robust throughout the entirety of the England Premier League. And he is doing so with the team that is unquestionably the class of the premiership.
He has been named the PFA’s Young Player of the Year on two occasions. In bad news for City fans, he will miss the team’s tour of the United States on account of Foden not meeting entry requirements. Nevertheless, expect him to build on last season’s and this season’s successes.
Harry Kane
There is a legitimate chance that Kane — who built a storied career with Tottenham Hotspur — will tally 20 goals for the sixth time in his career.
And that is why there have been recent reports that the Spurs are willing to pay Kane, who is also the captain of the England national team, £85 million now that he has been linked to Bayern Munich. Kane led Tottenham Hotspur to a 22-5-11 mark last season and was another of the four Premier League soccer teams that qualified for the Champions League.
N’Golo Kante
One of the faces of the French national team, Kante is considered to be one of the world’s premier midfielders. Yet, his future with Chelsea is up in the air, given that he has only 12 months remaining on his contract.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel will be without Kante for his team’s upcoming preseason U.S. tour since he is unvaccinated and even made comments regarding signing players who did not get the vaccine in the future. Kante scored 12 goals throughout his career without a single red card.
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Bukayo Saka
Regardless of whether Arsenal is successful in signing Kante, Mikel Arteta’s bunch had to be thrilled with a recent report that came out indicating the young Gunners up-and-comer wants to remain in North London.
Saka first joined Arsenal as a teenager and has scored 23 goals, in addition to 29 assists. Arsenal has Champions League aspirations and inking Saka to a long-term deal will greatly help toward accomplishing that feat. Gunners finished with a 22-5-11 mark during the 2021-22 premiership campaign.
Harry Maguire
Manchester United fans are a tough lot to deal with. Maguire found this out during a recent friendly game, where he was booed lustily with many a touch he received despite Man U defeating Crystal Palace during a friendly in Australia.
United coach Erik ten Hag still bestowed team captaincy duties on Maguire despite what was a forgetful 2021-22 for the 29-year-old center-back. His career suggests that he can turn things around and turn those old Trafford supporter’s frowns upside down and lead Manchester United to even better fortunes in 2022-23.
Angelo Ogbonna
Ogbonna made a much anticipated return to the pitch recently for West Ham during a match with Boreham Wood following an ACL injury he suffered back in November in a contest with Liverpool. His return came in a 1-1 draw.
Manager David Moyes inked Ogbonna to a one-year contract. The star from the Italian national team notched three goals while playing in 28 games for West Ham United in 2020-21.
James Maddison
Expectations have increased among Leicester City supporters and that means increased expectations for the club’s front office to ensure top players remain with King Power. That starts with Maddison.
Leicester City was the top Premier League group that did not qualify for either the Champions League or Europa League, but Maddison had himself a banner 2021-22. He sailed 12 balls past goalies and into the net, and Maddison also assisted on eight more Leicester City scores. There is also a reason why, reports say, Tottenham Hotspur appears to be hot on Maddison’s trail.
Leandro Trossard
Led by the eight goals and three assists from the 27-year-old midfielder and forward, who hails from the Belgian national team, Brighton & Hove Albion managed its highest-ever Premier League finish this past season. Even Trossard himself admitted it may be difficult for Brighton to duplicate what it did in 2021-22.
A stellar 2022-23 and World Cup for Trossard may be bittersweet for Brighton backers as he could bolt for bigger and better pastures.
Raúl Jiménez
Two seasons ago, Jiménez suffered a fractured skull after making contact with Arsenal’s David Luiz. The effects of that injury were apparent throughout last season as the Wolverhampton Wanderers did not get the same production they are used to seeing from the 31-year-old from the Mexican national team.
Regardless, Jiménez still scored six goals and notched four assists for the Wanderers last season. A return to full health can be sure to put the rest of the Premier League on notice.
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