Editor of Forever West Ham Barnaby here. Follow @BarnabyLane_
The new season – much to my own delight and I am sure yours – kicks off tonight as Arsenal welcome Leicester City to the Emirates Stadium.
It has been a long summer to say the least, but a successful one from a Hammer’s perspective thus far. Let us hope that continues.
Bias asides (I’ll play along with my head and not my heart), I thought I’d share my predictions for 2017/18. Feel free to chime in.
Title Winners – Manchester City
While not all of the Citizen’s signings this summer have been particularly excellent (cough cough Kyle Walker), Pep Guardiola’s side have still invested enough money to significantly strengthen their squad.
Their defence still remains a problem, but City should have the firepower to blow the rest of the league out of the water. Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are a trio to fear, whilst Kevin De Bruyne in behind is arguably the league’s best player. Add into that mix the two Silva’s Bernardo and David, as well as the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, and you have mixture made for Champions.
Top Four – City, Chelsea, Spurs, United
People are saying United are favourites for the title, but in my eyes they are still well off the pack. The signing of Romelu Lukaku will prove to be just enough to provide the goals to get them back into the top four, but I can’t see them going much further.
The current turmoil at both Chelsea and Tottenham wont’ help their title challenge, but both still have the quality to finish in second and third respectively.
Three to Go Down – Burnley, Newcastle, Huddersfield
Burnley have lost their two biggest players in Andre Gray and Michael Keane and so far failed to replace them, a move that I believe will end up costing them their Premier League status.
Newcastle, despite running away with the Championship last season, have added no-one of note and their squad looks very much similar to the one that went down in 15/16. Huddersfield Town, despite good business this summer, simply don’t have the quality to stay in the league.
FA Cup – Arsenal
Again? Surely not? It will be another season of turmoil at The Emirates followed by a cup run that saves Arsene Wenger’s job by the absolute skin of his teeth. Again.
Signing of the Season – Javier Hernandez
I promise not to be biased, and I still believe I am not. Hernandez, a proven Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and International goalscorer, is a steal at a mere £16 million. In an inflated market, that is absolutely brilliant business from the Hammers.
Flop of the Season – Alvaro Morata
The signing of the Spaniard seemed a desperate attempt to match Manchester United’s move for Romelu Lukaku whom we all know was the Blues real priority this summer. £60 million worth of pressure on his head and the cursed number nine shirt will get the better of Morata.
Young Player to Watch – Wilfred Ndidi
I quite literally could not believe Ndidi was only 20-years-of-age when I discovered so. The Nigerian looks far more a complete player than his age suggests he should be, and he already looks like the man to boss Leicester’s midfield after an impressive half-season with the Foxes.
Surprise of the Season – Southampton
Same old story for the Saints. Lose their manager and their star player, that is assuming Virgil Van Dijk will leave the club. However two excellent signings in Jan Bednarek and Mario Lemina, as well as a firing Manolo Gabbiadini will see Southampton challenge for Europe.
Top Scorer – Harry Kane
For three years now Kane has defied his critics by finding the net consistently, finding the net almost 100 times in the past three seasons with Spurs. Form is temporary but class is permanent, so expect the Englishman to once again propel himself to the top of the scoring charts.
What do you think? Share your thought with us either on Twitter or by leaving a comment.
