All eyes were back on the Premier League this weekend as the 2022-23 season got into full swing. There were notable wins for the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham, while Liverpool stumbled at Fulham and Erik ten Hag’s reign at Old Trafford started with a home defeat to Brighton.
For many sides in the division, the weekend’s fixtures would have been a reminder to managers of the areas in which they still need to strengthen their squads before the transfer window closes on 1st September. Namely Manchester United.
It’s sure to be a busy up-and-coming few weeks and, with that in mind, Mirror Football has taken a look at the one area each Premier League side is likely to try and prioritise strengthening before the window slams shut.
Arsenal - Midfield
It’s been a solid summer on the recruitment front at the Emirates and Mikel Arteta would have been pleased with the performances from debutants Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus in Friday night’s 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Returning loanee William Saliba also shined.
Despite it being a dominant performance on the whole, strong spells from the home side at the beginning of both halves were a reminder that Arsenal still perhaps lack another top-class midfielder who can take a game by the scruff of the neck when they need it.
It’s why they continue to be linked with Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans. He is the ideal candidate to add more depth and quality to their midfield, and with just a year remaining on his current deal, it’s easy to see why Arteta will hope he can secure his services for a reasonable fee.
Aston Villa - Attack
Steven Gerrard came into the summer keen to bolster his defence, especially after key defender Ezri Konsa picked up a long-term injury, and he did that to an extent with the signing of centre-back Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
It’s now at the other end of the pitch where the former Liverpool midfielder will be keen to improve, especially after his side failed to really threaten the defence of newly promoted Bournemouth in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat.
Up front, Villa do have options with Danny Ings, Keinan Davis, Ollie Watkins and Cameron Archer all within their ranks. Yet even so, there was a real lack of a focal point and target man in Saturday’s loss, and that could well be what Gerrard aims to bring in before the window slams shut.
Brentford - Attacking midfield
A spirited fightback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Leicester City left Brentford more than pleased with their start to the new season. Bolstering their defence was a big aim coming into the new campaign, and they went some way to do doing that with the signings of full-back Aaron Hickey and centre-back Ben Mee.
It’s further up the pitch now that’ll be attracting Thomas Frank’s attention. He’s already admitted his side will struggle to replace Christain Eriksen who starred for them last season, stating two weeks ago, “I would have loved him to stay. He brought a lot of quality to us. We can’t replace that, it’s impossible to replace Eriksen’s quality. But we can hopefully replace it with something different.”
That something different could be exciting Sampdoria playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard who has been linked with the Bees in more recent days.
Brighton - Attack
Brighton have steadily improved year on year under Graham Potter and secured their first-ever Premier League top ten finish last season. They ruined the party at Old Trafford on Sunday with their standout display and victory, something that suggested they could go on to do even better this season and threaten the top seven.
However, there’s a school of thought among those who watched them regularly last season that they could have done better in that campaign had they just had a more clinical finisher - they finished the season having scored just 42 goals from xG of 46.02.
Pascal Gross netted just two goals across the whole of the last Premier League season, so braces like the one on Sunday aren’t going to be a regular occurrence. Therefore finding and adding a reliable goalscorer could prove key if the Seagulls are to push on further and build on last season’s success.
Bournemouth - Defence
The Cherries finished last season with the best defensive record in the Championship. Yet they lost two key players from that defence as Gary Cahill departed upon the expiry of his contract while Nathaniel Phillips headed back to Liverpool following the conclusion of his loan.
It wasn’t a big problem on Saturday when Bournemouth shut out Villa en route to a solid 2-0 victory, but Scott Parker has previously demanded his club sign at least two defenders to add to his squad, especially as he plans to play with five at the back this season.
They secured the services of Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord earlier this week, but one more new defender will be needed between now and the end of the window to give Parker what he wants.
Chelsea - Defence
Perhaps unsurprisingly following the Todd Boehly-led takeover, Chelsea have not been shy in splashing the cash this summer, paying out big fees for players like Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella.
However, based on recent comments from Thomas Tuchel in the wake of his side’s 1-0 victory over Everton, we could see further additions to the defence in the coming weeks.
Chelsea did of course land Kalidou Koulibaly, however Tuchel admitted that the age of his current defence is a concern and could undermine Chelsea’s ambitions this season, “It is a lot of experience, it is maybe another of age, it is a lot of experience and they have their quality and they know what they are doing.”
We also need to make sure we have a new generation to take over in the next years but the guys are strong that is why they are under contract and the guys have our trust.” Adding a younger defender to the ranks, therefore, seems a real possibility.
Crystal Palace - Midfield
Palace put up a solid fight in their 2-0 loss to Arsenal, but manager Patrick Vieira pointed to his side’s failure to be clinical as one of the key reasons why they weren’t able to get something out of the game.
Palace’s recruitment has been excellent in recent years and they’ve managed to not only improve the team but also transform an ageing squad into one that’s much younger. One of their former older stars who recently moved on was striker Christian Benteke.
Although he was rarely a clinical goalscorer, he’ll leave a void up top that Vieira will be keen to fill. Especially if his replacement can covert more regularly in front of goal than his predecessor.
Everton - Attack
The Toffees were dealt a hammer blow in the build-up to their season opener against Chelsea when it was confirmed Dominic Calvert-Lewin was set to spend an extended spell on the sidelines.
He was their only real viable option to lead the line after Richarlison was sold to Spurs with no replacement lined up.
Winger Anthony Gordon was forced to play as a false nine in Calvert-Lewin’s absence in the loss to Chelsea. He did a decent job but manager Frank Lamaprd knows the Toffees will need to bring in at least one new forward before the window closes if they’re to score enough goals to avoid a repeat of last season’s relegation scrap.
Fulham - Defence
Relatively speaking, Fulham’s defence stood tall against the mite of Liverpool’s attack in their 2-2 draw last weekend, however Marco Silva will know that’s just the start of the challenges they’re set to face this year.
The Cottagers came into the summer a little light at the back, and bringing in new faces was key. Bernd Leno was a good addition in between the stick, as one Shane Duffy who joined on loan from Brighton late last week.
It’s more than likely they’re going to need one or two more defenders added to the ranks in order to give themselves a true shot of survival.
Leeds - Attack
Having successfully led Leeds to Premier League safety last season, Jesse Marsch was keen to strengthen this summer and avoid a similar battle again this year. He has certainly bolstered his side with high-profile additions such as Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra, each of who eased some of the disappointment at losing Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha.
The Yorkshire side started the campaign with a solid 2-1 home win against Wolves, however it’s fair to say they still need more options in attack if they’re to enjoy a successful season, particularly following the sale of Raphinha and due to Patrick Bamford’s seeming inability to remain fit.
Leicester - Goalkeeper
Leicester remain the only Premier League club yet to make any new additions to their squad this summer and are running out of time to do so. That’s a problem enhanced by notable departures from the club - with more potentially to come.
One of the bigger and more recent ones was Kasper Schmeichel who ended his 11-year stay with the Foxes to join French outfit OGC Nice. Danny Ward has been promoted to number one in his place, which does feel like somewhat of a gamble.
They’re going to at very least need to bring in some stiff competition for the Welshman, although ideally bringing in another first-choice should be the aim.
Liverpool - Midfield
All reports pretty much suggested that Liverpool were done in the market this summer after they signed Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho at the start of the window. However, Jurgen Klopp has since admitted Liverpool may need to sign another central midfielder after Thiago Alcantara suffered a hamstring injury against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all missed that Premier League clash through injury too.
Players like Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer and Sporting Lisbon's Matheus Nunes are all said to be on Liverpool's shortlist of targets. Any potential move was expected to take place in 12 months' time, but that plan could now be accelerated.
Man City - Wing-back
City picked up from where they left off on Sunday when they overcame West Ham 2-0 at the London Stadium. Erling Haaland, one of their standout summer purchases, was the star of the show in that clash and scored both goals.
Further back though, the champions still haven’t addressed a problem position in the squad that could prove costly as the season progresses. Right now, they have just two full-backs on their books after letting Zinchenko leave for Arsenal earlier this summer.
The Blues tried to sign Cucurella to fix that issue, however the move was hijacked by Chelsea. They’ve since switched their attention to Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez, and Pep Guardiola will hope that, or a similar deal, can be done or his side risk being vulnerable in a key area of the pitch this season.
Manchester United - Attack
After a strong pre-season for Erik ten Hag, Sunday’s defeat to Brighton was a crash back down to earth and a reminder of the task he faces at Old Trafford.
The club hasn’t waited around in reacting to that loss in the market, agreeing on a deal this week for Juventus ’ Adrien Rabiot. That’s a key step to improving the current below-par midfield.
Adding quality to the attack is just as much a priority though. Ten Hag was forced to initially play Christien Eriksen as a false nine for Sunday’s defeat, an experiment that can’t be allowed to happen again. Nor should United be forced to rely on a 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo for the bulk of the campaign too, however that’s what will happen unless they can bring in a new forward over the next three weeks.
Newcastle - Attacking midfield
A busy summer window always looked guaranteed at St James’ Park, yet there haven’t been as many new additions as people initially expected.
Nick Pope, Matt Targett and Sven Botman will all make the Toon more robust at the back, however it’s clear Eddie Howe is now keen to add more firepower to his attack as they pursue players like Lucas Paqueta and James Maddison.
The club have had two bids rejected by Leicester for the latter, however a third closer to the £60million they’re after could seal the deal.
Nottingham Forest - Attack
Forest’s return to the big time didn’t quite go to plan as they were downed 2-0 by Newcastle. That result would have highlighted to Steve Cooper that more options in attack are needed.
The club did land Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin who scored 15 Bundesliga goals last season, however getting some more quality and creativity around him will be key to their survival bid. This is why they’re reportedly looking to secure a loan deal for Standard Liege winger Alex Mighten, and also why they’re perusing Wolves’ Morgan Gibbs-White so aggressively.
Southampton - Attack
Ralph Hasenhuttl's men endured a really poor end to the campaign and were lucky that they avoided being sucked into the relegation dogfight. They started in a similar vein with their 4-1 defeat away to Tottenham on Saturday.
Scoring goals still looks to be a big issue for them - they managed a total of just 43 across the whole of last season - and fixing that with at least one new arrival will be a priority, as highlighted by Ralph Hasenhuttl last week.
When asked about signing new boy Sekou Mara, he said: “He is not the only offensive player we want to bring in. There is still somebody else to come. In the end, we need guys who make a difference up front.”
Tottenham - Defence
Spurs have been pretty busy this summer, spending over £90million on the likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Djed Spence as they aim to make the most of securing Champions League qualification.
Antonio Conte is still keen to bring in a quality left-sided defender though in order to strengthen the team’s back three, and Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni does still seem to be the primary target. The Italian giants were keen to keep hold of the defender, however, they may now be more open to sale in order to recoup funds.
West Ham - Attacking midfield
West Ham are another club who have been very busy in the market, spending over £100m on players like Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola, Flynn Downes, Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwell Cornet.
They started their season with defeat to Manchester City though, and David Moyes has already revealed he still feels his side is someway off being ready to fight for European places again this season, “We need to do an awful lot more business. We're far from finished. We might have to take that risk. This could be one of the biggest turnarounds I'm having to make here. It's a challenge.”
One of the players Moyes highlighted that his side tried and failed to sign was Jesse Lingard, confirming “the owners did everything they could to get him”. This suggests a creative attacker remains high on the list of targets for the Hammers boss before the window closes.
Wolves - Attack
Wolves’ 2-1 defeat away to Leeds reminded manager Bruno Lage that greater firepower in attack is needed. This is especially the case given they’re going to be without key man Raul Jimenez for an extended period as he recovers from a MCL knee injury.
Lage’s side still hasn’t managed to fill that gap left by Jimenez, however they have landed a £27.5m deal for Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes. He’s a versatile attacker who can play out wide or more centrally and finished the last campaign having scored 11 La Liga goals.
