Premier League flexes financial muscle as fans return
The Premier League returns on Friday in front of full crowds for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit and with little sign of the financial turmoil of the past 18 months slowing the arms race for talent in the transfer market.
Newly-promoted Brentford open the 2021/2022 season at home to Arsenal in front of a first full house at the Bees new 17,500 capacity stadium, which opened last year.
"This is the kick-off to a new world where we have never been before," said Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
Despite the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, the Premier League has told fans to expect spot-checks to prove they have been fully vaccinated or provide evidence of a negative test in the past 48 hours before entering stadiums.
The UK government has not yet implemented a vaccination passport scheme, but could do so in the coming months for events with crowds of over 20,000.
"It is a momentous moment," Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the BBC ahead of the expected return of 300,000 fans across the 10 top-flight matches this weekend.
"It does feel like it is a return to some sort of normality. We will always be cautious and put safety first."
- Transfer records smashed -
The economic bounce from a return of fans through the gates and agreement for a £4.7 billion ($6.5 billion) three-year domestic television rights deal from 2022 has already been evidenced in the sums spent by Premier League clubs on new players.
As even some of the biggest names across the continent such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan have had to sell and shed big earners from their wage bills, the English giants have splashed out.
Defending champions Manchester City have broken the Premier League transfer record with the £100 million signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa and could do so again before the end of the month as they pursue Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
The England captain has made his desire to leave Spurs clear and is a major doubt for Tottenham's opener against City on Sunday.
Manchester United have also spent over £100 million on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane as they aim to end an eight-year wait to win the title.
Chelsea showed their title credentials in beating City three times towards the end of last season, including in the Champions League final to cap a remarkable transformation under Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues on Thursday added the missing piece of a prolific goalscorer by signing former player Romelu Lukaku for £97 million from Inter Milan.
"We will try to compete for every title in every competition we enter but I also think it will be a huge step forward if we can maintain the same quality, attitude and effort that we showed last season," said Tuchel.
- Klopp relying on fortress Anfield -
Liverpool have only added the signing of Ibrahima Konate to bolster Jurgen Klopp's options at centre-back after an injury-ravaged 2020/21 season left the Reds needing a late-season revival to secure a place in the top four.
However, they will be boosted by the return of Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez from long-term injuries and Klopp believes his side will benefit more than most from the return of supporters to fortress Anfield.
"We have so many things which you can’t sign," said Klopp.
"You can't sign the atmosphere we can create in the stadium, you can't sign Anfield, you can't sign our anthem.
"That’s what we have to use obviously. There are different approaches obviously out there and we have no influence on that."
(责任编辑:产品中心)
- 'Black Myth: Wukong' PS5 review in progress: A potential masterpiece
- Book excerpt: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
- iPhone 16 tipped to have new 'capture button': 3 things it can do
- Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted a brain chip in a human for the first time
- NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
- Game Plan
- N. Korea scheduled to hold key parliamentary meeting following Kim
- The big flaw with the law that prevents Trump from getting a Georgia pardon.
- 8 of the Rudest Places on Earth
- 雅安公安接连破获两起汉源湖非法捕捞案
- Book excerpt: Judi Dench's love letter to Shakespeare
- India defeats Pakistan in Davis Cup Group I play
- 'Hunger is big' in SA squad to reach AFCON final, says Broos
-
12 Sculptures Made From Recycled Materials
Most trash is destined for some forlorn landfill or recycling center, but when it finds its way into ...[详细] -
Mark Meadows news: The defense of Trump’s “perfect phone call” is really something.
A recording of the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call during which Donald Trump asked Georgia Secretary of Sta ...[详细] -
督导调研名山区市场监管工作本网讯7月13日,雅安市市场监管局组成督导组督导调研名山区市场监管工作。市市场监管局食品安全协调科相关人员陪同督导调研。在听取名山区食品安全“守底线、查隐患、保安全”专项行动 ...[详细]
-
Police clear Olympic fencing medalist of charges in ex
Nam Hyun-hee (Instagram)Police said Monday they have decided to clear Olympic fencing medalist Nam H ...[详细] -
Google Search tries new tactics for limiting explicit deepfakes
The explosion of nonconsensual deepfake imagery online in the past year, particularly of female cele ...[详细] -
有望增产20%!英德春茶全面开采_南方+_南方plus眼下正是春茶陆续开采的季节。在清远市英德市的各大茶园里,漫山的茶树吐出嫩绿的新芽,茶农如跳跃的音符点缀其中,娴熟地采摘着今年的第一批新茶。春茶抢“ ...[详细]
-
南农晨读|荔花盛放繁如星_南方+_南方plus【今日关注】兴农评丨群众参加医保热情趋冷,因“性价比”渐低近日,全国多地医保部门纷纷发出倒计时提醒,2024年度城乡居民医疗保险以下简称“居民医保”)的参 ...[详细]
-
Confused about how to reopen closed tabs? When you accidentally close a tab you’re not done wi ...[详细]
-
12 Places that Celebrate Women in Science
Advancements in science and medicine have been pivotal to the betterment of the modern world, and ma ...[详细] -
Around the World in 7 Futuristic Farms
The United Nations estimates that Earth’s human population will jump from today’s 7.6 billion ...[详细]
- NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
- Book excerpt: The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
- Book excerpt: The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
- Analyzing Graphics Card Pricing: October 2018
- Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- 8 Wondrous Bridges to Nowhere
- Mosaic of N. Korean leader erected in Pyongyang as part of personality cult