Savvy mid-table signings should make for a more competitive Premier League

Welcome back, everyone. It's almost three weeks since England's final defeat at the Euros, but we are returning to reality this weekend with the EFL back in action and an all-Manchester Community Shield to struggle through on Saturday.

For a few fans, the next nine months will be full of fun and fantasy, but for the rest of us, a mixture of misery and apathy beckons as we fail to understand how our heroes can so consistently break our hearts. However, for some clubs, those heroes are still to be signed. 

The combination of a truncated pre-season and previous run-ins with the profit and sustainability police means the current window has lacked any genuine transfer sagas, and the real story has been the Premier League's lack of mega-money deals.

The big boys' business has been quiet but there are sides who are close to wrapping up theirs.

Brighton have completed a series of potential coups and are reportedly set to fill a 'wise old head' berth with free agent Mats Hummels. They have also pushed the boundaries by appointing the Premier League's youngest-ever manager in 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler.

Hurzeler's age makes me nervous (anyone younger than me usually does) but rivals Crystal Palace look to have outdone them. 

Oliver Glasner's February arrival changed their dynamic and while they have lost Michael Olise, and potentially Marc Guehi, both missed spells of last season and the Eagles have replacements in Chadi Riad, Ismaila Sarr and Daichi Kamada. 

After also acquiring Adam Wharton and Daniel Munoz last winter, the Palace recruitment team have worked wonders and they look a steal at 11-8 for a repeat top-half finish under Glasner.

Fulham were only two points off the top ten in 2023-24 and new boy Emile Smith Rowe might be this season's Cole Palmer in being unwanted at his boyhood club but welcomed by another. 

A driving, creative midfielder, he adds passing accuracy otherwise absent and could form a lovely partnership with Rodrigo Muniz.

The Cottagers are a lively 7-2 to crack the top half, while West Ham are 5-1 with some firms for a top-six finish and have done smart work in appointing a coach in Julen Lopetegui who is comfortable working alongside technical director Tim Steidten. 

They have blended youth and experience and their key man could be Germany forward Niclas Fullkrug. Fullkrug is a throwback who is happy to bundle the ball home, making him arguably the type of forward David Moyes missed the most.

Of course, different clubs have different methods. Nottingham Forest have reloaded their scattergun and embarked on another game of transfer Tetris, while Chelsea continue to stockpile players in search of sell-on value over shirt sales.

The Blues have again signed potential and dumped experience. With Enzo Maresca lacking top-flight experience, early evidence suggests their best price of 10-1 to finish in the bottom half isn't outlandish.

A new season brings fresh optimism, but the rules mean blockbuster transfers may not be possible. 

Clubs must spend wisely before the window closes, and savvy business done by the mid-table sides means those above them are already playing catch-up. 

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