Diehard football fans, rejoice! We are going to talk about the most interesting roster moves, expectations, and news regarding the best football teams in the world. There is no particular order in which we will talk about them. We do not want to rate them or meticulously discuss their chances of winning important trophies. Instead, we will focus on key roster moves and interesting management decisions, as well as talk about the possible power level of the team in the upcoming season.

Premiere League

If you follow the football scene, there is no way that you miss out on the news from England. Premiere League is probably one of the hottest football competitions and some rivalries have been lasting for nearly a century. Football clubs in PL earn more money than any other club in the world and even middle-of-the-pack teams can certainly afford themselves to buy a famous player. The competition here is tough and the teams are stacked with talent.

Although incalculable roster moves and high expectations here are common things, this year was more than interesting in terms of roster changes. Some of them happened out of blue, others we expected. How recent changes will shift the balance in the PL?

Manchester United

The most important roster change is undeniably Zlatan Ibrahimovich moving to “Man U” and starting training under the supervision of Jose Mourinho. These two personalities are notorious for being extremely confident and sometimes cocky. However, Zlatan has multiple achievements to back up his extravagant behavior and cocky trash talk.

Zlatan Ibrahimovich has never been considered a player with natural talents like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Nonetheless, Zlatan is probably the most efficient and resultative player in the whole world. He won 13 league trophies out of 15 seasons in 4 different countries with 6 different teams; he is the best goalscorer in the Sweden national team; he has more than 30 official individual trophies and recognized achievements. If Messi is a genius when it comes to virtuously use the ball, then Zlatan is the one you want to have on your team to solidify its chances to win. Not necessarily win beautifully. Zlatan just knows how to do the job.

This man is not the humblest in the world, however, he works well with his teammates and respects them. He immediately started praising his new comrade Wayne Rooney and showed some excellent teamwork on the grass during his PL debut against Everton. While the game was certainly far away from being flashy, Zlatan and Rooney showed that they can work together and the Jose Mourinho has some high-grade material on his hands to work with.

What can we expect from this amazing PL team? Winning is just a habit for Zlatan Ibrahimovich and we certainly expect Manchester United to perform much better in the upcoming season. Some criticize Jose for weird roster decisions and there are concerns with not getting Paul Pogba to play for “MU” in this season. However, we still believe that with Zlatan and Wayne on board Manchester United will be a top contender for the title in the upcoming season.

Manchester City

This is a team that made a bunch of interesting deals. They do not aim for the big names and instead try to search for promising players and highly value talent from abroad. There are no huge news surrounding this club. Unlike Manchester United, City doesn’t shake the world with astounding contracts and surprising signings. The City prefers to slowly build up their roster and make it stronger with each buy.

Manchester is about to close the deal with the Colombian forward Marlos Moreno. This 19-year-old is a promising young talent from Colombia who can certainly show some results. However, Manchester City is reportedly aiming at using him differently and wants to loan him to Deportivo. Other significant pickups are Gabriel Jesus from Brazilian Palmeiras for £27 million and Leroy Sane from Schalke 04 for £37 million. Both players are extraordinarily talented footballers and can certainly upgrade Manchester United.

Simultaneously, the team will have to test the waters with their new acquisitions. Both Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus have yet to be truly tested and their professional careers are just starting. Some say that these pickups are risky.

One of the “healthiest” pickups is getting Pep Guardiola. He started to shake up things immediately and put all his players on a very strict diet. He also mentioned that overweight players will not be able to train with others. Many additions to the training regime are consequential to the concerns about high injury rate that haunted Manchester City in the recent season when they had 79 injuries during the regular season. Hopefully, with young hungry talent and experienced coaching staff, Manchester City will shine brightly in the nearest future!

Leicester

Leicester is probably the hottest underdog story of all times. This team is an example of an amazing success that can be achieved through solid teamwork and dedication. The community was pleasantly surprised by the fact that many Leicester players are not going anywhere and staying with the team despite having solid offers from other teams.

Jamie Hardy rejected the opportunity to join both Liverpool and Arsenal and Riyad Mahrez, another bright star performer, is also not going anywhere, as the management stated that he is not for sale. Leicester is about to sign Polish winger Bartosz Kaputska from Cracovia. This player is young and hungry for victories and he totally showed his potential during Euro 2016 where he played in 4 games for his national team. Other notable additions to the team are Luis Hernandez, Ahmed Musa, Nampalys Mendy, and Ron-Robert Zieler. 

Leicester doesn’t have to prove anything. Their impressive championship run was entertaining enough for fans all over the world. However, they cannot relax and disappoint all who keep believing in them. With established roster and fresh blood, Leicester should improve its chances to protect their title. The competition is tough and we expect this team to show lesser results in the upcoming season.

Liverpool

This is a staple team of the League and one of the most famous clubs in England. It is hard to judge their recent performances. The team is certainly above the middle of the pack, but it doesn’t really pretend for the top spots in the standings. Their roster moves are not aimed at huge improvements either. Jamie Hardy rejected their offer and this could be one of the most reasonable roster moves for Liverpool.

The team owners believe that Jurgen Klopp is more than just capable of running the team, they want him to build the right infrastructure and develop a team that can win championships. Obviously, such developments do not happen overnight. Recently, he received a 6-year contract and his relationships with the team are certainly about to become unusually long-lasting.

Leaving Jurgen Klopp in his position means that the team is not going to make huge roster changes. Jurgen expressed his satisfaction with the atmosphere within the team and he believes that it is possible to achieve great results without replacing any significant parts of the mechanism.
Nonetheless, Liverpool signed quite a couple of interesting players that can certainly strengthen its potential. Recently, Liverpool has signed Klavan Ragnar for £4.2 million. This experienced central defender is one of the core players in Augsburg and his presence should boost the defensive capabilities of the team. Brad Smith and Joe Allen leave Liverpool for Bournemouth and Stoke City respectively. These losses are totally understandable and sound reasonably. There was only one key roster move that was close to a challenge for the team and that is signing Saido Mane for £30 million. This addition to the attack power of Liverpool should increase team’s offensive capabilities.

Liverpool has made some solid roster moves solidifying its defense and offense. The future looks bright and this team may very well compete for 6-8th places in the league.

Arsenal

The Gunners surely love to make decisive roster moves and wager on how well the team will do after some critical transformations. This summer is a period of questions as Arsenal fans wonder how new players will affect the team.

Kelechi Nwakali joined Arsenal earlier this summer and this is a big deal. This young talent participated in the FIFA World Championship in U-17 group in Chile last year and his stellar performance allowed him to receive an honorable title of the best player of the tournament. Kelechi is talented and his skills can be easily fine-tuned.

Another big addition is Takumo Asano. Asano is also young and hot-blooded. He is 21 years old now and showed promising performances during his time in Sanfrecce Hiroshima where he scored 14 goals in 60 appearances.

With these newest additions and solid starting roster, Arsenal should easily compete for at least Top-3 position in the league. 

Chelsea

The Blues do not have to make heavy roster changes. To be fair, they have some expendable material at their disposal. Their players are quite good and the reason for moving out some footballers is that not everyone gets enough appearances. Chelsea can easily buy the best in the world with their financial backup and solid performances in the league. However, the only confirmed significant roster move is signing Michy Batshuayi for £33 million. The striker from Mareille should improve the offense, as Chelsea looked lackluster in their attack due to various issues with Diego Costa. Batshuayi is a good pickup and Marseille asked a fair price for this talented striker.

The blues lost Reece Mitchell to Chesterfield and John Swift to Reading. Both players had no chances to put their feet on the grass of the stadium. Swift showed up only once as a late sub. It is hard to say that these roster losses will affect the performance of the team greatly.

Without speculations, we can see that Chelsea wants to strengthen those areas of their strategy that have looked weak during the last year. If the Blues will show some offensive prowess, their chances to get the Top-3 position are more than serious.

Bundesliga

Some key purchases were made by German teams and many clubs are betting on young talent. Bundesliga is a hard place where true talent molds and evolves. No wonder that Renato Sanches decided to join forces with Bayern Munich. Some say that competition in Bundesliga is harder than in any other European league. This is a subjective stance and saying that PL or LaLiga are easier places is nonsense.

We do not want to go into details with every single team in this strong league. Instead, we will focus on two teams that we believe will change the most after this summer.

Bayern Munich

No. 35 of Bayern Munich is no one, but Renato Sanches. This young kid showed some outstanding performances during his time at Euro 2016. The youngest ever starter for the Portugal national team and one of the fastest scorers, this player is a talent that the world of football sees rarely. His potential skill level is beyond that of your regular club stars. Many speculate that Sanches may very well be our next generation Cristiano Ronaldo, a talented yet hardworking superstar player. While praising such promising players is something that the community loves to do, we also agree that this signing can surely add some striking power to Bayern that, to be honest, is already stacked with stars.

One of the most discussed roster moves of this summer is also a huge gamble for both parties. Renato himself may not see as much field time as he would like to. In the team with Douglas Costa, Xabi Alonso, Thiago, Frank Ribery, Arjen Robber, and Kingsley Coman it is hard to find a place for a superstar. The midfield of Bayern is stacked with talent. On the other hand, Sanches may simply underperform in a team where every single player is a world-class star.

We also have various rumors about the possibility of Schweinsteiger’s return to Bayern. This talented veteran doesn’t appreciate the way Manchester United treats him and may very well return to the club where he shined brightly. This 32-year old midfielder do not deserve to sit out on the bench and if he returns, Bayern will look even scarier than it does right now.

Another roster move surely tasted bitter to many Bayern fans, as Mario Gotze returns to Borussia Dortmund. This talented player scored 22 goals over 72 appearances and his absence may significantly weaken the offensive capabilities of Bayern. 

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia is one of the most successful German football clubs. Lately their rivalry with Bayern has been closer than ever. Last year, Borussia ended up as a runner-up for the national title. What happens next year only time will tell. The fight for the top spot between Borussia and Bayern is so close that predicting who will be on top is nearly impossible. With Mario Gotze returning to Dortmund, the drama and rivalry looks even hotter. What Borussia players should we watch in the nearest future?

One of the most intriguing acquisitions made by Borussia is the pickup of Marc Bartra in June. This young talent from Barcelona is a perfect fit for Dortmund that recently lost Mats Hummels who decided to return to Bayern. This central defender was a pivotal part of Borussia’s defense and losing him would mean issues with protecting their side of the field. However, Marc Bartra can solve this problem. Las Masia’s alumnae is more than capable of turning on when it’s needed.

Another important addition to the team is Emre Mor. This 19-year-old Turkish winger is no joke and his stellar performances kept impressing both experts and fans. Together with Mario Gotze, this player forms a very threatening offensive power that can certainly increase Borussia’s chances to overcome Bayern.

Serie A

Italians are notorious for its disciplined tactics and this trait spreads over all their professional teams. Nearly the same can be said about the management of the teams. Many roster moves are completely justified and it is hard to find any risky moves made by the top teams from Serie A. There are still questionable decisions and some roster moves that need additional explanations, but overall this league is as stable as usual.

Lazio

We had enough laughter with the scandal surrounding Marcelo Bielsa. As some “experts” noticed, Marcelo is the first Lazio coach who ended his career undefeated. The “legend” was signed on July, 6 and on July, 8 decided to leave the team. While this scandal is still hot and the community discusses legal procedures issued by Lazio management, we do not want to talk about this particular “roster move”.

One of the biggest hits to the team was the departure of Antonio Candreva to Inter Milan. This loss surely weakens Lazio’s offense. To top it all off, Lazio missed out on signing Florian Thauvin who decided to stay with Marseille. Who can fill the gap left by Antonio Candreva is a big question that needs to be answered as soon as possible. Sources close to the team say that Lazio aims at Alejandro Gomez, Nicola Sansone, and Wilfried Zaha. All three are capable of improving Lazio’s offense.

Juventus

This is a talent-packed team that still looks for upgrades. There are various rumors about certain roster targets and the biggest one is Gabriel Barbosa. Gabriels is one of the most promising young forwards from Brazil with 24 goals over 82 appearances. His impressive speed and technique attracted the Turins and it is possible that this acquisition will improve the very way Juventus attacks.

Barbosa is not the biggest roster move for Juventus. This team has recently lost Pogba, as the Frenchman decided to side with Manchester United. The Turin giant added Miralem Pjanic, Dani Alves (sic!), Medhi Benatia, and Marko Pjaca, bolstering their midfield. At the same time, one of the most discussed moves is the acquisition of Gonzalo Higuain. This veteran Argentinian player has already impressed Buffon and can certainly strengthen the offense of the team.

With so many stars acquired, Juventus is definitely aiming at the top standing in their home league and notable performances during UEFA club competitions.

AC Milan

Milan is living through a tough period in their history. Many key players are leaving and the management itself is ambiguous about the future of the team. We do not even know the owners of the team yet. What we do know is that Berlusconi has sold the team, but the conglomerate has yet to reveal how the team will develop from now on. 11 players have left the team, leaving many vacant position open. Simultaneously, the amount of “ins” is not even close to this number.

We talk about three latest acquisitions made by AC Milan. The biggest one is probably Lionel Vangioni from Argentina whose defending abilities have been tested multiple times throughout his long career. This is a reliable veteran and can provide more sturdiness to the team. Another acquisition is more than just questionable. Gianluca Lapadula from Pescara has been a player that was tossed around multiple times and now looks forward to stay with AC Milan for a long time. He is a forward without notable achievements and many doubt that this roster move will improve Milan’s offense.

Alessandro Pizzari has been promoted from their Primavera squad and truly has some potential, however, no one expects him to shine like a diamond during his first ever professional season. With no stars to carry the team, it is hard to expect AC Milan to be at the top of Serie A in the 16-17 season. Hopefully, their new management will sort things out and will stabilize the team before it’s too late.

Spain, LaLiga

LaLiga is one of the most talent-packed leagues in the world. Arguably the best players in the world play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona. So many stars can easily outshine the newcomers and there are some in the league. Hopefully, we will see new talent rising. While some Spaniards are leaving LaLiga to pursue their careers elsewhere, the core players remain loyal to their clubs.

Valencia

Valencia looks to restructure their team, as they lose they star players and do not pick up any significant upgrades. To top it all off, Valencia have yet to find a coach and their interim coach is either not competent to make roster acquisitions or Valencia simply doesn’t want to compete for the top spots in LaLiga. These are two only reasonable explanations to why they are so slow in adding players to their roster.

Just look at the list of losses: Andre Gomes, Rodrigo de Paul, Pablo Platti, Sofiane Feghouli, Yoel Rodriguez, Antonio Barragan, Alvaro Negreda. These players are great at their positions and filling the gaps left by them is no easy task. Their recent additions to the squad are Nani and Alvaro Medran, the former is a well-known and well-performing legendary winger, the latter is a young talent that can surely increase Valencia’s prowess in midfield. However, these additions are hardly enough to compete in one of the most talent-stacked leagues in the world.

With a fairly weak roster and no dedicated coach, Valencia looks like an underdog champion that will unlikely make a run similar to Leicester in Premiere League.

FC Real Madrid

This club has more than a hundred years of history behind its back and no one has ever wondered why this football club tops the standings for decades. Each year looks like a competition between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Both teams want to show off their rosters and start the fight for the first place before the beginning of the season. That’s the spirit!

This year is no different from others and Real Madrid has already tried to fight for some superstars hunting for Pogba earlier this summer. Eventually they lost the fight to Manchester United where Pogba found its new home for at least one season. However, the rumors say that Real Madrid will certainly look to target more big stars and they have already offered about €65 million for David Alaba. At the same time, the team wants to sell Martin Odegaard and find a suitable substitute for Cristiano Ronaldo who received a concerning injury during Euro 2016.

Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his doubts about being a starter for the team in the first weeks and maybe even months. Zinedine Zidane has to find a suitable solution to the absence of his superstar player. As of right now, Zidane can pick one out of three: Karim Benzema, Alvaro Marato, and Jese. All three are capable footballers, but none of them can shine as bright as Cristiano Ronaldo. Obviously, Real Madrid is still searching for options.
Despite Ronaldo’s injury, the team is still packed with talent. When you can field Tony Kroos, Segio Ramos, Pepe, and Gareth Bale, there are good chances that you can win against any team in the world. The 2015-16 season Real Madrid finished 2nd, but the management surely can ask for better results in the upcoming season!

Barcelona

Barca is probably one of the richest clubs in the world when it comes to how much their players cost. There is no doubt that at some point during the last decade Barca was the most expensive team in the world. This trend will unlikely change in the nearest future, as the team has spent over €52 million in 2015 and is about to spend similar amount of euros this year.

The team doesn’t really need any upgrades, it’s solid performance during the last season was impressive and their first place was reached with confidence that only champions possess. However, there is always room for improvement and some interesting changes happened despite the results of this season. First and foremost, Barcelona released two big names: Martin Montoya and Sandro Ramirez. The former went to Valencia, while the latter sided with Malaga CF.

With Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Rafinha, and Javier Macherano, it is hard to say that Barcelona lost any of its power due to the departure of Montoya and Ramirez. Quite the contrary, the team looks stronger than ever and it seems that you simply cannot add anyone to the roster.

Nonetheless, Barcelona keeps stacking its talent pool. Their recent acquisitions sound threatening. Andre Gomez and Dennis Suarez both can significantly increase Barca’s firepower, while Lucas Digne and Samuil Umtiti from France can surely cement Barcelona’s defense. With such additions, Barca’s roster looks more than ready to take yet another championship title!

The Rest of the World

We can surely spend a couple of hours talking about other important roster changes that happen here and there in Europe, however, we want to conclude our overview with some news from somewhat exotic football countries.

Guangzhou Evergrande

Holding Top-50 position in world rankings, this Chinese team packed with Brazilian talent and led by Luis Filipe Scolari himself. The team heavily invests into infrastructure and players’ welfare. The owners’s dedication allowed this team to win 5 consecutive domestic championships and 2 ALFs. This is a big bid and it is even more interesting as Xu Jiayin, the current owner of the team, expressed his desire to purchase West Bromwich.

Such acquisition can open up some interesting roster moves and international football partnership that has yet to be seen in the football world. With Guangzhou Evergrande’s frequent international appearances and friendly matches with top teams in the world, it is very important to keep an eye on this Chinese squad.