2024/25 Premier League Season Preview

The start of the next Premier League season really snuck up on me this year, what with the multiple summer international tournaments to hold my attention during the off-season. But at least we get an extra day to prepare for Spurs' first game, since we have the last fixture of the matchday, on Monday the 19th.

The team has run through a gauntlet of pre-season friendlies to get ready and there are a few new signings to breathe fresh life into the squad. What will Ange Postecoglou's second season in charge have in store for us fans—joy, heartbreak, or somewhere in between?

It's time for my annual PL preview to assess Spurs Men's squad, weigh up our chances in the league and the cups, and predict the first starting XI (kind of).

In this issue: Grading the transfer window | State of the team | Predicting the starting XI | Narratives across the league

I stuck with the same handful of categories to guide me through this preview as in past seasons. It's mostly Spurs-centric, but I will touch on the rest of the league briefly. Without further ado, let's dive into the 2024/25 Premier League season!

Grading the transfer window

As usual, there is the caveat that the transfer window will still be open until August 30, so there could be further decisions that would affect my rating of the summer transfer business. But for now, let's just consider the moves (incoming and outgoing) that are already official.

My score out of 10: 7.5

We haven't seen a huge shift in the club's transfer priorities for the Men's team compared to Ange's first pre-season; the recruitment team continues to focus on bringing in young talent with room to grow. But in contrast to the previous summer's signings, which included a lot of internationally-trained players, this summer's additions boosted the squad's homegrown ranks—both short-term and long-term.

Am I cheating by including a few of these players as "new" signings this off-season? Perhaps, but I have my reasoning...

18-year-old Lucas Bergvall technically signed with the club in February but just now joined up in pre-season training, after spending another half-season on loan at his previous club. He doesn't count as club-trained yet, but he will by the time his 21st birthday rolls around—assuming he spends the next three seasons with the senior team and not out on loan. Judging by his promising performances in the recent friendlies, he's unlikely to need a loan for his development and will instead slot right into the first-team squad, even if he starts his tenure coming off the bench. To me, he looks to have the quality to be challenging for a starting spot before we even reach the festive fixtures, but time will tell. Expect to see him feature heavily in the cup matches in the near future.

The same goes for Archie Gray, who has already shown himself to be a versatile asset in the squad, playing multiple positions in the pre-season friendlies. Yang Min-hyeok won't be joining up with the squad until January, but we got an exciting glimpse of his talents in the friendly against the K League All-Stars. And then there's Mikey Moore, who just signed his first professional contract with the club upon his 17th birthday, having already made his Premier League debut with Spurs last season. Still lurking in the youth pipeline is Luka Vušković, who won't join Spurs until he turns 18 and will instead spend the next season on loan at Westerlo in Belgium from his current club, Hadjuk Split.

I'm counting Timo Werner as a summer signing since it wasn't a sure thing that he would be back in a Spurs shirt this season. But rather than converting his previous loan to a permanent contract, he's back on another loan for now. It makes sense from a business perspective and a squad depth perspective, so I'm all for it. We pretty much know what to expect from Timo after his first six months at the club; he won't score as often as we'd like, but he'll contribute plenty of assists and be an overall positive presence in the dressing room.

Dominic Solanke represents the only true "marquee" signing of the off-season, although some Spurs fans may quibble with my use of that term. Far from being underwhelmed by the signing myself, I think it's a very smart move—and one that Ange personally advocated for. In addition to being homegrown (though obviously not club-trained), he represents a proven striker in the top flight with a different set of skills than our other forward options. Most advantageous is his aerial prowess, which will be useful both in the attack and in defending set pieces.

On the outgoings front, we've managed to move along more players than I would have expected at this point. There were still a few more loans than is ideal, but we were able to secure a few transfer fees. The club also made the frustrating but necessary (and long overdue) decision to finally cut ties with Tanguy Ndombele. A few fringe players still remain in the squad, but we can consider the fact that Djed Spence is no longer nailed on for a departure as a positive development. He could prove to be very helpful squad depth for the fullback position, as we've now seen him play on both sides during the friendlies.

Ange has hinted that there could still be more transfer activity before the window closes. Although a lot of the chatter has been around attacking players, I would argue that bringing in another option at the #6 would be the best move (note: I wrote this before the Yves Bissouma suspension, so let me just go ahead and double down on that point). This is still the position that feels weakest in the current squad.

I wouldn't be feeling as positive about the transfer window as a whole if the youngsters weren't already looking so promising, but, well, they are! Bringing in an experienced, reliable striker was very important too since Richarlison doesn't have the best injury record and Son Heung-min is better deployed on the wing.

State of the team

Let's take a holistic look at the full squad, including the new transfers who will be with the team this season.

Squad depth is in a much better place across the formation, with the exception of the aforementioned #6 defensive midfield role. Now that we know Guglielmo Vicario is a capable #1 in the Premier League, the goalkeeper position is less of a concern than it was last summer—particularly since he rarely gets injured. Brandon Austin showed enough in pre-season to be a decent backup option until a long-term successor is identified. After a strong Euros campaign with Romania, Radu Drăgușin will have more trust to step up in central defense when needed, while Ben Davies provides a more experienced but less speedy alternative. Both starting fullbacks have a backup now, albeit of lower quality. We have a glut of attacking midfield options as well as wingers, and the striker position is looking more stable after the signing of Solanke—and youngster Will Lankshear eager to contribute as well.

I think the younger players like Bergvall and Gray are going to take the rest of the league by surprise, and Dejan Kulusevski is also becoming somewhat of a chameleon on the pitch—in a good way.

And for what it's worth, from an outsider's perspective observing the pre-season, team morale is high at the moment. The feel-good factor should not be underestimated in importance, and indeed, we saw the boost it can bring at the beginning of last season.

Assuming we have better luck on the injury front than last season (and really, how could it go worse?), we should be able to better weather the minor knocks and suspensions this time around. We also have the benefit in this campaign of not having any major mid-season international tournaments taking away key players for weeks at a time and risking injuries.

But squad depth is a moot point unless the manager actually utilizes the full bench—by choice, not just necessity. I would like to see Ange be more proactive in rotating the squad when the schedule best allows and getting the most out of the entire roster. Especially with a squad that skews so young, rotation can serve a twofold purpose: experience for the younger players, and rest for the older players who desperately need it. The goal is to strike the right balance between keeping key players fit for the most important games while not sacrificing opportunities in the cups. Rotating players on a rolling basis will enable Ange to keep the matchday squads fresh but never lacking too many experienced players at once.

Let's consider realistic targets for the season. I have been trying to temper my eternal optimism in recent seasons, and it seems like the wider fanbase is not feeling overly confident going into the new campaign, but I actually think we have a decent shot at winning a trophy for once.

My minimum expectation is top 4, and 3rd place feels like a distinct possibility with Liverpool transitioning into a new era under a new coach. As for which cup title to target, the Europa League looks winnable considering the other teams in the competition. I worry that Ange still won't prioritize the domestic cups, but would love to be proven wrong.

Predicting the starting XI

I will go ahead and factor in Bissouma's suspension, although candidly, he wouldn't be in my ideal XI anyway. I think Ange could try to bring an element of surprise as he did on opening day last season with new signings starting straight away, but this time by deploying a familiar face in a new role based on pre-season performance as well as throwing new recruits into the fire. At least the defense will bring some comfort with the same go-to back four as last season.

Here are my picks to secure a win and all three points on matchday 1 against Leicester City:

Note: Solanke doesn't have a number yet!

As usual, this is more of my idealized lineup (all limitations and known fitness concerns considered) than an actual prediction of what Ange will do.

Besides the back four being a no-brainer, it's also pretty clear that Solanke has to start since Richarlison has barely trained. Ange has spoken about how he doesn't prefer to utilize Kulusevski at striker (even though he played well there during the pre-season) and realistically, Son is more effective on the wing.

The midfield is the only true toss-up. Bissouma's social media blunder took him out of contention, and Rodrigo Bentacur didn't pull up any trees in his sole pre-season appearance. Unfortunately, neither did Pape Sarr, but the #6 isn't his best role to begin with. So I made the bold call for Gray. I also like the unpredictability of James Maddison next to Kulusevski farther up the pitch. Maddison is looking fit again after missing the Euros call-up for England and getting plenty of rest over the summer. Deki recently proved he can thrive in a more central role. Playing him in the midfield frees up a spot for Brennan Johnson to feature at right winger, bringing much-needed pace to the front of the attack.

What changes would y'all make, and who would be the first player off the bench (it's Bergvall for me)? Share in the comments below!

Narratives across the league

To wrap things up, let's take a look at some of the other teams in the league as I note a few storylines that I'll be keeping an eye on.

Points deduction roulette

Truly, there are so many clubs at risk of a points deduction due to breaking PSR (profit & sustainability rules). I'm probably missing at least one, but the ones I'm aware of are:

• Chelsea
• Manchester City
• Leicester City
• Nottingham Forest
• Probably Everton (I'm joking) (mostly)

It's probably a safe bet to put Leicester and Forest in your relegation predictions for the season. Unfortunately, any points deduction for Chelsea will come too late for them to be realistic relegation fodder (we could have had it all last season!) but seeing them finish outside the top six would be satisfying enough. City will somehow escape scot-free.

Race to the bottom

Will it be another case of the three newly promoted teams going straight back down to the Championship, or will one of the repeat stragglers finally succumb? Neither Fulham nor Brentford have been able to capitalize on their occasional runs of good form since reaching the top flight, and Everton are perennial underachievers. Wolves benefitted from a new manager bounce under Gary O'Neill, but have now lost two of their key players (Pedro Neto and Max Kilman). For that matter, Bournemouth may struggle to replicate their improved performances from last season without star striker Solanke. And with the aforementioned points deduction looming over them, Forest will be under pressure from the start of the campaign.

Still, the three teams that just came up are going to have their work cut out for them. Neither Leicester nor Southampton are the teams they once were, and Ipswich haven't been in the top flight since the turn of the century.

Every season I joke that this will finally be the one where West Ham get relegated, but alas, they've done some decent transfer business and will surely be safe. Alas.

Managerial shakeups in the traditional Top Six

It's hard to say if we'll see a return to that traditional Top Six this season, simply because a few of the usual suspects have new managers to adjust to (Chelsea, Liverpool) or a major change in their ownership group (Manchester United), while the main challengers to the Top Six dominance (Aston Villa, Newcastle United) have the benefit of stability going into the opening matchday. But the latter two have their own challenges to contend with. Aston Villa will have to weather the rigors of a Champions League run—ask Newcastle how that worked out for them last season. Newcastle themselves haven't had a strong summer transfer window, though they do have Sandro Tonali back in the squad after his lengthy suspension for gambling-related offenses. Still, the clubs with changes at the top of the club feel like the biggest wild cards this season. Liverpool seem the best equipped to stay the course since they have made very few updates to their squad; they didn't bring any new players in and only let go second string and academy players. But with Chelsea's bloated squad and United's lack of team identity under Erik ten Hag, neither club can afford a prolonged period of experimentation.

It probably goes without saying that I don't see Spurs, Manchester City, or Arsenal falling below the Top Six line. All three teams will be focused on incremental improvements, not wholesale changes. I would love to be wrong about Arsenal, however, and see Spurs finally finish above them again after failing to do so in the previous two seasons.

I'm going to pass on making any predictions this season, 1) because I'm generally pretty bad at them and 2) because I just want to enjoy the season as it plays out. But I will take this time to note that I correctly predicted Chelsea would miss out on qualifying for the Champions League in last year's PL preview, so I'm not always wrong! I also called Haaland for Golden Boot and Manchester City to win the title, but those weren't really tough ones to predict, were they?

I'm hoping to squeeze in one more mini-issue before the first Tottenham game on Monday to recap the latest transfer news (like the Solanke signing that I only briefly touched on in this league preview), but I'm going to be in extreme house-packing mode starting tomorrow, so that may not happen. If I don't get around to it, consider this my main preview for the Leicester game: nice to see you again, Winksy, and no pressure, Madders!

COYS

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