Football Matters: Premier League Preview - Mid-Table Safety?

Strike

Part 4 of my Premier League Preview

11th – Southampton

With Ronald Koeman leaving to join Everton the reigns are being taken over by Claude Puel who has previously only managed in France with Monaco, Lille, Olympique Lyon and OGC Nice. It will be quite a transition for the south coast club as both Koeman and Pochettino before him did an excellent job. They've also lost three key players from last season in Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama and Graziano Pelle. I would usually put Southampton pushing for the 7th to 10th places but think they will struggle more than usual next season.

Ins = Nathan Redmond – Norwich City – £11m, Alex McCarthy – Crystal Palace – £4m, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Bayern Munich – Undisclosed, Jeremy Pied – OGC Nice - Free Outs = Sadio Mane – Liverpool - £36m, Graziano Pelle – Shandong Luneng - £12m, Victor Wanyama – Tottenham Hotspur - £11m, Juanmi – Real Sociedad - £5m, Gaston Ramirez – Middlesbrough - Undisclosed, Kelvin Davis – Retired, Joe Lea – Yeovil – Free, Bevis Mugabi – Yeovil - Free

Loans Out = Jason McCarthy – Walsall, Paulo Gazzaniga – Rayo Vallecano, Sam Gallagher – Blackburn Rovers

Squad =

GK – Fraser Forster – 28 – England 6 caps – 2014 from Celtic

GK – Alex McCarthy – 26 – England – 2016 from Crystal Palace RB – Cedric Soares – 24 – Portugal 15 caps – 2015 from Sporting Lisbon

RB – Cuco Martina – 26 – Curacao 24 caps – 2015 from FC Twente

LB – Ryan Bertrand – 27 – England 9 caps – 2015 from Chelsea

LB – Matt Targett – 20 – England – Youth product

CB – Jose Fonte – 32 – Portugal 16 caps – 2010 from Crystal Palace

CB – Maya Yoshida – 27 – Japan 64 caps – 2012 from VVV Venlo (Netherlands)

CB – Florin Gardos – 27 – Romania 13 caps – 2014 from Steuea Bucharest

CB – Virgil van Dijk – 25 – Netherlands 4 caps – 2015 from Celtic

CB – Jordan Turnbull – 20 – England – Youth product

CM – Steven Davis – 31 – Northern Ireland 81 caps – 2012 from Rangers

CM – James Ward-Prowse – 21 – England – Youth product

CM – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 21 – Denmark 17 caps – 2016 from Bayern Munich

CM – Jordy Clasie – 25 – Netherlands 11 caps – 2015 from Feyenoord

CM – Oriol Romeu – 24 – Spain – 2015 from Chelsea

CM – Harrison Reed – 21 – England – Youth product

CM – Dominic Gape – 21 – England – Youth product

AM – Jake Hesketh – 20 – England – Youth product

RM – Nathan Redmond – 22 – England – 2016 from Norwich City

RM – Jeremie Pied – 27 – France – 2016 from OGC Nice

LM – Dusan Tadic – 27 – Serbia 38 caps – 2014 from FC Twente

LM – Lloyd Isgrove – 23 – Wales 1 cap – Youth product

LM - Sam McQueen – 21 – England – Youth product

ST – Charlie Austin – 27 – England – 2016 from Queens Park Rangers

ST – Shane Long – 29 – Republic of Ireland 67 caps – 2014 from Hull City

ST – Jay Rodriguez – 27 – England 1 cap – 2012 from Burnley

12th – Crystal Palace

So far this summer I think Palace have done the best business in the transfer market on a 'pound for pound' basis. Andros Townsend is a fringe England international who can create plenty of goals especially with a tall target like Connor Wickham on the end of his crosses. I think James Tomkins is also on the fringe of the England squad and was surprised that West Ham let him go. Steve Mandanda has been a quality keeper over the years and will be great competition with Wayne Hennessey for the place between the sticks. In Alan Pardew they have a manager who I rate highly and would have been my choice for England manager above Sam Allardyce. When he left Newcastle United their drop in form showed how effective he was and Crystal Palace immediately went from relegation candidates to mid-table places. They now have plenty of creativity with Townsend joining Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha supported by a solid midfield including the talented Yohan Cabaye. Before the end of August I'd like to see them sign a quality striker to cement their place in my prediction but I feel they are solid enough to avoid relegation.

Ins = Andros Townsend – Newcastle United - £13m, James Tomkins – West Ham United - £10m, Steve Mandanda – Marseille - Free Outs = Jerome Binnom-Williams – Peterborough United – Undisclosed, Dwight Gayle – Newcastle United - £10m, Alex McCarthy – Southampton - £4m, David Gregory – Cambridge United – Free, Jake Gray – Luton Town – Free, Emmanuel Adebayor – Released, Marouane Chamakh – Released, Brede Hangeland – Released, Adrian Mariappa – Released, Reise Allassani – Released, Christian Scales – Released, Connor Dymond – Released

Loans Out = None

Squad =

GK – Steve Mandanda – 31 – France 22 caps – 2016 from Marseille

GK – Wayne Hennessey – 29 – Wales 62 caps – 2014 from Wolverhampton Wanderers

GK – Julian Speroni – 37 – Argentina – 2004 from Dundee

RB – Joel Ward – 26 – England – 2012 from Portsmouth

RB – Martin Kelly – 26 – England 1 cap – 2014 from Liverpool

LB – Papa Souare – 26 – Senegal 22 caps – 2015 from Lille

LB – Zeki Fryers – 23 – England – 2014 from Tottenham Hotspur

CB – James Tomkins – 27 – England – 2016 from West Ham United

CB – Scott Dann – 29 – England – 2014 from Blackburn Rovers

CB – Damien Delaney – 35 – Republic of Ireland 9 caps – 2012 from Ipswich Town

CM – Yohan Cabaye – 30 – France 48 caps – 2015 from Paris St Germain

CM – James McArthur – 28 – Scotland 24 caps – 2014 from Wigan Athletic

CM – Mile Jedinak – 32 – Australia 64 caps – 2011 from Genclerbirligi

CM – Joe Ledley – 29 – Wales 67 caps – 2014 from Celtic

CM – Jordan Mutch – 24 – England – 2015 from Queens Park Rangers

CM – Jonny Williams – 22 – Wales 17 caps – Youth product

CM – Hiram Boateng – 20 – England – Youth product

RM – Andros Townsend – 25 – England 11 caps – 2016 from Newcastle United

RM – Wilfried Zaha – 23 – England 2 caps – 2015 from Manchester United

RM – Jason Puncheon – 30 – England – 2014 from Southampton

RM – Chung-Yong Lee – 28 – South Korea 72 caps – 2015 from Bolton Wanderers

LM – Yannick Bolasie – 27 – DR Congo 27 caps – 2012 from Bristol City

LM – Bakary Sako – 28 – Mali 14 caps – 2015 from Wolverhampton Wanderers

LM – Sullay Kaikai – 20 – England – Youth product

ST – Connor Wickham – 23 – England – 2015 from Sunderland

ST – Frazier Campbell – 28 – England 1 cap – 2014 from Cardiff City

ST – Kwesi Appiah – 25 – Ghana 6 caps – 2012 from Margate

13th - Middlesbrough

Quite often the teams that come up from the Championship are predicted in the relegation spots but in Middlesbrough's case I think they should be okay. Like Palace they've done well in the transfer market. Manager Aitor Karanka has been at the club since 2013 and has brought the team up from the Championship as runners-up and added some solid players. Between the sticks they've signed Victor Valdes and Brad Guzan to fight for the keeper's jersey. Up front Alvaro Negredo is an excellent addition on loan from Valencia. Although he didn't have the best of times at Manchester City he's still a quality striker. Middlesbrough is the last club on the list that I don't expect to fight relegation.

Ins = Marten de Roon – Atalanta - £12m, Viktor Fischer – Ajax - £4m, Fabio – Cardiff City - £2m, Bernardo Espinosa – Sporting Gijon – Free, Victor Valdes – Manchester United – Free, Brad Guzan – Aston Villa – Free, Alvaro Negredo – Valencia – Loan, Jordan McGhee – Hearts – Loan, Antonio Barragan – Valencia – Undisclosed, Gaston Ramirez – Southampton - Undisclosed Outs = Rhys Williams – Perth Glory – Free, Jordan Jones – Kilmarnock – Free, Luke Coddington – Huddersfield Town – Free, Andre Bennett – Released, Damia Abella – Released, Jonathan Woodgate - Released

Loans Out = Jonathan Burn – Kilmarnock, Conor Ripley – Oldham Athletic, Harry Chapman – Sheffield United

Squad =

GK – Victor Valdes – 34 – Spain 20 caps – 2016 from Manchester United

GK – Dimitrios Konstantopoulos – 37 – Greece 1 cap – 2013 from AEK Athens

GK – Brad Guzan – 31 – USA 50 caps – 2016 from Aston Villa

GK – Tomas Meijas – 27 – Spain – 2014 from Real Madrid

RB – Antonio Barragan – 29 – Spain – 2016 from Valencia

LB – Fabio – 26 – Brazil 2 caps – 2016 from Cardiff City

LB – George Friend – 28 – England – 2012 from Doncaster Rovers

LB – James Husband – 22 – England – 2014 from Doncaster Rovers

CB – Daniel Ayala – 25 – Spain – 2014 from Norwich City

CB – Bernardo Espinosa – 27 – Colombia – 2016 from Sporting Gijon

CB – Ben Gibson – 23 – England – Youth product

CB – Dael Fry – 18 – England – Youth product

CB – Alex Baptiste – 30 – England – 2015 from Bolton Wanderers

CB – Jordan McGhee – 20 – Scotland – 2016 from Hearts (on loan)

CB – Brad Halliday – 21 – England – 2014 from Newcastle United

CM – Marten de Roon – 25 – Netherlands – 2016 from Atalanta CM – Grant Leadbitter – 30 – England – 2012 from Ipswich Town

CM – Adam Clayton – 27 – England – 2014 from Huddersfield Town

CM – Julien De Sart – 21 – Belgium – 2016 from Standard Liege

CM – Adam Forshaw – 24 – England – 2015 from Wigan Athletic

CM – Harry Chapman – 18 – England – Youth product

CM – Bryn Morris – 20 – England – Youth product

AM – Gaston Ramirez – 25 – Uruguay 38 caps – 2016 from Southampton

RM – Emilio N'Sue – 26 – Equatorial Guinea 12 caps – 2014 from Real Mallorca

RM – Mustapha Carayol – 27 – Gambia 3 caps – 2012 from Bristol Rovers

LM – Stewart Downing – 32 – England 35 caps – 2015 from West Ham United

LM – Carlos de Pena – 24 – Uruguay – 2015 from Nacional (Uruguay)

LM – Adam Reach – 23 – England – Youth product

ST – Alvaro Negredo – 30 – Spain 21 caps – 2016 from Valencia (on loan)

ST – Viktor Fischer – 22 – Denmark 9 caps – 2016 from Ajax

ST – Jordan Rhodes – 26 – Scotland 13 caps – 2016 from Blackburn Rovers

ST – David Nugent – 31 – England 1 cap – 2015 from Leicester City

ST – Cristhian Stuani – 29 – Uruguay 30 caps – 2015 from Espanyol

ST – Albert Adomah – 28 – Ghana 18 caps – 2013 from Bristol City

ST – Bradley Fewster – 20 – England – Youth product