The 91st Minute is a column by Sam Reno about professional soccer.
For two consecutive seasons, the top four finishers in the English Premier League have been the same: Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Of course, it should also be noted that this race has ultimately been decided on the final day of each season, with Leicester City missing out by the narrowest of margins to Chelsea in each campaign.
Outside of Leicester, there are no other sides in the league that have mounted a sustained challenge for one of the Champions League spots. While last season saw West Ham United mount a formidable charge, they ultimately ran out of steam down the stretch, and Tottenham’s early-season sprint was short-lived.
The challengers are becoming scarcer and feebler while the top of the league is only continuing to outpace the rest when it comes to talent acquisition, a reality only emphasized with the latest signings at Manchester United.
After being linked with the Dortmund attacker for over a year, United finally completed a deal to bring over Jadon Sancho for a fee of nearly $100 million. The 21-year-old instantly becomes one of the brightest young stars in the league, something United have lacked throughout their trophyless run.
He will also join an already deep attacking pool, providing United with even more depth in a league that has demanded it from its top squads. Injuries nearly turned Liverpool’s 2020-21 season into a disaster, and they played a massive role in Leicester’s late-season collapse.
The Manchester club have also been linked with Real Madrid center back Raphaël Varane, and the move is looking increasingly likely from both sides. Madrid are desperate to sell off players and United are desperate to shore up their central defense that has been disastrous at times in recent seasons.
While City’s current squad certainly speaks for itself and they dominated the most recent Premier League campaign with ease, they do not appear to be sitting out this transfer window. In fact, they may make an even bigger splash than United are planning to.
The reigning champs are the definition of stacked in a league that simply can not measure up with their squad’s depth. With their spot among (perhaps above) the league’s elite all but guaranteed, City’s sights remain on that Champions League title that has continued to elude them.
The addition of Rúben Dias greatly contributed to their incredibly stingy defensive effort last season, but their attention has, once again, turned to an attack that failed them in some of their biggest non-league contests of the season.
Harry Kane has made it no secret he is unhappy at Tottenham and would like to play Champions League football next season, an opportunity playing in North London will not offer him. City appear the only non-London rival club in the world with enough funds to convince Spurs to sell.
With the decline and now departure of Sergio Agüero, City could certainly use a nailed-down starter at the top of their attack, and they have made no effort to hide their interest. The club have also been linked with Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, a young attacker who has continued his rise to stardom at this summer’s Euros.
With both players still alive in the Euros, it is difficult to determine how much of the report is based on mutual interest or merely club desires. However, City have never been afraid to spend, and the trophy-winning opportunities might be hard to pass up for these talented footballers who have yet to capture one at the highest level.
That leaves Chelsea and Liverpool, two clubs whose biggest upgrades might come from within. While both are rumored to be interested in massive deals (Chelsea with Erling Haaland and Liverpool with Kylian Mbappe), those have yet to gain any serious traction.
However, as players get healthy and others find their top form, there will be plenty of internal improvements from the third- and fourth-place finishers from a season ago.
Chelsea spent heavily last summer, but many of their big money signings failed to live up to expectations. Germans Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, the most expensive of the group, struggled greatly to adjust to a new league.
A serious bout with COVID-19 certainly made things worse for Havertz, but a promising late-season run that included the UCL-winning goal have many Blues optimistic about what the future holds for the youngster. While Werner’s struggles have been more than well-documented, his mindset has never seemed to dip with his form. The former Bundesliga second-leading scorer seems poised for an ascension to the mean this season.
Liverpool were decimated with injuries, most notably from Ballon d’Or runner-up center back Virgil van Dijk. Other injuries to the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcântara caused the Reds to rack up more days missed to injury than any other English side last season.
Liverpool’s summer reload will come directly from the medical tent, allowing them to begin next season with nearly the same squad that completely dominated the 2019-20 season and seemed poised to challenge for a repeat before they began breaking down.
All four EPL squads that finished in the top four will come back better next season, and in many cases they will be acquiring that talent from other Premier League sides. Clubs like Leicester City have proven to be masters of working in the margins, but that only allows you to keep up with those operating without those margins for so long.
City, United, Liverpool and Chelsea all look to be adding more talent this summer, via both transfer and renewed health, hopefully sparking a title race in a league that has lacked one for the last two seasons. However, it is fair to be concerned if the growing gap behind them might be detrimental to the rest of the Premier League clubs.