Who's Coming to England this Summer?

Yet again, another summer transfer window has been busy for English clubs with Liverpool being the busiest and acquiring 9 new faces to add to their team at a cost of £99m. Big names have departed England, but have been replaced with stars for the future and others. As always, the arrivals have increased the excitement for the incoming season.

At Arsenal, Wenger is picking up where he left off last summer with spending large amounts of money. The addition of Alexis Sanchez is an exciting one for Arsenal fans and Premier League enthusiasts. Extreme pace mixed with a finishing touch and a footballing brain is a defenders worst nightmare. He was unplayable at times during the World Cup and if Chile weren't knocked out early in the competition, then he would have been in with a shout of winning the Golden Ball. At Barcelona, his quality was possibly hidden through playing with Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, but at Arsenal, I expect him to excel at Arsenal and be up at the top competing for top goalscorer at the end of the season. 

In addition to Alexis, Calum Chambers was signed from Southampton, one of many to depart from the club, for £11m plus add ons. During preseason the 19 year old has impressed with solid performances in the Community Shield and in the Emirates Cup. Chambers could be just as vital as Alexis as the season progresses and the need for rotation increases.

After playing down Chelsea's title winning aspirations last season, Jose Mourinho has gone all guns blazing in order to finish the season on top. The Chelsea boss has raided La Liga to buy the services of Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis, as well as bringing back a Stamford Bridge legend in Didier Drogba. Finally Chelsea have realised their need to strengthen in goal scoring positions particularly with the signing of Costa. The Spaniard didn't have a good World Cup but his form last season at Atletico Madrid was superb, contributing to their title winning season with 27 goals from 35 games. On paper he seems an excellent choice, however his temperament could spell bother for Mourinho and Chelsea. 

Fabregas is another player to add to the long list of exceptional midfielders at Mourinho's disposal. The transfer came as a shock to me, particularly as Arsenal had first option to buy him and I fully expected Wenger to make the most of the clause. Whether it will come back to bite his former employers is a question that will be answered as the season progresses.

It is quite unusual to say that Manchester City have only spent £22m in this transfer window, but do they really need to improve their already glistening squad? Manuel Pellegrini obviously thinks so. Brazilian holding midfielder, Fernando joined the Manchester club for a fee believed to be about £12m from Portuguese giants Porto. At 27 years of age, Pellegrini will be looking for an immediate impact from the Brazilian. I expect Fernando to play second fiddle to Yaya Toure and Fernandinho. 

Pellegrini has also added strength and depth to his already relatively large squad through the purchase of Willy Caballero, Bacary Sagna and the loan move of Frank Lampard. Caballero will challenge Joe Hart for his position and is likely to play in domestic cup competitions, similar to what Pantilimon did, while Sagna and Lampard will mostly spend their time on the sidelines.

With a new boss at the helm, things can't go much worse than it did last season at Old Trafford. We all know the way Louis Van Gaal will play and he has been in the transfer market looking for players that will suit his philosophy. The first purchase was young Luke Shaw from Southampton for a hefty £27m. With Van Gaal showing Patrice Evra the door, he is likely to be looking for a another left wing-back to rotate with Shaw. Touted as the next big English star, he certainly is one for the future and has a big price tag to to match. 

Spaniard, Ander Herrera was next on the Dutchman's list. The former Bilbao man impressed United scouts and was eventually signed for £28m after prolonged negotiations. He will be keen to make an immediate impact at the club in an attempt to become a regular starter at Old Trafford. As previously said, it is likely that Van Gaal is in the market for another wing-back, and one that has been linked with a summer move is Ajax's Daley Blind. I relish at the prospect of having a talent like Blind at United. He is a top class player and will definitely fit in with Van Gaal's tactics.

Last year it was Tottenham spending money like there was no tomorrow, and this year it is Liverpool. The £75m acquired from the sale of Luis Suarez quickly evaporated in the hands of Brendan Rodgers as he attempts to replace the Uruguayan. Rickie Lambert was brought in and he offers an alternative game plan, something which they were lacking, particularly towards the climax of last season. Lazar Markovic was also acquired at a fee of £20m to bolster their attacking options. Not only does the Serbian have an awesome name, he is described as a player with great acceleration and superb technical attributes. 

One thing that hindered their title chances last year was a leaky defence. Conceding, 9 goals more than the rest of the top 4, Rodgers could be trying to fix the defence with the signings of Emre Can, Dejan Lovren. Described as a utility defender, Emre can play at right back, centre back, in front of the defence and probably even left back if he was asked. He's the type of player every manager loves to have. As well as Lovren and Lambert, Liverpool have also been able to prise Adam Lallana away from the clutches of Southampton. We all know what Lallana can produce and he was sensational for the Saints last campaign. For £25m, I was expecting attacking midfielder to move for £30m-£35m. It's not a bad price for a player that can adapt to Liverpool's style of play.

After last year's catastrophe in the transfer market, Tottenham have gone for a more conservative approach this year. The North London club reached an agreement with Swansea City to sign Michel Vorm and Ben Davies with Gylfi Sigurdsson heading in the opposite direction. While they already have Hugo Lloris in nets, Vorm will make an excellent replacement and will also keep Lloris on his toes. On the other hand, Ben Davies is a promising young player and should develop into an excellent left back in the future. The other team in Liverpool has also done their portion of spending, after breaking their transfer record amount to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal. Roberto Martinez also signed Bosnian Muhamed Besic on a long term contract - and his first few touches in a blue shirt seemed to give us a taster of what he is all about.

Other teams that have been doing some shrewd business are Newcastle, Hull and recently promoted, QPR, who have all brought in Remy Cabella, Tom Ince and Mauricio Isla respectively. Each team seems to have be strengthening and I am sure that this will make this year's campaign just as unforgettable as the rest.

OFF TOPIC

I'd would like to congratulate Alison and Emma McMaster on reaching the Ladies Irish Cup with Newry City Ladies for the first time in the history of the club. En route to the final they beat Crumlin United 14-0, Crusaders 1-0, Cliftonville 3-2 and Sion Swifts 2-1. Despite scoring plenty of goals, they go into the final against Linfield Ladies as heavy underdogs, but as we know so often with football, anything can happen in the cup! Regardless of the outcome, the club has a bright future, and will continue to soar through the division as it has done since it's conception 4 years ago. The final will be played on Monday 25th August at Clandeboye Park in Bangor with a 2:30pm KO.