So it’s official. The latest ‘worst kept secret in football’ has been confirmed as Jose Mourinho returns to Chelsea having signed a four-year deal. Six years on from his tumultuous exit from Stamford Bridge, the Special One is back and his arrival looks set to be just the first of numerous high profile deals ahead of the new season. Yes, there’s The Ashes, a Lions tour and Wimbledon to be taken in before a football is kicked in anger again but for football fans there will be more than enough excitement in the transfer window to keep them entertained until August.
The off-season can often be a desperately dull time for football fans, especially with no major tournament to fill the void. The summer is filled with rumour upon rumour, expectations are raised until the stories are revealed as false and instead of that fantastic Argentinian striker, your club sign a journeyman centre-back from Accrington.
Twitter becomes almost a no-go zone as the glass-half full brigade take on the glass-half empty gang over whether their clubs new signing is as good as Messi or Ali Dia’s less talented nephew. Added to that are those who claim to have seen their side’s latest 17-year-old recruit countless times despite the fact he has only made three senior appearances, all as a substitute in the Croatian third division – “he’ll be better than Modric, trust me.”
Tiresome doesn’t come close.
This year, however, it all seems a little different. Of course, all of the above will still go on but there is a genuine sense of intrigue as to what will happen this summer. Significant changes are expected with various high profile managerial vacancies yet to be filled and several big name players angling for moves all across Europe.
The Premier League’s top three will all start the 2013-14 season with new managers at the helm, something totally unprecedented in the Premier League era. The new men are sure to be under huge scrutiny as conduct their business in the next couple of months for a variety of reasons.
David Moyes will arguably be the manager most under the microscope as he attempts to do the nigh-on impossible in following Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. How the former Everton boss fares is likely to be the story of next season and the way he approaches this transfer window could shape the way the champions’ season pans out.
Moyes is inheriting a squad that coasted to the title despite looking to be a far less impressive outfit than United sides in previous years. A central-midfielder has seemed vital for the Old Trafford club for a number of years, will Moyes be tempted to address an issue that his predecessor seemed happy to ignore?
Certainly the confirmation of Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea may increase the urgency of any plans he may have. The returning Chelsea boss is sure to be busy in the transfer market with a new striker set to be top of Portuguese’s wishlist. What the former Real Madrid man chooses to do with David Luiz also remains to be seen. The Brazilian has been touted as a future Chelsea captain but recent reports suggest the defender could be on his way to Barcelona. What is for sure is that whatever the goings on at Stamford Bridge this summer there will be plenty of verbal posturing with Mourinho in charge.
What is less clear is the situation at Manchester City. Manuel Pellegrini looks set to be named the man in charge of City’s new ‘holistic’ approach with Spain winger Jesus Navas set to be the first signing of this new era at Eastlands. Any further comings and goings may be harder to predict but changes are undoubtedly required following the tame defence of their Premier League crown last term.
The uncertainty surrounding the top three has provided much encouragement for the chasing pack with Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool all looking to steal a march on the aforementioned clubs as they come to terms with periods of change. The Gunners are set to finally spend big in order to mount a genuine title challenge whilst Spurs and Liverpool face losing their best players in Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez respectively.
The ever-controversial Suarez seems the more likely to leave at present with the Uruguayan talking up a possible move to Real Madrid. The Spanish giants are keen on Spurs ace Bale too, however, and it is arguably the Welshman they would prefer to bring in despite the world record £85m fee that has been quoted by some in the British media.
A new manager at Everton, Paolo Di Canio’s first chance to make changes to the Sunderland squad he has so heavily criticised and Mark Hughes’ attempts to find players capable of getting Stoke playing more football are just some of the other things to look out for as the close season progresses in England.
All across Europe too, the summer promises to see the elite splash out to enable them to compete with European champions Bayern Munich who have already added German starlet Mario Goetze to their ranks and have the much sought after Pep Guardiola taking the reigns from Jupp Heynckes as manager.
Barcelona have already added Neymar to their title winning squad for a fee of just under £50m, Real Madrid will also be in the market for some big name players as they prepare to move on Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria, Napoli’s Edison Cavani has been linked with Madrid and is also attracting interest from a number of top European clubs.
Elsewhere it is newly promoted French side Monaco who are causing a stir as they have already signed up the likes of James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho and Radamel Falcao with the promise of more headline arrivals to come. Many an eyebrow has been raised at the spending of Claudio Ranieri’s side, a response from Qatari-backed PSG seems inevitable and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules look set to be put to the test sooner rather than later.
A fascinating summer awaits but for now it is Jose’s moment in the limelight, it seems a fair bet that he’ll remain there for much of the transfer window and certainly once the season gets under way again in August.