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Which positions do the Premier League's Big Five need to upgrade?

Tomorrow's episode of Team 33 will be our final one for this season, before we go on hiatus for t...



Which positions do the Premier...
Soccer

Which positions do the Premier League's Big Five need to upgrade?

Tomorrow's episode of Team 33 will be our final one for this season, before we go on hiatus for the rest of this month and enjoy the great weather the country is currently experiencing ...

Anyway we will be looking back at some of the interesting talking points from a campaign that failed to catch fire.

Before we record that episode, I wanted to look at the Premier League's Big Five (including Liverpool who unbalanced the symmetry by finishing sixth) and pick out the areas they need to improve on this summer - not just with next season's league in mind, but also to close the gap in Europe.

 

Chelsea

Domestically, the Blues were never tested consistently by their rivals as they eased to a fourth Premier League title since 2004.

But on the continent, they are not quite at the level of the very elite as the evidence from this season proves.

Generally, they are well stocked across their squad, although another centre-back may be a priority to give Gary Cahill more competition.

Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Thus, rumours linking the Londoners with Jose Mourinho's former Real Madrid protege Raphael Varane make sense in that regard, both in the short-term but also to prepare for the transition when John Terry finally calls it a day.

The signing and easing into the first team picture of young French defender Kurt Zouma is part of that plan.

Did you know? Cahill made the most defensive errors among Chelsea's defenders with four.

Further forward, Didier Drogba's departure likely means that Chelsea will recruit a forward to compete with Diego Costa and Loic Remy, while Mourinho will hope that wide-man Juan Cuadrado will begin to show the reasons why much of Europe was after his signature. Perhaps, he could be the "right-sided Hazard" Pat Nevin was calling for.

Most urgent position(s): Centre-back - and even that's not urgent.

 

Manchester City

The Sky Blues have a wealth of options up front and in a couple of other positions, but a lot of their transfer business depends on who they let go.

The comments of Yaya Toure's agent that the midfielder has been persuaded to stay put reduces the need for a complete overhaul centrally. However, it is still an area that requires at least one new addition, who can provide support and defensive balance for Toure. 

But the club's perennial Achilles heel -  a lack of top level ability at centre-back - has only become more of a concern thanks to captain Vincent Kompany's downturn in form and injury record.

Did you know? Only two City outfielders had a worse pass accuracy than James Milner (79 pass success rate).

Martin Demichelis is 34 and the jury is out on the €40M Eliaquim Mangala, while left-back in particular is an area that requires an upgrade.

It has not gone unnoticed that the 2014 champions could do with a few younger players to inject some fresh impetus into an ageing squad as well as some homegrown additions, especially if James Milner leaves.

Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri are also players with question marks hanging over them, which makes attacking midfield and wide areas a zone worth pursuing.

Most urgent positions: Centre-back, left-back, central midfield and attacking/wide midfield.

 

Arsenal

The Gunners' progress in the latter part of the 2014-15 campaign means they are not as far away from where they want to be when injuries are limited.

But a few holes remain, namely the perennial clichés in goal and up front. While an upgrade on Olivier Giroud has been called for, Arsene Wenger will be careful to add a player who can link up with midfielders in as excellent a way as his French forward has been doing over the last few seasons. That's if he chooses to bring a new striker.

Did you know? Theo Walcott's shooting accuracy of 75 per cent was the highest of Arsenal's first-team forwards.

Francis Coquelin has shone at the base of the midfield, but there is no harm in bringing in competition for him and while the re-calibration of balance between attack and defence has shown the defence in a stronger light - particularly when Laurent Koscielny is fit - the question marks lie behind the back four.

David Ospina has been solid since replacing Wojciech Szczesny as No 1 in the second half of the past campaign, but if the likes of Petr Cech becomes available, a move for the Chelsea keeper would be worth the investment.

Most urgent positions: Forward and goalkeeper.

 

Manchester United

Louis van Gaal managed the minimum requirement of a Top Four finish and even before the season had ended, United had looked to answer one of their problems: a lack of pace in forward areas.

The recruitment of Memphis Depay adds some zip and unpredictability up front as well as excellence from set pieces

While he is likely to take up a position as a goal-scoring inverted winger, a striker is another priority. The 2014-15 campaign was the first since the early '80s when Manchester United's top scorer finished with so few goals.

Did you know? Manchester United won 13 from 18 when Michael Carrick was playing - and only lost twice

Wayne Rooney's 14 goals were solid for a player who often played deeper, but it is unlikely Robin van Persie will eclipse that figure in the seasons to come.

Smalling and Jones (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The defence is an interesting one. Most neutral observers - ex-Ireland defender Paddy Mulligan among them - do not rate either Chris Smalling or Phil Jones very highly. Van Gaal seems to see potential in Smalling and with Marcos Rojo capable of playing centrally, the Dutchman may choose to bring in just one central defender.

He may also look to bolster right back to upgrade on Antonio Valencia and Rafael, while David De Gea's future will affect spending in goal. 

The latest rumours linking Morgan Schneiderlin to United also suggest that Van Gaal is looking for more authority in midfield when Michael Carrick's influence is dimmed by injury as it was during 2014-15.

Most urgent positions: Right back, defence and striker.

 

Liverpool

Where do you start? Many position are nailed-on definite for improvement after a chastening campaign.

As the damning stats from the season showed, defence has more holes in it than your average block of Swiss cheese. And that goes from right back all the way across to the left - although Alberto Moreno has age and potential on his side.

Without - and often with - Steven Gerrard, deep midfield does not inspire a huge deal of confidence when you consider that the current options are Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen, Lucas Leiva and - if Brendan Rodgers puts him in his best position - Emre Can.

Daniel Sturridge's injury problems hurt Liverpool most in the first post-Suarez campaign and even if he manages to overcome those muscular issues, the club should still make forward additions a priority.

And if Raheem Sterling does leave, the wing and attacking midfield will need an extra body to accompany Philippe Coutinho.

Even so, most of the changes above only paper over existing cracks. As Pat Nevin said recently, they risk falling further behind if serious investment is not made.

Most urgent positions: Where do you start ...

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