5 new Premier League players to watch out for
1 - Marko Marin – Whilst the eyes of the footballing world were focused on Eden Hazard, the nippy German winger’s £7m transfer to Chelsea rather went under the radar. He has been hailed as the German Messi thanks to his playing style. Primarily he plays on the wing, cutting inside to great effect. His signing perfectly fits into Chelsea’s new regime, which is focused on invigorating the squad with quick, young, technically good players. Despite going off the boil somewhat in the last year (he wasn’t picked for the German Euro 2012 squad), this transfer could spark him back into life. At just 23 years of age, he has plenty of time to become yet another foreign Premier League star. With both Eden Hazard and Juan Mata playing in similar positions, it remains to be seen how much playing time he will get. Regardless, he certainly has the potential to make an impact.
2 – Olivier Giroud – With the apparent departure of Robin Van Persie, Arsenal will be praying their most recent import from France doesn’t turn out to be another Chamakh. Despite the comparisons, Giroud is actually a very different player to the Moroccan. He scores more goals, banging in over 20 in Ligue 1 last season, whilst Chamakh never scored more than 13. He should slot into the Arsenal set up perfectly, as he has very good ball control and in addition to scoring goals he also sets up his fair share too. If Arsenal are to stand a chance of once again qualifying for the Champions League, Giroud will have to acclimatise very quickly.
3 – Shinji Kagawa - The Japanese attacking midfielder is yet another exciting young midfielder to join the Premier League. He has had a very impressive couple of seasons for German champions Borussia Dortmund, and is a key addition for Manchester United if they are to stop their free-spending neighbors. United struggled in the centre of midfield last season, so much so that Paul Scholes had to come out of retirement to fill the void. Kagawa isn’t suited to playing in the traditional CM role, so expect to see him play further up the field in a play-making role which might necessitate a formation shift for United. At just 23, he is another one for the future and should be the fulcrum of many a United title challenge in the coming years.
4 – Rickie Lambert – The 30 year old marksman might seem like an odd choice, but if his last two seasons are anything to go by, he might just take the Premier League by storm in the same manner of Grant Holt. Signed by Southampton for £1m in 2009, he has scored 78 goals in 132 appearances for the south coast side, and if they are to stand any chance in the top flight this season, they will need their main man to keep terrorizing defences in the same manner they have become accustomed to.
5 – Jan Vertonghen – Reports today announced that Spurs have agreed to the signing of Ajax captain Jan Vertonghen for a reported £12m. The Belgian international is highly rated in many quarters and, if he can adapt to the Premier League, he should add some much needed resilience to a Spurs side which showed signs of flakiness last season. Having been schooled at Ajax, Vertonghen will be very familiar with the style of play that new manager Andre Villas-Boas will certainly look to implement. He will be a key man if Spurs are to go one better, and secure Champions League football next season.