Football moves on fast. The Premier League no longer has the enigmatic Pep Guardiola, nor does it have the prolific Mohamed Salah.

“A new era begins” is the operative phrase ahead of the 2026-27 season as five of the ‘Big Six’ clubs come in with a different manager compared to day one of the previous campaign.

Nineteen of 20 head coaches at the helm this season are yet to win the toughest league in the world — a fact that lends weight to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s cause. Counterbalancing the Gunners’ case is a daunting statistic: only three clubs have ever managed to retain the trophy in the Premier League era. 

While Bruno Guimaraes adds depth and vision to Arsenal’s midfield, Arteta will have to be wary of the fitness of William Saliba (expected to miss a couple of months), Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice, all coming off a gruelling World Cup campaign. 

Manchester City has not only lost Guardiola, after a 10-year reign with 20 trophies, but also midfield masters Rodri and Bernardo Silva. Head coach Enzo Maresca will lean heavily on Erling Haaland’s lethal finishing to anchor the rebuild, even as the club targets midfield reinforcements to partner new signing Elliot Anderson.

Xabi Alonso arrives at Stamford Bridge with a point to prove after his unceremonious time at Real Madrid. Chelsea has already done some good business in the transfer window, the most notable being the acquisition of playmaker Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117 million.

Elsewhere, Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool finds itself deadlocked in a frustrating standoff with Paris Saint-Germain, yet to agree on a valuation for transfer targets Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye. The Spaniard’s primary challenge will be maintaining his signature high-intensity style while balancing Anfield’s domestic and European ambitions.

No club has won more points than Manchester United since Michael Carrick took charge of the Red Devils on January 13, 2026 (39 points in 17 games), ultimately taking the club to third on the table. Armed with some prudent midfield signings, it remains to be seen what Carrick can conjure up in his first full season.

While Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham Hotspur — having narrowly escaped relegation — has been spending like there’s no tomorrow, Newcastle United, now under Matthias Jaissle, is struggling to hold on to its top players.

The Premier League’s latest tactical chessboard is set. Who will make the better moves as a wave of fresh faces steps forward to dominate the new landscape?

Newcastle United’s ambitious project to reign supreme over the Premier League kingdom is collapsing like a poorly built sandcastle.

The Magpies are losing world-class talent left, right, and centre, evidently moving farther away from realising CEO David Hopkinson’s target of putting Newcastle “in the debate about being the top club in the world” by 2030.

In the 2026-27 summer transfer window, Newcastle has sold winger Anthony Gordon (to Barcelona for almost €80 million), midfielder Sandro Tonali (Tottenham Hotspur, approximately €108 million), and has all but lost captain Bruno Guimaraes to champion Arsenal.

The exodus is not limited to the players, as head coach Eddie Howe, too, stepped down from his role last Friday, less than a month before the start of the season.

The English manager — who won the club its first domestic trophy in 70 years (2025 Carabao Cup) — decided to move on, seemingly frustrated by the club’s inability to retain its top players.

While feeder clubs have historically made a successful business out of selling their finest talent to the ‘big boys’ for big bucks, a team of Newcastle’s stature resorting to this transfer strategy is perplexing.

Even after considering the club’s compulsions to comply with the sport’s financial regulations, the underlying trend of football’s heavyweight names not wanting to stay or sign for Newcastle cannot be overlooked.

Last year’s Alexander Isak transfer saga will be a grim reminder for the club, which is backed by the financial might of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The incomings at St. James’ Park have been more out of hope than expectation, with the club buying youngsters who are yet to perform consistently at the highest level.

The likes of Sean Steur (18 years old), Bazoumana Toure, and Aladji Bamba (20) are fine outfield prospects to have, but are hardly ready to anchor a squad hollowed out by elite departures.

It is this shattered team that new head coach Matthias Jaissle is inheriting.

Can the German gaffer make some prudent signings in the remainder of the window and build a team worthy of the Newcastle colours?