With José Mourinho at Manchester United, Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool and the arrivals of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte at Chelsea, you can make a case that we now have the best four managers in world football in the Premier League.
What’s more, they all have the opportunity to compete and win the title next season. When you have coaches of this ability, the players should get better and therefore the quality of football will improve. One thing is for certain, it’s going to be as lively on the touchline as it is on the pitch.
Can Pep get Manchester City playing like his previous clubs Bayern Munich or Barcelona? Can José get the swagger back at Manchester United? Can Klopp and Conte reinvigorate their teams? Having these guys in the Premier League is great for fans and for the game as whole.
Pep-talk
I’ve got no doubt that in the long term, Pep Guardiola will be a rip-roaring success at Manchester City. Whether he achieves that success straight away remains to be seen. He likes a specific type of player in specific roles and does have some high-class, intelligent footballers in the team who should be able to adapt to his style of play.
I’m not sure he will have all the right pieces of the jigsaw immediately but I expect them to be very strong this season. The new signings fit the bill but he also needs to develop existing players in the squad, so it might take a couple of transfer windows to get the balance of the side how he wants it.
Last season, Chelsea’s big players underperformed and Mourinho’s poor relationship with the squad led to a problem. But new man Conte can get the players back performing to their maximum. Yes, the style of football will be similar but he will get Chelsea back to level they expect and up around the top four again.
I think Conte might go under the radar a little in the first few weeks of the season while the focus is on Pep and José. He’s a top coach, a good fit and has great pedigree with Juventus where he won multiple league titles.
No fixture congestion for Klopp’s boys
You have to expect a challenge for Champions League qualification from Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp. They aren’t in European competition so won’t experience the fixture congestion others will. Klopp will have had a full pre-season with the players and will get them fitter, better prepared and understanding his style of play. But I’m not convinced they will score the goals they need to mount a proper title challenge.
I think we will see a very hungry and motivated José Mourinho in charge of Manchester United, despite his recent chastening experience at Chelsea. The players that he’s signed so far are exactly the type of players the club has desperately needed over the past two years. They have the makings of an exciting and creative team – I picked them last year to win it and I will pick them again this season.
Darren Fletcher is a commentator for BT Sport