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Premier League New Boys to Look out for this Season (2013/14) - Part 1

Updated on October 31, 2013
The Barclays Premier League Logo
The Barclays Premier League Logo

When the summer transfer window first opened back on July 1, many fans were eagerly looking forward to what would unfold during the next 2 months. For some fans, it was a case of whether or not they would see their best players at the club next season while for the rest, it was going to be a mouth watering prospect as the clubs they support splash the cash and bring in some big money players to play for their team.

Among the various teams associated with the top leagues across Europe, the teams from the Barclays Premier League were heavily involved throughout the course of the transfer window as they raided their rivals and stole their prized talents from within their grasps. Teams like Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City lured some of the finest talents from the top leagues in order to challenge for top honours in England and across Europe.

Here is a look at some of the fresh imports which have the potential to set the Premier League alight this season;


Mesut Özil - Germany
Mesut Özil - Germany

1) Mesut Özil:

Age: 25 years

Nationality: German

Height: 1.81 metres

Favoured Foot: Left

Primary Position: Attacking Midfielder

Secondary Position(s): Left Wing, Right Wing

Attribute(s): Play Maker, Long Passer, Dribbler, Flair

Transfer Summary

The 24 year old German international midfielder joined Arsenal from Real Madrid on deadline day in a deal worth £42 million. The move left the Madrid fans in shock who could not understand why he was allowed to leave while at the other end, the news was treated with great joy from the Arsenal faithful as for them, such moments have been few and far apart during the last couple of seasons. Arsenal and Manchester United had been favourites to land the German playmaker during the transfer window but it looked like the player would stay put as he expressed his desire to remain at Real Madrid but new coach Carlo Ancelotti had other plans. The deal was sanctioned as Ancelotti stated that the club would listen to offers for Özil as he was deemed surplus to requirements with the arrival of Isco and Gareth Bale and also to generate funds after signing Bale on a world record transfer fee.



Mesut Özil's Statistics

Statistics
Games Played
Goals Scored
Assists
Yellow Cards
Red Cards
Schalke 04 (2006-07)
35
0
5
2
0
Werder Bremen (2007-10)
103
14
39
5
1
Real Madrid (2010-13)
169
29
67
15
2
Arsenal (2013-current)
5
1
4
0
0
German National Team
54
15
25
3
0

The Verdict

Mesut Özil is a very experienced player at both club and international level with over 350 appearances for club and country. With over 70 goals scored from midfield along with another 150 or so assists, he can both create as well as score goals. He is also very versatile and can play a number of roles in midfield which makes him dangerous in all areas up field. He also boasts a good disciplinary record having picked up roughly 20 yellow cards and 3 red cards during the 7 years since he started playing at professional level.

Real Madrid may well have made a big mistake in letting him go with his purchase making Arsenal's already strong midfield even more dangerous. His signing may be the key to ending Arsenal's 7 year trophy drought.


Paulinho (José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior) - Brazil
Paulinho (José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior) - Brazil

2) Paulinho:

Age: 25 years old

Nationality: Brazilian

Height: 1.80 metres

Favoured Foot: Right

Primary Position: Central Midfielder

Secondary Position: Defensive Midfielder, Attacking Midfielder

Attribute(s): Strength, Dribbler, Long Shot Taker, Flair

Transfer Summary

The 24 year old has long been admired by a host of top European clubs including Real Madrid and Inter Milan but it was Tottenham who won the race for his signature as Andre Villas-Boas payed a reported £17 million to Corinthians to acquire his services. The Brazilian caught the eye of managers across Europe after helping Brazil to victory in the Confederations Cup held in Brazil during the summer. He was also part of the squad which beat Chelsea in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup held in Japan last December. He was Villas-Boas' first of many transfer dealings during the summer.

Paulinho's Statistics

Statistics
Games Played
Goals Scored
Assists
Yellow Cards
Red Cards
Bragantino (2009-10)
21
13
0
3
0
Corinthians (2010-13)
150
32
8
30
1
Tottenham Hotspur (2013-current)
9
3
1
1
0
Brazil National Team
15
4
0
0
0

The Verdict

At the age of 24, Paulinho has the talent to become a world class player in his position. He has racked up over 200 appearances since beginning his professional career with Bragantino. Since then, Paulinho had become an integral part of the Corinthians team, leading them to victory in the Copa Libertadores last season as well as winning the FIFA Club World Cup, seeing off Chelsea in the final. The former Corinthians prodigy also has a knack of ending up in the right place at the right time in the opposition half, having scored around 50 goals and also making a couple of assists. Considering he plays in a defensive midfield role, he has a decent disciplinary record having picked up around 40 yellow cards and a single red card in his career so far.

Standing at 6 ft, the Brazilian has the strength to take command in midfield, a quality which Tottenham were lacking before his arrival. The player seems to be a perfect fit for the Premier League due to his tireless running up and down the pitch mixed with his ability to bully others off the ball. The only worry is that the Brazilian is new to the European style of football, having only played in his native Brazil before joining the north Londoners. Tottenham seem to have made a smart capture and its just a matter of time before they get repaid for the trust placed in his abilities.

Christian Eriksen (Christian Dannemann Eriksen) - Denmark
Christian Eriksen (Christian Dannemann Eriksen) - Denmark

3) Christian Eriksen:

Age: 21 years old

Nationality: Danish

Height: 1.77 metres

Fovoured Foot: Right

Primary Postion: Attacking Midfielder

Secondary Position(s): Central Midfielder, Striker

Attribute(s): Play Maker, Dribbler, Flair

Transfer Summary

The 21 year old Danish wonder boy joined Tottenham from Dutch club Ajax for a fee of £11.8 million just 3 days before the transfer window shut, making him the 7th big name player to arrive at Tottenham during the course of the summer. Various clubs from across Europe were alerted to his availability when Ajax announced that they would listen to offers for their star player, who said that he would only join a Champions League club if he was to leave Ajax in the summer. Tottenham beat off competition from clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan with his heart set on playing in the top tier of English football.

Christian Eriksen's Statistics

Statistics
Games Played
Goals Scored
Assists
Yellow Cards
Red Cards
Ajax Amsterdam (2009-13)
116
30
10
7
0
Tottenham Hotspur (2013-current)
6
1
1
1
0
Denmark National Team
40
4
4
0
0

The Verdict

The Danish play maker has already shown what he is capable of in his time with Ajax, making over a 100 appearances for the club and putting in some magical performances to help Ajax to 3 successive Dutch Eredivisie titles since his break through season of 2010-11, scoring around 30 goals coupled with some assists. The former Danish player of the year has been tipped by many to mature into a world class midfielder for both club and country and will hope to replicate his past performances, this time with Tottenham in the Premier League. At just 21 years old, he has time on his side to improve his already decent statistics which could see his name on the lips of many people in the future.

Erik Lamela (Erik Manuel Lamela) - Argentina
Erik Lamela (Erik Manuel Lamela) - Argentina

4) Erik Lamela:

Age: 21 years old

Nationality: Argentinian

Height: 1.83 metres

Favoured Foot: Left

Primary Position: Right wing

Secondary Position(s): Left Wing, Striker

Attribute(s): Dribbler, Speedster, Flair

Transfer Summary

The highly rated winger joined Tottenham from AS Roma during the summer transfer window for a fee of £30 million, making him the club's most expensive signing of all time. With the impending departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, Spurs turned their attention to Anzhi Makhachkala's Willian in the hunt to find a replacement. Interestingly, the move did not materialize as Tottenham's London rivals Chelsea hijacked the move which saw the player opting to join the blues. This forced Tottenham to make a move for the young Argentinian a priority with Roma not eager to sell their talent. In the end, Roma accepted to sell Lamela to Tottenham against the will of many fans and players, including Roma legend Francesco Totti, who expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision. The management later came out and explained that they had to sell to Tottenham rather than selling the player to a team from the Serie A and also to improve the club's financial position.

Erik Lamela's Statistics

Statistics
Games Played
Goals Scored
Assists
Yellow Cards
Red Cards
River Plate (2008-11)
37
4
3
8
0
AS Roma (2011-13)
67
21
11
9
1
Tottenham Hotspur (2013-current)
7
0
2
0
0
Argentina National Team
5
3
1
0
0

The Verdict

Yet another player with the potential to be a top player, Erik Lamela shows no signs of letting up. Since joining AS Roma from River Plate, he has cemented his position in Roma's starting lineup, playing on the left wing which is his most favoured position. Known as 'Coco' for his electrifying pace and skill on the ball, he is best suited to Tottenham's style of play and can be considered a long term replacement for Gareth Bale. At the age of 21, Lamela is relatively new to the international set up having made only 5 appearances for the Argentinian national team. Having enjoyed a good last season at Roma which saw him score 15 goals in 33 appearances, he should not take long to adjust to the English style of play. Defenders should take note of his pace and trickery for which he was renowned in the Serie A. The only negative is that his thin figure might take a beating due to the rough style of play in England. Another gem which only needs to be polished.

5) André Schürrle:

Age: 22 years old

Nationality: German

Height: 1.84 metres

Favoured Foot: Right

Primary Position: Left Midfielder

Secondary Position(s): Right Midfielder, Striker

Attributes: Long Shot Taker, Dribbler, Speedster

Transfer Summary

The young German had been linked with a move to Chelsea last year but was not allowed to leave as Bayer Leverkusen blocked his potential move as they had no intention of letting him go. This summer proved to be productive for the German as he finally joined Chelsea after being persuaded by former Germany international Michael Ballack. Chelsea payed a reported £18 million for his services with the player expressing his delight on the move by saying that he would do his best to help the team.

Andre Schürrle's Statistics

Statistics
Games Played
Goals Scored
Assists
Yellow Cards
Red Cards
Mainz (2009-11)
68
20
6
4
0
Bayer Leverkusen (2011-13)
83
23
12
3
1
Chelsea (2013-current)
11
1
0
0
0
German National Team
24
6
1
0
0

The Verdict

The German was a star in his former club Bayer Leverkusen and it was no surprise that they did not want him to leave the club. He scored around 20 goals from midfield, providing another 10 or so assists in the process. At 22, he is yet to mature into a player performing at his peak. Although being able to convert chances from incredible distances and tight angles, one negative about the player is that he is sometimes blamed for being selfish with the ball resulting in frusteration for his team mates. The player will most likely be deployed as a supporting striker by Mourinho due to a shortage of talent in the striker's department with Torres not being at his best since arriving for Liverpool. Lets see if he will be able to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.

Who in your opinion will be the best performer in their maiden Premier League season?

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