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Since the arrival of Jose Mourinho in England and the subsequent transformation of Chelsea, the Premier League has transformed into a world of haves and have-nots. For half a decade from 2004 to 2009, the ‘Big Four’ dominated as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool made the top four every year.
Over the past decade, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have been added to that group, making the Premier League a ‘Top Six’ heavy league with these players dominating the division.
However almost every year, one of the Premier League Top Six slip thus providing an opportunity to the remaining fourteen teams of the division. Last year, a resurgent Burnley team were tied with Arsenal with two games to go before the Gunners got their act together.
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Other teams have been more successful in breaking into the top six over the recent past, as Everton snuck in during the 2013-14 season and Southampton finished sixth in 2015-16. And of course, how can one forget the tale of Leicester City, who overcame all the odds to become champions in that very season.
So who are some teams that can repeat these achievements and shock the traditional Top Six of the Premier League.
Note- All Statistics are from WhoScored unless otherwise noted
#5 West Ham United
Very few teams have had a transfer window as impressive as that of West Ham United. After a torturous season in which they sacked manager Slaven Bilic (who had led them to 7th in 2015-16) and had to resort to David Moyes to drag them out of the relegation zone.
However, after the season, Moyes was fired and replaced by former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
While Moyes’ sacking was indeed harsh, the hiring of Pellegrini is a shrewd one. The Argentine manager has experience breaking hierarchies, having finished in the top four of La Liga with the likes of Villareal (who finished second) and Malaga.
Moreover, Pellegrini’s teams play relatively attacking football, a welcome change from West Ham’s past decade (with the exception of Bilic’s tenure).
Pellegrini has proven his managerial acumen with his transfer signings, as he tried to shore up some of the Hammers’ weaknesses.
The most prominent signing has of course been Felipe Anderson, the former Lazio winger who was brilliant in Serie A last season- providing four goals and seven assists in only nine starts. Anderson led the Italian league in successful dribbles per game, which could make West Ham’s attack far more potent.
Meanwhile, Pellegrini also managed to bag Andriy Yarmelenko, once one of the most wanted wingers in all of Europe. While the Ukranian struggled at Borussia Dortmund, his skills are obvious as he has the ability to break down defences with his dribbling and passing.
The quartet of Anderson, Yarmelenko, Manuel Lazini and Marko Arnautovic could help make West Ham one of the best attacking teams in England after the Top Six (they ranked 8th last season).
Meanwhile, Jack Wilshire showed signs of his talent last season and his signing could also be a game-changer. Moreover, the signings of Issa Diop and Fabien Balbuena bode well for their leaky defence. Pellegrini is ready to show the world why he used to be regarded as a brilliant manager.
#4 Burnley
Last season, Burnley put up one of the most remarkable performances by a club in the Premier League. In terms of their financial standing, Burnley should be one of the worst teams in the Premier League.
Their record signing in history (according to TransferMarkt) cost 14.76 million pounds (Chris Wood). For comparison, there have already been 23 signings above that number in the Premier League.
Burnley have been their typical thrifty self in this transfer window, as they have not signed a single player (or sold anyone). This failure to rejuvenate the team and add fresh signings prevent Sean Dyche’s team from being ranked higher.
Yet, one should not forget what made Burnley such a remarkable success last season (allowing them to qualify for the Europa League). Dyche made the Clarets one of the most well-oiled teams in Europe as they sported a brilliant defence.
James Tarkowski and Ben Mee are among the best centre-back duos in the Premier League, ably supported by full-backs Matthew Lowton and Robbie Brady.
Yet, perhaps the most important aspect of their defence is their spectacular goalkeeper Nick Pope, whose saves won the Clarets several games.
Furthermore what often gets forgotten is how effective their attack became last season with the passing of Jack Cork, the crossing of Johann Berg Gudmundsson, the industriousness of Ashely Barnes and the finishing of Chris Wood combining brilliantly.
Considering that Burnley’s core is still in their primes, further improvements can’t be rule out and that should be scary for the rest of the league.
#3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
What Premier League aficionados often forget is that the Championship is still a very respectable league with some proper football taking place. After all last season, all three newly promoted teams survived in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, several former Premier League teams have tumbled down into League One or League Two (Sunderland, Wigan and Blackpool) being prominent examples.
Thus, very few teams completely dominate the Championship. Last season saw one of those teams as Wolverhampton won the Championship by nine points, the most since the 2013-14 Championship. The champions on that occasion? Leicester City. We all know what happened next.
Moreover, Wolves have had one of the most remarkable transfer windows of any non-Top Six team as agent Jorge Mendes (very closely linked with the club) has helped them make several great transfer signings especially from his native Portugal.
They have signed Joao Moutinho, one of the most creative players in Ligue 1 last season (ranked 20th in chances created- same as Angel Di Maria). Meanwhile, the signing of Rui Patricio gives them a brilliant shot-stopper. Other excellent signings include those of Diego Jota and Willy Boly who will help provide attacking creativity and defensive solidity respectively.
Thus by improving a team that was already brilliant last season (with midfielder Ruben Neves being particularly excellent), Wolves have made themselves one of the most technically excellent teams in the Premier League. This fits in with manager Nuno’ style of play, making them strong contenders to break into the Top Six.
#2 Leicester City
The two seasons after the miracle of 2015-16 have been mediocre for Leicester City as they finished in mid-table. In both occasions, Leicester suffered a nightmarish start to the season resulting in the firing of their manager (Claudio Ranieri and Craig Shakespeare respectively) before recovering under their new managers.
Now they go into a new season with Claude Puel, who previously worked wonders with Southampton and effectively steered the ship for Leicester at the end of last season. Considering that Leicester lost their best player Riyad Mahrez and may lose their best defender Harry Maguire, many are underestimating the Foxes this season.
Yet, what has gotten ignored is that the players still at the club constitute a great team. In Kaspar Schmeichel, they have the best goalkeeper out of the Premier League Top six. Meanwhile, Wilfrid Ndidi (still only 21) averaged the most tackles in the league last season and provides an excellent shield to their defence. Meanwhile Demarai Gray, Marc Albrighton and Adrien Silva provide creativity in their attack.
While Jamie Vardy may be ageing, the Foxes have a successor for him in the team already with Karachi Iheanacho. While the Nigerian struggled last season, he is still only 22 and his class was evident at Manchester City.
Iheanacho can be supported by his fellow Nigerian Ahmed Musa who returns from Loan. Musa’s talent was clear in the World Cup (when he scored two goals) and perhaps Puel may make the best use of his talent (Shakespeare failed to).
Moreover, Puel has managed to shore up Leicester’s defensive weaknesses in the transfer window. The signing of Jonny Evans provides a replacement for Maguire, who was excellent over the past few seasons.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Perreira was one of the best players in the Portuguese League last season and his signing gives Leicester one of the league’s best right-backs. Leicester may not be able to repeat the feats of 2016, but they still have a good chance of entering the Top Six.
#1 Everton
Between 2003 and 2013, David Moyes made Everton one of the best teams in the Premier League, as they regularly finished between 5th and 7th- always challenging the traditional Big Four. Moreover, Roberto Martinez and Ronald Koeman also gave them similar finishes in their first seasons.
However, last season was a nightmare for the team as a multitude of signings failed to gel, resulting in the firing of Koeman.
The hiring of Sam Allardyce proved effective in the short-run, as Everton comfortably survived and finished in mid-table. Yet Allardyce’s style of play was clearly not preferred by team management and he was fired and replaced by former Watford manager Marco Silva.
Silva is the ideal man for the job in the sense that he managed to transform the Hornets into an attractive side that was also effective.
Moreover, the Toffees already have an extremely talented squad. Their defence was weak last season, as they conceded more goals than the relegated Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion. However, they have a young core in that area with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, centre-back Michael Keane, right-back Jonjoe Kenny and left-back Cuco Martina.
If their older players (Ashely Williams and Phil Jagielka) can be phased out, the defence will only improve this season (it was already better in the second half of the season).
In midfield, a manager like Silva who believes in creative football may be the best option to unlock that side of Gylfi Sigurdsson (which went missing last season). Meanwhile, Idrissa Gueye and Tom Davies provide a reasonable combination of defensive solidity and youthful exuberance respectively.
Furthermore, in terms of attack, Everton have signed one of the most talented young players outside the top six: Richarlison. The Brazilian worked with Silva at Watford and the manager knows how to make full use of his talents.
A duo of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the wings bodes well for their attack. Furthermore, Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse are two decent finishers who can alternate up front.
The return of young English talent Ademola Lookman also bodes well for the Toffees as he impressed in the Bundesliga last season. Like many a season in the past, Everton have the best opportunity to break into the Top Six.
