Five new entrants to the English Premier League to watch out for

With the transfer market now operating in full swing, there have been several big-money and big-name signings who have signed up with several clubs in England. But, there are a select few who will definitely catch the eye more than the rest.

Here are – in this author’s opinion – the five players who have joined an EPL club this summer to keep an eye out for. Please note that this list only includes those who have not previously played in England.

5) Wilfried Bony (Swansea City and Cote d’Ivoire)

Having broken their transfer record for bringing the Ivorian to the Liberty Stadium, Swansea will be hoping the 24-year-old will be able to showcase the same goalscoring form he did at Vitesse Arnhem, which led him to be named last season’s Dutch Footballer of the Year.

Judging by what we have seen so far, he has already begun to show his dexterity in front of goal. The £12 million signing assisted two goals in the Swans’ final pre-season game against Reading and was at times unplayable as he plundered two goals against Malmo in their Europa League Playoff against the Swedish side in a 4-0 romp in Wales.

One of the reasons he has been brought in is to take the goalscoring burden off Michu, who like Bony, made waves when he came to England last season.

He matched Robin van Persie at the top of the scoring charts for most of the first half of the previous season, and although they did not dry up in the second half, his free-scoring run was somewhat curbed after January.

Bony will make sure that Swansea’s supply of goals come from more than one source and while the two will most likely play in tandem, what makes the striking situation at Swansea so interesting to watch is that even if one of the two strikers is unavailable, Michael Laudrup can count on the other to deliver the goods.

4) Paulinho (Tottenham Hotspur and Brazil)

This is the man Tottenham will be looking to orchestrate play if Gareth Bale departs White Hart Lane this summer.

Moussa Dembele was brought to shore up the midfield, as were Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson, but they were not of the same standards as Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart.

The arrival of Paulinho in North London means that Spurs have captured one of Brazil’s future stars and with the World Cup scheduled for next year, the 26-year-old will be sure to showcase some of his best performances in a Lilywhites shirt to ensure he is on the list of players that are called up to represent Brazil on home soil.

The £17.5 million fee that Daniel Levy has forked out for the midfielder is well worth the price. Andre Villas-Boas, has at his disposal, an excellent dribbler, with great vision, precise passing and a ferocious shot from distance- all of which were demonstrated at the Confederations Cup this summer.

3) Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Norwich City and the Netherlands)

‘Beware of the Big bad Wolf”, says a poster featuring Ricky van Wolfswinkel modelling the Canaries’ new away kit.

Norwich have been spending their money very wisely this summer, and while van Wolfswinkel is definitely their marquee signing, he joins a host of new players, including fellow Dutchman Leroy Fer, Javier Garrido, Martin Olsson, Nathan Redmond, Carlo Nash an Gary Hooper as the Canaries look to build on their eleventh-place finish last season and move into the top half of the table.

Such spending from a recently-promoted side is previously unheard of but it is a trend that has been followed not just by Norwich, but by Swansea and Southampton as well.

What’s more, Chris Hughton’s team appear to have spent wisely, not in the haphazard manner that Queens Park Rangers did last year.

Van Wolfswinkel is a prolific marksman. In his last three seasons in Portugal and the Netherlands, he has scored at an average of more than 20 goals a season and the Canaries are sure to benefit from such a gifted player who has his best years ahead of him. ‘There’s only one Ricky van Wolfswinkel’ might be a bit of a mouthful, but if he does score goals, the fans at Carrow Road will definitely perfect the chant as the season goes on.

2) Victor Wanyama (Southampton and Kenya)

The first Kenyan to play in the EPL, Wanyama’s capture by the Saints shocked many since he had been tracked by some of the league’s bigger names.

However, he will add some much-needed steel to the Saints midfield, which at times last season did look rather light. Wanyama will be best remembered for his all-action performances in a Celtic shirt last season, the best of which came against Barcelona at Celtic Park- a game the hosts won 2-1 with Wanyama neutralising the Barcelona midfield, which is an arduous task for even the best of teams.

That game showed he could raise his game when called upon and his move to Southampton is one that will benefit both parties. Aged 22, the Saints are building for the long-term and the arrival of Wanyama to complement a club that thrives on one of the best youth academies in the nation will mean that the Saints are set to climb further up the table this season.

Quite a long way up when you consider that only three seasons ago, they were playing in League One.

1) Marco van Ginkel (Chelsea and the Netherlands)

Everybody will be looking at what Andre Schurrle does in Chelsea blue, especially since he will be stepping into the position that was rarely occupied by Marko Marin last season. The transfer of van Ginkel, however, was under the radar until Chelsea were nearly done with the transfer.

Van Ginkel will need to find room in a midfield that is packed with quality and talent. Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Ramires, Juan Mata, Oscar dos Santos and the evergreen Frank Lampard are all competing for positions.

Hitherto unknown talent that he is, van Ginkel would well turn out to be the surprise package for Chelsea this season.

With Financial Fair Play looming on the horizon, the Blues are now looking at the bigger picture and last season’s Dutch Talent of the Year, whose skills in midfield helped Vitesse Arnhem to fourth place last season, is surely the right way to go forward. Equipped with the technical skills that are drilled into Dutch players at youth academies, Jose Mourinho might have just found the ace up his sleeve this season.