The transfers of Crystal Palace, Hull, Everton and Leicester

This is the second instalment of Kettle Magazine’s Premier League transfers feature where we are going to analyse another four sides’ recent transfer movements in the run up to the

This is the second instalment of Kettle Magazine’s Premier League transfers feature where we are going to analyse another four sides’ recent transfer movements in the run up to the new season.

 

 

Last season, Crystal Palace were the new boys of the league and no one really knew what to expect from them; they’d had a terrific run in the Championship but whether or not they could compete against the big boys was seriously in question. It was a tough first half of the season but it was turned around following the appointment of Tony Pulis as manager that saw them finish strongly in 11th position.

 

Once again, the main aim of this season will be to maintain their spot in the league and try and improve but it’s going to be difficult with the addition of Leicester City and Burnley who are heavily tipped to do well.

 

Like many other managers, Pulis has gone down the route of bargain buying and has added Chris Kettings from Blackpool on a free transfer to fill the void in the event of Speroni leaving and Fraizer Campbell from Cardiff for £900,000.

 

Palace will also be looking to try and since Tom Ince after his successful loan spell came finished at the end of last season. Although we haven’t seen many additions yet, we are likely to see more as Pulis is a man on a mission.

 

 

Following David Moyes’ disastrous departure to join Manchester United at the end of the 2012/13 season, Everton turned to Roberto Martinez to guide them through last season and what an inspired decision that turned out to be. Martinez didn’t go out looking to add star names to his team and worked with what he had to lead them to 6th in the table and a Europa League spot.

 

Their goal for this season will be to aim for one of the four Champions League spots on offer as well as pushing as far through the Europa League as possible, meaning that they will need a strong squad to cope with such demands.

 

Although he didn’t get his chance to impress with England during the World Cup, Barkley is still one of Everton’s finest talents and holding onto him will be crucial for Martinez as we are yet to see any major incomings and outgoings with Gareth Barry being the only player to join the squad in a free transfer from Manchester City and Bosnian midfielder Muhamed Besic looking close to a move to the Merseyside club.

 

 

The key to Hull City’s season will be improvement, although they had a magnificent FA Cup run where they were just pipped to the trophy by Arsenal, their league run didn’t go so well as the narrowly avoided relegation and finished in 16th position.

 

Once again, they’re a team who haven’t really done much in the transfer market yet but the signings that they have brought in are likely to have a positive impact on the team. Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore are healthy new additions but Hull will need more if they’re to maintain survival this season.

 

 

Leicester City are the team coming in as Championship winners from last season, so they have a lot to prove to the big boys after a very impressive season. Out of the three teams who achieved promotion last year, Leicester are the most exciting as they look to replicate the successes of teams such as Crystal Palace and Southampton.

 

The Foxes have done extremely well with their bargain hunting, with Matthew Upson and Marc Albrighton joining from West Ham and Aston Villa respectively to give them some top-flight experience; Nigel Pearson has also done well with bringing in talent from the Championship including Brighton’s Leonardo Ulloa for a club record of £8m.

 

The main objective for Leicester must be survival but there is a hope that they can go further and may be break into the top ten so watching their opening games against Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal will be particularly interesting.