2024/25 Promises Fresh Faces On All Football Fronts
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The 2024/25 Premier League campaign is now almost upon on, and English top flight clubs are quickly putting the finishing touches on their pre season preparation plans ahead of the big kick off, and there is very likely still some wheeling and dealing to be done with the transfer window not closing until the end of the month.
For those who like a flutter on their football and are on PowerPlay, odds would have been favourable on the signings that we have already seen across the summer so far, and starting line ups (and the associated bets that can be placed on that front) for the new campaign will be quite different for those sides that have been more active in the market.
EPL interest in Canada continues to grow, and Fubo have the exclusive rights for the coming campaign, and it is expected that the fight at the top of the table could be a very interesting one this season, especially for those who like to predict what might happen at the end of the year.
With a number of high profile (and high value) incomings and outgoings already, for the neutrals amongst us, it will be fascinating to see how some players settle into their new surroundings and which sides better hit the ground running as they look for their own improvements on performances from 12 months ago.
New sports team member
There have been a few changes in the wider broadcasting world of football as well, and for those who watch, the BBC announced this week that former England international goalkeeper Joe Hart has now been appointed to their 'sports team' for the coming campaign and that he will now be one of their studio pundits on flagship production Match of the Day.
With 75 caps to his name, Hart is best known from his spell at Manchester City where he won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and also picked up two League Cup wins. The now 37 year old made 340 appearances in the top flight, before making the switch to Scottish giants Celtic. He again had success, but last season he announced that he was going to be hanging up his gloves for good this summer, and he has now done just that having helped Brendan Rodgers' squad to a Scottish Premiership and Cup double last season.
With some talk about him potentially moving into the world of coaching having called time on his lengthy playing career, those thoughts would appear to be on hold right now given his new role, but it remains to be seen just how much of a regular he will now become but it sounds like he will be a weekly face alongside host Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. However, it is also being claimed that Micah Richards will have a more prominent punditry role this year, and there is an expectation that several other big name announcements are on the way for what is described as a 'new look' studio panel for the new season.
Whilst it is certainly a change of direction for Hart, it is not an unfamiliar role as he was part of their sports team for the coverage of England's run to the final of the 2024 European Championships, and it seems that he impressed the bosses.
It is not the only change at the BBC ahead of the new campaign either, as Troy Deeney has been confirmed as Garth Crooks' replacement for their Team of the Week feature moving forward. Readers can expect some kind of difference when it comes to his own individual selections when compared to Crooks, but even with him trying to outline what his thought process will be moving forward, I do not think we can expect any great changes.
However, with him announcing that he will also be adding a Manager of the Week choice to his chosen team, it will be interesting to see how gets the nod on that front. For now though, it is all eyes back to the transfer window to see which deals bring a player into first team contention for the opening games this coming weekend.
- England football