Elite clubs in the English Premier League have added high-profile players to their ranks, most notably Norwegian giant Erling Haaland, who joined reigning champions Manchester City, Raheem Sterling, who moved from the latter to Chelsea, and his former teammate, Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, signed a contract with Arsenal.

Agence France-Presse represents the five faces that have changed clubs ahead of the start of the 2022-2023 Premier League season.

* Erling Haaland: The Manchester City Phenomenon

All eyes will be on the Norwegian giant (195 cm and 88 kg). Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola is banking on Haaland, especially in the Champions League play-offs, something the Spaniard hasn’t been able to achieve since 2011, when he was Barcelona manager, despite his management after Bayern and FC Bayern . then the city is now. On paper, the arrival of Haaland seems like a bargaining chip that could make Manchester City the strongest in terms of squad since Guardiola took over his technical leadership in 2016. But the truth may be somewhat different. With the exception of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski in the 2015-2016 season, no striker (#9) has found himself in the style adopted by the Spanish coach. However, the 22-year-old Halland appears to be a candidate for gradual adaptation to the atmosphere and demands of the English Premier League, especially after the World Cup final, in which the Norwegian striker will not participate as his country failed to qualify.

* Darwin Nunez: follow in Manet’s footsteps

Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, a recent Liverpool move, caught the eye of Halland during the Community Shield that ended in his team’s 3-1 victory over Manchester City last Saturday. In just 35 minutes of being on the pitch, he converted a penalty that saw Egyptian star Mohamed Salah give Liverpool the lead before scoring an encouraging goal when he winked the ball with his head in the final seconds of the match. Nunes is the perfect striker to fill the gap left by Senegalese Sadio Mane’s departure to Bayern Munich. Nunez can take any position on the offensive line, but his favorite position remains at the front, which he held at Portugal’s Benfica and scored 32 goals in 57 games since moving to him in 2020.

* Raheem Sterling: For a fresh start with the blues

After defending the colors of Liverpool and Manchester City, Raheem Sterling moved to another major club, Chelsea, after turning down offers to extend his contract with the Emirates-owned team. The left winger has declined over the past two seasons at City and has only scored 23 goals and 14 assists in 61 games since 2020. The figure may be good, but his numbers were much higher in his first three years with his team. This was helped by the arrival of young winger Phil Foden and the arrival of another winger Jack Grealish last summer. Chelsea fans are hoping to see Sterling, who played for England in the European Cup in the summer of 2021.

Lisandro Martinez: The Butcher

Martinez’s transfer bodes well for Manchester United, who suffered a lot defensively last season despite the presence of big-caliber defenders such as French world champion Raphael Varane and captain Harry Maguire, who were heavily criticized last season. But the biography of the Argentine international defender, who is called “The Butcher”, does not include much, as he played in the ranks of his former club Ajax Amsterdam 20 Champions League matches in three seasons, most of them in the group. stage, but his team did not win a single victory over the teams that took the top 16 places in Europe. Martínez is not very tall to be a centre-back (175 cm), but he makes up for it with his good position and ability to read on the pitch.

* Gabriel Jesus: Arsenal bet

Gabriel Jesus was a candidate to replace historic Manchester City Argentine striker Sergio Aguero when he joined the latter from Palmeiras in 2017, but he lived in their shadow for a long time and then failed to convince Guardiola to do so after the Argentine’s departure. draw him into the center of an open attack. His record for City is high, with 95 goals and 46 assists in 233 appearances in various competitions, but that ratio falls short of City’s reputation as one of the best teams in the Premier League over the past 30 years. His decision to move to Arsenal seems to be the right one, especially since he will be indispensable in the ranks of the Gunners in the center of attack. He performed well in the pre-season, scoring in most matches.