Europe’s football giants are changing. Here are the biggest storylines to watch

Fold up your national flags and jerseys, and let them hibernate on the shelf for another four years. In the meantime, club football is back with fresh narratives, perhaps even fresher than the players themselves.

The transfer market has been busy, with the winds of change blowing both on the pitch as well as the sidelines. And with the FIFA World Cup shedding more light on several new faces, teams have been scurrying to get their combinations right ahead of what promises to be a hectic season.

Premier League

The English top tier is undoubtedly entering an era of transition, with nine of the 20 teams beginning the new season with a fresh face on the sidelines. In fact, of the informally created ‘Big Six’, five will have managers taking over the reins for a full season for the very first time, with reigning champion Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta the only exception.

Arsenal has already underlined its ambitions for the new season, beating Manchester City 3-0 in Cardiff to lift the 2026 Community Shield. The victory over the FA Cup holder gave Arteta’s side its second trophy in four months and its 18th Community Shield title, adding an early marker of intent as it begins its defence of the Premier League crown.

The Gunners ended a 22-year drought for the English crown last season, and judging by the summer moves, the aim seems to be to get the next one significantly quicker. Leandro Trossard’s allegiance switch to Besiktas has opened up space for Greek forward Christos Tzolis to come in from Club Brugge, but Arsenal’s biggest nab of the summer came from the north of England.

Newcastle United, despite its reluctance, was forced to let go of its captain, Bruno Guimaraes, who joins a midfield that is already filled to the brim with quality, with Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard. Guimaraes’ departure was the final blow for the Magpies, who have been gradually hollowed out, with Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and manager Eddie Howe all bidding goodbye.

Meanwhile, Manchester City and Chelsea made their intentions to challenge for the title clear by practically breaking the bank on English talents Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers, respectively. Enzo Maresca will have the harder job of living up to the legacy of Pep Guardiola and ensuring the club does not buckle like its neighbour did post-Alex Ferguson. For Xabi Alonso, on the other hand, the Chelsea job comes as a fresh start, and the club will be expected to be among the leaders, especially with no Europe for distractions.

Legacy clubs Liverpool and Manchester United, too, will be hoping to stay in the mix, with the former set to step on the pitch without talismanic Mohamed Salah for the first time in nine years. Head coach Andoni Iraola, who replaced Arne Slot, has proven himself with Bournemouth, but it remains to be seen how he adjusts to the weight of expectation hanging over him all the time.

For United, Michael Carrick has unlocked the potential of the team, as seen in the second half of last season, but with more games — including the Champions League — and less time between them, he will not have it quite as easy.

Tottenham Hotspur, the final member of the ‘Big Six’, is on the rebuild after two consecutive 17th-place finishes, penning deals with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson. Moreover, Spurs will have the sprightly figure of Roberto De Zerbi on the sidelines, who came in late last edition and rescued them from the clutches of relegation.

Meanwhile, trying to get into that ‘Big Six’ club will be Aston Villa, which has been highly impressive in recent years under Unai Emery. While the departure of Rogers might hamper the setup, ample reinforcements have been brought in the form of World Cup breakout star Johan Manzambi and Alejandro Garnacho, who will be raring to prove his worth.

Coming to the new faces, Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich will be seeking to emulate the success of their predecessors Leeds United and Sunderland, who, last season, broke the concerning pattern of all promoted teams going back down. For Frank Lampard-led Coventry, especially, the return comes after 25 years, and they will be expected to do whatever it takes to hold their spot.

Meanwhile, the mid-table contingent of Fulham (Alvaro Arbeloa), Bournemouth (Marco Rose), Crystal Palace (Pierre Sage), and Nottingham Forest (Oliver Glasner) all have new individuals at the helm and are poised to cause disruption and ensure that there will be no easy games in a season that is bound to set the tone for the coming years.

La Liga

La Liga has mostly been a two-horse race since the turn of the decade, and that trend is likely to continue, with the skirmish between Barcelona and Real Madrid beginning well before the start of the season.

Star power has been what has set these giants apart from the rest of the competition, and this summer was no different. Barcelona acquired the services of Anthony Gordon (below) and Karim Adeyemi from Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund, respectively, but Real Madrid certainly won the battle before the war.

Apart from convincing ‘special one’ Jose Mourinho to return as head coach to manage the big names, Los Blancos strengthened their already stacked squad by bringing in Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Yan Diomande. They also managed to get Vinicius Jr to stay amidst talks of him joining Arsenal and look primed and ready to try and end the two-year title drought.

However, Barcelona might just have the final say in this transfer saga, as it has reportedly agreed personal terms to sign Rodri from Manchester City, after the 30-year-old spent most of the summer being linked to Real. If Barca manages to pull it off, Rodri will be reunited with his World Cup-winning teammates like Pedri and Dani Olmo in midfield, significantly boosting Hansi Flick’s chances of making it three league titles in a row.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, has played third fiddle all these years, and after finishing fourth and reaching the final and semifinal of the Copa del Rey and Champions League last season, the pressure will be mounting on Diego Simeone to produce some silverware. With a big figure like Antoine Griezmann having left the club, a lot of Atletico’s performance will depend on whether it can hold onto Julian Alvarez, who has been eyed by the ruling duopoly.

Elsewhere, Real Betis emerged as one of the surprise packages of last season under the leadership of the experienced Manuel Pellegrini, finishing fifth in the standings. It will be in action in the Champions League for the first time after its only appearance in the 2005-06 season, and while it may not be able to keep up with the giants, Betis will surely play its part in keeping the opponents on their toes.

Serie A

Italian football is perhaps at the lowest it has been in recent memory, with the men’s national team failing to qualify for a third straight World Cup. And, with the next World Cup cycle beginning now, Serie A will have the task of ensuring the standards do not drop even further. But despite its shortcomings, the Italian top tier produced one of the closest title races last season, with Inter Milan securing its 21st Scudetto.

Cristian Chivu’s squad has remained largely intact, apart from a few departures, including Denzel Dumfries, who swapped the blue and black for the white of Real Madrid. But a sufficient replacement in defence was found in the form of John Stones, who joined the club on a free transfer from Manchester City. Napoli and Roma are set to be Inter’s closest challengers for the crown, with the former hoping to have a smooth start to life under new manager Massimiliano Allegri, who replaced Antonio Conte. For Roma, Gian Piero Gasperini will head into his second season looking to improve on the third-place finish last season. Surprisingly, neither side has chosen to massively tinker with the current bunch of players available at their disposal.

Contrastingly, traditional giants Juventus and AC Milan have been busy identifying individuals who can help them restore their status after missing out on Champions League football. Record league winner Juventus boosted its attack with Frenchman Randal Kolo Muani and Bosnia’s Kerim Alajbegovic, while Milan secured the services of Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos as it begins life under new manager Ruben Amorim, who is back since being sacked by Manchester United in January.

Milan will be playing with an added weight on its shoulders, carrying the memory of legendary defender Franco Baresi, who passed away on July 31 aged 66.

Baresi captained Milan in the 1980s and 90s, during which it won three European Cups and six Italian league titles, and despite his comparatively diminutive stature, he was widely praised for his anticipation, tackling skills and technique. When he hung up his boots in 1997, his number 6 shirt was retired, making him the first player in Milan’s history to earn that honour.

Bundesliga and Ligue 1

While the rest of Europe’s top leagues provide some sense of unpredictability and anticipation, Germany and France have had a strikingly similar hegemony.

For Bayern Munich and European champion Paris Saint-Germain, anything short of the title seems a failure at this point. The Bavarians found the back of the net a record 122 times and lost just once in the entire league campaign to lift their 34th Bundesliga title.

Despite speculation that several of its stars, including Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, could seek a move away from the club, none of it has turned out to be true so far. In fact, Bayern has reinforced its squad even further, signing Morocco’s World Cup star Ismael Saibari and young full-back Nathaniel Brown. Teams like Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Bayer Leverkusen can only hope to keep pace with Bayern and wait to strike if and when it drops its standards.

Meanwhile, across the border, PSG was made to toil a bit more to secure its record 14th title, but its plethora of talent, along with the tactical brain of Luis Enrique on the sidelines, means that it can get any job done. Moreover, its financial backing has helped it rope in winger Maghnes Akliouche from Monaco after the 24-year-old impressed during the clubs’ meetings in the Champions League playoffs.

It has also added experience to its back line by signing full-back Lucas Digne from Aston Villa. With World Cup winner Ferran Torres joining an attack featuring Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and more, it seems unlikely any team will depose the French giant.

Published on Aug 18, 2026

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