I was told today that, now we have reached July 2, 2025, we are exactly in the middle of the year.
More tellingly, though, it means that by the time you are reading this, we will now be closer to the year 2050 than the dawn of the millennium in 2000.
Not only has that made me feel middle-aged, but it got me thinking that we are already almost at the halfway stage between the end of last season and the start of the next Premier League campaign.
Some of you will have missed it, others are enjoying the break, but mark my words, the anticipation will only build up between now and August 15.
Transfer-wise, others have made their moves, some are yet to come.
Liverpool will start as big favourites to defend the title they won at a canter last term and have spent big to strengthen in the shape of Hungarian left-back Milos Kerkez, as well as Bayer Leverkusen duo Jermie Frimpong and a club record £100 million pursuit of twinkle-toed German playmaker Florian Wirtz, a move which has set heads turning.
Last year’s runners-up Arsenal are an interesting proposition and seem primed to recruit the Brentford captain, Christian Nørgaard, and Martín Zubimendi – the Spanish midfielder who turned down Liverpool last term – from Real Sociedad.
Manager Mikel Arteta also wants a centre-forward and another attacker, with Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze – the match winner in the FA Cup Final – reportedly among the players under consideration. There is no question they likely need a prolific centre forward if they are to make the jump from number two, three years in a row, to number one.
Interestingly, the North Londoners’ only signing to date is a goalkeeper with Arteta hailing Kepa Arrizabalaga’s experience and “real hunger to win” after the world’s most expensive goalkeeper completed a £5 million transfer from Chelsea.
Arrizabalaga leaves Chelsea seven years after joining for £72 million from Athletic Bilbao and will compete at Arsenal with his Spanish compatriot David Raya.
After falling out of favour at Stamford Bridge, Arrizabalaga had spent the past two seasons on loan at Real Madrid and then Bournemouth.
Premier League 2025 highlights were few and far between for last year’s third-placed team, Manchester City, and they have already moved to address that with some statement signings.
Indeed, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Ait-Nouri had no sooner signed than performed encouragingly in City’s Club World Cup campaign, which ended rather embarrassingly at the hands of Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia.
Chelsea have also bought big with Joao Pedro snapped up from Brighton in a deal with up to £60 million.
The Brazil international scored 30 goals in 70 appearances for the Seagulls, but on the other side, his disciplinary problems were a distraction in the run-in last term.
In April, he received a three-match ban for violent conduct during a 4-2 loss to Brentford and was then left out of Brighton’s final two matchday squads after a training ground spat with Jan Paul van Hecke – an altercation which seemed to have burnt Pedro’s bridges on the south coast.
His talent is not in question, though. And, in addition, Chelsea have signed Liam Delap to provide competition for Nicolas Jackson up front, while they are closing in on a deal to sign the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
I suspect the departures from Brighton (Pedro) and Brentford (manager Thomas Frank, and possibly Nørgaard and Bryan Mbeumo) will mean two sides who have punched well above their weight will struggle at the bottom half of the table next time, rather than retain outside hopes of European qualification.
Less so Bournemouth who, may have lost one or two, but have ended speculation around Antoine Semenyo’s future by tying the forward to a new long-term contract. The Ghana international scored 13 goals last season.
Don’t take the word of this SBOTOP pundit in its entirety though. Instead, take a closer look at our Premier League 2025 betting odds – odds which will no doubt change a few times between now and the start of next season.
Finally, one to watch out for involves the blue half of Merseyside as Everton remain in talks with Villarreal over their France Under-21 international striker Thierno Barry. The 22-year-old, who scored 11 goals in La Liga last season, reportedly has a release clause of €40 million (£34.4 million)
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