Premier League: Club by club guide

Steve Tongue on who went where and for how much, plus prospects for your club in the new season

(AFP)

Arsenal

In: Thomas Vermaelen (Ajax, £11m)

Last season: 4th

Prediction: 4th: Realistic objectives this season, in order of difficulty, are to win a trophy, hold on to fourth position and come through next week's Champions' League play-offs.

Aston Villa

In: Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough, £12m), Courtney Cameron (Northampton, undisclosed), Fabian Delph (Leeds United, undisc), Habib Beye (Newcastle, undisc)

Last season: 6th

Prediction: 7th: Many well-wishers for their policy of signing English talent, but Barry and Laursen will be missed. Delph and the injured Downing are not ready to have an impact.

Birmingham

In: Christian Benitez (Santos Laguna, £7.8m), Roger Johnson (Cardiff City, £5m), Scott Dann (Coventry City, £2.5m), Barry Ferguson, (Rangers £1.5m), Giovanny Espinoza (Barcelona SC, undisc), Joe Hart (Man City, loan), Lee Bowyer (West Ham, free)

Last season: 2nd (Championship)

Prediction: 18th: Have not pushed the boat out very far. Could Benitez be as effective as Christophe Dugarry a few years back? If not, they may be sunk.

Blackburn

In: Nikos Giannakopoulos (Asteras Tripolis, £52,000), Steven N'Zonzi (Amiens SC, undisc), Gael Givet (Marseille, undisc), Elrio Van Heerden (Bruges, free), Lars Jacobsen (Everton, free), Franco di Santo (Chelsea, loan)

Last season: 15th

Prediction: 12th: Big Sam had a big job in pulling them round from 19th at Christmas last season but got them organised and can continue the progress even without Santa Cruz.

Bolton

In: Zat Knight (Aston Villa, undisc), Sam Ricketts (Hull, undisc), Paul Robinson (West Bromwich Albion, loan), Sean Davis (Portsmouth, free)

Last season: 13th

Prediction: 15th: Talk of modifying style but may be better off with what they know. Can survive with solid if unspectacular English signings.

Burnley

In: Steven Fletcher (Hibs, £3m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £500,000), Brian Easton (Hamilton, £350,000), David Edgar (Newcastle, free), Richard Eckersley (Man Utd, Tribunal), Fernando Guerrero (Independiente, loan)

Last season: 5th (Championship)

Prediction: 20th: This year's Hull? They'd love to think so, but lack the resources and do not appear to have a Geovanni. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Chelsea

In: Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow, £18m), Daniel Sturridge (Man City, undisclosed), Ross Turnbull (Middlesbrough, free

Last season: 3rd

Prediction: 1st: Would have pushed United much harder had Guus Hiddink been there all season. Should do so under Carlo Ancelotti.

Everton

In: Anton Peterlin (Ventura County Fusion, undisc), Luke Garbutt (Leeds, undisc), Jo (Man City, loan), Shkodran Mustafi (Hamburg, free)

Last season: 5th

Prediction: 8th: Two successive fifth places and an FA Cup final has been a great effort. Youngsters are coming through, but David Moyes needs cash.

Fulham

In: Bjorn Helge Riise (Lillestrom, undisc), Stephen Kelly (Birmingham, free)

Last season: 7th

Prediction: 10th: Will find their squad badly stretched by Europa League commitments. Holding on to centre-half Brede Hangeland will be a small victory.

Hull

In: Steven Mouyokolo (Boulogne, £2m), Seyi Olofinjana (Stoke, £3m), Jozy Altidore (Villarreal, loan)

Last season: 17th

Prediction: 19th: Had run out of steam by December after a great start and do not appear to have been reinvigorated over the summer. A long haul.

Liverpool

In: Glen Johnson (Portsmouth, £17.5m) Aaron King (Rushden & Diamonds, undisc), Chris Mavinga (Paris St Germain, undisc), Alberto Aquilani (Roma, £20m)

Last season: 2nd

Prediction: 2nd: Have they just sold the title for £30m? With Xabi Alonso in a settled formation, Liverpool would have been a great bet. Should still go close.

Manchester City

In: Carlos Tevez (unattached, £25m), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers, £17m), Kolo Toure (Arsenal, £16m), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa, £12m), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, undisc), Loris Karius (Stuttgart, free), Nils Zander (Schalke 04, free), Stuart Taylor (Aston Villa, free)

Last season: 10th

Prediction: 5th: It cost a tidy sum (£124m) to go down one place last season. Better rewards for better signings this time but still no top-four place.

Manchester United

In: Antonio Valencia (Wigan, £17m), Gabriel Obertan, (Bordeaux, £3m), Sean McGinty (Charlton, undisc), Michael Owen (Unattached, free), Jean-Pierre Louvel (Le Havre, undisc), Mame Biram Diouf (Molde, undisc)

Last season: 1st

Prediction: 3rd: Forty goals in all competitions from Ronaldo and Tevez represent an awfully large hole, which Michael Owen will not fill.

Portsmouth

In: Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers, free), Steve Finnan (Espanyol, free), Frederic Piquionne (Lyon, loan), Antti Niemi (free agent)

Last season: 14th

Prediction: 17th: Live the dream now, pay later. Relegation may be the price if they are forced to sell more talent before 31 August.

Stoke

In: Dean Whitehead (Sunderland, £3m), Matthew Lund (free), Ben Marshall (free)

Last season: 12th

Prediction: 14th: A frustrating summer so far. Opponents will be well prepared but still not necessarily capable of coping with the bombardment.

Sunderland

In: Lorik Cana (Marseille, £5m), Fraizer Campbell, (Manchester United, £3.5m), Paulo da Silva (Toulca, undisc), Darren Bent (Spurs, £10m)

Last season: 16th

Prediction: 11th: Survived by two points, scoring only 34 goals. Bent, Campbell and Steve Bruce's know-how can bring significant improvement.

Tottenham

In: Peter Crouch (Portsmouth, undisc), Kyle Naughton, Kyle Walker (both Sheffield United, undisc), Sebastien Bassong (Newcastle, £9m)

Last season: 8th

Prediction: 6th: Dealing and wheeling still to be done, no doubt. Despite Bassong's arrival, entertainment promised at both ends of the pitch again no doubt.

West Ham

In: Fabio Daprela (Grasshopper Club Zurich, undisc), Peter Kurucz (Ujpest FC, undisc), Jack Lampe (Harlow Town, undisc), Herita Llunga (Toulouse, undisc), Frank Nouble (Chelsea, undisc), Luis Jimenez (Inter Milan, loan)

Last season: 9th

Prediction: 9th: Distinct lack of excitement about Gianfranco Zola's signings. Carlton Cole must have some help scoring the goals.

Wigan

In: Jason Scotland (Swansea, £2m), Jordi Gomez (Swansea, £1.75m), Hendry Thomas (Deportivo Olimpia, undisclosed), James McCarthy (Hamilton, undisc), Scott Sinclair (Chelsea, loan), Roman Golobart (Espanyol, free), Abian Serrano (Las Palmas, free)

Last season: 11th

Prediction: 13th: Roberto Martinez has to live up to his billing as a bright young manager. He has either bought cleverly or aimed too low.

Wolves

In: Kevin Doyle (Reading, £6.5m), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £2m), Ronald Zubar (Marseille, £2m), Andrew Surman (Southampton, £1.2m), Nenad Milijas (Red Star Belgrade, undisc), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading, free)

Last season: 1st (Championship)

Prediction: 16th: Mick McCarthy will not get carried away and should comfortably avoid his last experience at this level with Sunderland. Staying up will more than suffice.