Looking at areas where five European champion football sides might
want to improve, and how their transfers might stack up ahead of the new season.
Possible Transfers for European Champions
European soccer is in fine fettle, with close-fought battles and the end of a dominant era
in Serie A last season. Looking to the next, here’s how the defending champions stack
up.
Manchester City F.C.
Title races don’t get much closer than the one Manchester City narrowly edged in the
2021-22 season, beating Liverpool by a single point. Doing so again next season will take a
mighty effort, and even the most enthusiastic Manchester City fan will not be complacent
about consecutive triumphs.
The team might lose Bernardo Silva to Barcelona (if rumours are to be believed), and
Chelsea are looking to acquire Raheem Sterling. But when it comes to incoming transfers,
names raised include Stefan Ortega as a second goalkeeper and Kalvin Phillips from Leeds.
Phillips would help strengthen the champion’s midfield and is just one of several actual and
potential signings the team is looking to make. Norwegian international striker Erling
Haaland becomes a City player on 1 July 2022, as does Argentine forward Julian Alvarez,
and could lend a very sharp edge to Manchester City’s attack (possibly even a return to the
3-5-2 system).
Another name in the frame for City, and one which would also make the old 3-5-2 a real
possibility, is Brighton’s left back Marc Cucurella, though a potential move to the champion
team is only speculation at this stage. It is hard to cite a single real area that Manchester
City need to improve because they and Liverpool were so closely matched and far above
every other team (they had an identical number of goals conceded and very similar overall
goal differences). Right now, City’s main job is to stay ever so slightly ahead of Liverpool.
The announced and rumored transfers indicate that the side are not taking things easy.
As we look ahead to how this quintet of European champions will fare next year, it’s
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Real Madrid CF
By contrast, Real Madrid won La Liga by 13 points last season with title rivals Barcelona,
Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla scrapping with one another to be the best of the rest. Only
Sevilla had a better (by one goal) number of goals conceded and nobody got close to the
number of goals scored by Real Madrid, so going into next season they look in good shape.
But the other teams, especially arch rivals Barcelona, will not be asleep at the wheel and
Real still needs to stay sharp or they’ll slip back soon enough.
One name that’s been mentioned in connection with Real Madrid is Paulo Dybala, an
Argentine international currently with Juventus. The forward could be in the Spanish
champion’s sights should they be unable to extend the contract of Marco Asensio with the
club.
The desire for another striker has been stated by Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti. While
Karim Benzema is a fantastic striker and goal-scoring machine (219 goals in 415
appearances for the club), he’s also 34 and much nearer the end of his career than the start.
While Real do have the services of Luka Jovic and Borja Mayoral, Ancelotti’s clearly got
his eye out for another prolific scorer to retain Real’s cutting edge advantage.
FC Bayern Munich
Sitting between Manchester City’s nail-biting and wafer-thin victory and Real’s cruise to
the title is Bayern Munich, who won the Bundesliga by 8 points last season. Despite fending
off two Barcelona attempts to acquire Robert Lewandowski it is possible they might yet sell the
striker, having recently brought in Senegalese striker Sadio Mane. Mane had played a key
role in the revival of Liverpool’s fortunes, but the side just missed out on domestic glory last
year and were pipped at the post in the Champion’s League too. He’s now joined the
German champions on a three-year contract.
The club could stand to bolster its defensive strength, with the likes of Dayot Upamecano
having plenty of room to improve, Tanguy Nianzou making errors, and Benjamin Pavard
sometimes performing well and sometimes not. Potential defender transfer targets include
the 24-year-old Nordi Mukiele (currently with RB Leipzig) and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie
Frimpong. One defender already heading to the German champions is Noussair Mazraoui,
who leaves Ajax for Bayern Munich on 1 July.
A.C. Milan
Another very tight title finish was in Serie A, which saw the title move to the red and
black part of Milano. The Rossoneri beat their rivals by just two points to secure the Serie A
title but will have their work cut out to retain the championship given how close last season
was and how fired up the likes of Inter, Napoli (placed third) and Juventus will be for the
forthcoming season. While the champions had a solid defensive proposition, the goals
scored by A.C. Milan was the lowest in the top three and there’s clear scope to have a
sharper attack.
Multiple clubs on the continent are keen to sign up Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, who plays
as an attacking midfielder and right winger, and it seems A.C. Milan is the likeliest club to
snag this much-sought star, if he does end up changing clubs. The possible departure of
Marco Asensio from Real Madrid has already been mentioned, and if he does go then the
Italian champions are one of the most probable destinations. Just like Ziyech, Asensio is a
winger and attacking midfielder and would help to improve the goal-scoring potential of the
club. Additionally, the Rossoneri managed to snap up Belgian striker Divock Origi on a free
transfer after his contract with Liverpool expired. It is likely that Origi will have more playing
time in Italy and is expected to showcase his abilities that we saw glimpses of in the
Liverpool jersey.
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Last but not least we come to the top dogs in France, PSG, winners of last season’s
Ligue 1. PSG took the title with a chunky 15-point advantage over the next best side
(Marseille), the joint fewest goals conceded, and the most goals scored (27 more than
Marseille).
One possible target for PSG is Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, a winger out of contract
and fancied by teams from across Europe. Competition would be likely from teams including
Bayern Munich and sides in the EPL. A defender that PSG is hunting for earnestly is Milan
Skriniar, currently with Inter Milan. A reported bid of some €50m has already been rejected,
but the French champions still have their heart set on getting Skriniar to Paris, but do face
some competition from Chelsea (although it’s worth noting PSG have much deeper pockets
if it comes down to a bidding war).
A major change for PSG could be an outgoing transfer, with much speculation that
Neymar could be on his way out. While undoubtedly talented, Neymar has not necessarily
endeared himself to many people (Eric Cantona has described him as a ‘great actor’).
And that completes our look at five European champion teams, and what they need to
do to defend their titles next season.
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