Premier League new boys busy strengthening their squads

Premier League new boys Reading, Southampton and West Ham have been busy strengthening their squad ahead of the new season.

All three have recognised the importance of adding quality to their squad in order to be competitive in the top flight next season.

Signings

Southampton

Southampton have came along way in the last few years having languished in League One just a few seasons ago. The Saints have been busy in the transfer market already.

They broke their transfer record by signing Burnley’s highly-rated young striker Jay Rodriguez for a fee in the region of £7million.

They also signed ex-Rangers captain Steven Davis on a free transfer and secured the signature of another highly-rated youngster in Nathaniel Clyde from Crystal Palace, whose fee will be decided by a tribunal.

Reading

Reading surprised everybody last season by winning the Championship. Manager Brian McDermott has been very shrewd in the transfer market this summer. The Royals pulled off something of a coup by signing Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, on a free transfer.

The striker impressed in a loan spell at Fulham last season. Reading also signed ex-Newcastle and Liverpool midfielder Danny Guthrie on a free. They also raided the Championship to sign Chris Gunter from Nottingham Forest and Adrian Mariappa from Watford both for fees in the region of £2.5million.

West Ham

West Ham seem to have strengthened their squad in every area this summer. The Irons have signed striker Modibo Maiga from Sochaux for £5million. They signed Jussi Jaaskelainen from Bolton and Mohamed Diame from Wigan both on free transfers.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce also signed Stephen Henderson from Portsmouth and George McCartney from Sunderland for undisclosed fees. The club from the East End is also being linked with a big money move for Liverpool and England striker Andy Carroll.

Survival

All three promoted clubs first aim will be to stay in the top flight next season and the trio all have a decent chance of survival next season. Last season all three promoted clubs survived the drop from Premier League.

Swansea and Norwich finished in comfortable midtable positions, while QPR survived the drop by the skin of their teeth. I’m sure all three would accept survival next season if they were offered it now.

Bosses

The managers of the three promoted clubs are all shrewd operators and deserve credit for their achievements. Southampton have achieved two consecutive promotions under boss Nigel Akins.

Adkins has worked wonders not just with the Saints, but also did a fantastic job at Scunthorpe with a very tight budget. The former-Tranmere keeper has already proved in his short managerial career that he is a talented boss.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce received heavy criticism last season for the style of play from a minority of the clubs fans. Despite criticism he helped the Hammers achieve promotion in his first season in charge.

Allardyce always seems to produce good solid teams that are hard to beat. The experienced boss knows the Premier League well from his time with Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn. The top flight will hold no surprises for Allardyce.

Like Nigel Adkins, Brian McDermott held a backroom position in football for along time. He occupied many different roles behind the scenes with the Royals before being appointed as boss in 2009. McDermott has done a superb job on a tight budget.

The 51 year-old has also had to contend with losing some of his best players yearly. Considering the restrictions he has work with at the Madejski he has done a really admirable job.

Surprise

I wouldn’t rule out all three newly-promoted sides surviving the drop next season. They all have the potential to cause a few surprises in the top flight next season. They certainly won’t be anybody’s whipping boys that’s for sure.

Can all three newly-promoted survive the drop next season?