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Questions facing the newly Promoted clubs ahead of next season



The line up for the Premier League next season was completed at the weekend following Southampton's win over Leeds in the Championship play off final, which enabled them to join Leicester and Ipswich in the top flight next season.


With all of them now up, what questions will they be facing ahead of next season?


LEICESTER


The Foxes bounced straight back up at the first attempt as they won the Championship. They looked set to walk it at Christmas until dry spell during the Spring which saw other teams close in on them. But they did have enough in the end to win the title in Enzo Maresca's first season in charge.


Could a potential points deduction hold them back?


Leicester were charged for breaking financial spending rules from their last spell in the top flight back in March and could be deducted points if found guilty.


This will definitely have an impact on them if they are found guilty as they'll have a lot of ground to make up once the season starts. It could also have an impact on the players they sign in the summer as they'll want to stay within the guidelines so they're not charged a second time.


Everton and Nottingham Forest both stayed up this season after being deducted points, but those points deductions took place during the season whereas Leicester's could happen during the off-season.


Will they fare better than Burnley?


Like Leicester this season, Burnley went up as Championship champions but ended up coming straight back down. They were very naïve in the way they played all season and their squad didn't have enough experience as it was made up of mostly young players.


The difference with Leicester is that their squad has more Premier League experience as the majority of their squad were with them when they came down. Alongside side, Harry Winks and Conor Coady have bags of Premier League experience themselves from their days at Spurs and Wolves respectively.


Out of the three newly promoted sides, the Foxes are arguably the better equipped to stay up because of the amount of Premier League experience in their squad. All three of the newly promoted sides from last season all lacked Premier League experience and they went down because of it. The Foxes will have a better chance of staying up because of the experience they have.


Could they embark on another fairy-tale?


The Foxes' last spell in the top flight will live long in the memory of their fans as they achieved the impossible in winning the Premier League in 2016 before going on to win the FA Cup in 2021.


Survival will of course be their main objective next season as they're a newly promoted side and if they can achieve that, they'll look to kick on and progress as a club.


They probably won't win the league again as the league is set to get even stronger over the next few years. But they could maybe win another cup and have another shot at Europe. This might sound like a dream, but it could potentially happen if they can stay up and build on from that each season.


IPSWICH


Ipswich secured back to back promotions this season following promotion from League 1 last season. They kept themselves within the automatic promotion places for the majority of the season and manager Kieran McKenna was rewarded with the LMA Manager of the Year award. The Tractor Boys are back in the top flight after 22 years away.


Could goals be a problem?


If there is one thing that every newly promoted club needs when making the step up to the Premier League, it's a clinical no.9 who can score you 10+ goals.


The Tractor Boys might have been the top goal scorers in the Championship this season with 92, but their top scorers in Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead both scored 13 goals each.


This could be a sign that they may need to sign a striker in this summer and one who is more proven at the top level. Kieran McKenna will want to keep faith in both Chaplin and Broadhead as they were both important players for him this season. But with the Premier League being a big step up and those two being unproven at the top level, McKenna may consider bring in someone more proven so his side have the best chance of staying up.


Will they have enough experience?


Every newly promoted team needs to have players with Premier League experience in their squad if they're to stand a chance of staying up. Ipswich's squad has very little at the moment as the majority of their players were playing in League 1 a couple of seasons ago.


Kieran McKenna will want to stay loyal to the players that helped him win promotion and sticking with the same group of players does help as it's important to have a cohesive unit. But if they're to stay up, they may need to bring players of Premier League quality and experience.


This always isn't the case as there have been some clubs who have gone on to have decent first seasons despite not having a lot of Premier League experience in their squads. Sheffield United in 2019-20 and Brentford in 2021-22 being prime examples of that.


But Kieran McKenna may still want to bring in players of Premier League quality and experience this summer so his side have the best chance of staying up. Especially as the Premier League is such a ruthless league.


SOUTHAMPTON


The Saints bounced straight back up by beating Leeds in the play off final on Sunday. They had a mixed start to the campaign under Russell Martin but from autumn onwards, they went on a record breaking run of form to put themselves in the mix for promotion, playing an attractive brand of football along the way.


Will they do better than last time?


The Saints' last season in the top flight was an absolute disaster as they finished rock bottom of the league, brought in a load of unproven young players and had to change manager twice.


This time could be different though as they have a clear identity in the way they play, something they didn't have the last time they were in the top flight. It's important for every newly promoted team to have a playing identity when they first come up and the Saints will need to stick to theirs if they to stay up.


Will Adam Armstrong finally prove himself at Premier League level?


Adam Armstrong was the Saints' top goal scorer with 24 goals this season and scored the winning goal in the play off final. But he's always been a capable goal scorer in the Championship but hasn't been able to crack it in the Premier League after netting just 4 times across two seasons during the Saints' last spell in the top flight.


His form this season will definitely give him confidence heading into next season as he'll want to carry it with him. The style of play the Saints play arguably suits his game better compared to the other managers he's played under at Southampton and this should also give him confidence heading into next season.

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