Bournemouth: Marcus Tavernier<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u201cAt this present moment in time, I feel sorry for the fans. I feel sorry for the players, to be honest with you because at the moment we are just a bit underequipped at this level from where we have come from. \u201c(The result) doesn\u2019t shine a light on it (what\u2019s going wrong) for me because throughout the summer that\u2019s exactly where I\u2019ve seen it. There are players playing in this team with huge quality but this is the first time they are experiencing Premier League and we are where we are. This is the toughest day as a player and certainly, as a coach, this is the most painful day that I have experienced. I could sense it was painful for the players on the pitch as well. I felt for every single one of them because they need some help and the levels were just too great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those the comments of Scott Parker that precipitated his dismissal at Bournemouth following a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, making him the earliest manager to be sacked in a Premier League season since 2004 when Paul Sturrock and Sir Bobby Robson lost their jobs in successive weeks. When compared to fellow promoted sides Nottingham Forest and Fulham, who have spent $178 million and $68 million, Bournemouth haven\u2019t even reached $30 million in their transfer spend. Three of their signings have been free transfers \u2013 Joe Rothwell, Neto, Ryan Fredericks \u2013 one has been a loan arrival (Jack Stephens), and just two have involved any transfer fee: Marcos Senesi, signed from Feyenoord for $16.5 million and Marcus Tavernier, signed from Middlesbrough for $13 million. Whilst Senesi has dropped to the bench after failing to cover himself in glory at Anfield, Tavernier has remained in the Cherries\u2019 starting line-up and has been crucial in securing victories against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest as well as a stalemate against Wolves. Capable of playing across multiple positions and formations, the 23-year-old Englishman is coming off a season that saw him score 5 go<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has started each of Bournemouth\u2019s opening four games, playing on the right-hand side of a front three in Parker\u2019s favoured 3-4-3 formation. As a left-footed attacking player, he gives Bournemouth more variety to their offensive play due to the wealth of right-footed options currently at the club. Tavernier, a strong dribbler, and incisive passer is coming off the back of his most productive season to date after contributing five goals and five assists for Middlesbrough last year. The 23-year-old has a knack for finding the net from range and is also a prominent threat cutting in on off his left foot. Whilst Tavernier has thus far been utilised in an attacking role, his future is seemingly at wing-back, where his relentless defensive work rate and ability to drift inside is seen as key to helping Bournemouth congest the midfield when they are trying to set up to frustrate their opponent. Whilst his quality on the ball gives Bournemouth the opportunity to break the press and transition the ball quickly. Bournemouth have not been as bold as Nottingham Forest in the transfer market. But through the additions of Tavernier, Joe Rothwell, Neto, Marcos Senesi and Ryan Fredericks, they are trying to build a team who can hold their own in possession and not rely so heavily on moments of individual brilliance. The odds are stacked firmly against Bournemouth when it comes to beating the drop, with the Cherries two points above Leicester, one point above Wolves and level with West Ham, Aston Villa and Everton, as well as the first side to sack their manager, but Marcus Tavernier nevertheless has the potential to make a strong impression in his debut Premier League season at the Vitality Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brighton Hove & Albion: Pervis Estupi\u00f1\u00e1n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAfter selling Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for an initial \u00a355 million potentially rising to a club-record \u00a362 million in add-ons, Brighton Hove & Albion snapped up 24-year-old left back Pervis Estupi\u00f1\u00e1n from Villarreal for \u00a315 million. Born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Pervis moved to Europe in 2016 and joined Watford, only to be loaned out to Spanish clubs Granada, Almer\u00eda, Mallorca and Osasuna before departing Vicarage Road in 2020 without making a single appearance for the Hornets and joining Villarreal on a seven-year contract, where he would rack up 41 appearances in all competitions as El Submarino Amarillo reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals and finished 7th in the league. Whilst he often rode the bench for the more attack-minded Alfonso Pedraza, he was mainly preferred to the Spaniard against Europe\u2019s top sides due to his defensive nous, starting Villarreal\u2019s last five Champions League matches as Unai Emery\u2019s side defeated Juventus and Bayern Munich before losing to Liverpool in the semifinals. Estupi\u00f1\u00e1n is now headed back to England, and this time, he\u2019s actually playing. The Ecuadorian made his Premier League debut on August 21 in a 2-0 win vs. West Ham before starting a week later in a 1-0 win vs. Leeds, grabbing an assist in a 2-1 defeat to Fulham, before dropping to the bench in a 5-2 victory against Leicester. As they look to navigate choppy waters following the departure of Graham Potter and maintain their position in fourth place, Estupi\u00f1\u00e1n looks set to play a crucial role at left back and begin a Premier League dream that has been six years in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chelsea: Wesley Fofana<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt has been a transitional summer at Stamford Bridge, with Todd Boehly taking the reins from Roman Abramovich after a 19-year spell as owner, Andreas Christensen and Antonio R\u00fcdiger leaving the club on free transfers, Romelu Lukaku returning to Inter Milan after a disastrous return to Chelsea whilst Marcos Alonso, Emerson, Timo Werner and more have also been shipped out. Boehly has kicked off his ownership by signing Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Marc Cucurella from Brighton and Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, but arguably his most exciting Premier League signing has been Wesley Fofana, who has arrived from Leicester City for an initial fee of \u00a370 million plus \u00a35 million in add-ons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 21, Fofana is 10 years younger than Kalidou Koulibaly, who has joined from Napoli to provide leadership and quality in the heart of defense following the departures of Christensen and R\u00fcdiger, and unlike Koulibaly, he has proven his quality in England\u2019s top-flight with the Frenchman joining Leicester on deadline day of the summer 2020 window and emerging as a starter in defense for Brendan Rodgers as the Foxes narrowly missed out on top four whilst beating Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, only for the following season to be curtailed by a vicious tackle from Fernando Ni\u00f1o in a preseason friendly against Villarreal. If Fofana can recover his 2020\/21 form and nail down a starting spot under Graham Potter, Chelsea\u2019s money will be well-spent \u2013 despite the injury, Fofana remains one of the most promising young center backs in Europe, combining speed, anticipation and fearlessness and proving an imperious 1v1 defender capable of playing in a back three or back four, and after Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Ben White and more, he could be the next center back to take his game up an entire notch under the stewardship of Graham Potter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crystal Palace: Cheick Doucour\u00e9<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOne year after a summer rebuild that saw Odsonne Edouard, Marc Gu\u00e9hi, Will Hughes Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise and Conor Gallagher arrive at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace have continued to rejuvenate their squad under the leadership of manager Patrick Vieira and sporting director Dougie Freedman, with veterans like Cheikhou Kouyat\u00e9, Christian Benteke and Martin Kelly departing South London and Malcolm Ebiowei (18) and Sam Johnstone (29) joining on free transfers whilst American center back Chris Richards (22) has arrived from Bayern Munich to provide quality in central defense. The only new signing who has already solidified a starting spot, however, is Cheick Doucour\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Bamako, Mali and raised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Doucour\u00e9 left Africa for Europe after turning 18, spending a year with Lens\u2019 reserves and emerging as a starter in midfield for the first team in the 2018\/19 season before achieving promotion to Ligue 1 the following year. Operating alongside Ivory Coast international Seko Fofana in midfield, Doucour\u00e9 and his fellow West African teammate formed a lethal duo in midfield as Lens narrowly missed out on European football in each of their first two seasons back in the top-flight under Franck Haise, impressing with one of the most aesthetically pleasing styles of play in France. It has seen Doucour\u00e9 earn a move to the Premier League with the Eagles paying an initial fee of \u20ac21 million potentially rising to \u20ac25 million, a fee only topped by Benteke and Mamadou Sakho\u2019s arrivals at Selhurst Park. The Malian international is already proving to be a vital presence in the base of midfield, blending a strong positional awareness with an ability to carry the ball forward amid pressure, capable of breaking up counter-attacks and starting them with his incisive dribbling. At 22 years old, he has taken the reins from Kouyat\u00e9 and emerged as the holding midfield in Patrick Vieira\u2019s 4-3-3 and operating alongside Eberechi Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp in the centre of the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everton: James Tarkowski<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u201cTarkowski, now 29, has joined Everton on a four-year deal and will be looking to provide experience and stability alongside two other centre-backs in Lampard\u2019s back three, be that Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate or Ben Godfrey. He has a pedigree and consistency that is paralleled by few centre-backs in the Premier League, having emerged as an indispensable defender for Sean Dyche\u2019s plucky Clarets over the past five years and earning himself a move to a team in desperate need of a leader in central defence. For a Toffees side that has its hands tied financially, signing James Tarkowski on a free transfer is a major coup for Frank Lampard\u2019s Everton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n