Last season was the first time since the 1997-98 campaign that all three of the teams promoted to the Premier League in the prior campaign got relegated straight back down.
Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United struggled to adapt to life in the top-flight and will be playing their football in the Championship again this coming season, but will this year be different?
Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton will all be hoping to avoid the same fate, so can any of them stay up?
We’ve assessed the chances of each of them surviving more than one season in the Premier League…
Ipswich Town
Arrivals: Liam Delap (£20m), Omari Hutchinson (£18m), Jacob Greaves (£15m), Arijanet Muric (£15m), Conor Townsend (£500k), Darragh McCann (undisclosed), Ben Johnson (free), Leon Elliott (free)
Ipswich have, so far, spent the most of all the promoted clubs this summer as boss Kieran McKenna looks to put together a squad capable of survival. If he can do it, it would be his biggest achievement yet despite having already taken the club from League One to the Premier League in two seasons.
Hutchinson’s permanent arrival from Chelsea is an exciting piece of business from the club, having impressed on loan at the Tractor Boys in the Championship last season and is a real coup for the club given Hutchinson’s enormous potential. Delap also arrives for a big fee having scored eight league goals on loan at Hull City during the last campaign. It is a big show of confidence in the 21-year-old’s potential, having yet to really prove he can be a consistent goalscorer in his young career.
McKenna has placed an emphasis on improving at the back with the signings of defenders Greaves, Townsend and Johnson and goalkeeper Muric from Burnley. Greaves is an eye-catching signing having long been touted with a move to the Premier League thanks to his performances for Hull and Muric, despite having lost his place for much of last season, has shown glimpses of being a superb shot stopper – something which is crucial for any club looking to avoid the drop.
Last season’s success was down to the number of goals throughout the team, with joint top scorers Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin netting just 13 times in the league despite Town being the top scorers in the division. One of the biggest strengths of this group is that they have not been too reliant on a single player.
Ipswich have had a solid window so far, adding more quality and depth to that which they already have. McKenna should prioritise strengthening in midfield and attack for the remainder of the window and extra quality in both would boost Ipswich’s chances considerably. Captain Sam Morsy is a terrific player in central midfield but it is still perhaps an area where McKenna is lacking the depth of quality.
But with a fantastic manager and team cohesion which has seen them rapidly scale the Football League, confidence at Ipswich will be sky high. The Premier League is a huge step up for this squad and it is going to be an immense task to try and stay up but there is something special about the group McKenna has.
Leicester City
Arrivals: Abdul Fatawu (£17m), Michael Golding (undisclosed), Caleb Okoli (undisclosed), Bobby Decordova-Reid (free)
Leicester are back in the Premier League after one season outside of the top flight but their preparations for the new campaign have been far from ideal having lost boss Enzo Maresca to Chelsea. Steve Cooper has arrived looking to do what he did with Nottingham Forest and guide the club to safety but faces an enormous challenge in doing so, especially since they are facing a possible points deduction over profit & sustainability rules which would make Cooper’s job even harder.
They might have won the Championship last season but there are concerns on the pitch too. Fatawu’s permanent arrival following his successful loan spell at the club last season is a welcome addition but other than that, they have done very little in the transfer market to really improve the squad. Last season’s talisman Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has also departed for Chelsea.
But there is undoubtedly some Premier League quality in the squad in the likes of Harry Winks, Ricardo Pereira, James Justin and others. That they have players who have proven they can contribute in the top flight should at least give some confidence to the fans of the club.
This squad needs a lot of work before the deadline shuts, however. In attack, the Foxes need some more firepower with an aging Jamie Vardy likely being expected to lead the line at present. If they do not strengthen in the attacking areas, even without a points deduction Cooper will have a monumentally difficult job trying to keep them in the Premier League.
Southampton
Arrivals: Flynn Downes (£18m), Ronnie Edwards (£6m), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m), Yukinari Sugawara (£5m), Ben Brereton Diaz (£6.5m), Rento Takaoka (undisclosed), Nathan Wood (£3m), Adam Lallana (free), Charlie Taylor (free), Brook Myers (free), Khiani Shombe (free), Wellington (free, joining in January), Juan – Sao Paulo, (free, joining in January), Kuryu Matsuki (undisclosed)
The Saints pipped Leeds to promotion last season by winning the play-off final and under Russell Martin will be looking to establish themselves as a top-flight club once more. They have made some eye-catching additions to strengthen their chances of doing that, with Flynn Downes and Taylor Harwood-Bellis arriving permanently following their loan moves last season and Ben Brereton Diaz joining in attack after impressing at Sheffield United last term. Added Premier League experience in the returning Adam Lallana and Charlie Taylor from Burnley is also a positive.
Southampton have certainly set about quickly making improvements to the squad with the number of additions they have made and there is plenty to be optimistic about for Southampton fans. Adam Armstrong scored 24 league goals last season so will be looking to build on a proficient campaign and the Saints look well stocked in key areas. For Martin, it is now about adding that extra bit of quality that will help them to get over the line in more games.
It will be intriguing to see if Martin’s possession style of play will translate to results in the Premier League. Burnley tried to stick with the style which got them promoted but it ended up costing them and while Southampton have shown an ability to mix things up, such as in the play-off final, they will have to be content with having the ball far less this coming season than the league high 65.5% they did on average during the last campaign.
FEATURED IMAGE: Stephen Pond/Getty Images VIA ONE FOOTBALL
