Where each top six club must strengthen to keep apace with Man City
Another year, another title. After four Premier League crowns in five seasons, it's often hard to imagine Manchester City getting any stronger.
Yet every summer, the Etihad chiefs splash out with consistency - Jack Grealish for £100million in 2021, Ruben Dias for £64m in 2020, Joao Cancelo and Rodri for a combined £118m in 2019.
In fact, the last time the champions failed to spend more than £50m on a single player was back in 2014, when Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala and Bacary Sagna were on the list of summer signings.
After quickly shelling out £51m on Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland and £42m on England international Kalvin Phillips, Man City have already strengthened ahead of another assault on the Premier League next campaign.
Liverpool are undoubtedly the closest behind the champions, having stretched Pep Guardiola's side to the final day once again last season, as they did in 2017-18.
Despite losing star winger Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, Reds fans will hope that the arrival of Darwin Nunez for £85m - and the new contract for Mo Salah - will help propel Jurgen Klopp's troops to new heights and usurp Man City at the league's summit.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are just over one month into the Todd Boehly-led era, stacked with a consortium of five billionaires ready to splash out on summer signings.
However, as overwhelming £97.5m transfer flop Romelu Lukaku returns to Inter and highly-rated defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen exit to LaLiga, Thomas Tuchel finds his squad a cut behind last season's two Premier League title-contenders.
After snatching Champions League qualification away from Arsenal in May, Spurs have supplied Antonio Conte with a glut of new talent in Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic.
And yet, much like the Gunners, who announced the £45m arrival of Gabriel Jesus last week, the north London club still have a long way to go before challenging Man City and Liverpool for the title.
Manchester United finally caught a transfer breakthrough on Monday as Christian Eriksen verbally agreed to a three-year deal at Old Trafford, but the club's long-time pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is still yet to be finalised.
New boss Erik ten Hag has inherited a squad that finished last campaign with the club's lowest ever points tally and a star player in Cristiano Ronaldo who is eagerly pursuing an exit.
As Man City prepare to reload ahead of another title surge next season, Sportsmail has identified the positions in which each top six side must strengthen this summer, if they hope to keep apace with the Premier League champions.
Liverpool
The Anfield chiefs have done almost everything right so far in the transfer window.
Freshening up the frontline with star striker Nunez - albeit for a pricey £85m - and finding a new home for wantaway Mane before the start of pre-season has given Jurgen Klopp the best chance to settle his squad ahead of August.
Teenagers Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay joined Liverpool to inject a dose of youth into the squad, as Takumi Minamino exited to Monaco for £15.5m.
And perhaps most importantly, the board managed to convince Mohamed Salah to sign a £400,000-a-week contract extension, keeping him at Anfield until June 2025.
The Reds have now shut the treasury this summer and are expected to head into next season with no more new additions, ready to lock horns with Man City in yet another title chase.
Klopp's side boasted the joint-best defence in the Premier League last campaign, as Virgil van Dijk cemented a fruitful partnership with Joel Matip, and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson continued to prosper with goal contributions at full-back.
Moreover, with inspired January addition Luis Diaz and new signing Nunez having bolstered the Reds up front, Klopp now has an embarrassment of riches in forward areas, with Salah, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino making up the German's star-studded five-man attack.
But Liverpool, who are a little thin on the ground in terms of options in midfield, would arguably benefit from an extra playmaker in the engine room.
As 32-year-old captain Jordan Henderson and 36-year-old veteran James Milner continue to advance in years, Thiago has yet to play more than 25 league matches at Anfield since joining Liverpool.
Despite showcasing an impressive season, the Spaniard was plagued with a range of calf, hip and thigh injuries, causing him to miss 11 games.
Liverpool picked up just 22 points from a possible 33 whilst Thiago was sidelined, a crucial deficit which more than cost them the title.
Whilst youngsters Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones have showed promise, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have yet to show dependability in the absence of Thiago and Henderson.
Liverpool once again heavily relied on their full-backs to provide creativity, with Alexander-Arnold and Robertson notching
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