Liverpool look like they’ll be City’s biggest challenger this season, while surprisingly, Watford have become a possible top-eight team this season.
Jurgen Klopp must’ve been delighted with the club’s transfer business over the summer as Liverpool welcomed the arrival of Naby Keita, Fabinho, Alisson and Xherdan Shaqiri albeit, two of those players haven’t quite performed well this year.
Watford’s start to the season has been superb and following the departure of Richarlison, Roberto Pereyra has stepped in to fill the void left by the Brazilian.
Naby Keita
A lot was said of Naby Keita before he arrived at the club and so far during his time on Merseyside, the former RB Leipzig star hasn’t quite hit top form for Liverpool this season.
This season, he was handed the starter role for the first few games but since then he’s dropped to the bench and most recently he has struggled with an injury which has seen him miss the last three games in the league.
At his best, Keita has the ability to break forward, sit in front of the defence and basically do pretty much anything asked of a midfielder.
His style of play is perfectly suited to how Klopp wants to play and the £52.75 million man could be a future star in Liverpool’s midfield once he settles into the Premier League.
TT Grade: A-
Roberto Pereyra
Signed for an initial deal £10.4 million deal, Roberto Pereyra arrived at Watford after two years with Juventus.
For a player who at one time, had been an integral part in the side in his first season with Juventus, signing him for just £10.4 million, seemed like a fairly cheap deal.
The Argentine is an incredibly talented player – resembling Philippe Coutinho almost – and this year, he’s beginning to show it at a consistent and high level. Last year he a fairly solid season as he scored five goals over 32 games but this season, he’s already equalled that tally in just 12 games.
Playing mostly on the left wing in the side, Pereyra has been vital in Watford’s surprising rise up the table and he’s filled the void left by Richarlison.
TT Grade: B
Pereyra is an incredibly talented player and he could arguably be one of the best to have played for Watford over the last few years.
He has the talent to take Watford to new heights but considering Keita’s talent and track record during his time in Germany, Keita wins this one. He hasn’t quite hit his stride so far at Liverpool but if he can replicate the same form he showed during his time for Leipzig, the fee will seem completely insignificant.
