Chelsea, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool strikers feature.
New season, new start. With teams kicking off their pre-seasons, and Olympic football about to get underway, it is a time of hope, for even the most troubled players.
Below are five strikers for who last season did not go totally to plan. They will be hoping for a big improvement next season, and suddenly it is looking like all the pieces are falling into place.
Here they are…
Fernando Torres
Ever since moving to Chelsea Fernando Torres has struggled, but there are signs his fortunes might just be turning around. For a start, he defied the odds to win the Euro 2012 Golden Boot and will be full of confidence. He is also a Champions League winner, and the whole squad will be raring to go. His supply line has been boosted with the signings of Eden Hazard and Marko Marin, alongside the irrepressible Juan Mata. Torres has been told he will be Chelsea’s first choice attacker and a glut of goals beckons. He showed at the end of the season with his hat-trick against QPR what he is capable of, and if the Spaniard hits the same kind of form on a consistent basis defences should be fearful.
Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez had a season full of up’s and down’s last season, and played just 600 minutes of Premier League football. This was because of his public fallout with manager Roberto Mancini which saw him go on strike for the large majority of 2011/12. He returned to aid City’s successful late title charge, and despite interest from AC Milan, he says he is finally happy in Manchester and raring to go. Forming a dream partnership with countryman Sergio Aguero in attack, the Argentine could be irrepressible this season.
Darren Bent
Last season was a tough one for Darren Bent, the Aston Villa man was often isolated in a defensively set up Alex McLeish team, and his chances were few and far between. He seemed to be getting by ok, until his ankle injury nightmare he suffered against Wigan in February. The striker missed the rest of the season and Euro 2012, and has become England’s forgotten man. With a new manager at the helm in Paul Lambert, and fresh support from midfield in Brett Holman, Bent should thrive this season, and will be determined to remind everybody just what he can do, and repay Villa for the £24 million outlay they spent on him.
Jermain Defoe
Harry Redknapp took Defoe to Portsmouth, and liked him so much he signed him back for Spurs. But the last two seasons under Redknapp’s management have been extremely tough for the Englishman, spending nearly all his time on the bench. Like Bent, he has a fresh start under a new manager, and will be keen to show Andre Villas-Boas what he can do. Defoe’s success will depend on which strikers and how many AVB adds to his ranks, but he will surely get more playing time than he did under Redknapp.
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez will begin his season with Uruguay’s Olympic side, and Brendan Rodgers will be crossing his fingers he comes back fit and healthy. His season last year was blighted by his racial abuse charge and subsequent eight game ban, and for many of the games he did play he had the issue hanging over him. His finishing came under fire last season, but his hat-trick away to Norwich in April underlined his quality. In a more fluid Brendan Rodgers side, allowing him to roam, he should play some of his best football and will fancy his chances of scoring 20 goals or more.
Which of these five will have the best season? Will they all succeed?
image: © Viking-
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