Premier League: Team-by-team transfer analysis

Richard Jolly looks at what business each of the 20 clubs will be aiming to achieve ahead of the start of the new season next month.

Chelsea have already demonstrated their intentions for the new season with the signing of Eden Hazard.
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The transfer window formally opened this month and English football correspondent Richard Jolly takes a team-by-team look at what promises to be a hive of activity before the season starts next month.

Arsenal

Aims: Either to keep Robin van Persie for the remainder of his contract or sell him for the maximum value and invest in replacements. Arsene Wenger also wants another central midfielder and defender.

Signings: Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski.

Targets: Yann M'Vila.

Financial Muscle: Considerable. About £50 million (Dh284,942m), but more if Van Persie goes.

Departures: Manuel Almunia, Gavin Hoyte.

Possible Departures: Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Denilson, Sebastien Squillaci, Van Persie, Carlos Vela, Park Chu-Young.

Aspirations: To win silverware and qualify for the Champions League again.

Aston Villa

Aims: To assemble Paul Lambert's type of squad - younger, hungrier and, after the boredom of Alex McLeish's reign, more exciting.

Signings: Karim El Ahmadi, Brett Holman.

Targets: Yacine Brahmi, Brad Guzan, Matthew Lowton.

Financial Muscle: Not huge. Villa have been weighed down by a massive wage bill.

Departures: Carlos Cuellar, Brad Guzan, Emile Heskey.

Possible Departures: Alan Hutton, Stephen Ireland, Charles N'Zogbia, Stephen Warnock.

Aspirations: To get back into the top 10 and win over fans disillusioned by two seasons of underachievement. To do so on a budget.

Chelsea

Aims: To overhaul a Champions League-winning squad and make them entertainers. The coveted Eden Hazard has already arrived and at least one more attacker is on the agenda, plus a creative central midfielder and a right-back.

Signings: Eden Hazard, Marko Marin.

Targets: Edinson Cavani, Hulk, Maicon, Luka Modric, Luke Shaw, Gregory van der Wiel, Axel Witsel.

Financial Muscle: Massive. If Roman Abramovich wants, it could be over £100 million.

Departures: Jose Bosingwa, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou.

Possible Departures: Yossi Benayoun, Michael Essien, Paulo Ferreira, Romelu Lukaku (loan), Florent Malouda, Daniel Sturridge.

Aspirations: To win the title, retain the Champions League and to play like Barcelona. Simple, really.

Everton

Aims: To keep Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini out of the clutches of richer clubs. To secure Steven Pienaar's return from Tottenham and then add further creativity. To get David Moyes to sign an extended contract.

Signings: Steven Naismith.

Targets: Oscar Cardozo, Steven Pienaar, Danijel Pranjic, Hugo Rodallega.

Financial Muscle: This is Everton. Limited. Moyes may have to sell before he buys.

Departures: Marcus Hahnemann, James McFadden.

Possible Departures: Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Jack Rodwell.

Aspirations: To overachieve yet again and to repeat the form they showed in the second half of last season.

Fulham

Aims: To continue replacing older players with younger ones. To find another forward and Danny Murphy's successor as the holding midfielder. To keep the prolific Clint Dempsey and the much-admired Mousa Dembele.

Signings: Mladen Petric.

Targets: David Bentley, Chris David, Steven Fletcher, Tom Huddlestone, Hugo Rodallega.

Financial Muscle: Depends upon unpredictable owner Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Departures: Andrew Johnson, Danny Murphy, Pavel Pogrebnyak, Bjorn Helge Riise, Orlando Sa.

Possible Departures: Mousa Dembele, Clint Dempsey, Simon Davies, Rafik Halliche.

Aspirations: Another top-10 finish and more pleasing football would be a second successful season for manager Martin Jol.

Liverpool

Aims: To bring in players who can play new manager Brendan Rodgers' preferred passing game. To find the predator they lacked last season. To add a quality winger. A new central midfielder and an extra central defender may be wanted, too.

Signings: None.

Targets: Demba Ba, Luuk de Jong, Victor Moses, Gaston Ramirez, Scott Sinclair, Juan Manuel Vargas.

Financial Muscle: Less than last summer after a spending spree backfired.

Departures: Fabio Aurelio, Andy Carroll, Stephen Darby, Dirk Kuyt.

Possible Departures: Alberto Aquilani, Craig Bellamy, Maxi Rodriguez.

Aspirations: To make Liverpool play like Swansea. To get underachievers to perform and turn a profligate team into a prolific one.

Manchester City

Aims: To add a world-class striker, plus an extra central midfielder and central defender - although Javi Martinez could be both in one. To bring in funds and reduce the wage bill by selling several unwanted and expensive players.

Signings: None.

Targets: Edinson Cavani, Javi Martinez, Robin van Persie.

Financial Muscle: Considerable, but Financial Fair Play means they want to balance the books.

Departures: Owen Hargreaves, Stuart Taylor.

Possible Departures: Emmanuel Adebayor, Wayne Bridge, Edin Dzeko, Michael Johnson, Nigel de Jong, Aleksandar Kolarov, Roque Santa Cruz, Stefan Savic.

Aspirations: To make their mark in the Champions League. To possess the finest squad in England, with two high-class, happy players for every position.

Manchester United

Aims: To finally give the midfield a belated overhaul and add creativity, class and goals. A new striker and Patrice Evra's successor at left-back could also be on the agenda.

Signings: Shinji Kagawa, Nick Powell.

Targets: Leighton Baines, Joao Moutinho, Luka Modric, Robin van Persie, Axel Witsel.

Financial Muscle: Not as big as it should be. The club themselves have admitted the debts the Glazers lumped on the club have made them less competitive in the transfer market.

Departures: Fabio da Silva (loan), Tomasz Kuszczak, Michael Owen, Paul Pogba.

Possible Departures: Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda, Ji-sung Park.

Aspirations: To regain the title. It's as simple as that.

Newcastle United

Aims: To find more bargains. A new right-back and another striker are objectives. Keeping last season's success stories like Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa is important, too.

Signings: Romain Amalfitano.

Targets: Vurnon Anita, Mathieu Debuchy, Douglas, Luuk de Jong, Wilfried Zaha, Junior Hoilett

Financial Muscle: Some, which will be increased with sales, but the era of overspending has finished.

Departures: Leon Best, Danny Guthrie, Peter Lovenkrands, Alan Smith.

Possible Departures: Demba Ba, Hatem Ben Arfa, Gabriel Obertan, Nile Ranger, Cheik Tiote.

Aspirations: To make European football an annual achievement. To find yet more cheap players who are soon valued at £20m or more.

Norwich City

Aims: To repeat last season's formula of signings from the lower leagues flourishing in the top flight. To tighten up a defence breached 66 times last season and now without on-loan Kyle Naughton.

Signings: Jacob Butterfield.

Targets: Curtis Davies, Nile Ranger, Steven Whitaker.

Financial Muscle: Limited. Have to repay debts incurred during their time in the lower leagues.

Departures: Adam Drury, Zak Whitbread, Aaron Wilbraham.

Possible Departures: Chris Martin, Simon Lappin.

Aspirations: For Chris Hughton to repeat Paul Lambert's success with under-rated players and a comparatively small budget.

QPR

Aims: To ensure there is no repeat of last season. To add quality throughout the squad and part company with Championship players. Premier League experience is valued, judging by Mark Hughes' signings so far.

Signings: Fabio da Silva (loan), Samba Diakite, Rob Green, Andy Johnson, Ryan Nelsen.

Targets: Alexander Buttner, Taye Taiwo, Stephen Warnock.

Financial Muscle: Owner Tony Fernandes has been generous. Rangers are paying huge wages.

Departures: Patrick Agyemang, Joey Barton, Lee Cook, Danny Gabbidon, Fitz Hall, Peter Ramage, Danny Shittu.

Possible Departures: Jay Bothroyd, DJ Campbell, Matthew Connolly, Rob Hulse, Paddy Kenny, Tommy Smith.

Aspirations: To go from a relegation struggle to the top 10.

Reading

Aims: To add the quality needed to keep them up. Manager Brian McDermott has started by strengthening the spine of his side.

Signings: Gareth McCleary, Danny Guthrie, Pavel Pogrebnyak

Targets: Chris Gunter, Adam Clayton, Adrian Mariappa, Jordan Rhodes, Danny Simpson, Alain Traore.

Financial Muscle: Depends how much owner Anton Zingarevich invests.

Departures: Brian Howard, Andy Griffin.

Possible Departures: Simon Church.

Aspirations: To find players who fit in with a united group and suit their high-energy style of play. To stay up.

Southampton

Aims: To sign a new goalkeeper and strengthen the centre of defence. More midfielders may be required. Manager Nigel Adkins is looking for young players from the Football League.

Signings: Jay Rodriguez.

Targets: Jack Butland, Alexander Butner, Scott Dann.

Financial Muscle: Substantial. Rodriguez is a club-record buy, but that could be raised again.

Departures: Bartosz Bialkowski, David Connolly, Radhi Jaidi, Lee Holmes.

Possible Departures: Lee Barnard, Danny Butterfield, Frazer Richardson, Luke Shaw.

Aspirations: To emulate Norwich and go from League One to mid-table in the Premier League in three seasons.

Stoke City

Aims: To add more goals to a less than prolific side. A striker and a winger are the main targets. Tony Pulis tends to go for Premier League pedigree and experienced players.

Signings: Jamie Ness.

Targets: Geoff Cameron, Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis, Marcus Olsson, Michael Owen.

Financial Muscle: Owner Peter Coates tends to find the money for a big buy or two.

Departures: Andrew Davies, Salif Diao, Ricardo Fuller, Tom Soares.

Possible Departures: Danny Collins, Danny Higginbotham, Kenwyne Jones, Jermaine Pennant, Jonathan Woodgate.

Aspirations: Another season of comfortable safety, cup runs and big scalps at the Britannia Stadium would be fine.

Sunderland

Aims: To find a goalscorer, with Nicklas Bendtner gone and Asamoah Gyan extremely unlikely to return. More strength in depth would be welcome, especially across the back four, as Martin O'Neill trusted too few of his squad players last season.

Signings: Carlos Cuellar

Targets: Steven Fletcher, Martin Olsson, Louis Saha, Stephen Warnock.

Financial Muscle: Less than in previous years, but O'Neill will still have funds.

Departures: Craig Gordon, George McCartney.

Possible Departures: Ahmed Elmohamady, Matthew Kilgallon, Kieran Richardson, Ji-Dong Won.

Aspirations: To become a regular top-10 club.

Swansea City

Aims: To find an attacking midfielder and a central defender who can replace on-loan Gylfi Sigurdsson and Steven Caulker. More firepower might be needed, too.

Signings: None.

Targets: Chico, Edouard Duplan, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Thomas Kahlenburg.

Financial Muscle: Comparatively small. Swansea will not gamble with money they don't have.

Departures: Ferrie Bodde

Possible Departures: Federico Bassone, Leroy Lita, Scott Sinclair.

Aspirations: For new manager Michael Laudrup to bring in his players and for Swansea to pass their way to safety again.

Tottenham Hotspur

Aims: To keep Luka Modric. To sign at least one striker, and probably more. To make a flagship buy of a world-class talent. To get a squad that suits new manager Andre Villas-Boas' high-tempo, passing style of play. To reduce the average age of the squad.

Signings: Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Targets: Emmanuel Adebayor, Alan Dzagoev, Junior Hoilett, Hugo Lloris, Joao Moutinho, Oscar, Daniel Sturridge, Jan Vertonghen.

Financial Muscle: Sizeable. If Modric leaves, along with several unwanted squad players, the budget could be massive.

Departures: Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar, Ryan Nelsen, Louis Saha.

Possible Departures: Sebastian Bassong, David Bentley, Giovani dos Santos, Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, Modric, Steven Pienaar, Rafael van der Vaart.

Aspirations: To execute a swift and drastic overhaul of the squad. To finish in the top four.

West Bromwich Albion

Aims: To continue finding bargains so that new manager Steve Clarke can repeat Roy Hodgson's achievements. To keep key defender Jonas Olsson and to bolster the midfield after summer departure. A left-back is also wanted.

Signings: Ben Foster.

Targets: Danny Rose, Markus Rosenberg.

Financial Muscle: Albion operate on a strict budget.

Departures: Keith Andrews, Joe Mattock, Paul Scharner, Nicky Shorey, Somen Tchoyi,

Possible Departures: George Thorne.

Aspirations: To secure a fourth successive season in the Premier League.

West Ham United

Aims: To improve every department of the side after promotion. Manager Sam Allardyce prefers a large group of senior players. Physical power is also prioritised.

Signings: Mohamed Diame, Jussi Jaaskelainen, George McCartney.

Targets: Guti, Romelu Lukuku (loan), Dejan Stankovic

Financial Muscle: Owners David Gold and David Sullivan have backed Allardyce so far.

Departures: Pablo Barrera, John Carew, Papa Bouba Diop, Abdoulaye Faye, Ahmed Elmohamady, Julien Faubert, Robert Green, Freddie Sears.

Possible Departures: Frederic Piquionne.

Aspirations: To improve the home form and to survive.

Wigan Athletic

Aims: To prevent the highly-rated Victor Moses heading for pastures new. To find a finisher so their excellent passing football has an end product. To fill out a slender squad.

Signings: None.

Targets: Rod Fanni, Arouna Kone, Tony McMahon.

Financial Muscle: Minimal. Roberto Martinez never complains, though, and finds players on the cheap.

Departures: Mohamed Diame, Steve Gohouri, Chris Kirkland, Hugo Rodallega, Hendry Thomas.

Possible Departures: Victor Moses.

Aspirations: To make it nine years of Premier League football at the DW Stadium.

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& Richard Jolly