Premier League Project Restart: The Survival of the Fittest When We Return June 20
Significant injuries to key players brightly illuminate the level of talent from top to bottom that each club possesses.
What can be easily predicted when Premier League play resumes is that first-team players are going to get injured. This will be magnified during the desperate sprint to the finish line that squads will have to endure.
One of the things that are also clearly evident is that the deeper the talent pool on a team is, the more likely they are to be able to rotate their teams from game to game and manage inevitable injuries.
The great manager poet, José Mourinho, explained this concept the best when he said that “Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool, and the City B team” all had a chance to win the league title this year.
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This statement ultimately suggested that Pep Guardiola’s team was so talented that even a squad of his backups could earn a European qualification spot and win the league title.
The theory did not play out as the “Special One” had predicted for the defending champions as the “B” team on the backline was not as good as their starters. However, the table does not lie. The most talented teams are closer to the top than the bottom.
No club will escape injuries as play resumes, but these clubs will be at a considerable advantage over the field.
The best way to quantify the overall talent pool of a Premier League team is to look at the average market value of their players.
The clubs with the highest average market value of players are the following:
- Manchester City – $46.65 million
- Liverpool – $41.04 million
- Tottenham – $30.76 million
- Chelsea – $27.70 million
- Manchester United – $26.35 million
- Arsenal – $23.60 million
The big six teams have six of the top nine positions in the table, including the top two. These clubs have the deepest talent from top to bottom, and it’s not even close. When the injury bug strikes, these clubs will be in the best position to qualify for European places.
The same is also true in the relegation battle as West Ham and Bournemouth have arguably the best talent pools. Norwich, a clear relegation favorite, has the second-lowest average player market value.
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Of note, the biggest surprise and outlier in this category is Sheffield United. They are seventh in the table and have the lowest average player market value. To answer the inevitable question, in the race for European qualification and to stay alive in the Top Flight, bigger is better.