New Kids on The Block: Taking a Look At The Premier Leagues Newly Promoted Sides

Fulham

Beginning with the second division champions, Fulham had a prolific campaign last season in which they scored 106 goals, the highest in the division, with their talisman Aleksander Mitrovic slotting in 43 goals to break the second division record for goals scored in a 46-game season. Premier League fans will recognize manager Marco Silva from his three previous tenures in the topflight with Hull City, Watford, and Everton. Silva's first spell in the Premier League came in 2017 when he took over bottom-of-the-table Hull City. Despite leading them to four wins in their first four matches and memorable victories over Manchester United and Liverpool, it proved too little too late for the Tigers. Silva resigned in May 2017 following the club's relegation. Silva's Watford tenure was marred by controversy. After a promising start was quickly derailed, with fans and ownership citing Silva's loss of focus due to an "unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival", he was sacked in January of 2018. Those Premier League rivals were Everton FC, who secured Marco Silva's signature in the summer of 2018. Silva's first season in charge of the Toffees was relatively successful as he guided the club to an 8th-placed finish. He was dismissed the following December after a poor start left Everton in 18th place. Both Silva and Fulham will be hoping the fourth time's the charm for their manager in the Premier League. Fulham's last two promotions, in 2018 and 2020, were earned through playoff victories. Both ended in the club immediately being relegated to the Championship despite heavy investment in the squad. While Fulham's owners will still be looking to invest in the team this summer, they have a good core of players they can build around, unlike in previous years. They will be looking to ensure that Mitrovic is adequately provided for, especially now that Fabio Carvalho, who logged 10 goals and 8 assists last season, is departing for Liverpool. Despite this loss, Fulham have several other players who provided good numbers last season, Welsh midfielder Harry Wilson being the most notable, who recorded an impressive 19 assists and 10 goals. Fulham will also hope that USA national team left-back Antonee Robinson and defensive midfielder Jean-Michael Seri can translate their successful Championship campaigns into solid Premier league performances. While goals win games, defences are equally important, especially when trying to maintain Premier League status. Fulham aren't quite as impressive in this regard, with 17 clean sheets only being the 6th best in the Championship last year. Fulham will be hoping that with some solid investment to support the core players already settled at the club, they'll survive in the Premier League and buck the trend of disappointing returns to the top flight.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth finished second behind Fulham and earned automatic promotion back to the Premier League, earning manager Scott Parker a second bite of the cherry (pun intended) at managing in the top division. Bournemouth's rock-solid defence was the defining factor in their promotion run, with their 21 clean sheets being the most of any team in the division. Their attacking play was also solid as they netted 74 goals, with 58 coming from open play. Former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke notched 29 goals, making him Bournemouth's top scorer by some margin. The Cherries will be hoping that this form can continue into next season after Solanke's previous Premier League spells were largely disappointing. On the other end of the pitch, 23-year-old Irish goalkeeper Mark Travers scooped up the Championship Golden Glove award and Bournemouth's Player of the Season trophy. Other notable players for Bournemouth were midfielder Phillip Billing, who was directly involved in 20 goals, and central defender Lloyd Kelly who played a crucial role in defence, with the Cherries only able to secure 2 wins out of the 9 games he did not start. It will be interesting to see how Bournemouth attempts to replace veteran defender Gary Cahill and departing Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips. How they go about replacing these players and how other key players transition to life in the Premier League will likely define how Bournemouth do on their return to the topflight.

Nottingham Forest

Of the three teams promoted this season, Nottingham Forest is the most historically successful and the least successful in recent history. Premier League fans should be ecstatic that the once European giant will be back on the big stage. Steve Cooper, formerly of Swansea City and the England U17s, was appointed manager on the 21st of September 2021. At the time, the club were bottom of the Championship table. By Christmas, Cooper had miraculously sparked a turnaround that saw Forest rise to 7th in the table. They eventually finished 4th in the league and secured their promotion with a 1-0 playoff final victory against Huddersfield. Cooper's counterattacking style resulted in Forest scoring 73 goals, despite having below-average possession statistics, and conceding only 40 goals, the second-lowest behind Bournemouth. This style of play is likely to suit the Premier League, as most newly promoted sides will see less of the ball than they are used to in the second division. Despite interest from numerous Premier League sides, Forest will be hopeful they can hang onto their 21-year-old star winger Brennan Johnson. He netted 16 times for the Reds and assisted a further 10 times. Forest's season was heavily influenced by loan signings such as right-back Djed Spence, midfielder James Garner, and winger Phillip Zingernackel. While Forest's owner has guaranteed that the side will receive adequate investment so they may compete in the Premier League next season, whether or not they will be able to sign players who can fill the roles left vacant by these critical players remains to be seen. However, they have already made a statement by signing highly touted striker Taiwo Awoniyi for a club-record fee from Union Berlin. If they recruit well, we could see an exciting young Forest squad; if not, the Red's return to the Premier League could be short and not so sweet.

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