With Premier League clubs making major upgrades to their attacking departments ahead of what is billed to be one of the most competitive top-flight campaigns for decades, Sky Sports takes a look at the strikers who might shape this season…

No 9s and No 10s have been the talk of the summer and big money has been spent in the pursuit of goals.

Chelsea are hanging their hopes on Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, Arsenal have got all their eggs in the Viktor Gyokeres basket, while Man United have gone wild and revamped their entire forward line by signing Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko for a combined £207m.

Liverpool have front-loaded, too, splashing a nine-figure sum on Florian Wirtz before pushing overall spending beyond the £250m mark with a £79m outlay on Hugo Ekitike.

And we are yet to reach a conclusion on the Alexander Isak saga, with any potential fee for the Newcastle forward likely to eclipse anything we have seen so far. So, who has spent wisely? And how will each team best utilise their new weapons in the hunt for Premier League glory?

Man Utd: Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko

After their worst season in 51 years, the only way is up for Man United and their shiny new three-pronged attack, moulded in the shape of Ruben Amorim’s famous 3-4-2-1 system.

Amorim always maintained, given the choice, he would not have taken on the unenviable task of awakening English football’s most successful club from its decade-long malaise midway through a season, had the proposal not been ‘now or never’.

What followed was fairly disastrous: most defeats (18), fewest points (42) and fewest goals (44) in the club’s Premier League history. But now, with a full pre-season to impart his particular style and the tools with which to make it succeed, can we expect an upturn?

Mbeumo and Sesko are exciting additions. Both had offers from other clubs and still chose Man United, despite no participation in European competition for the first time in 11 years and no title since 2013.

Sesko hit 21 goals in all competitions for RB Leipzig last season, finishing with 39 in 87 appearances overall. His pace, movement and sharp finishing should suit Amorim’s fluid attack, with Mbeumo and Cunha doing the creative work.

Some daunting early fixtures, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea in their opening five games, will stress test that theory. Clearly all three have proven pedigree – each is an obvious improvement on the luckless Rasmus Hojlund – but whether they offer the right balance of creativity to goal threat will have to be judged at a later date. Suffice to say, 44 is not a difficult tally to beat.

Liverpool: Wirtz, Ekitike

Most believe both Wirtz and Ekitike to be the real deal despite their relatively modest ages. The latter scored 15 goals and assisted eight more in 33 Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, while Wirtz just makes playing football look frightfully easy.

Over the last two years, the German international landed 67 goal involvements in 75 matches across all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen, with an equally efficient split of 34 goals to 33 assists.

Both are model forwards for fast transitions and have an ability to play between the lines, ready to complement Liverpool’s already abundant attacking riches. Mohamed Salah’s eyes must have lit up when Wirtz walked through the door at Melwood – a quick, skilful, progressive playmaker with shades of Kevin De Bruyne? Yes please.

In Arne Slot style, expect aggressive counter-pressing too.

Chemistry between Wirtz and Ekitike already shows outstanding promise. This is an ominous development in the evolution of Slot’s incumbent champions.

Arsenal: Gyokeres

Let’s be honest, Arsenal have been fudging it for years, somehow managing to get away with scoring enough goals to satisfy consecutive second-place finishes thanks to the brilliance of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. Not nearly enough for a title, though.

Every transfer window teased a big-name signing without ever actually delivering on that pledge. Until now.

Gyokeres “will destroy defenders”, insisted Mikel Arteta last weekend. Perhaps the fact he has been given Thierry Henry’s iconic #14 shirt is intentionally foreboding. Like the legendary Frenchman, Gyokeres thrives within the width of the posts. He has a desire to stay on the last line, complete with intimidating physicality and running power.

A forward who can charge through defences and speed up attacks – scoring 23 times from fast breaks last year – will aid Arsenal’s plight greatly. And most importantly, no player in Europe’s top eight divisions matched Gyokeres’ 39 league goals for Sporting.

In fact, across his two seasons in Portugal, Gyokeres hit Erling Haaland-level numbers: 79 goals in 83 matches in the Primeira Liga and Champions League, proving he might very well be the missing piece in Arsenal’s title-chasing dream.

Chelsea: Delap, Pedro

Chelsea’s willingness to part with big sums of cash has been a transfer market staple ever since Todd Boehly took a controlling stake at Stamford Bridge just over three years ago.

In the immediate aftermath of the introduction of the Premier League’s PSR rules, they were the only club keeping the magic of the transfer window alive. Now others have caught up, but we still thank Boehly for plugging the intrigue gap.

And yet Chelsea’s latest spree is more interesting still, as newcomers Delap and Pedro jostle for first-choice striker. The Brazilian is arguably more mobile and dynamic than Delap, but has struggled to stay injury-free over the past 12 months.

His versatility across a fluid frontline will nevertheless be helpful to Enzo Maresca, who could use Pedro as a second striker behind the former Ipswich target man if he so wishes – or even on the wing.

Delap, meanwhile, has already shown himself to be a good ally to Chelsea’s greatest asset, Cole Palmer. The pair were prolific for Manchester City’s youth teams in years gone by.

Pedro and Delap, both on the scoresheet as Chelsea thrashed AC Milan in a recent pre-season friendly, registered a combined 30 goal contributions in the Premier League last season (22G, 8A) and that kind of firepower can sustain a meaningful title charge – at least beyond Christmas, which is realistically where Chelsea’s ended last term.

Man City: Cherki

Pep Guardiola professed not to want wholesale change at Manchester City midway through last season’s disastrous collapse, but that appears to be what he’s got. City went big in January and have invested further this summer.

Rayan Cherki has drawn most excitement, not least because of comparisons with one Lionel Messi – which may have as much to do with his short stature as his impressive close ball control, but any association with the great Argentinian has got to be deemed favourable.

A Messi-like ability to open up a game is what was captured in glimpses for Lyon last season, particularly noticeable in Europa League performances, with 12 goal contributions from 11 starts.

Of course, City do not need another marquee No 9 signing, they have Haaland, who will be buoyed by the addition of Cherki to supplement his own goal-scoring habits as City bid to forcibly reassert themselves back in the title picture. Things just got interesting.

Live Premier League football this weekend

All games available live on Sky Sports…

Friday August 15

Liverpool vs Bournemouth – kick-off 8pm

Saturday August 16

Wolves vs Manchester City – kick-off 5.30pm

Sunday August 17

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace – kick-off 2pm

Nottingham Forest vs Brentford – kick-off 2pm

Manchester United vs Arsenal – kick-off 4.30pm

Monday August 18

Leeds vs Everton – kick-off 8pm