The Cost of a Premier League Goal

With the wide array of superstar signings in football on a bi-annual basis, it’s easy to get swept away with excitement when your latest midfield linchpin signs on the dotted line. But, is it worth spending 10’s of millions on the latest Brazilian prodigy when a Championship stalwart will give you the same return? We find out how much a Premier League goal really costs.

The 16/17 season was Arsenal’s 25th in the Premier League and 97th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, however Arsenal finished outside the top 4, which guarantee’s Champions League football, for the first time since the 95/96 season.

 

Bournemouth enjoyed only there second season in Premier League football since they were founded 127 years ago during the 16/17 season. Their leading goalscorer Joshua King scored 16 goals, helping them to a comfortable 9th place finish in the Premier League.

 

This season was Sean Dyche’s second attempt at keeping Burnley in the Premier League after their relegation in the 14/15 season. As of 2017, every time Burnley have participated in the Premier League, the title has been won by Chelsea.

 

Finishing the season as Champions, Chelsea stormed to the Premier League title with Diego Costa bagging 20 goals in the league. They were also runners-up in the FA Cup after defeat in the final to Arsenal.

 

With Alan Pardew leaving midway through the season, Sam Allardyce took the reins at Crystal Palace. Finising in 14th place in the league, Big Sam left Crystal Palace at the end of the season, saying that he had no ambitions of getting back involved in football.

The 16/17 season would be Romelu Lukaku’s last at Goodison Park, but not before he finished the sides top goalscorer with 25 goals. He also won Everton’s Player of the Season award, with Tom Davies winning Young Player of the Season.

Following promotion via the Championship Play-offs in 2016, Hull City battled to stay in the Premier League but couldn’t escape the drop. They were relegated following their 4-0 away defeat to Crystal Palace. They also had three different managers throughout the season: Mike Phelan, Marco Silva and Leonid Slutsky

After miraculously winning the league in the previous season, Leicester took part in the pre-season International Champions Cup and entered the 16/17 Champions League at the group stage. In the Premier League, they finished 12th, sacking Claudio Ranieri in February.

 

Finishing 4th in the Premier League, Liverpool qualified for the Champions League play-off round. Philippe Coutinho, the team’s joint top scorer with Sadio Mane, left Liverpool for Barcelona in the January transfer window.

Manchester City, managed by Pep Gaurdiola, finished 3rd in the Premier League in the 16/17 season. They competed in the Champions League for the sixth season in a row, but were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 by Monaco.

Manchester United’s season began by winning the FA Community Shield 2-1 at Wembley against Leicester City. Although they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League via the league, after finishing in sixth place, they managed to beat Ajax in the final of the Europa League to claim a place in Europe’s elite competition.

 

On their long awaited return to the Premier League, Middlesborough struggled and finished in 19th place. The team found it difficult to score goals all season. Their total of 27 goals was the lowest in the league. However, they did boast a strong defensive record.

 

The 16/17 season was Southampton’s only campaign under the leadership of manager Claude Puel, despite finishing in an impressive 8th place. They also made it the the final of the EFL Cup, narrowly loosing to Manchester United 3-2 in the final.

After bringing in the likes of Joe Allen, Wilfried Bony and Bruno Martins Indi, Stoke City’s season began with two points from their first six matches, which meant they were languishing in the relegation zone. However, by December, they were back firmly in mid-table and ended the season in 13th on 44 points.

After ten consecutive seasons in the Premier League, this would be Sunderland’s last. Despite a brilliant return of 15 goals from veteran striker Jermaine Defoe, the Black Cats were unable to avoid the drop and finished bottom of the Premier League with 24 points.

Despite having three different managers during the 16/17 season, Swansea managed a 15th placed finish in the Premier League. At the end of the season, their top scorer Fernando Llorente left to join Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur on a undisclosed fee.

In this breakthrough season for Spurs, the team finished 2nd in the Premier League and also made it to the semi finals of the FA Cup. They did however get knocked out of the round of 32 in the Europa League by Gent, losing 3-2 on aggregate.

Walter Mazzarri took over as Watford’s manager following the departure of Quique Flores. The Hornets managed to secure Premier League safety, finishing 17 with 40 points.

Following the arrival of the likes of Nacer Chadli and Matt Philips, West Brom performed well in the Premier League during the 16/17 season, finishing in 10th place. They were however, knocked out of the FA and EFL cup in the thrid and second round respectively.

Following their move from Upton Park to the London Stadium, and the promise of investment in the team, West Ham finished 11th in the Premier League. In Europe, they were beaten in the preliminary round of the Europa League by Astra Giurgiu, in a shock defeat.

 

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