Africa’s big questions for new Premier League season

Ghanaian

Following a hectic period that included the European Championship, Copa America, and the Olympics, football enthusiasts throughout Africa are once again focusing their attention on the English Premier League.

The new season is set to commence on Friday, with Manchester United facing Fulham at Old Trafford at 19:00 GMT.

Among the new talents arriving from the continent to join

Read full articlethe world's most-watched league are Senegalese forward Iliman Ndaiye, Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Osman, and Moroccan defender Chadi Riad.

BBC Sport Africa examines some of the significant questions that will unfold over the next nine months.

How will Salah adapt to the new Liverpool management?

Mohamed Salah is often regarded as one of the greatest African players to have ever played in England's top division.

However, by the exceptionally high standards he has set for himself, last season was not his finest, marked by a late-season decline as Liverpool's title aspirations faltered.

With eighteen goals in the Premier League—five of which were penalties—this was his lowest tally since joining the Reds in 2017, although he also provided ten assists.

The injury sidelined the 32-year-old for a significant portion of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and parts of the domestic season, leading to visible frustration, particularly during an incident with manager Jurgen Klopp in April.

With Klopp's departure and only one year remaining on his contract, there was considerable speculation regarding a potential exit for Salah, with Saudi Arabia emerging as a likely destination.

Nevertheless, Salah expressed his determination to "fight like hell" to rectify the situation after Liverpool concluded the previous season without any trophies.

The pressing question now is how Salah will perform under the new manager, Arne Slot.

A transition from Klopp’s high-intensity pressing approach to a Dutch total football philosophy may benefit his ageing physique, yet the emphasis on building play from the back to support a central striker could limit the space Salah typically exploits for his trademark bursts of speed.