The upcoming English Premier League season is looking tasty.
Alex Ferguson's exit from Manchester United is the biggest shake-up in club football in years, and in truth, nobody knows how the Red Devils will fare without him.
It's unkind to expect David Moyes to immediately maintain the kind of invincibility Fergie exuded, and that simple fact makes for a more contestable EPL.
The same goes for Manchester City, who also have a new manager bedding in, and may or may not be even more vulnerable than they appeared at times last season.
Chelsea meanwhile, are many pundits' favourite for the title, with their strong-finishing squad boosted by the return of The Special One, Jose Mourinho, and exciting new players on the way as well.
Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool will all be feeling confident that this season may be their chance, if not to win the league, then to improve their standing in it.
But things are not looking completely rosy for the English top-flight, which likes to consider itself the most popular and important domestic league in all of football. Whereas top players used to line-up for moves to Premier League clubs, many of the most eye-catching transfer targets are choosing to spurn moves to England for other destinations.
It is true that the Premier League transfer season still has a long way to go until the window slams shut late on September 2. And it is true that teams like Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, City, and others, have already done good early transfer business.
But the Premier League's publicity mavens must be hoping that more star names than just Paulinho and Jesus Navas arrive, or the league may begin to look as if its lustre is fading.
Think about it: Radamel Falaco rejected the chance to move to Chelsea or City and opted to chase the money at Monaco instead.
Spanish starlet Isco once looked odds-on to follow Manuel Pellegrini to City from Malaga, but stopped in his tracks when Real Madrid batted their eyelashes his way.
Similarly, Spurs missed out on their top striking target David Villa, who chose to join Atletico Madrid from Barcelona. And Liverpool suffered heartache when their primary target, Henrihk Mkhitaryan, shunned them to sign for Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal could be the next Premier League team to be burned, if Gonzalo Higuain is convinced to stay at Real Madrid, after the club backtracked on their earlier will to sell him. And the news is just emerging that after weeks of flirtation, Spanish U21 starlet Thiago Alcantara has turned his back on United, in favour of a reunification with his old Barca boss Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
With players like Edinson Cavani, Daniele De Rossi, Christian Eriksen and more all still linked to various English clubs, perhaps the Premier League will get underway bursting with new stars, and its reputation augmented.
And club's further down the table are doing their best to keep pace with surprisingly eye-catching signings, like Dejan Lovren and possibly Victor Wanyama to Southampton, Emanuele Giaccherini to Sunderland and Gerard Deulofeu on loan to Everton from Barca.
But with each more high-profile rejection, it will become harder to argue that the English top-flight is the most sought-after domestic league in football.
Has the EPL lost its status? Which top league do you think will be most exciting this season?
By Jared Chaitowitz
Follow Jared on Twitter: @JaredSLinter
