I heard on the radio yesterday that Fernando Torres has agreed a £20,000,000 move to Liverpool. What is going on? Liverpool don’t usually splash that kind of cash, they certainly don’t usually sign players of his calibre. With Torres at Liverpool, will they start scoring for fun? Will they finally be able to mount a real challenge for the Premiership? Liverpool as a team have been getting better since Rafa arrived. They won the Champions League in 2005 in Rafa’s debut season as manager. He’s finished 5th, 4th and 3rd in the Premiership since he arrived, even the most sceptical of Liverpool supporters must concede that he has improved since he’s been in charge. But can he take the them to the next level?

I firmly believe that lies in the hands of Man Utd and Chelsea. Let’s face it, Arsenal are a team that are building for the future, they’ve just lost Henry, next season will be another season of flux. They’ve got too many young players and not enough experience. I believe, if Wenger stays on after next season, then Arsenal will again become a force in the Premiership. So it really is down to Ferguson and Mourinho. If they can keep the momentum going then Liverpool will find it very hard to catch, even with Fernando Torres, who will no doubt bring Liverpool that illustrious 20+ goals in a season, something they’ve been missing for a while.

But is the Chelsea team a bit too long in the tooth? Take a look at the main players in the team:

• Terry, 27 - no, he’s got years of good football ahead of him.
• Lampard - 29, a few more good years left.
• Makalele - 34, needs replacing.
• Ballack - 30, a few more good years, but look his commitment (or lack of).
• Shevchenko - 30, a couple more years, but his pace will wane.
• Drogba - 29, he’ll be a useful asset for a few more years yet
• Carvalho - 29 - years of useful service left

So when you look at the ages of the Chelsea team, they really need to be bringing in some younger players. When you compare with Man United, its fairly easy to see which team is looking forward, with all the younger players in the United team, and the experienced players that have been bought in, like Hargreaves and Carrick who still have plenty of miles left on the clock being only 26 years old.

I don’t think Liverpool will win the Premiership next season, but I think they will make it closer. Wouldn’t it be good to have a three horse race, rather than a two horse race like last season?