by Sam McGuire

I t’s the precipice of a new dawn. The Premier League is about to go from super rich to silly rich, due to the new TV deal which comes in to play from the 2016/2017 season.

Imagine finishing a season and receiving £180 million despite finishing bottom of the league. That’s going to become a reality, as the bottom placed club will receive a staggering £180 million, made up from prize money for their league position plus TV money per season.

The media will have you believe this will be the era of greatness. A time in which Premier League clubs will finally topple the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich as clubs that genuine world class stars want to play for.

That’s the dream, but how much of it can be a reality?

Premier League new money

This whole idea works under the assumption that all footballers are interested in is money.

To a certain extent that may be true, but two things that probably top their need for money is their yearning for silverware and desire to play in Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League. It’s the biggest shop window in the world for players at lesser fancied clubs hoping to move up in the world.

Premier League clubs may have an abundance of wealth but only four can qualify for the Champions League. Money only opens doors, it doesn’t always get you through them. As witnessed in January, when big spending Newcastle approached Lyon for Alexandre Lacazette.

The French striker turned them down, despite the offer of increased wages., because, well, they’re Newcastle, a team playing in the Championship next season, and taking a step backwards at this stage of his career wasn’t part of the 10-year plan.

At his stage of his career he needs to set himself up for the long term, not think of the initial short term future benefits a move like that could offer.

World class players at a premium

According to Forbes, eight of the top 20 richest football clubs in 2016 are English. But how many world class stars ply their trade in England?

The term world class is used loosely these days, with video games such as FIFA and Football Manager playing a part in helping form people’s opinions.

Ask any fan to name the top 20 footballers in the world and it’s inevitable that answers would vary, it’s the beauty of football. However, there would be crossovers and these are the players who could be considered ‘world class.’

The likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Robert Lewandowski, would all tend to feature. The only name in the Premier League worth mentioning would be Sergio Aguero… at a push maybe Mesut Ozil?

So what exactly are English clubs getting for their money?

Premier League clubs spent over £1 billion over the 2015/16 summer and winter transfer windows. How many of those signings have the potential to be world class?

Are clubs simply overpaying for average players now foreign clubs are familiar with just how much these Premier League outfits have at their disposal? Newcastle spent nearly £100 million on the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Chancel Mbemba, Andros Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey and ended up getting relegated.

The money being pumped into the Premier League means it’s near impossible for English clubs not to have to overpay to bring players in. It’s making the concept of a bargain become extinct and fans, media and clubs are blind to it because of how much is on offer.

Nobody seemed to bat an eyelid when Stoke City paid £18.3 million for Giannelli Imbula or when West Brom paid £12 million for Solomon Rondon. The likes of Borussia Dortmund rarely spend that much on a single player, but in England, traditionally mid-table teams are splurging huge amounts.

Bye bye bargains

Last summer, Liverpool signed Hoffenheim attacker Roberto Firmino. The fee for the player was £21 million with a potential £7 million more coming from add-ons. The total of the transfer to Hoffenheim could be 40 million Euros.

The German press at the time was bemused by the deal; how had Hoffenheim managed to negotiate such a deal in their favour?

The player had an impressive debut season with the Reds, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and 11 assists. Money well spent?

In the context of the Premier League’s largesse, possibly. But in the grand scheme of things? Probably not.

How did Hoffenheim arrive at a potentially 40 million Euro fee when they agreed to sell their captain, Kevin Volland, to Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen in May for club record 20 million Euros?

At the time of the sales both players were 23 years old. Both were valuable to the club, and there’s an argument to be made that perhaps Volland was even more important, given he was not only the captain but also the thought process behind selling Firmino was “we’ve still got Volland”.

Leverkusen broke their club record for the Hoffenheim captain and it was still less than Liverpool spent on Firmino.

It’s a similar story this summer with Gladbach selling Granit Xhaka to Arsenal and the rumours that Liverpool are willing to pay £25 million for Mahmoud Dahoud, meaning the Germans could have 76 million Euros to spend off the sales of just two players to English clubs.

Gladbach could then invest that money in six or seven new players from within the Bundesliga and upgrade their squad in the process, a typically shrewd move from German clubs receiving large fees for players.

It’s not just German clubs cottoning on to the fact English clubs will overpay.

Show me ze money

French clubs are well aware of this, with Lyon rejecting a 40 million Euro offer from West Ham for Lacazette and Marseille quoting the same figure for Michy Batshuayi after Tottenham showed interest. Marseille paid £4 million for the Belgian two years ago – one successful season in Ligue 1 and the club have added almost £30 million to his valuation.

#OnThisDay in 2015, debutant Michy Batshuayi scored his first goal for Belgium! #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/KW09TeSRcG — UEFA EURO 2016 (@UEFAEURO) March 28, 2016

Many Bundesliga teams are now increasing the release clause in the contracts of their players when offering new deals to ensure they get at least £25 million for these players. They’re putting an end to the Bundesliga bargain myth.

People may allude to Liverpool and Leicester bringing in Loris Karius and Ron-Robert Zieler but goalkeepers are exempt from this. It’s rare a club will pay big money for a ‘keeper. It’s the most undervalued position in football.

W ith the Euros just around the corner owners of clubs around Europe must be excited at the prospect of overcharging a Premier League club for a player off the back of a successful European Championships.

The new TV deal won’t improve the quality of player that’s on show in the Premier League. It will just lead to even more clubs spending even more money bringing at best good players to England.

There’s no value for money and there’s no improvement. People criticise what’s going in China and judge the ‘mercenaries’ going over there to earn more, failing to realise that if those players weren’t heading to China, they’d be heading to England.

Do you agree? Will the Premier League new money improve the league or lead to reckless spending without enhancing quality? Let us know your thoughts below, on Twitter @JustFootball or on Facebook. And follow us for more football news, analysis and opinion.

Sam McGuire is a new writer for Just Football. Catch him on Twitter @SamMcGuire90.