The World Cup was a tournament of fantastic football enjoyed by all — unless you are a Premier League manager trying to prepare for the new season. Tours to far-flung destinations combined with the varying fitness levels of players returning from Russia make it tricky to prepare for the new campaign, which starts on August 10.

World Cup winners France and beaten semi-finalists Belgium and England all had squads packed with Premier League regulars. Manchester United had seven players who made it to the last four and were still playing barely more than a week ago in Russia. It is the same number as Manchester City and Chelsea and one fewer than Tottenham Hotspur, whose spine has been hit the hardest of all by the