This isn't just a season to enjoy while it lasts.

Nor is it nine months more a blip than an accurate reflection of the state of the Premier League.

We are seeing a Premier League changing of the guard.

There are still die-hards clinging to the belief that this is a freak campaign. The worst for years.

There is a widespread view that normal service will be resumed from August with the likes of Chelsea, United and even Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp back competing again for top honours.

By no means, however, is that a given.

Complacency at the top and courage among the also-rans is transforming the face of the top flight.

Claudio Ranieri and his Leicester team are proving that it is possible to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-mores with hunger, clear thinking and intelligent spending.

Mauricio Pochettino’s bravery in blooding his academy stars at Tottenham rather than plunging into the transfer market at every opportunity is paying dividends.

And West Ham will only gain in strength with, should they acquire it, European football at the Olympic Stadium.

An example of the Hammers' ambition was illustrated last month by their enquiry for the £25m-rated Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi.

Stoke were also in for the 22-year-old Belgian while Spurs also have an interest.

All three clubs were told by Marseille that his mid-season departure was out of the question. They'll be back in the summer.

As brilliant a boss Pep Guardiola has been in Spain and Germany, he will find the English top flight his greatest challenge.

This is no longer a three-team league like La Liga. Or, arguably, a one-team league in the case of the Bundesliga.

Leicester's showdown at Arsenal and Tottenham's fascinating fixture at Manchester City represents an attempt by both clubs to storm the gates of the established order.

The Foxes are well aware that their chance may never come again. They are making the most of it.

The money - and the Champions League football - that both clubs will benefit from should they finish in the top four will make them even stronger.

The playing field in England has been levelled.

The big money from the monster TV deal has enabled mid-ranking clubs such as the Hammers and Stoke to bid for - and acquire - top talents from France and Portugal.

In any other season neither club could have dreamed of landing the likes of £10.75m Dimitri Payet and the £20m midfielder Gianelli Imbula.

But this is no ordinary period in English football.

The gulf is closing due to young players wanting to emulate the success of 19-year-old Dele Alli with regular first-team football and the more experienced talents realising they are better than a place on the bench at the established top-four clubs.

Mark Hughes at Stoke, Quique Sanchez Flores at Watford and Ronald Koeman at Southampton are all examples of impressive recruiting that has lifted their respective clubs to another level.

Hughes has tempted players to the Britannia that would previously have not given the Potters a second glance.

Flores and Koeman have fused the sum of their respective parts magnificently and make their sides among the toughest to beat recently.

Everton have some of the best young footballing talents in Europe. Newcastle may be just a place above the drop zone but they outspent the Bundesliga during the January transfer window.

Nobody is in any doubt about just how massive a capture Guardiola is not just for Manchester City but for English football in general.

City themselves have a fantastic team, a superb academy and will almost certainly be supplemented by some world-class stars once Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement arrives.

Guardiola will realise the potential of what is already a fine side, despite their current manager's inability to get the best out of them this season.

But Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will not be his only massive hurdles in the Premier League come August.

A number of other clubs have come of age in a big way. Guardiola had better be prepared.

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