How the relegated trio are preparing for the Championship

For Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa relegation from the Premier League last season came at the worst possible time. Next season marks the start of the £5.1bn television rights deal where each club is guaranteed at least £100m in prize money – the same sum Leicester earned this year for winning the league. The impetus now for the three aforementioned clubs is to get back to England’s top-flight as quickly as possible and we’ve taken a look at the steps they’ve taken so far this summer to ensure they bounce back at the first attempt.

NEWCASTLE

With relegation behind them, Newcastle quickly went to work to convince Rafa Benitez to stay on at the club and take on the challenge of guiding them back into the Premier League. Trusted with recruitment, Benitez has already been hard at work to put his mark on a squad that has stagnated in recent years.

Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle were convinced to sacrifice Premier League football to join Newcastle in deals that totalled more than a combined £20m, signalling their intent. Ritchie played an integral part in Bournemouth’s rise to the Premier League and finished their Championship-winning campaign in 2015 having played a direct hand in a staggering 32 league goals (15 goals, 17 assists) from wide areas.

Ritchie’s arrival has coincided with Andros Townsend’s departure and the onus will be on the Scotland international to supply the creativity that will provide the ammunition for the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who could thrive in the Championship. Alternatively, Ritchie’s cutting edge in the final third could also aid fellow summer signing Gayle, whose speed could prove to be very effective in the Championship. Despite the fact only three players were subbed on more times in the last three Premier League campaigns (37), he still managed to score 15 goals, coming at a very respectable 182.7 minutes per goal.

Benitez has also moved to bolster his defence by recruiting Matz Sels from Gent after he kept more clean sheets (11) than any other goalkeeper in the Jupiler Pro League in Belgium last season. With Tim Krul still on the mend from a long-term knee injury, Sels could quickly establish himself as Newcastle’s No.1 goalkeeper next season.

After ushering Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor out the door when their contracts expired at the start of the month, signing 31-year-old Jesus Gamez from Atletico Madrid should also instill experience to what proved a rudderless defence last season.

While Newcastle have not hesitated in bringing in players this summer, they are also playing hardball with other clubs looking to sign their best assets. Unless the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool are prepared to pay in excess of £25m to sign Moussa Sissoko or Georginio Wijnaldum, Benitez could well start next season with a squad tipped by many to canter to promotion.

NORWICH

In comparison to Newcastle’s busy summer, Norwich’s is still in its formative stages. Alex Neil’s side have already lost Nathan Redmond to Southampton and are fighting to keep Robbie Brady at the club amid interest from Premier League champions Leicester. Losing both of their most prized assets would be a real hammer blow to their chances of promotion next season and they haven’t even managed to arrest those fears by strengthening their squad thus far.

Sergi Canos, 19, is the only summer addition so far. The former Liverpool teenager enjoyed a successful stint on loan at Brentford last season, scoring seven goals and registering four assists, but placing their faith in the Spaniard to fill Redmond’s boots in attack is still a monumental gamble.

Norwich will also need someone that can consistently score the goals that can fire them back into the Premier League. Dieumerci Mbokani finished last season as their top goalscorer with a mere seven goals and he has returned to Dynamo Kyiv following the culmination of his loan spell. Neil may still have faith in Cameron Jerome after he scored 18 goals in their promotion campaign to the Premier League in 2015 but the 29-year-old’s feats in that season serve as something of an anomalous to a career that has failed to take off.

There is at least positive news in the fact Norwich appear in pole position to sign Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 hero Michael McGovern. The 32-year-old is a free agent after being released by Hamilton Academical at the end of last season but his heroics in France have made him hot property this summer. McGovern finished among the highest rated goalkeepers at Euro 2016 (7.06) and, given how Neil fluttered between John Ruddy and Declan Rudd between the sticks last season, his arrival could be seen as an upgrade.

ASTON VILLA

This summer has been as much about getting things right off the field as it has on it. Villa spent the final two months of last season without a manager after sacking Remi Garde and have since seen board members come and go following disagreements about the man that should take the club forward. With a new owner in place in Dr Tony Xia, former West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo was appointed as the preferred candidate of the Chinese business ahead of Nigel Pearson, who took the reins at Derby.

Villa’s demise last season was largely down to the type of characters in the dressing room, perhaps more so than a lack of obvious talent, and finally being able to move on the likes of Charles N’Zogbia and Kieran Richardson should help ease the financial burden of an astronomical wage bill by Championship standards. Tommy Elphick has also arrived this summer and the former Bournemouth captain appears an obvious choice to lead this Villa team forward given Micah Richards' troubles last season.

Injuries limited the 28-year-old to just 12 appearances at the backend of the Premier League last season, but he possesses all the leadership qualities that have been evidently lacking at Villa in recent times having led the Cherries to the top-flight. Villa also managed to fend off reported interest from Napoli to sign former Manchester United goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini from Verona and while his save success rate in Serie A last season (62.2%) was among the worst in the league, he wasn’t helped by a poor Verona side that only won five games all season and ended the campaign strongly.

Villa are likely to lose at least one of Idrissa Gueye, Carlos Sanchez and Jordan Veretout this summer, if not all three, so signing a player of Aaron Tshibola’s influence was mandatory before the new season. The former Reading midfielder made an interception more often than any other player that made more than 10 appearances in the Championship last season (17.9 mins) and should grow in confidence if given more game time having been hampered by injuries to now.

Finally, and perhaps the biggest news for Villa fans, is that the club are not seemingly looking to cash in on Jordan Ayew, and want the forward to fire Villa back into the Premier League. The former Marseille striker finished as their top goalscorer last season (7) and looked a cut above the rest of a generally uninspiring Villa team at times last season. Alongside a proven goalscorer at Championship level in Rudy Gestede there are reasons for optimism after a dismal spell, even if they seem relatively limited at the moment.

Which of the three relegated teams will fare the best in the Championship next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below