As the dust settles after an epic battle for the English Premiership title, the summer months will bring along its fair share of speculation and rumors. What would be foremost on fans’ minds will be possible transfer sagas. The development of Manchester City as the richest club in football will also be headline news.

The fates of the top four teams in English football might suffer some blows in differing degrees. The first that would come to mind would be that of Manchester United. Most might not agree, especially after another sparkling season winning the league title and reaching the Champions League final for a second successive year.

There will be much rebuilding going on again behind the scenes for the club as a whole. Ronaldo could once again be on his way out after Real Madrid’s new president reiterated his desire to bring the World Player of the Year to the Spanish club. The player himself appears tempted by the suggested move.

The Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez looks set to leave the club despite two seasons of unflinching effort. Fans have already taken him to their hearts and have begged the club to sign him permanently. Unfortunately, the player has been disappointed by the management’s treatment and appears determined to leave.

This could all in turn put the heat on the Bulgarian Berbatov, who was signed for over 30 million pounds earlier in the past season. The striker is facing unbearable amounts of criticism from fans and has appeared on the breaking point with his patience. However, he might be willing to stay on and prove himself at least for another year.

Finally, age is becoming an issue with the more experienced players in the champion’s squad. Players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and even Rio Ferdinand could see further decline in their powers. The new and younger crop of players have much potential but experience is something that cannot be bought with money.

Manchester United’s challengers are not spared changes and possible decline as well. Liverpool continues to be plagued by financial concerns, while Arsenal and Chelsea will face structural changes that might affect momentum. Eyes will be trained on all of them come summer as to how they will react and cope with these issues.

It might appear to be the same grind that all clubs have to go through at this time of the year. However, whatever the four clubs decide to do will affect how successful they are next season. If they fail to make the right choices, it might lead to the rise of a second rank of clubs like Manchester City and Aston Villa, thereby seeing a shift in the powers of English football.