The EPL’s big kick-off could have been better for us in Malaysia – in the middle of the night and a single, one-sided-looking game.

But the coming season is nothing if not mouth-watering.

Will Liverpool 2.0 be as strong with so many new faces?

Have Arsenal found the missing piece of the jigsaw?

Will City be dependent on Rodri returning to fitness?

And have rumours of the Big Six’s demise been exaggerated?

With almost £2 billion spent in the transfer window and much of it on strikers, there should be plenty of goals.

Yup, we’ve come to expect them.

And the biggest deal may be yet to come.

Alexander Isak seems keener to leave Newcastle than Liverpool are to sign him.

If it doesn’t happen, the Reds can walk away – and still win the title.

After all, wasn’t Hugo Ekitike signed instead of Isak before the Swede threw his toys out of the pram?

But it would leave both Isak and Newcastle in no man’s land – bridges appear to have been burned.

Liverpool vs Bournemouth at 3am Saturday pits the biggest spenders against the biggest sellers.

Anything other than a comfortable home win for the champions would be the perfect start to the weekend for everyone else.

It would instantly ignite the title race but it’s hard to see that happening.

When a club that wins the crown by 10 points spends the most money, you might think we’re in for a one-horse race.

But rivals have spent plenty, too, and last weekend’s Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace was a timely reality check.

All eyes were naturally on the new boys, who did pretty well overall. But it was the two senior citizens who caused concern among Kopites.

Yup, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, whose mega contracts have been renewed, were respectively given 3/10 and 4/10 by Goal.com for their Wembley performances.

It’s just one game, but they were sufficiently off the pace for few to argue with those low marks.

Earlier, when asked to comment on the flurry of signings, Jamie Carragher said: “It doesn’t feel like Liverpool to me.”

Nor to anyone else. Under Jurgen Klopp, it was usually three major new signings per season, in the time-honoured manner of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

At the latest count, more players have left than have been signed, so it’s been quite an upheaval.

At least Giovanni Leoni, 18, looks like someone they’ve needed for a while – a highly promising young centre-back.

And if a more senior one, Marc Guehi, can be prised out of Palace for a bit more than what was received for Jarrell Quansah, it’s smart business.

Football is nothing if not a numbers game and it will be interesting to see if the Big Six reassert themselves.

Late last season when Manchester United and Spurs respectively finished 15th and 17th, there was talk of an end to this dominant grouping.

Aspirant clubs like Aston Villa, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest emerged to muscle into the top seven.

Newcastle qualified for the Champions League with a fifth-placed finish after ending their six-decade trophy drought.

But since then, signing Anthony Elanga from Forest apart, things have not worked out.

Having no football director is not the way for the world’s richest club to operate and every major target has spurned their advances.

The latest, Benjamin Sesko, opted for Manchester United as did the Devils’ other two striker recruits, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo.

Forest lost Elanga, who wanted Champions League football, but not Morgan Gibbs-White, whose head was momentarily turned by Spurs until Forest’s formidable owner, Evangelos Marinakis, turned it back.

It was a major victory for clubs outside the Big Six, but was it a turning point?

Forest are at least able to attract quality players themselves, with Brazil’s current No 9, Igor Jesus, joining from Botafogo for a knockdown £10m.

Aston Villa are still clinging to their three most wanted – Emiliano Martinez, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins – despite running close to profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Both Villa and Forest will be in the Europa League and it will be interesting to see how they fare.

Manchester United have been maxing out the credit card.

This, after the ruthless Ratcliffe regime cited near-bankruptcy last Christmas as a reason for sacking hundreds of lowly-paid staff.

But now they’ve somehow found £200m down the back of the Old Trafford sofa to spend on highly paid players.

Even the Glazers weren’t this disingenuous.

But with three strikers, only Bruno Fernandes in midfield and Andre Onana as a senior goalkeeper, they’re a serious threat only to mid-table.

They need Gianluigi Donnarumma more than anyone, but Sunday’s clash with Arsenal should tell us more about both teams.

Spurs, after scraping past United for a trophy, have reverted to Spursiness – sacking the manager who did it and losing a 2-0 lead in the European Super Cup final to PSG.

Arsenal think they’ve got the missing piece in Viktor Gyokeres, but his goal-a-game scoring has been in the Portuguese league.

Brighton, who let him go for £1m, don’t make many mistakes. We have to wait and see.

Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke may prove more valuable additions without the hype.

Manchester City already spent more in January and in Omar Marmoush found a real gem.

They’ve tried to replace the irreplaceable Kevin de Bruyne with two players – Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.

But they may still need a fit Rodri to become the force they were.

If you don’t think Liverpool will retain the crown, Chelsea just might be the team to upset them.

With Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian, with Liam Delap as an impact sub, the Blues could bring their Club World Cup dynamism to the EPL. But they could also use Donnarumma.

The Big Six have spent far more than the other 14 combined, yet for the title, it is really a Big Three.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, with Chelsea a loose cannon fourth favourite.

Isak to Liverpool could be the game changer.

It is the classic conundrum. A parable of our times about which theses on player power could be written.

The star player of the richest club in the world wants – desperately by all accounts – to join a club that has to pay its way.

Work that one out and watch this space – it promises to be a fascinating season.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.