How three newly promoted Premier League teams returned to upper echelon

The 2024-25 Premier League season begins Friday with three newly promoted teams looking to make their mark.

Here's how each returned to the upper echelon of English soccer:

Leicester City

Few teams in England have had a wilder decade than Leicester City.

Eight years ago, the small Midlands club beat 5,000-to-1 odds to win the Premier League outright. Leicester's victory became one of the biggest sporting stories of the century, and its unlikely heroes went on to play for some of the world's most famous clubs.

The next few years weren't kind to Leicester. Stripped of its best players and powerless in the face of the Premier League's capitalist juggernauts, it slipped down the table and was eliminated from the Premier League altogether in 2023.

It bounced back, though, dominating in its one season in the second division and finishing first in the table to clinch promotion back to the big-time.

Leicester enters the Premier League season with a familiar face, forward Jamie Vardy, the poster boy of its title run in 2015-16. Vardy is 37 and not the player he once was, but he'll be eager to cap his Leicester career with a strong showing in the Premier League after sticking with the club through its dark period.

Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town earned its promotion to the Premier League in grand style, winning the third division in 2023 and finishing second in the second division in 2024. It's the fifth team to earn back-to-back promotions in that style.

Ipswich is a small town in East Anglia, and its fans often refer to the team as "The Tractor Boys" because of its provincial and decidedly unsexy location. But don't let its rural location fool you. Ipswich is a historic and cosmopolitan club, one that has won league and European titles in its century-long professional history.

Coach Kieran McKenna, 38, is one of the more respected young leaders in Europe. He reportedly turned down offers from Chelsea and Brighton to lead Ipswich back to its former glory.

Southampton

Southampton finished last with a goal differential of -37 in its last stint in the Premier League in 2023. But a decent showing in the second division last season (a fourth-place finish and a playoff win) sealed its rapid promotion to the big time.

Southampton, a beloved south coast club with an iconic riverside stadium, is a pleasure to have in the Premier League. However, after several demotions and promotions over the past few years, it has become a "yo-yo" or "parachute" club. In other words, it's too good for the second division, but not good enough for the Premier League.

Can Southampton break that cycle? That's the challenge facing coach Russell Martin.

Southampton is weaker than Leicester and Ipswich, and hasn't made game-changing signings to bolster its team. It has a few interesting players, namely midfielder Adam Lallana and forward Ben Brereton Diaz, but most pundits have Southampton finishing last again and making its biennial trip back down to the second division.