Cristiano Ronaldo faces an uncertain Manchester United future, but he stands to pass a string of landmarks if he stays and plays for Erik ten Hag this season.
Tottenham's Harry Kane, set to captain England at the World Cup later in the year, is chasing a significant club landmark.
And guess who will join Mohamed Salah in bidding to set an opening-day career goals record.
Of course, it's...... Jamie Vardy.
As the new season gets under way on Friday, Stats Perform looks at the records and milestones coming into view.
KANE, RONALDO, HAALAND: TARGETS IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF THE BIG GUNS
What role Ronaldo has to play remains in the balance, given he appears keen to leave United for a second time.
But if the 37-year-old features for the Red Devils, he can begin to chase down landmarks. For starters, he is just four victories short of having had a hand in 150 United wins in the Premier League, having drawn 43 times and lost 37 while a member of the team across his two Old Trafford spells.
Ronaldo is a mere six goals away from becoming the first player to amass 500 goals in Europe's top five leagues. His record 494 goals to date have come from 616 league matches. On his heels, however, is perennial rival Lionel Messi, once of Barcelona and now at Paris Saint-Germain (480 goals in 546 league games).
Kane is 17 away from hitting the 200-goal mark in the Premier League, a total only ever achieved by Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). Sergio Aguero (184) and Andy Cole (187), third and fourth on the Premier League era list, are poised to be knocked down a peg as Kane continues his assault on the league record.
Both Leicester City's Vardy and Liverpool's Salah will be looking to equal or break the Premier League matchday one goals record, which is currently held jointly by Shearer, Frank Lampard and Rooney (eight goals). Vardy and Salah have seven each, like the retired Teddy Sheringham and Aguero.
Manchester City new boy Erling Haaland has caused a sensation with his goalscoring wherever he has played, dazzling for Molde, Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Norway. He could become the seventh Norwegian to score on his Premier League debut, and the third to do so in the opening game of a season, after Tore Andre Flo for Chelsea in 1997-98 and Adama Diomande in 2016-17 with Hull City.
DESERVES A LONG SERVICE MEDAL
Liverpool's James Milner, fresh from signing a new one-year contract, is 12 short of reaching 600 Premier League games. Only three players have reached that mark to date: Gareth Barry (653), Ryan Giggs (632) and Lampard (609).
Milner made his Premier League debut for Leeds United as a 16-year-old in November 2002, so a 20-year anniversary is approaching for the former England midfielder.
David Moyes was already a Premier League manager by the time Milner made his first appearance. At Everton then, he has done the rounds since and is a mere two games away from completing 1,000 matches in all competitions as a manager in English football.
Now at West Ham, Moyes looks to be at the opposite end of his touchline career to Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager who is one away from bringing up his first 50 wins as a Premier League boss.
STICK AROUND LONG ENOUGH...
Only six teams have been constant members of the Premier League since its first year in 1992-93. Completing the first 30 seasons without suffering the indignity of relegation have been Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal. Sooner or later, all sorts of landmarks arrive for these league lynchpins.
Arsenal have lost 249 Premier League games and headed into Friday night's season opener against Crystal Palace under threat of becoming the 13th side to lose 250. They would have had the longest wait to lose 250, however, having already played four games more than Chelsea, who took the longest (1,148 games) of those to have reached the not-so-desirable milestone.
Tottenham, another of those stalwart sides, are just five away from becoming the fifth team to score 1,000 goals at home in the competition (Manchester United 1,214, Liverpool 1,156, Arsenal 1,154, Chelsea 1,121).
Chelsea are 27 shy of 2,000 goals, home or away, having plundered 1,973 in their 1,152 games to date.
Aston Villa and Newcastle United are both 12 short of losing 400 Premier League games. Only West Ham (408) and Everton (414) have lost more games than those sides, who will hope to avoid spilling over that barrier this season.
West Ham are four away from reaching 1,000 Premier League games, while promoted Nottingham Forest are two away from 200.
MAKING UP THE NUMBERS
Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson needs one assist to become only the second defender to register 50 Premier League assists, after Leighton Baines (Wigan, Everton). Robertson has 49, with Baines managing 53 across his career.
Aston Villa veteran Ashley Young and Tottenham new arrival Richarlison are two shy of reaching 50 Premier League goals, while Newcastle's former Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is four away from 50 clean sheets in the competition.
Brighton and Hove Albion are two away from 50 wins, with Aston Villa four short of 300 draws, a tally that only Everton (320) have reached.
Southampton need four victories to reach 100 away wins, and Aston Villa want four three-pointers on the road to reach their 150 wins. Leicester, on the other hand, are four away from 150 Premier League away defeats. Brendan Rodgers will hope to fend off that landmark until well into the new campaign.
Arsenal defender Tomiyasu to miss remainder of season with knee injury
Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the remainder of Arsenal's push for the Premier League title due to a knee injury.
The Japan international was withdrawn in the opening exchanges of the Gunners' Europa League clash with Sporting CP last week, with Mikel Arteta's side losing that game on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium.
Following Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday, Arteta conceded the situation was "not looking good" for the defender.
It has now been confirmed that Tomiyasu will be out for the rest of the campaign after the 24-year-old underwent surgery.
A statement from the club read: "Following his substitution during last Thursday's Europa League match, subsequent assessments have confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu sustained a significant injury to his right knee.
"Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
"Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Tomiyasu featured in 21 matches across all competitions this season for Arsenal, who are hunting their first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season, though just six were as a starter, with Ben White establishing himself as first-choice on the right side.
The Gunners hold an eight-point lead over Manchester City, who have a game in hand, with 10 matches to play.
No drugs, no crime, great World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his 10/10 Qatar experience
What Zlatan Ibrahimovic likes most about Qatar is everything.
He made that point in a Sweden press conference on Tuesday, giving 10/10 ratings to all aspects of the World Cup experience and saluting the country's lack of crime and drug problems.
The 41-year-old Milan striker had no part to play in the Qatar 2022 finals, owing to Sweden's failure to qualify, but he was a guest at the final, being pictured at the Argentina versus France showpiece game along with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.
Asked for his impressions of the tournament and the country as a whole, Ibrahimovic said: "It was fantastic. As awesome as it gets. I was there for two days with the family."
He gave a rundown of his ratings for all aspects he encountered, saying: "The organisation: 10 points. The experience: 10 points. The match: 10 points. Crowd: 10 points. The food: 10 points. The journey: 10 points. Everything was 10 points."
When it was pointed out to Ibrahimovic that Qatar has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, Ibrahimovic stuck to his theme and gave a final mark to the country.
"Ten points," he said.
Pressure groups have claimed women and people from LGBTQ+ communities are particularly badly treated in Qatar, along with migrant workers.
Amnesty International said ahead of the World Cup that hundreds of thousands of such workers had been exploited, pointing to thousands dying suddenly or unexpectedly.
The same organisation said last week that "many thousands of workers have been unable to obtain compensation for horrific abuses linked to the World Cup", calling on football's world governing body FIFA to ensure this is rectified.
Qatar has been accused by its critics of attempting to 'sportswash' its reputation by putting on a successful major event that runs smoothly and paints the country in a positive light internationally.
Ibrahimovic will not be levelling such an accusation at Qatar's door, though, because he had a 10/10 time during his stay.
Speaking in a further interview with broadcaster SVT, the former Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker added: "I think they have given opportunities to get a job. Then how they treated them, I haven't been there and seen, so I can't judge and answer those questions."
Ibrahimovic played for PSG during the early years of the Qatar Sports Investments era at the Parc des Princes, and Qatari club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi joined him and Djokovic in their World Cup final photo.
The veteran Swede therefore has that close connection, and Ibrahimovic said: "Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.
"Qatar's system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don't know."
Neville keen for new stadium as deadline for Man Utd takeover bids approaches
Gary Neville is keen for Manchester United to have a new home, telling prospective bidders to modernise the club.
The Glazer family's tenure in charge at Old Trafford could be nearing a conclusion, having announced in November that they were exploring options for a sale.
Last week saw visits to the club from Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani's delegation and Jim Ratcliffe, both of whom are the running for a potential takeover – though there could be as many as eight bidders.
Former United captain Neville is keen for whoever takes charge to invest significantly in the club's infrastructure, including the construction of a new stadium.
"I think we've got to make sure that whoever the new owners are in the next few months, that they harness what the club's history is about, and also take Manchester United forward into a modern era," he told ITV News.
"You look back at the past in terms of what we are and what we should be, but also I think we need to be a modern football club, with a new stadium, a new infrastructure.
"The training ground needs to be brought up to speed and the sporting project needs to be world class.
"And there needs to be that feeling among the fans again, that everyone's aligned on the same page - they haven't had that for the last eight-to-10-years."
While United are perceived to have fallen behind to their rivals off the field, significant gains have been made under the stewardship of Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch boss guided United to League Cup glory in February, the club's first trophy since 2017, with further honours up for grabs with the campaign in the FA Cup and Europa League continuing.
Those improvements have impressed Neville, who added: "I think the thing about Manchester United for me is that the football can never be boring.
"You always have to go to a game feeling that you're going to see something exciting.
"The lads that wear those shirts out on the pitch, they have to look like they're engaged and they've got a spirit and they want to be here.
"You think about how bad it was at the end of last season to what it is now - a huge turnaround."
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