With just a few months until the A-League returns, Adelaide United are making plenty of positive moves as they look to defend their title. Last season, Guillermo Amor’s men were simply sublime as they finished at the top of the table during the regular campaign before dominating Melbourne City and the Western Sydney Wanderers in the finals series. If nothing else, Adelaide were a class above their nearest rivals – and deservedly won both accolades.

Unfortunately, Adelaide won’t have it all their own way this season. In fact, it is always much harder to defend a league title than to win it for the first time. As of August 1, the defending champions are priced at 5/1 with 32Red Australia to retain the crown. History is against them to say the least; but everybody loves an underdog – especially an underdog that shouldn’t be an underdog; just watch the video below to see how dominant they were last season.

The Reds have never been in this position before; last season’s triumph was their maiden championship at the top level of Australian football. Amor will have his troops fired up and ready for battle – but Adelaide may need to invest heavily to send out a statement of intent ahead of the new campaign. A number of their rivals have been active in the transfer market this summer and United may need to make a marquee signing to scare a few of their closest opponents for the crown.

Unfortunately, Adelaide will have to cope after losing all-time leading goal scorer Bruce Djite last month. The striker, who scored 44 goals during two stints with the Reds, played a key role in their triumph last season but has now officially joined South Korean side Suwon FC – a move that Adelaide were determined to let happen. After all, United always stated that they would not stand in his way if he wanted to leave and Djite left on very good terms; he will always be regarded very highly at Coopers Stadium.

So sad to leave, however it is something I had to do.

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So much to say but let me start with THANKYOU! #MyTeamStrong pic.twitter.com/xfeuEAuDLT

— Bruce Djite (@BDjite) July 26, 2016

And to be fair, Djite isn’t the only player to leave the franchise in the off-season. In fact, he is the fourth star to leave the title-winning Reds – which perhaps shows just how dominant they were last season. Stefan Mauk, Craig Goodwin and Bruce Kamau have all moved on this summer and Amor is going to have his work cut out to inspire his depleted squad ahead of the new campaign. Luckily for all those concerned with Adelaide’s current predicament, they have plenty of time to replace those players who have departed.

United have already signed a few stars this summer but Amor may be targeting a few more before the new season gets underway. Ryan Kitto and Marc Marino have both moved to Adelaide from A-League rival clubs; and both men will bring experience and knowledge of Australia’s premier division to the champions. Meanwhile, highly touted youngster Ben Garuccio and Jesse Makarounas will both challenge immediately for spots in the starting line-up; especially as they are both competent footballers and have featured regularly for their respective clubs in recent times. Makarounas certainly spoke very highly of Adelaide during his first press conference since signing for the Reds, as you can see below.

If nothing else, Adelaide’s signings have been astute – their entire business and transfer philosophy is smart to say the least. Whilst some would call the decision to sell and let so many of their title-winning players leave erratic, others could say it is clever. This way, United are getting rid of any players deemed complacent and surplus to requirement; and this also means that Amor can release any “deadwood”. In theory, Adelaide should remain competitive; which is perhaps why 32Red and Netbet are offering 2/1 on the defending champions to finish in the top two next season.

On their day, Adelaide are capable of great things. The title may seem a little beyond their reach right now but with a few more impressive, experienced signings, back-to-back crowns could be a realistic aim for the upcoming campaign…