And that, my friends, will conclude today’s live football news blog. Please do scroll down this page for a summary of all the news it as happened, concluding with that huge ownership news from Liverpool.
Next stop: the start of the English domestic league season! Thanks for joining us, as always.
Liverpool confirm £1.65bn stake in club sold to consortium including Bezos
Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, has confirmed it has agreed the sale of 30% of the club to a consortium including Amit Bhatia, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The deal is understood to be worth £1.65bn, valuing Liverpool at £5.5bn, and will see Bhatia become the club’s new vice-chair on an expanded board.
Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, initiated and led talks with FSG on behalf of the 1892 Holdings consortium, a reference to Liverpool’s founding year. The former co-owner of Queens Park Rangers has received financial backing from the Mittal Family Trust, the K5 Sports fund, of which Bezos is the lead investor, and EE Capital, the family office of Elaine and Eduardo Saverin.
FSG president Mike Gordon said: “Liverpool has always been built by thinking beyond one season and making decisions with the club’s long-term interests in mind. That approach continues to attract interest from respected investors and business leaders around the world.”
Here’s the full story from Andy Hunter:
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I enjoyed this piece from Will Unwin on Lincoln’s joint managers. It’s not a concept that’s ever had much love in English football, as Will explains:
Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen have replaced Michael Skubala, who led the Imps to 103 points and promotion back to this level after 65 years away before leaving for Bristol City. It was a symbiotic appointment because while the former assistants were devising a sales pitch to the club’s hierarchy, the wheels were already in motion to promote from within.
Their plan is to banish English football’s memories of Liverpool’s ill-fated pairing of Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier. The duo are doing final preparations for Saturday’s season opener at the Riverside against Middlesbrough, who have spent more than £20m on summer signings – Lincoln have spent a quarter of that across their 142-year history, indicating the task ahead.
Michael Carrick says Manchester United “can’t put a price” on the feeling of confidence and togetherness in their squad, despite the fact the club have not spent overly big so far this summer.
Speaking to MUTV, Carrick assessed United’s progress under him and their summer so far. He said: “I think we’ve got a really balance squad: some exciting young players and senior players that are willing to help the younger players.
“I think the confidence we’ve taken from the last six to seven months, the players have got used to winning and do it over a period of time. We’re fully aware we only had the league to focus on but you can’t put a price on that feeling, it gives you an awful lot of confidence. The spirit in the group, not just the players but the extended staff, is important.”
Pre-season friendlies: This weekend marks pretty much the final round of non-competitive warmup games for the elite sides. Coventry v Monaco and Marseille v Atletico Madrid are on this evening; then this is the pre-season friendly lineup for Saturday afternoon:
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Chelsea v Real Sociedad
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Bayern Munich v Leipzig
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Spurs v Hoffenheim
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Manchester United v AC Milan
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Borussia Dortmund v Roma
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Inter v Real Betis
Liverpool play Como in a double header on Sunday, too.
The latest edition of Football Daily is dropping into your inbox (if you’re a loyal subscriber), or alternatively you can find it on the website here.
Rob Smyth assesses Rangers’ latest travails.
A growing rift within Asian football over the future of Fifa and Gianni Infantino has developed with Qatar challenging the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over its decision to join Uefa and Concacaf in a sweeping attack on the Fifa president.
The president of the Qatari FA (QFA) Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani wrote in a letter to AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa that neither he nor the QFA had been consulted before the three confederations issued an open letter on Monday purporting to speak collectively for their members.
Infantino, who is seeking reelection next year, is facing the calls to quit over his aborted bid to bring private investment into Fifa competitions like the World Cup.
“A collective view must first be ascertained; it cannot be presumed, and it cannot be brought into existence by declaration,” Al-Thani, an AFC Executive Committee member and Fifa Council member, wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. He asked the AFC to explain what consultation had taken place and on what basis it considered itself authorised to speak collectively for its 47 member associations.
Done deal: Manchester City have confirmed that Finley Burns, a centre-back who spent last season on loan at Reading, has has joined Wigan Athletic on a permanent deal. The 23-year-old was previously on loan at Hull and Stevenage.
Random names like ‘Rodon’ and ‘Angulo’ have been trending on Twitter X today, piquing my interest about possible transfers for them. Alas, it’s the FPL community ferociously discussing who makes it into their squads for the new season.
Angulo is a topic of discussions because it’s being reported that Romaine Mundle, a Sunderland wing rival, is in talks with the club over a signing new contract.
It seems Tottenham want a winger. And it won’t be Sancho, by the way.
An £85m offer for Manchester City wide man Savinho has been mentioned, while Cody Gakpo continues to be linked with an exit from Liverpool, amid the Reds’ interest in Bradley Barcola. A left-wing merry-go-round may ensure.
Jadon Sancho: remember him? The (former?) England winger has left Manchester United this summer and remains without a club. It’s claimed by a few reports today that Sancho is favouring a move abroad; earlier in the window it was reported that he turned down a few offers. He was training with non-league Flixton to keep up fitness before the new season.
Can the forgotten man of English football turn his career back around?
Engels set for West Ham switch from Celtic
Celtic midfielder Arne Engels is set to complete a move to West Ham, manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed.
The Hoops rejected a £25m bid from Nottingham Forest for the Belgium international in the January transfer window but Engels was keen for a move to English football.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of their Premier Sports Cup clash against Dundee United, O’Neill said: “I would imagine that he’s probably at this minute doing the medical. West Ham wanted him to be available for the opening day of the season. Naturally [we are] disappointed really, that he’s leaving the football club, he’s done very well for us.
“If it [West Ham’s bid] hadn’t come up, I think he’d have been happy. Even though the offer came in very late from Nottingham Forest in January, he never moaned about it at all. So it’s an opportunity for him and it’s really hard for him to turn it down.”
Who better to run the rule over this season’s Championship lineup than promotion specialist Neil Warnock?
“There’s some good teams in there this season,” Warnock told the Athletic. “You’ve always got to look at the three teams who have come down, even though I was surprised Wolves changed their manager. But, as always happens in the Championship, someone will emerge strongly.
“Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Southampton, Norwich… one of them will come out and have a real go. I don’t see much beyond those teams we’ve just mentioned. There are plenty with potential, so who really knows? That’s the beauty of the Championship. It’s why we all love it so much.”
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Wolves v Blackburn kicks off the Championship and indeed EFL action for the new season tonight and I for one cannot wait. Not just because I’m on minute-by-minute duty for the website, but just generally for the return of the muck and nettles of the lower leagues.
Wolves, of course, want an immediate return to the Premier League and have a shiny new Portuguese boss in César Peixoto hoping to steer them that way.
Blackburn have had a difficult post-season and many have tipped them to go down, but they have appointed a new (but returning) manager in Tony Mowbray, a canny operator.
The two sides haven’t met in the league since 2017, with Wolves unbeaten in their past nine meetings with Rovers.
Another interesting bit from Arteta’s press conference before the Community Shield in Cardiff on Sunday. He was asked if he was surprised by the amount of money being spent by clubs, with £100m now seemingly the standard for a top Premier League player (think Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers etc):
This is what the Arsenal head coach makes of the current transfer ecosystem:
It’s the market. There are clubs happy to invest or are happy to leave the valuations of the players at that and that is fair. The value of the player is what someone can pay for you. Someone is happy to sell and someone is happy to buy and in the middle is a player happy to move from one club to the other.
Thanks Stuart. Very happy with my score of 13/16 on the EFL quiz mentioned before. Made a silly error re the 100-point team(s) which cost me towards the end.
It’s baton-change time on the blog once more. Please enjoy the entrance music of Mr Dominic Booth. Have a fine weekend, sports fans.
'Forza Inter': Spence lands in Italy as Spurs exit nears
Spurs defender Djed Spence has landed in Italy ahead of completing a move to Inter. Spence enjoyed an excellent World Cup with England, but with Spurs’ first-choice right-back Pedro Porro signing a new deal in June and Andy Robertson brought in to provide cover at left-back, opportunities for the 26-year-old were set to be limited in the 2026-27 campaign.
It opened the door for Spence to find a new challenge and he will continue his career in Milan. He told onlookers “Forza Inter” after he was filmed by Sky Sport Italy landing in Milan in the early hours of Friday morning.
England international Spence will depart Tottenham after four years in north London and 85 appearances along with a Europa League winners’ medal. It will be Spence’s second spell in Italy after a six-month loan at Genoa in 2024. PA Media
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Infantino critics 'need to get their head examined' – Giuliani
Critics of Gianni Infantino “need to get their head examined”, according to Andrew Giuliani, who was executive director for the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup.
Giuliani adds that the under-fire Fifa president has taken the governing body to a “whole new level” which has left his critics “jealous”.
Speaking to the Athletic, Giuliani said: “It’s politics. I’ve seen this before. I’ve seen it before when they’ve targeted President Trump from a political perspective. I’ve seen it before when they’ve targeted other people.
“People are jealous when people are very high achievers – and what Gianni Infantino has done for Fifa is he’s taken them to a whole new level that probably they didn’t think was possible.
“What I’ll tell you is that for any soccer confederation or football federation president who is thinking about not voting for Gianni Infantino, it would probably be one of the most foolish decisions of your professional life. This guy literally just put on the largest global sporting event ever without any incident, making over four times the revenue of the last World Cup, and you’re thinking of ousting him.
“If Gianni Infantino doesn’t get re-elected unanimously, then whoever voted against him needs to get their head examined.”
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Chelsea's Kavuma-McQueen seals loan move to Portsmouth
Championship: Teenage winger Ryan Kavuma-McQueen will continue his development with a season at Pompey. The England youth international, 17, made his senior Chelsea debut under Liam Rosenior in the 7-0 FA Cup victory over Port Vale in April, where he was a 78th-minute substitute.
His manager for the season, John Mousinho, is clearly happy with his acquisition: “Ryan is a very talented young player with bags of potential. He is quick, direct and can play off both sides. He’s someone who is very highly rated – both by us and Chelsea.”
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Gianni Infantino’s interesting post-World Cup spell continued today with a thumbs-up to his Fifa presidency from the Oceania Football Confederation.
That means all six football confederations have now said their piece about Infantino. Where do they all stand? And hang on, didn’t New Zealand, the OFC’s biggest member, just have a pop at him?
Here’s Matt Hughes with a handy explainer …
More from Arteta. Of City, a club the Spaniard knows only too well from his time as assistant coach, he said: “We’re going to have a really strong opponent.”
But he was much more animated about his own team: “I sense a really good energy around the place, all the internationals are back, and we can’t wait to start competing.
“You can see how hungry the players are … I love the way the players have come back, really fit and in great condition.”
Though predictably coy on ins and outs, he offered telling insight into current thinking on 19-year-old forward Ethan Nwaneri, who made 26 league appearances two seasons ago, but wound up on loan at Marseille in January, where he scored two goals in nine Ligue 1 games.
“I want him at the club,” he said, “but we have to think about the medium and long term. What is best for him? He needs to play football. If he stays we must be able to guarantee him minutes, otherwise it won’t be beneficial for either side.”
Saka, Rice and Zubimendi in frame for Community Shield
Mikel Arteta speaks! Ahead of Arsenal’s Community Shield clash against Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday, the Spaniard threw a few bones to fans.
He revealed that Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi “trained with us today and they will train tomorrow”, adding that: “If they are in the condition we expect, they will be involved.”
He also offered updates on Jürrien Timber, saying he “is progressing really well. We are ramping up certain actions. There’s still a few weeks to go.” William Saliba’s back injury remains a longer-term concern.
On to League Two. Exeter have announced the loan re-signing of Kenya international Vincent Harper from Walsall. The wing-back was at Exeter from 2023-25 before the club released him on the expiry of his contract.
Exeter manager Matt Taylor wasn’t at the club for Harper’s first spell, but he said of his new addition: “Vinnie is a player who is familiar with our fans and knows the football club really well and some of the current squad from his previous spell with us.
“Although he is still young at 25, he will bring experience to the squad of playing in League One and Two. He will provide physicality and quality to the outside of the pitch, and he is an outstanding one v one defender.”
Key event
A busy day at Stoke. Defender Ben Wilmot has signed a new three-year deal, with the option of another year, while Dutch forward Milan Smit is off to Germany to spend the season on loan at second-tier Darmstadt.
The Potters were keen to nail down Wilmot, now 26 and their longest-serving player. He told the club’s website: “I’ve seen how much the Club has changed over the last year. It’s heading in the right direction. We’ve brought in some good people over the summer, both players and members of staff, who’ve changed the place for the better.
“This club is waiting for us to perform on the pitch. It’s got everything; the building, the infrastructure. I think we’re in a good position now. Hopefully we can turn that into good results on the pitch and get this club back to where it belongs.”
Birmingham bring in Bird from Bristol City
Another Championship transfer: Max Bird has switched Bristol City for a return to Birmingham as he joins on a three-year deal.
It’s everyone’s favourite, “an undisclosed fee”, but the 25-year-old midfielder – who was on the Blues’ books when his age was in single digits – who will take on the No 18 shirt vacated by Willum Willumsson.
Bird, who played more than 200 times for Derby across two spells, “can contribute at both ends”, says his new boss Chris Davies. “He can break up attacks and win the ball back, but he can also create scoring opportunities and contribute offensively with the way he passes forward.
“He gives us versatility in an important area and has a really good profile for what we need. We’re delighted to have him on board and we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Preston sign midfielder Leroy from Basel
A Championship arrival to report: Championship side Preston have brought in former French Under-19 midfielder Léo Leroy on a three-year contract.
The 26-year-old arrives from Basel, having previously played for Montpellier, then in Ligue 1, and second-tier French side Châteauroux.
Fact fans may enjoy that he’s the son of Jérôme Leroy, formerly of PSG, Marseille and Rennes and a French Cup winner in 2007 with Sochaux.
Jérôme only hung his boots up in 2015 and now has a son playing in England’s second tier.
Paul Heckingbottom says of his new signing: “We’re really happy to bring Léo in. He’s a good technical player, with great experience and someone who’s comfortable getting on the ball in deeper positions, but also someone who likes to join the attacks as well.”
The new signing fills a key hole in the squad following Ben Whiteman’s sale to Wrexham last week.
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Andreas Weimann has joined Cheltenham on a free transfer. The Austria international, who first came to broad attention when he made his senior debut at Aston Villa in 2010, is now 35 and was a free agent this summer after being loaned by Derby to Rapid Vienna for the tail end of last season.
League Two Cheltenham’s manager Steve Cotterill purred: “Andreas brings proven quality to the squad. He has played at a consistently high level throughout his career as well as for his country.
“He has some excellent qualities and we believe he will complement our attacking options well.”
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Rangers end interest in PSV's Driouech after player's medical
Rangers’ proposed signing of PSV winger Couhaib Driouech has fallen through.
The 24-year-old Moroccan was set to become Rangers’ 10th summer signing after a £7m deal was agreed.
Driouech watched on at Ibrox last night as Rangers were consigned to the Conference League playoffs by Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok, who won their Europa League qualifier 3-2 on aggregate.
However, it is understood Rangers pulled the plug on the deal after his medical in order to focus on players who can immediately contribute to the team.
The development came as a surprise to PSV head coach Peter Bosz, who stated that Driouech would not be involved in his team’s game against Excelsior on Sunday but would be back in his squad as soon as possible.
“Of course that was a surprise,” said Bosz. “The clubs had reached an agreement. I thought everything was settled.” PA Media
Gómez signs five-year contract extension at Brighton
Brighton have nailed down Diego Gómez for five more years. The Paraguay midfielder, who arrived at the Amex in January 2025 and scored 10 goals last season, has put pen to paper on a new contract which also has the option of an additional year.
Mike Cave, Brighton’s sporting director, said of the deal for the 23-year-old: “Diego has been an important player for us since his arrival and we’re pleased to have secured his long-term future.
“He has adapted to Premier League football seamlessly and embedded himself as a key player in the squad. We believe Diego will continue to develop and be an important player for us in achieving our goals this season and beyond.”
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Unfortunate FA Cup news. Herne Bay, who ply their weekly trade in the Isthmian League South East Division, have got an unexpected extra game next week.
On Tuesday, they battered Broadfields United 6-1 away from home in an extra preliminary round replay – bolstered by a brace from winger Henry Sinai – after a 2-2 draw in the initial game at the Crest Stadium. But next Tuesday they’re going to have to replay the replay.
It all comes down to what the club are calling a “substitution matter” relating to a change made in the 88th minute … when Herne Bay were 5-0 up.
A Broadfields statement adds that the issue is “the use of a sixth substitute by the visitors … made in error and allowed in error by the match officials”. Herne Bay seemingly believed concussion substitutes were allowed, with one earlier change being made following a head injury to one of their players. The late sixth sub, centre-back Joe Tyrie coming on for striker Joe Taylor, therefore triggered the alarm at FA HQ.
The sixth change has apparently contravened competition rule 126 … with an additional substitution following a suspected concussion only being allowed “in the competition proper” (first round onwards).
On the plus side: light cloud and a gentle breeze is forecast for Broadfields’ Tithe Farm Sports & Social Club ground on Tuesday evening. We go again.
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Maresca: City will not meet 5pm deadline to sign Fernández
Enzo Maresca is expecting a busy end to the transfer window but says City will not meet Chelsea’s 5pm Friday deadline to sign Enzo Fernández.
Maresca takes charge of City for the first time in a competitive match on Sunday against Arsenal in Cardiff but is a long way from finalising the squad he will have for the season. City are closing to signing the 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, while Chelsea’s Fernández, who worked with Maresca at Stamford Bridge, is of interest but would cost £120m. The Blues set a 5pm cut-off point on Friday to reach their valuation or not bother.
“Not today to be honest, I don’t think we’re going to do something today,” Maresca said. “For sure there are things we need to do, how many I don’t know, can be one can be two depends also if players want to leave so we can see. It’s 48 hours for the final, my first final in this club, I would like to win my first trophy, so my focus isn’t on players that can leave or players that can arrive, my focus is on the game.”
Read more here …
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Our Premier League team-by-team previews continue apace. Just launched: No 10 – Fulham.
John Brewin runs the rule over a club who have made an intriguing coaching appointment in Álvaro Arbeloa – a fine player in his day for Liverpool and Real Madrid, and now hoping to get his fledgling career in the dugout back on track after a troubled half a season in the spotlight at Real Madrid.
Here’s a graph to whet your appetite … sort it out, Cagliari.
Missed previews 1-9? Catch up here.
News just in: it’s very hot. And very dry and very sticky … and the Time Out wafer I got out of the fridge a bit ago has already melted.
Sporting fixtures and events, particularly at amateur level, are being postponed and cancelled due to heat warnings and the risk to health.
Here’s a fairly eye-popping gallery illustration of the changing sporting scenery in the UK as drought conditions persist.
Good day, blog readers. I could have sworn I watched teams do their end-of-season laps of honour about four blinks ago. But onwards …
That’s it, my stint on the blog is up. To keep the ball rolling it’s Stuart Goodwin.
I have a major soft spot for the Allsvenskan, it always chucks up great stories. Last year it was Mjällby and this season it’s Sirius, which combines not only the narrative of an unlikely title challenger but also the rise of a relative unknown in Scottish striker Robbie Ure, who has now departed to see if his Sweden-based goal plundering can translate to La Liga. Great piece by Will Magee:
Pretty proud of 12/16. Reckon you can do any better?
The news about Jarrell Quansah has seen the dispatch of an email from disgruntled Liverpool fan Graeme Neill: “Whether it’s overpaying for Isak, failing to address key gaps in the squad and now failing to activate the buyback on Quansah given several of our CBs are injured (and inexperienced), I imagine most Liverpool fans will be quite glad when Richard Hughes buggers off to Saudi Arabia.”
Any more thoughts on any and everything football, send me an email via the link at the top of the page.
Decorated Aston Villa goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer dies aged 78
Aston Villa’s 1981 First Division title-winning goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer has died at the age of 78.
Rimmer, who was ever-present as Villa were crowned champions of England, is best remembered for being forced off with a neck injury after only nine minutes as the team won the European Cup the following year, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final in Rotterdam.
It was the second time he had had to watch his teammates triumph without him in the final having previously been on the bench 14 years earlier when Manchester United beat Benfica at Wembley.
In a statement, Villa said: “Aston Villa is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of European Cup winner Jimmy Rimmer, who has died at the age of 78.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Jimmy’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.
“Rimmer was one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, and arguably one of the unluckiest when it came to big occasions. Despite collecting two European Cup winner’s medals, he wasn’t on the pitch at the end of either final.”
The one-cap England international was replaced in the Rotterdam final by understudy Nigel Spink, who kept a clean sheet as Peter Withe hit the second-half winner to see Villa crowned champions of Europe for the first and so far only time.
Spink went on to establish himself as No 1 at Villa Park whilst Rimmer was sold to Swansea a year later in 1983, having made more than 200 appearances for the club.
He began his career at Old Trafford but struggled to displace first-choice keeper Alex Stepney, and was sold to Arsenal in 1974 before joining Villa three years later.
Reporting courtesy of PA Media
Lincoln trust in double act as second-tier return starts at Middlesbrough
The last thing the Championship needs is another spying scandal, so when a lorry emblazoned with KGB parked up alongside Lincoln City’s training ground on Tuesday lunchtime there was laughter as staff pondered whether the Soviet Union was examining their set pieces. It shows the relaxed atmosphere at one of the second tier’s newest clubs, one that has had a summer of change yet maintained continuity by appointing joint head coaches.
Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen have replaced Michael Skubala, who led the Imps to 103 points and promotion back to this level after 65 years away before leaving for Bristol City. It was a symbiotic appointment because while the former assistants were devising a sales pitch to the club’s hierarchy, the wheels were already in motion to promote from within. Their plan is to banish English football’s memories of Liverpool’s ill-fated pairing of Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier. The duo are doing final preparations for Saturday’s season opener at the Riverside against Middlesbrough, who have spent more than £20m on summer signings – Lincoln have spent a quarter of that across their 142-year history, indicating the task ahead.
Arsenal in talks over €5om deal for Quansah
Arsenal are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over Jarell Quansah. The asking price for the England defender expected to be at least €50m (£43m). He joined the German club from Liverpool last summer for an initial £30m, with the Reds inserting a buy-back clause in the deal.
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Seven players we’re excited to watch in the Championship this season
Lorent Tolaj (Bristol City)
This will be a fourth successive season of progression for Tolaj. He played in the National League in 2023-24 for Aldershot (scoring 19 goals), moved to League Two with Port Vale during 2024-25 (when he scored 14 goals), then jumped up to League One last season, scoring 18 goals – one for Port Vale and 17 for Plymouth. Now he’s going to test himself in the Championship after a £4m move to Bristol City.
Not only did Tolaj finish last season as the fourth top scorer in League One, he also made eight assists (a tally only beaten by six players). Only Dom Ballard (27) was involved in more goals than Tolaj (26) in the third tier; they will be teammates this season after Ballard joined Bristol City from Leyton Orient.
Being a high-volume shooter helped his goal tally, with Tolaj’s 113 shots more than any other player in League One last season. He averaged 3.7 shots per 90 minutes – a figure that only Aaron Connolly bettered.
For the rest, check out the latest from the Opta Analyst here:
Has anyone had a better summer than Djed Spence? He’s gone from having his jaw broken in May to becoming one of England’s cult heroes during the World Cup and now he’s swapping being Pedro Porro’s stand-in to signing for Inter Milan. There’s a few videos of Spence waving to cameras as he goes through his Italian medical tests knocking about on social media and he looks pretty pleased. I’m happy for him.
In the red half of Manchester (which is currently in County Kildare), Michael Carrick has ruled out Manchester United making a £100m signing this summer due to their finances. Asked how United can compete, Carrick said: “Money’s money. I get that. It’s still about football and that’s where the competition lies. What we feel naturally as a group is to try and win games. So there’s a lot that goes into that, but certainly the situation is what it is as well, whether that’s finances or whatever.”
Despite the forward and club preferring him to depart, Carrick was also effusive about Marcus Rashford: “He’s our player and has trained really well. It’s been good to have him around the group again.
“He’s a very good player, Marcus, and if you’re going to have a career over 10 or 15 years, there’s going to be times when things go in a direction and maybe a different direction. All right, that happens. There’s ups and downs, and that doesn’t judge you as a one-off kind of [state]. It’s what happens over time, and now we’re in a positive place as a group, and Marcus can offer us so much. He has done, and he can do again, so it’s quite exciting.”
More from the transfer market, the bods at Chelsea are hitting refresh on their inboxes after setting a deadline of 5pm today for Manchester City to make a bid for Enzo Fernandez. The Argentina international is being lined up as a replacement for Rodri, who has been the subject of an initial €45m bid from Barcelona. Strikes me as an expensive way to downgrade your midfield from Enzo Maresca, but he did see the best of Fernandez when he was Chelsea.
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Galatasaray wanted Gabriel Martinelli. In the following 24 hours things changed a bit, creating greater complexity, something we do not approve of. Arsenal have supposedly been offered the chance to involve the Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen in exchange for the Brazilian, which could be temptong for a side looking for a new No 9. To further sweeten any potential, Ethan Nwaneri could be chucked into it too to make it a mega swap.
Get this kind of tittle-tattle and more fluff in today’s Rumour Mill:
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Got a minute to spare? Why not try our daily Premier League trivia game, On the ball? Every day a star player past or present is hidden behind nine clues. How many will you need to identify them? It’s available in the Guardian apps
The Guardian's daily football game, On the ball, is now live in the app for both iOS and Android. Can you identify the Premier League star from the clues?
Trippier: ‘The Championship is relentless … it’s totally different to the Premier League’
“I’m not going to sit here and lie, I wasn’t expecting it,” Kieran Trippier says. “But it’s the club’s decision. I had good chats with Rob, of course, but I’m here to play for Wolves. There are many surprises in football and that certainly was a surprise, I’m not going to deny that. But I just cracked on, I was with my kids on holiday, training in Mallorca and just looking forward to day one in pre-season.”
Read Ben Fisher’s full interview with the former England international:
OFC boost for Infantino
First up, big news in the murky world of football politics from Matt Hughes this morning:
Oceania declares support for Infantino in boost for Fifa president but New Zealand breaks ranks
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has declared their support for Gianni Infantino following demands for the Fifa president to resign from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation in a development that further highlights world football’s civil war.
After a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji on Wednesday, the OFC issued a statement on Friday praising “the progress achieved over the last decade” by Fifa in its first public comments since the abandoned World Cup sell-off plan emerged this month.
In another sign of division however, the OFC’s biggest member and only nation to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, New Zealand, broke ranks with the confederation by withdrawing their backing for Infantino and calling for an independent review of the Fifa Forward Enterprise plan, which has been demanded by the three rebel groups.
Full story:
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Preamble
I’m not sure I’m ready for this, are you ready for this? Surely it’s too hot for the EFL to be back. Can we push it until after another Test series or some more balmy nights of athletics?
Ready or not, tonight Wolves striker Raúl Jiménez will likely be jeered by the travelling Blackburn Rovers support for daring to be on the field as Mexico lost to England at the Azteca, shirts will be removed and we will be one game closer to finding out if César Peixoto can cut it ‘over here’. The only green grass in the country right now can be found at football stadiums, so it will be nice to see that at least.
With the Championship leading the EFL’s return this evening, several strings loose in transfer tapestry to be tidied up and the ongoing shenanigans at Fifa, it is not quiet in football land. I’ll be across the latest news this morning, but I’m also keen to hear your thoughts on all things football, drop me a line via the email link at the top of the page.
