Ruud Gullit won one major trophy as a manager – and Dennis Wise was the captain who lifted it.

After a legendary career in which he claimed two European Cups and the Ballon d’Or, Gullit joined Chelsea as a player in 1995, then was appointed as manager a year later following the departure of Glenn Hoddle for the England job.

The Dutchman would spend around 18 months as Stamford Bridge gaffer, guiding Chelsea to the 1997 FA Cup – the club’s first major trophy for 26 years.

When Gullit managed Wise

Wise had been part of the Chelsea squad since 1990, and was 29 when Gullit took charge six years later. He’d won 12 England caps but had not been a regular presence in the Three Lions squad, and didn’t go to Euro 96.

The midfielder was sceptical about whether his new manager would be good for him.

“We clashed early on because Dennis was convinced I was only interested in fielding foreign players,” Gullit revealed.

“I told him directly ‘I want you to play to your full footballing potential, not like a wild street-fighter picking up constant yellow and red cards’.

“I invited him over to my home for a proper talk. I said ‘If you play the way I know you can play, you’ll represent the national team.’ He literally laughed at me!”

In October, Chelsea travelled to Leicester for a Premier League match, and Wise was brought off at half-time.

“Shortly after our chat, I substituted him while captain against Leicester when we were 1-0 down, and we turned it around to win 3-1,” explained Gullit, speaking on behalf of NY Sports Day. “He was furious and didn’t speak to me for two weeks!

“Eventually, a mutual friend I played golf with told Dennis he was misjudging the situation and urged him to talk to me properly. He did, and the rest is history.

“Dennis Wise was an outstanding footballer when focusing on his technical game. I gave him an ultimatum – ‘Either play the way I know you can play, or you don’t play at all, captain or not.” He chose to adapt, and he was magnificent for us.”

Arsenal fans already love Eli Junior Kroupi, thanks to his goal for Bournemouth against Manchester City sealing them the Premier League title.

But now, one former Arsenal star says that the Gunners should be in the conversation to sign the Cherries attacker – and that the club should go back to their roots when it comes to Frenchmen in the squad.

Last season, Mikel Arteta only had one player from across the Channel in his side – William Saliba – a far cry from years gone by…

Jeremie Aliadiere: 'Arsenal need top-level French talent again'

Arsenal were one of the first clubs to fully embrace bringing players from the continent to English shores, with pioneering boss Arsene Wenger signing a plethora of French stars over the years.

The likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord turned the Gunners into one of France's most popular clubs – even today – with another former French star from Highbury, Jeremie Aliadiere, now telling FourFourTwo that the club need to target more stars from his homeland, given the talent currently coming through Les Bleus' setup.

“Absolutely, Arsenal should be looking at these types of players,” Aliadiere says now, courtesy of Casino Groups. “Barcola has already been mentioned this summer for one of Arsenal’s targets.

“He has been excellent for PSG and France and would be perfect on the left-hand side of the attack for Arsenal. He is a fantastic player and would take Arsenal to the next level if they look to pursue a transfer for him.

“And being French, there will obviously be comparisons to former French attacking players who were successful at Arsenal.

“But also, Kroupi has been mentioned as well: I know he has an injury, which may mean he stays at Bournemouth, but has shown last season he is a good young player who has a lot of potential, and teams will be interested in him for sure.”

This summer, Arsenal signed their first Frenchman since 2019 when they brought in Ilian Meslier on a free transfer.

The Gunners kickstart their Premier League defence at home to Coventry City.

Liverpool are looking to sign one of the most exciting wonderkids in world football.

The Reds spent well over £400 million last summer as they looked to defend their Premier League crown with well-established talent – but new manager Andoni Iraola has welcomed lower-profile signings this summer, as the club move on from Arne Slot, along with veterans Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah.

Victor Munoz has signed to bolster the attack, with Jeremy Jacquet a highly-rated defender – though there could be more signings on the way before the window closes.

Liverpool in talks with Gilberto Mora, the Mexican superstar wanted by half of Europe

Bradley Barcola has been extensively linked to the Reds, as the club look to bolster their attack and sign an A-list talent this month.

But one name who certainly won't be signing before the deadline – but could well pen terms at Anfield – is Mexican superstar teenager Gilberto Mora.

The teen was described as “Diminutive and flighty, always ready to take a shot on and never afraid to get stuck in”, this summer by FourFourTwo's youth football expert Joe Donnohue, in a report during the World Cup.

At 17 years and 240 days, the Tijuana playmaker was the youngest player at the tournament, and has been consistently linked with swapping Mexico for Merseyside, with one report suggesting that Liverpool were stepping up interest in July.

Now, Wednesday’s print edition of 24 Horas in Mexico, via Sport Witness, comments on Iraola's team bringing the youngster over this winter when he's 18 years old – noting that Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona are all in the hunt, too: while FourFourTwo understands that both Arsenal and Manchester City have kept tabs.

Sport Witness relays that, “Still there is still no statement of an agreement or formal offer,” though it appears that Liverpool have more of a concrete idea of how this deal will work, with the Mexican sensation needing an adaptation period, should he move to Europe.

Andres Lillini, who oversees Mexico’s youth national teams, has been credited with saying that, “After playing a World Cup, with everything he went through physically and emotionally, we have to look after the person and not wear him down just because we want to win something” – and this will almost certainly be the approach from the Premier League giants.

Liverpool already have a stack of talent in forward areas – especially on the lefthand side, where Mora can be effective – with another teenager in Rio Ngumoha seen as the long-term heir to the position.

It remains highly likely if the Reds do strike a deal for Mora in January, they will look to integrate him culturally and physically, as offer him minutes to get up to speed with English football, with a view to a potential loan move in the summer to develop elsewhere out of a spotlight.

The 17-year-old is worth €25 million, according to Transfermarkt. Liverpool face Newcastle United when Premier League action begins next weekend.

The ability to play in football matches has been the story of the last eight months for Aston Villa striker Brian Madjo.

The 17-year-old signed for Villa from Metz in January but his new club couldn’t register him. Despite being born in North London, Madjo is a full international for Luxembourg.

His registration was complicated as a result and it was ruled that Madjo could not be registered until he turns 18 next January.

Could Brian Madjo play for England?

Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed that Madjo did indeed play for Villa in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg.

The back-to-back Champions League winners were clinical enough to come out on top despite being behind a fitter Villa in their pre-season schedule, but it was Madjo who hit the headlines by thrashing a volley past PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov despite the close attentions of Willian Pacho.

Thanks to Villa’s appeal, upheld late last month by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Madjo is now registered and active. His captain, John McGinn, believes he will be a ‘big player’ for the Europa League winners this season.

It doesn’t take much more than a glance in Madjo’s direction to see how literally true that will be, but his international eligibility is in the spotlight as a result of an eye-catching debut against the European champions.

Madjo is not a home-grown player. He was born in Enfield but played his junior football in Luxembourg before joining the youth set-up at Metz three years ago. He represented Luxembourg at international age levels and won three senior caps last year.

The teenager, who was also eligible for Cameroon, is qualified for England by birth and was able to change his international allegiance through FIFA’s one-time switch rules. Madjo has committed to England and quickly amassed nine caps – and four goals – for Liam Bramley’s under-17 side.

It’s premature to suggest that his international career will develop in any particular direction from here but Madjo is a player who backs his ability and has the physical presence to back it up, as PSG’s continent-leading defence learned in Salzburg on Wednesday.

“I know how to adapt because I’ve played in Luxembourg and in France, so I know what it’s like to change to another country,” he said on his arrival at Bodymoor Heath in January.

“On the pitch and off the pitch, that will really help me in Birmingham. Playing against senior teams helped me very much in every way: intensity, responsibility.

“It really helped me to be here because I know now what it’s like to be with experienced players. And I know how mature I am now because experienced players helped me.”

It’s easy to see why there’s such excitement about a player who has potentially 20 years ahead of him and yet already appears physically capable, but Madjo is 17 years old. He will need to be carefully managed, not only by Unai Emery but within the England set-up.

Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany is the football-minded figure who should lead FIFA in the future, according to former Belgium teammate Toby Alderweireld.

Kompany, a serial title winner as a player in Belgium and England, has also won back-to-back Bundesliga titles as the manager of Bayern, a position that comes with significant political context in the German game.

He played 47 times with Alderweireld as the pair formed part of the sturdiest and highest-quality defensive unit Belgium has ever had to offer, arguably one that should have been good enough to produce more at the base of the so-called golden generation.

‘He would be my president, always’, says Toby Alderweireld of Vincent Kompany

Former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Alderweireld was clearly inspired by Kompany as an international teammate and remains impressed as the 40-year-old emerges as a top-level manager.

“Who would be my pick to be the next president of FIFA? Vincent Kompany,” Alderweireld told Hajper.

“I never thought before that he wanted to become a manager. He always talked about going on a mission to change football but maybe it’s his mission to protect football. He would be my president, always.”

Gianni Infantino arrived at FIFA after rising to become the top administrator at UEFA, but he is not regarded as a football man. He has been accused lack of true insight into the substance of football and a perceived disregard for what makes the game what it is.

In Alderweireld’s estimation, that shortcoming is a serious one. Kompany’s primary qualification for the role in the eyes of his former colleague is that he was a top player and is a fine manager who quite clearly knows football inside and out.

“It’s very important that the FIFA president is someone who played the game and knows the game,” added the former Belgium defender.

“We've all been a fan. Then we've become a football player. We know both sides. When I was a child, I went to all the away games on the bus. We're not just people who made good money out of playing in the Premier League and Champions League.

“We’re football fans too. We played the game. We know how it is. What it is to be a player and a fan.

“The one thing that's very important is that the person who's doing the talking should be a football guy because look at the World Cup. A 20-minute show at half-time? That’s where you need someone who knows football to say no.

“The most beautiful thing about the sport is its traditions. New things have their place too but we need to protect the traditions as well and that’s why you need football players, football people who have been around the game, to keep the businessmen in check.”

Neither Kompany nor Bayern Munich have commented on Alderweireld’s recommendation. Watch this space?

Former Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar has identified the key to unlock the best from England winger Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal begin their Premier League title defence against promoted Coventry City next Friday and manager Mikel Arteta will have his fingers and toes crossed that Saka is fit and ready to make a big contribution sooner rather than later.

Saka struggled for fitness during the World Cup and was used sparingly by England manager Thomas Tuchel but has been in pre-season training with his club and working towards a new season with the champions.

Trent Alexander-Arnold to Arsenal? ‘It would be absolutely great for Bukayo Saka’

Limpar, who was a key figure in the impressive Swedish national team of the early nineties, wants Arsenal’s recruitment team to look ahead with maximising Saka’s peak years. The key, he says, is an England player who wasn’t at the World Cup at all.

“I don't think Trent Alexander-Arnold is going to leave Real Madrid,” Limpar told Sveacasino.

“He's tough. He will be ready to fight to get his place back. He is not soft. He is a strong character.

“Of course, Arsenal need good players and strong characters and Alexander-Arnold is a good player with a strong character, especially when it comes to playing forward and going on the attack.”

Building a team and indeed a transfer strategy around Saka’s potential would be a major vote of confidence in the 24-year-old, who has more than justified that degree of faith in his seven seasons as a regular in the first team.

“It would be great for Arsenal but it would be absolutely great for Bukayo Saka if Alexander-Arnold arrived because there is a similarity between Saka and Mohamed Salah, and Trent would know exactly what to do with Saka,” added Limpar, who admitted that his suggestion is unlikely to come to pass.

“I don’t think Arsenal need to worry about this now because Trent Alexander-Arnold is a grafter of a player and he will stay at Real Madrid for another three or four years or however long it takes because he hasn’t shown his best for them yet.

“He has had injuries, he has been in and out, and he isn’t the only player who struggled there last season. He will want to fight his way back into the team under Jose Mourinho and prove everyone wrong.”

Limpar played more than 150 top-flight games in his seven years in England, winning the First Division with the Gunners in 1991 and the FA Cup with Everton four years later.

He went on to brief spells with AIK and Djurgarden in Sweden, and with Colorado Rapids in the early years of Major League Soccer, before returning to his first club, Brommapojkarna, to see out his playing career.

Brian Madjo twice headed wide as Aston Villa battled for an equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday night.

The 17-year-old is used to waiting. Madjo signed for Villa from Metz in January but has been unable to play. Despite being from London, the former Luxembourg international’s registration was restricted until he turned 18.

In the midst of a pre-season campaign in which he’s featured regularly and scoring goals, Madjo was freed up when the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a Villa appeal. He made his overdue competitive debut in the UEFA Super Cup.

George Hemmings is thriving in a new position

Madjo eventually got his goal, bullying one of the best defenders in Europe at the back post to thump home from John McGinn’s cross, but rewind the move by one more pass and you’ll find the biggest positive of the night from Villa’s perspective.

Midfielder George Hemmings, now 19, came to the fore last summer. Villa’s first friendly was against Walsall at the Bescot Stadium and Hemmings immediately caught the eye.

He continued in that vein all summer and did so with various partners in the double pivot favoured by manager Unai Emery. The teenager was kept with the first team while others went on loan and made four appearances off the bench including one start in the Europa League.

Hemmings struggled in that start against Red Bull Salzburg but has been redeployed this summer and has been consistently impressive. Friendlies don’t count for much but performing in a Super Cup match against back-to-back Champions League winners PSG crystallised his shift into Villa’s three attacking midfielders in style.

The former Nottingham Forest youngster did everything against PSG that he’s been doing in his friendly appearances. His move up a line, primarily but not exclusively to the left wing, has unlocked a whole new battery of skills.

Hemmings looks a different player when he gets the ball out of his feet and carries the ball into green space, as he did in the first half in Salzburg.

His link play in the attacking third is more polished than anything he produced from central midfield suggested and he’s a threat, too. He was as close as anyone to scoring a second Villa equaliser against PSG.

The teenager has been used on the right this summer even with McGinn available, but it’s clear that Emery’s preference for him now is to play from the left in the role that brought the best out of a resurgent Emi Buendia in 2025-26.

Buendia has moved into the 10 after the British transfer record sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea but played the same way he always has. It was Hemmings who got at PSG, Hemmings who connected the play and Hemmings, ultimately, who did the lion’s share of the work left behind by Rogers, in both boxes and everywhere in between.

What’s planned for Hemmings this season isn’t clear. The arrival of Swiss international Johan Manzambi will affect how Villa configure their three off the striker and Hemmings is behind the newcomer in terms of his development as a first team-ready player.

But whatever Emery has in mind, Hemmings’ rather familiar performance might well have sharpened the manager’s faith in his promising youngsters in advance of what’s sure to be a busy and difficult season.

Newcastle United have agreed their next signing of the summer.

The Toon have had a dramatic summer, losing manager Eddie Howe halfway through pre-season, while selling the likes of Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali for big fees.

But it's veteran right-back Kieran Trippier who appears to have finally been replaced with Newcastle's latest move in the market, as new boss Matthias Jaissle will hope to get a key man in before the season starts.

Newcastle United agree deal for Amar Dedic

FourFourTwo's Joe Donnohue recently noted that he expected Newcastle to sign Amar Dedic, who made 52 appearances under Jaissle at Red Bull Salzburg.

“Given Newcastle's need to refresh their options at full-back after Kieran Trippier's exit and Tino Livramento's persistent injuries, Dedic could be an option given he already knows the manager's demands,” he wrote in a report.

Now, SportSport in Bosnia have reported that Dedic has “already agreed to the transfer”, with the Magpies just needing to agree terms with Benfica.

The report states that Newcastle want to pay no more than €30 million for the talent, and that, “There will be no problems in the agreement, because the Portuguese giant are ready to sell”.

Dedic moved to Lisbon last year following a short loan spell with Marseille, playing 43 times in all competitions before beginning this season with two appearances for the Eagles.

After the big-money sales of Guimaraes and Tonali, Newcastle have made a concerted effort to move to a model that sees them pick up young talent they can develop, rather than compete for the biggest names.

Last year, the Toon were linked with the likes of Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford, Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro, only to be beaten to the punch by so-called Big Six clubs for each.

This summer, however, has seen a change in approach, with 20-year-olds Bazoumana Toure, Ewen Jaoen and Aladji Bamba signing from Hoffenheim, Reims, and Monaco respectively, while teenager Sean Steur – still only 18 – is expected to plug the sizeable gap left by midfield departures.

Any deal for Dedic would take the Magpies spend up to around £170-180m.

The 23-year-old is worth €20m, as per Transfermarkt. Newcastle's Premier League season begins against Liverpool.

Under-fire FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has the explicit support of Donald Trump but is still in his post regardless.

Infantino is clinging to his role despite the widespread backlash to his plans to sell a significant percentage of the commercial rights to the World Cup to private investors. Associates of Trump were reportedly lined up but resistance from around the world and within FIFA itself halted the sell-off in its tracks.

UEFA took its opportunity to flex a muscle or two. That Infantino’s scheme allowed the European confederation to mount its guns on the integrity of football only serves to show how abhorrent the FIFA president’s leadership has become.

Gianni Infantino set to play his other trump card

Opposition to Infantino’s sell-off plan and his presidency in general has been global but by no means universal. UEFA is among the bodies willing to dig in but there are reasons Infantino has enjoyed such widespread support and they’re not going away.

Waving enormous stacks of cash under the noses of struggling federations was supposed to win a vote on Infantino’s plans for the World Cup. When it comes to protecting his throne, he has other tools in the box.

“Gianni Infantino has reportedly expressed a willingness to support another expansion of the World Cup,” reports the Mirror.

“It has been suggested that Infantino would be in favour of the tournament increasing from 48 to 64 teams, amid ongoing uncertainty around his future in the job.

“Infantino travelled to Colombia on Friday to attend the inauguration of the country's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, where discussions over a potential expansion of the World Cup are said to have taken place.”

Expansion of the men’s World Cup from 48 teams to 64, and indeed from 32 teams to 48, is motivated by matters beyond the sheer commercial weight of a larger tournament or any paper-thin notion that it welcomes more federation in the name of growing the sport.

Each FIFA Member Association holds an equal vote. Major changes are passed on that basis, which is vulnerable to disproportionately incentivising smaller federations with, say £30 million, and to complications like bloc voting.

With 211 members around the world, FIFA’s president would effectively be saying to a significant proportion of his electorate that he is opening the World Cup to them for the first time.

It’s difficult to vote against that, and it’s difficult to vote against the president who gives it his backing, no matter the extent to which he’s abdicating his responsibility towards a sport for which he shows little regard.

The fly in the ointment from Infantino’s point of view is that a 64-team World Cup can only be a meaningful pillar of his manifesto if some of those teams are European.

As it stands, the shelving of his plans have not yet stood down UEFA’s threat to boycott FIFA competitions – the European governing body demanded that future assurances be put in place and appears to smell blood in the big office.

UEFA is not fighting alone but even if an expanded World Cup tempts away its allies, even if all 156 non-UEFA nations voted for and then with Infantino, Europe can kill the World Cup at a stroke.

A long-standing Arsenal transfer record looks set to be broken following a new bid.

The Gunners have flirted with the idea of smashing several records this summer, with an audacious plan to land Vinicius Jr that would have smashed their all-time arrival record – currently £105 million, which they spent on Declan Rice in 2023 – and exceeded the £350,000-a-week contract given to Mesut Ozil in 2018.

But it looks like another Arsenal record in the transfer market – which has stood for almost a decade – is on the cusp of finally being broken.

Arsenal receive record-breaking bid for Gabriel Martinelli

According to journalist Florian Plettenberg in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Arsenal have received a new bid for Gabriel Martinelli from Galatasaray, with the Turkish giants looking to bring top-level talent to the Super Lig.

The North Londoners' current record sale stands at around £35m, set by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, after he left for Liverpool.

The Gunners have had success in recent seasons by selling homegrown talent to raise funds, with the likes of Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun and even Emiliano Martinez all players that the Gunners sold for £20m or more for pure profit.

But though Martinelli isn't a Hale End academy product, Arsenal would see a steep profit on his services, having signed for just £6m from Ituano.

Plettenberg has confirmed that Gala's offer is worth €45m (around £38m) – though FourFourTwo understands that the Premier League champions want to hold out for around £50m for a player who they deem to be one of the more valuable in their squad.

The Brazilian is still just 25 years old – having signed for Arsenal as an 18-year-old – and though he only scored once in the Premier League last season, he recorded 11 goals in all competitions, including six in the Champions League, outscoring plenty of players on Arsenal's radar in the competition, including Bradley Barcola and Vinicius Jr.

The arrival of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge will surely generate more competition on the left wing for the Gunners, who still want to bring in a marquee name on that flank.

Martinelli has been a huge success for Arsenal, scoring key goals for the club over his seven years, including a key equaliser against Manchester City in the title race last season, and strikes against each of the other so-called Big Six over his time in English football.

FourFourTwo understands that the Brazil star would prefer to play at a higher level than in Turkiye.

Martinelli is worth €45m, as per Transfermarkt. Arsenal play Coventry City when Premier League action begins again with the 2026/27 season opener.

There's only a short list of footballers who have a particular technique named after them, like with the Cruyff turn, and, in different parts of the world, the Papinade and the Pele kick.

Fifty years on from the spot kick that made him a worldwide name, Antonin Panenka remains on that list.

The goalscoring midfielder enshrined his place in football terminology in the Euro 76 final, stepping up as his country's fifth and final penalty taker in the shootout against West Germany and dinking the ball into the middle of the net to win the trophy for Czechoslovakia.

"Even today, people in my country still want to take photos with me"

The sheer composure and audacity captured the imagination and changed the career of the then 27-year-old who plied his trade for hometown club Bohemians Prague.

Panenka went on to play in Austria, most notably for Rapid Vienna, with whom he won two Bundesliga titles, the second of which was part of a league and cup double, as well as finishing as the top scorer in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984/85.

Panenka believes he never would have got that opportunity had it not been for that magic moment in the Euros final. As he told FourFourTwo: "My penalty in 1976 changed everything.

"Not only did I play abroad, I also had the chance to play in exhibition teams with some of the greatest footballers ever, like Eusebio, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff.

"At first I felt almost intimidated, but I realised they were completely normal people – open and generous with team-mates and fans.

"Even today, people in my country still want to take photos with me. They know who I am and what I did. I’ve left my legacy – to my country through that European Championship trophy, and to my fellow citizens by always behaving well and trying to set an example, both on and off the pitch.

"Of course, people only remember me for that penalty today, even though I trained hard all my life and did far more than just that on the field. Then again, how many footballers are able to say they invented a shot that will forever carry their name?"

Panenka's penalty did have a more unfortunate legacy for another player, though: the West German goalkeeper Panenka fooled, Sepp Maier.

"My God, how much Sepp Maier hated me afterwards," Panenka said.

"I think he stayed angry with me for more than 35 years. We have a mutual friend who visited his house in Germany and told me that Maier keeps a dartboard in his garage with a photo of my face on it!

"I couldn’t believe it, but he swore it was true. Later, we met and even drank a beer together, but never brought up the penalty. I don’t think he holds the resentment any more."

The American investor Warren Buffett once said that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.

He was talking about the corporate world, but with a tweak of the timeframes and a little artistic licence, the same could be applied to football.

Premier League history is littered with clubs who appeared to be on a sure footing after several seasons in the top flight, only for everything to unravel in a matter of months. Some manage to arrest the slide, others find themselves in the Championship before they know it.

Why Leicester City are a cautionary tale for clubs across the Premier League

For the best part of two decades, the financial power of the ‘Big Six’ - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur - has made it almost inconceivable to imagine any of those teams getting relegated.

Spurs gave it their best shot, though. A club who looked relegation-proof were 90 minutes from the drop last term, thanks to a dangerous mix of poor recruitment on the pitch and in the dugout, underperforming stars and a spate of injuries.

It is easy to forget that Tottenham actually gained three more points last season than in 2024/25, when they also finished 17th but were never at risk of falling into the bottom three.

You could argue that Spurs got away with it two years on the trot, but other teams have seen Premier League stability evaporate in a single season. Step forward, Leicester City.

The Foxes began the 2022/23 campaign as the club who had most consistently disrupted the Big Six over the previous seven seasons. Their incredible Premier League title in 2015/16 and the FA Cup triumph five years later grabbed the headlines, but they had also registered five successive top-nine finishes, narrowly missing out on a return to the Champions League in 2020 and 2021.

Nobody had them down as relegation candidates, however it quickly became clear that Leicester were presenting all the symptoms of a season of struggle. They signed just two players in summer 2022, with only Wout Faes arriving for a fee, and failed to sufficiently replace goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and centre-back Wesley Fofana.

Manager Brendan Rodgers did not hide his frustration at the lack of transfer activity during an alarming start to the campaign in which Leicester took a single point from their first seven games. They spent £32m on defenders Victor Kristiansen and Harry Souttar in January, but as injuries continued to bite, form only got worse. Rodgers was sacked in April, and interim manager Dean Smith was unable to save them.

Leicester are the most high-profile example, but there are others. Bournemouth in 2019/20, plus Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion in 2017/18, all began their respective relegation campaigns with no apparent fear of the drop following multiple mid-table finishes.

Similar factors contributed to their demise: signings failed to deliver, influential players departed, lost form or suffered injuries, and managerial changes either didn’t work (Stoke and West Brom) or should have happened earlier (see Eddie Howe at Bournemouth and Alan Pardew at The Hawthorns).

There are plenty of long-serving Premier League clubs who have been relegated after circling the drain for a year or two - you could argue that the writing was on the wall for West Ham United and Wolves ahead of last season – but the above examples show that it takes only a few bad months for all you’ve built to come crumbling down.

It is why the majority of top-flight clubs should be wary of getting sucked into a relegation battle - even those who start the season looking up.

Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion are seen as the model clubs of English football, and all finished in the top half last term. However, the Leicester example shows how quickly a team regularly punching above their weight can find themselves on the canvas. Bournemouth and Brighton will be juggling the Premier League with European football, which could lead to a drop-off domestically.

Further down last season’s table, Fulham and Newcastle United have both lost a long-serving manager and multiple key players. If their replacements step up, both clubs will be absolutely fine, but if they don’t, they will be punished in a division as competitive as the Premier League.

Everton and Crystal Palace may also feel a relegation battle is beneath them, with the Toffees playing in a shiny new stadium and the Eagles winning trophies in each of the past two seasons. That could breed complacency, though, and it will be particularly interesting to see how new Palace manager Pierre Sage fares with a squad that is arguably weaker than last term.

Complacency shouldn’t be a problem at Leeds United or Nottingham Forest, who both battled relegation last season, nor at Sunderland, despite a shock seventh-place finish in their first campaign back in the top flight.

Of course, the fate of these established mid-table sides depends partly on the three promoted clubs: Coventry, Ipswich and Hull. Leicester, Bournemouth, Stoke and West Brom all suffered from other teams enjoying excellent first seasons back in the top flight, for example Fulham in 2022/23, Sheffield United in 2019/20 and Newcastle and Brighton in 2017/18.

On the flip side, the reason Spurs stayed up comfortably two seasons ago was because the three promoted clubs all failed to get anywhere near their tally of 38 points. Otherwise, Tottenham may have usurped Leicester as the ultimate example of an established Premier League team losing their top-flight status as a result of one horrific campaign.

Can Coventry City, Ipswich Town or Hull City exceed expectations and surge to safety in their first season back at this level?

If they do, the relegation trapdoor will be open and waiting to claim a surprise victim.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are two of the world's biggest football clubs by any measure you could dream up. Los Blancos are more associated with the idea of 'Galacticos' but Barca have had a few global megastars of their own, and neither is backwards about coming forwards in the transfer market. FourFourTwo has the challenge for you if you know your big money moves.

This is one for the real experts. We want you to name the 50 most expensive players signed by either Barcelona or Real Madrid at any point in football history. Don't worry; we don't need them in order.

So that's 50 players in all, and a punchy time limit of 15 minutes to name them. There are some huge names on the list but also a few who never quite made the grade. You'll need a grasp of both to hit the high notes.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has absolutely loads of football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. It's a right old mixed bag, too. Let's start by asking you to name every top flight club in England since 1945 and every club in the Football League right now.

We also want to know whether you can name every club to have won any one of England's top four tiers and if you can put every one of these famous football statues in its place.

If the Premier League is your football trivia wheelhouse, we've got you covered. Can you get 100 percent in our one-season wonders quiz and then sort these players in order of their total numbers of Premier League appearances?

More of a puzzler? FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 65 features clues on Premier League title winners, the Super League, famous sponsors and superagents. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

Poor Roberto Martinez. Wigan Athletic’s finest is in line for another of European football’s top international jobs, and there’s not an iota of excitement online from anyone: it’s all just comments about how he wasted Belgium’s great-ever generation of talent. Of how he must possess sensitive information of big-wigs at some of world football’s biggest federations. Of how if his name was Bob Martin, he’d be coaching in League One.

After this summer, few can defend his Portugal tenure and his decision to play a 40-something up front. And yes, perhaps it is surprising that Martinez – whose finest achievement in football happened within days of suffering relegation – keeps getting the biggest jobs on the continent. Though to give them their credit here, this is a forward-thinking move by Dutch football association standards, an organisation who lost their contact book about 15 years ago, but were lucky enough to still have the phone numbers of Ronald Koeman and Louis van Gaal scratched on a desk somewhere in the office, in case of emergencies, and have flitted between the two like a moth stuck between two streetlights in a cul-de-sac.

No, but seriously, the Belgium accusations simply aren’t true. Yes, they had good players. Yes, he hired Thierry Henry as a coach. But not every golden generation gets its flowers – and that one certainly should never have gotten as far as a World Cup semi-final in 2018.

Just saying that sounds utterly bananas. Thibaut Courtois in goal. Vincent Kompany leading the backline, flanked by Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Youri Tielemans, Mousa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco and Dries Mertens all from the bench. A front three of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, for god’s sake.

Were you to name the 23 best footballers to ever come out of Belgium, there’s a fair likelihood that around 15-20 of them were in that selection. That team would walk most leagues in Europe – two or three times in a row. But that’s not how tournament football usually plays out. It’s not how it’s played out for every so-called ‘favourite’ in international football for the past couple of decades.

The Belgians had been dumped out of the previous two tournaments at the quarter-final stage with a whimper. Despite the wealth of talent available to Martinez, there were chronic issues across the pitch: Martinez had absolutely nothing resembling a left-back, with Nacer Chadli crowbarred into a wing-back berth out of necessity rather than invention. At the time, that was seen as the biggest problem.

It wasn’t. Not really. A lack of central midfield options meant that Axel Witsel – playing in China, at the time – was the one constant to rely on. Mousa Dembele had missed the last few games of the season and looked way off the pace during the tournament, getting dragged off after an hour of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante giving him the runaround in the semi. Tielemans was still just 21; Marouane Fellaini was a battering ram and De Bruyne had to play deeper at times, despite not being a double-pivot player.

Thomas Meunier was good, if not spectacular. The three-man defence, meanwhile, was fairly solid, if not ageing. The lack of pace from Kompany and Vertonghen put a lot of burden on Alderweireld’s legs. But really, all the spotlight was hogged by that attack: a get-out-of-jail trio who were surely capable of destroying all before them.

And to reiterate the point, yes, they would’ve done, had this been the Premier League. But here’s where this really gets controversial: were De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku really the men for tournament football?

Again, not really. They did their best, though. De Bruyne actually didn’t have a bad World Cup: he actually created the third-most chances of anyone in Russia – behind Neymar and set-piece specialist Kieran Trippier – but coming off the back of a historic 100-point season with Manchester City, we all expected him to flourish in his free role, delivering more than just the single goal he netted.

He seemed quiet: yet this would become a theme of the playmaker in knockout footbal. He’d never escape the ghost accusations when it came to European ties – he was subbed off in both Champions League finals he played through injury, which didn't help – but this was just who De Bruyne was. In the very biggest matches, he would enhance other players around him, rather than rocketing a ball into the top corner. His sole strike in 2018 came against Brazil – so he couldn’t have gone missing that much in big games – but he was more of a complementary piece when it came to international competitions.

Even Hazard was attacked with the ‘missing in big games’ cliche. The Chelsea legend netted just two Champions League knockout goals – and one was a penalty. Yet in 2018, he was absolutely magical, his performance against Brazil one of the finest of the tournament (and the 85th best of all time, according to FourFourTwo). He scored three times: you couldn’t have asked much more.

Lukaku, meanwhile, came out of the tournament with four goals and an assist, following a first season at Manchester United (yeah, that really happened). And it’s fair to say that the years have not been kind to the striker’s big game reputation, either. Despite 93 goals for his nation at the time of writing – and 26 scored against teams who have reached the top 10 of FIFA’s ranks since he made his debut – abiding memories of Big Rom at World Cups are not the braces he put up against Panama and Tunisia in Russia: they’re of his disasterclass against Croatia four years later, and his cameo roles in the States, which are fairly fresh in the memory.

2018 was right about the time that the 25-year-old was midway through his target man conversion, too. Despite his strength and build, Lukaku was never the guy to hold the ball up and bring others into play, with his first touch oft-slammed: he was at his best on the shoulder of a defender, or alongside another Martinez (Lautaro, at Inter Milan). He became a worse player when the likes of Jose Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel tried to turn him into something that he wasn’t – yet at the 2018 World Cup, he was there to run into space, to bully defenders who couldn’t handle his movement, and to take on the thankless task of stretching play for Hazard and De Bruyne to work in, since Belgium didn’t really have another top-level runner in attack.

It’s levelled at Martinez that he should have done more with that frontline, all at their peak, at the 2018 World Cup. In the years since, there’s a very good case – almost watertight, in fact – that each of Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku had their very best international tournament that summer.

It’s pretty well-established, too, that they lost to the better team: France were miles better in every department – and the Belgians gave them their trickiest game. The Red Devils comfortably beat England twice (in two games that didn’t matter). They outplayed Brazil; yes, they went 2-0 down to Japan, but pulled it out the bag when it mattered.

Belgium had the second-best players in the competition, and lost to the team with the first-best. But they were brilliance without balance: a semi-final was a proper achievement.

And by the time the Euros rolled around three years later, the golden generation had passed them by – Kompany had retired, Vertonghen and Alderweireld were well past their expirations and this was Real Madrid-era Hazard – yet they still didn’t disgrace themselves. Three wins in the group stage (caveated by the fact they played an understandably shellshocked Denmark after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest), before beating a very good Portugal, and losing to the eventual winners. Again, was it really an underachievement? Or simply what we all expected from this group?

It’s really easy to look at talent that a team has on paper and deem them a failure for not winning something. But it’s an oversimplification to wonder why a Croatian side who have very few star names – but stars in all the right places – often do better than a Portugal side who have standout attackers that struggle to gel together; or why England looked quite so poor trying to cram Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden into a midfield, when a team like Spain are quite happy to take off a big name like Pedri in the middle for Mikel Merino, if he offers them box threat.

International football is very rarely about who has the best squad, but who has the best moments. Belgium had very few players who have consistently pulled something from nothing in the biggest knockouts: they're all league specialists. And over the course of 38 games, Roberto Martinez would’ve been chastised for not finishing in a Champions League spot, at least, with the players he had at his fingertips. Across just seven matches, he probably did well to get to the last four of a major competition with Fellaini and Witsel in his engine room.

And maybe we’ve been harsh on him. Maybe the Wigan relegation and a fairly un-notable Everton stint have shaped the worldview that this is a guy you shouldn’t hand top-level talent to. No, he’s not a world-beater. No, he didn’t work miracles with Belgium. But did you really expect him to win the World Cup with that?

Ready for another FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz? Well good, because that's what you're getting. We have 10 football trivia questions. You have 90 seconds to answer them.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has loads more football quizzes courtesy of Kwizly. Our Big World Cup 2026 quiz tests your knowledge of the latest major summer tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Fancy testing yourself with our latest career path quiz? It's a monster – a massive 100 players to identify based only on the clubs where they played football.

There's a quiz that asks you to identify the locations of these 10 iconic football statues and another that simply challenges you to list the 72 current teams in the Football League – the Championship, League One and League Two.

We also have a footballer autobiographies quiz and we want you to name the top 100 goalscorers in the history of the Premier League. If you're up for something really tricky, can you guess these team line-ups based on the nationalities of their players alone?

If it's big lists you want, try these two. Can you name all 95 clubs to have won any one of the top four tiers of English football and list every Premier League player nominated for the Ballon d'Or since 2000?

We have puzzles too. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

Watch Manchester United vs Leeds today as Marcus Rashford returns for the Red Devils, with FourFourTwo bringing you all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Manchester United are going well in pre-season under Michael Carrick.

The Red Devils have also now welcomed back some huge names, including England winger Marcus Rashford, who looks set for a fabled return this season.

Leeds have done some steady business this summer, with most recently, James Trafford arriving from Manchester City.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Manchester United vs Leeds online and from anywhere.

Can I watch Manchester United vs Leeds for free?

Yes, you certainly can!

Free-to-air UK broadcaster ITV is showing the game live and in full on ITV1 and on ITVX.

Kick-off at Croke Park is set for 7:30pm.

Watch Manchester United vs Leeds from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Manchester United vs Leeds.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch Manchester United vs Leeds

Manchester United vs PSG will be shown live on MUTV.

MUTV is United's in-house television channel and costs £7.99/month or £29.99/year.

It is available to stream on MUTV Digital and the official Manchester United app, as well as on Sky (Channel 418) and Virgin Media (Channel 526) in the UK - but you must pay an extra £7/month to watch it on linear TV.

MUTV is also accessible via beIN Sports in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The encounter is also set to be shown on Leeds United's in-house television channel of a similar name, LUTV.

A match pass for the game against Man Utd is available here for just £5, and we think that's pretty decent value.

Manchester United vs Leeds: Preview

Carrick's side is beginning to put together something of a plan as they approach a huge season on all fronts.

Back in Europe, the Red Devils have chosen not to go crazy in the transfer market, with fees reaching silly amounts.

Missing out on Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Bruno Guimaraes and Elliot Anderson has been no problem, with Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arriving for nothing in comparison.

There is also the huge question mark over whether INEOS goes all out for Newcastle's Lewis Hall before the deadline, with Luke Shaw not getting any younger and European football now back on the horizon at Old Trafford.

SEE ALSO Should I use a VPN for streaming football in 2026

Daniel Farke's side have also signed some solid Premier League proven players this summer.

Harry Wilson arrived from Fulham on a free, and Trafford's move from Man City has brought a buzz back at Elland Road.

Pascal Struijk has been replaced by Tarik Muharemovic, who arrived for £34.1m from Serie A side Sassuolo.

"I will give everything for this club. I will give everything, every game," he said following his signing.

"I just want to win. I hate to lose and I will fight for every ball, even if it is my head or my feet, I am going."

FourFourTwo's prediction

Man Utd 1-2 Leeds

We are backing the Whites in Dublin, with Wilson to get on the scoresheet.

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Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence is leaving N17, with an agreement in place for the full-back to move to Inter Milan.

After a poor season with Spurs in which the club were nearly relegated from the Premier League, Spence was a surprise hit at the World Cup in North America, becoming one of the Three Lions' better players in their run to the semi-finals.

But a report from Italian journalist, Orazio Accomando of SportMediaSet claims that a deal has been struck for around £30 million, plus bonuses.

Djed Spence leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Inter Milan

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Accomando confirmed the “imminent closure” of Spence to replace Real Madrid-bound Denzel Dumfries at Italian champions, Inter Milan.

The move appears to have come from seemingly nowhere, with Inter negotiating the fee down from an original £35m.

Spence enjoyed a positive summer with England and was thought to be a player who could perhaps kick on under Roberto De Zerbi.

The Kensington-born defender joined Spurs in 2022 after winning promotion to the Premier League on loan with Nottingham Forest from Middlesbrough, but hasn't been a first-team fixture during much of his time in North London.

Loan spells at Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa, followed after his initial signing, with Spence only becoming more of a regular under Ange Postecoglou before he won his first of 14 England caps in 2025.

The 26-year-old has played both as a right wing-back and on the left for both club and country in recent seasons, and follows international team-mate John Stones to the San Siro this summer, as manager Cristian Chivu looks to defend the Scudetto.

The defender is reportedly signing a long-term deal until 2031.

Spurs are heading into the Premier League season with World Cup winner Pedro Porro as the starting option at right-back, and Destiny Udogie likely to be the first-choice left-back.

Cristian Romero is all but certain to leave this club in the coming days, too, with Inter themselves having fought Atletico Madrid and Arsenal for the Argentine's signature.

Spence is worth €40m, according to Transfermarkt. Tottenham take on Brentford when the Premier League season begins.

Watch PSG vs Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup 2026, with FourFourTwo bringing you all the details on free live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

PSG and Aston Villa do battle in the UEFA Super Cup 2026.

This year's showpiece pre-season clash takes place in Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena.

Luis Enrique's side beat Arsenal on penalties to reclaim the UEFA Champions League trophy, and Unai Emery's men claimed UEFA Europa League glory, beating Freiburg 3-0.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch the UEFA Super Cup 2026 online and from anywhere. as PSG take on Aston Villa.

Watch UEFA Super Cup 2026 for FREE

You can watch the UEFA Super Cup 2026 final for free in a multitude of countries including Ireland (RTE Player), Belgium (RTL Play)and Turkey (TRT1).

Our favourite is Irish streaming service RTE Player which even comes with English commentary:

Watch UEFA Super Cup 2026 from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss PSG vs Aston Villa.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch UEFA Super Cup 2026 in the UK

You can watch the UEFA Super Cup 2026 via TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max. TNT have the broadcast rights for European football once again in 2026/27.

How to watch UEFA Super Cup 2026 in the US

In the US, Paramount+ are streaming PSG vs Aston Villa as well the CBS Sports Network.

The CBS Sports Network is available via cord-cutters like Fubo, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream.

How to watch UEFA Super Cup 2026 in Australia

In Australia you can stream the UEFA Super Cup 2026 on Stan Sport.

UEFA Super Cup 2026: Preview

PSG are often a tough nut to crack, and it was Arsenal that fell short in the Champions League final back in May.

The Parisians are bidding to make it successive Super Cup titles, having won the 2025 edition of the tournament against Tottenham.

Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Fabián Ruiz, Achraf Hakimi, Lucas Hernández and Warren Zaïre-Emery could all play some part if deemed sufficiently match-fit.

Bradley Barcola is rumoured to be heading to Liverpool this summer, so his involvement looks uncertain.

SEE ALSO Should I use a VPN for streaming football in 2026

Aston Villa lost midfield kingpin Youri Tielemans to Manchester United in the summer for a snip at just £35m, but the biggest loss was perhaps Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea for £117 million. Lucas Digne also departed for tonight’s opponents PSG and could make his first appearance for the French side against his former club.

Unai Emery’s men have added Johan Manzambi, in the window, as well as Alejandro Garnacho and João Gomes.

The aforementioned Manzambi will not make his debut following an injury he sustained for Switzerland in the summer, while John McGinn is also a doubt. Ezri Konsa, Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins will take no part following their involvement in the latter stages of the World Cup.

It will be a tough game for Villa, then, but if there is one thing we know about an Emery side, it is that they are a different animal in Europe. Can they make life difficult for PSG and perhaps even snatch a win and another piece of silverware?

Team News

PSG XI: Safonov; Nuno Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Doué, Akliouche, Kvaratskhelia

Aston Villa XI: Bizot; Maatsen, Pau Torres, Lindelöf, Cash; Joao Gomes, Kamara; Madjo, Buendía, McGinn; Hemmings

FourFourTwo's prediction

PSG 4-0 Aston Villa

We can't see Villa troubling PSG with their side ravaged across the summer.

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Everton striker Martin Sherif has been formally charged by The Football Association for allegedly breaching its gambling regulations.

According to an official statement released by the governing body, the 20-year-old forward has been charged under FA Rule E1.2 in connection with 61 bets placed on football matches over a 15-month timeframe.

The FA states that the alleged infractions occurred between November 20, 2024 and February 12, 2026. Sherif has been given until Monday, August 17 to provide an official response to the charge.

Everton striker charged with betting offence breach

Rule E1.2 enforces a complete ban on betting for anyone involved in professional football in England.

Under the guidelines, players, managers, coaches, club staff, and officials are prohibited from betting, directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition.

The legislation also forbids passing on inside information to third parties for gambling purposes or instructing others to place bets on their behalf.

Sherif is a Liberian-born Netherlands youth international who joined Everton’s youth academy at the age of 13 in 2019 after making the switch from Dutch outfit Almere City.

He impressed in the youth ranks at Finch Farm before signing his first professional contract with the Merseyside club.

The young striker spent the 2025/26 season on loan in League One with separate spells at Rotherham United and Port Vale, making 29 senior appearances across all competitions and scoring four goals.

Should the allegations be proven, the Toffees forward faces potential disciplinary measures ranging from fines to a prolonged suspension from all footballing activity. Neither Everton nor Sherif have publicly commented on the charge.

Arsenal are ready to lose one of their highest earners, as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his club.

One of manager Mikel Arteta's first jobs when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium in 2019 was to get the wage structure of the club under control, and with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil leaving North London on free transfers, Arsenal have always been keen on cutting costs in salary, as much as making sales.

That could certainly be true when it comes to the remaining weeks of the transfer window, as the Gunners look to shift stars who command high wages.

Arsenal looking to get Gabriel Jesus off the books

A report from Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb says that Napoli are in the process of freeing up space in their squad to land Gabriel Jesus, with Romelu Lukaku close to leaving Italy once more.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal are open to offers of around £20m for Jesus – less than half of what they paid for his signature in 2022 – in order to free up funds to spend elsewhere.

According to Capology, Jesus is still the third-highest earner at London Colney behind Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, picking up around £265,000 a week, with just a year remaining on the contract he signed four years ago.

Jesus was a transformational signing when he arrived from Manchester City, spearheading a surprise title assault in 2022/23 and improving the dynamics of Arteta's attack, as the Gunners accrued 50 points in their first 19 games of that campaign.

But after the Brazilian suffered a knee injury at the World Cup in Qatar, Jesus has struggled to regain the same form, losing his place in Arteta's side first to Havertz and then to Viktor Gyokeres, as the Basque boss has moved away from using the same style of false nine in his line-up.

After returning in 2024/25 and showing promise with a hat-trick against Crystal Palace, Jesus suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in an FA Cup tie against Manchester United, becoming a peripheral figure in the squad.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal are also open to letting the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira leave the club, too, which could free up over £300,000 a week more in wages.

Martinelli is believed to be earning around £180,000 a week, having signed a long-term extension in 2023, while Nelson is thought to be on a six-figure sum, too.

The Hale End graduate has played just 50 Premier League fixtures for the Gunners since making his first-team debut in the competition nearly a decade ago, but was rewarded with an extension in 2024 after crucial goals in Arsenal's title challenge against the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.

Jesus is worth €17m, as per Transfermarkt. Arsenal play Coventry City when Premier League action begins again with the 2026/27 season opener.

The Premier League's reputation as a magnet for Europe's finest talent remains as strong as ever. Increasingly, though, the division's middle class are becoming renowned for finding and developing the raw, high-upside talent before the world's elite clubs can poach them.

FourFourTwo has selected three young attackers who have arrived on English shores with the potential to light up the Premier League this season.

Here are our picks...

Zadok Yohanna (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton’s recruitment structure rarely misses. Powered by data-led analytics under Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics, the Seagulls repeatedly scour global leagues to uncover hidden gems before anyone else. Their latest £21.5 million gamble, if you can call it that, is 19-year-old Nigerian winger Zadok Yohanna - and he looks set to continue that tradition.

Yohanna’s journey has so far followed a proven path for African talent, albeit reaching the heights of the Premier League sooner than his continental peers.

Leaving home at a young age to join the Ikon Allah Football Academy, he eventually made the leap to Scandinavia, a pathway previously trodden by the likes of Mikel John Obi, Victor Boniface, and Mohammed Kudus.

Signing for Swedish side AIK, Yohanna spent his initial months adjusting to European football before exploding into life. Deployed on the right wing in a 4-3-3 system under coach Jose Riveiro, his pace and trickery overwhelmed Allsvenskan defences.

In just 12 senior appearances and under 1,000 minutes of action, he registered five goals and four assists, prompting AIK to net a staggering 3,200 per cent profit as Brighton smashed the Swedish transfer record to secure his signature.

Yohanna possesses a frightening burst of acceleration from a standing start. Receiving wide on the right before shuffling inside onto his favoured left foot, he brings an unpredictability that Premier League full-backs will dread.

Whether he immediately establishes himself in Brighton's starting XI or spends time on loan elsewhere in Europe, Yohanna is an electrifying player whose mainstream breakthrough feels inevitable.

Bazoumana Toure (Newcastle United)

If one player rivalled Yan Diomande as the Bundesliga's breakout star last term, it was Bazoumana Toure.

Newcastle made the 20-year-old Ivorian their marquee summer acquisition, shelling out €50 million (£43m) to lure the winger from Hoffenheim.

Toure’s rise has been meteoric. He moved from ASEC Mimosas in Cote d'Ivoire's capital Abidjan to Sweden for a modest fee.

From there, he spent less than a year with Hammarby in Sweden's top flight, helping the club to a ten-fold return on their investment when Hoffenheim took the plunge.

Then, in the past 12 months has quadrupled his value through his displays in the Bundesliga.

Toure clocks top speeds that rank him among the fastest players in European football; the left-winger thrives on driving directly at opposing full-backs and threatening the space in behind.

Unlike many young speedsters whose decision-making lags behind their athleticism, Toure combines acceleration with genuine end product. As a high-volume dribbler and consistent chance creator, he gives Newcastle's attack a new dimension and an immediate out-ball on the counter.

Alvaro Rodriguez (AFC Bournemouth)

At 22 years old, Alvaro Rodriguez is slightly older than the typical 'wonderkid' profile, but the Uruguayan forward is so unorthodox that he demands attention.

Signed by Bournemouth from Spanish side Elche, having originally developed in Real Madrid's academy system, Rodriguez stands at an imposing 6ft 4in. Calling him a traditional target man fails to capture his complete skill set, though.

As you might guess from his frame, he is a handful who plucks aerial balls out of the sky with ease, offering an effective Plan B for long-ball outlets when tiki-taka play breaks down. However, Rodriguez also boasts impressive technical ability, comfortable running directly at defenders with close control and unexpected agility.

With Eli Junior Kroupi sidelined for the opening months of the campaign, Rodriguez will carry an immediate responsibility on the south coast, alongside Evanilson. But, once Kroupi returns, Bournemouth fans can look forward to a classic 'big-man, little-man' striking dynamic that could prove difficult for Premier League centre-halves to contain.

It's the villains versus the Villans in the UEFA Super Cup tonight. Can we say that? Probably not.

Although, if you're an Arsenal fan you probably consider PSG the greatest pantomime villains of all, after derailing the Gunners' double hopes last season.

Champions League winners versus Europa League champions, it can only be the Super Cup - but which way is this one going to go? FourFourTwo predicts.

PSG vs Aston Villa predictions

Understandably, Paris Saint-Germain are firm favourites for tonight's clash at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg. Having won the Champions League only two-and-a-half months ago, PSG are the best team in the world as it stands, and it's hard to argue otherwise.

Aston Villa added more European silverware to their trophy cabinet with victory over Freiburg in the Europa League Final but PSG are a different calibre of opponent altogether.

Both lineups taking to the field this evening will be 'World Cup-affected'. That is to say, a decent proportion of the PSG and Villa squads were at this summer's tournament and therefore either won't be available or back to full fitness.

Villa are without Amadou Onana (knee), new signing and World Cup breakout star Johan Manzambi (knee) or Emiliano Martinez (fitness). The team are also dealing with the £117 million loss of attacking talisman Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. Meanwhile, PSG could also be without their key players, many of whom went deep into the competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The French side fielded a very inexperienced starting XI against Manchester United in their most recent friendly fixture last weekend, but one man who completed 90 minutes and will be among the freshest on the pitch is Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Joao Neves all played half an hour in that 1-1 draw with Man United on Saturday, August 8, so their involvement is anticipated, too.

Moreover, the last seven Super Cup finals have been won by the team that won the previous season's Champions League, so Villa have their work cut out, if you hadn't figured that out already.

PSG vs Aston Villa score prediction

Unfortunately for Villa fans, at FourFourTwo HQ we can't see any outcome other than a PSG win. The reigning European champions are simply too strong and too stacked in most areas of the pitch.

We do think there'll be goals, though, as this game takes on a late pre-season complexion.

• Score prediction: PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

Former Liverpool manager Arne Slot has released a new statement to clarify his current status.

The Dutchman won Liverpool their 20th league title in his first season, after taking the reins from Jurgen Klopp – but his team struggled in their title defence, limping to fifth in the Premier League.

The former Liverpool boss has been linked with the Netherlands job in recent days and has spoken about his next moves and “incorrect speculation”.

Arne Slot clarifies position post Liverpool

Slot was given his marching orders on Merseyside at the end of the season, following a difficult campaign in which he fell out with talismanic forward Mohamed Salah and finished the season trophyless – despite a summer spend of over £400 million.

The 47-year-old has confirmed that he had talks with Dutch football federation, the KNVB, but that he declined to take over as the Oranje's head coach from the outgoing Ronald Koeman, with the job now likely to go to Roberto Martinez.

“Over the past few weeks, and particularly the past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration,” Slot said, via Voetbal International.

“That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks.

“At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day. Something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team.

“I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB and can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week. For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.

“It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me.”

Slot's success in his first season on Merseyside made him a leading candidate for the Dutch job, following an excellent spell coaching in his homeland.

The Hardenberg native achieved success at Feyenoord by winning the Eredivisie and reaching the inaugural Conference League final, only to be beaten by Jose Mourinho's Roma.

Slot left the Reds with a 58 per cent win ratio in 113 games. Liverpool take on Newcastle United when the season starts.

Paul Pogba’s attempt to resurrect his professional career has suffered a setback, with AS Monaco reportedly offering to terminate the 33-year-old midfielder's contract by mutual agreement just over a year after his arrival.

According to transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano, the Ligue 1 outfit have opened talks to negotiate a financial settlement that would cancel his deal, which was originally scheduled to run until 2027.

The decision follows reports of a fresh thigh injury suffered in pre-season training. Pogba's first season since returning from a doping ban was punctuated by injuries.

Paul Pogba is on the move again

The Frenchman joined Monaco in June 2025 on a free transfer, aiming to rebuild his career after serving an 18-month anti-doping ban.

The suspension was initially handed down as a four-year ban in late 2023 following a failed test for elevated levels of DHEA while at Juventus, before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the sanction on appeal, clearing him to return in early 2025.

However, his spell in Monaco has been disrupted by repeated physical issues. Plagued by knee injuries and recurring muscular problems, the former France international managed just 115 official minutes across six substitute appearances during the 2025/26 campaign.

Having featured for only 45 minutes in warm-up friendlies this summer, his latest training breakdown has seemingly accelerated Monaco's push to sever ties before the transfer deadline.

Pogba's rapid decline marks a dramatic fall from grace for one of the most gifted midfielders of his era. Pogba remains Manchester United's record signing, having rejoined the Premier League giants from Juventus in 2016 for a then-world record £89 million (€105m) fee.

During his peak years, Pogba won four consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus, scored in the 2018 World Cup Final as France won the trophy in Russia, and lifted the UEFA Europa League and League Cup with Man United.

Since leaving Old Trafford for a second time to return to Turin in 2022, his career has been beset by chronic injury setbacks and his doping ban.

The 2026 UEFA Super Cup sees Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain take on Europa League holders Aston Villa at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg.

All eyes won't just be on the lineups, though - the man in the middle will also take centre stage, at least for a short while.

Tonight's referee is 34-year-old Somali official Omar Artan, whose appointment represents an historic and unusual refereeing selection.

Who is Omar Artan?

Artan is an international referee registered with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). He joined FIFA’s international panel of match officials in 2018 and in 2024 became the first Somali official to referee at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

A year later, he was named the CAF Men's Referee of the Year following his displays across continental competitions. More recently, Artan officiated the second leg of the CAF Champions League Final.

Why is a CAF referee officiating a UEFA competition?

Under normal circumstances, UEFA match appointments are drawn from Europe's elite refereeing pool.

Artan’s selection for PSG vs Aston Villa is an anomaly, marking the first time a non-European referee will take charge of the UEFA Super Cup.

UEFA confirmed the appointment stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between UEFA and CAF. The partnership was established to 'foster exchange programs, referee development, and cross-continental cooperation'.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has praised Artan as an official of 'exceptional quality,' awarding him the match to demonstrate respect for African officiating standards.

But, there is more to Artan's story than his exploits in Africa.

2026 World Cup US Entry Controversy

Artan’s appointment in Europe comes straight after the high-profile geopolitical controversy he found himself at the centre of before the 2026 World Cup.

Having been selected by FIFA as one of the tournament's lead match officials, Artan flew to the United States in June. However, upon landing at Miami International Airport, US Customs and Border Protection denied him entry to the United States and placed him on a return flight.

US authorities cited strict travel bans and unspecified 'vetting concerns,' sparking backlash from the international football community. FIFA expressed regret but conceded they lacked the legal authority to override US immigration enforcement.

Following his exclusion from the World Cup, UEFA decided to grant Artan the high-profile European fixture as a gesture of solidarity. He will be supported by an all-African officiating team in Salzburg, too.

Aston Villa will look to do what Arsenal could not in the Champions League Final and defeat Paris Saint-Germain this evening.

The Midlands club meet their Parisian opponents in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg.

Here's who you can expect to see among the TNT Sports presenters, pundits and commentators live from Germany.

Who are the presenters, commentators and pundits on TNT Sport for the UEFA Super Cup?

Who are the commentators and pundits for PSG vs Aston Villa?

Reshmin Chowdhury will present the evening's fare, and is joined by a pair of pundits.

Former Rangers and Villa man Alan Hutton will be there to give his thoughts on the Villans, while Fara Williams will share her opinions on the game, too.

It could only be the dynamic duo of Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist on commentary.

They'll be supported by Emma Dodds as the pitchside reporter.

As the Premier League nudges towards its 35th anniversary, what better time to look back on some of the best and most middling players ever to grace its pitches. They're a bit grassier than they were back in the day, by the way. This FourFourTwo quiz is a pure numbers game.

All you need to do is look at these subtly collated groups of four Premier League players and rank them from most to least in order of the number of appearances they made in the English top-flight in the Premier League era. What fun! We have a laugh, don't we?

There are 10 groups of players to arrange and no time limit to hold you back. Get yourself in amongst it and let us know below how you get on.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has many, many football quizzes, all courtesy of Kwizly. If you've sorted out your Premier League players, let's look at the next three tiers. Can you name every team in the EFL in 2026-27? There are 72 in all between the Championship, League One and league Two.

We also want to know whether you can name every team to have won one of the top four divisions and every top-flight club in English football since 1945.

Now, here's a real test of your football trivia mettle. The Wikibox separates the wheat from the chaff of quizzing so we've gone big. Our latest career paths quiz asks you to identify no fewer than 100 players based only on the teams they represented during their careers.

If teasers and puzzles are more your style, FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 65 features clues on Premier League title winners, the Super League, famous sponsors and superagents. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

Rumours continue to link the 25-year-old with a move away from Stamford Bridge, but there are a catalogue of reasons why a deal appears highly unlikely.

A combination of huge valuations, accounting necessities , and dressing-room dynamics mean the Argentine looks firmly locked in place at Chelsea.

Firstly, the Blues have slapped a massive £120 million asking price on Fernandez. In any transfer climate, that figure eliminates 99 per cent of teams who might be interested.

Chelsea can't afford to sell Enzo Fernandez this summer - here's why

Only a tiny handful of the ultra-wealthy clubs could even theoretically entertain such an outlay, and none have shown a willingness to meet Stamford Bridge's demands, at least not recently.

Fernandez's reputation precedes him, too. There have been off-pitch controversies whilst on international duty and questions over how he fits into a dressing room, leaving plenty of managers erring on the side of caution, especially for such a fee.

From the player's perspective, there is also no reason for him to force an exit on unfavourable terms. Fernandez has six full years remaining on his lucrative Stamford Bridge contract.

According to wage data from Capology, Fernandez earns an estimated £11.7 million per year before tax.

And with six years still to run, Chelsea are committed to paying him roughly £56 million in remaining wages.

With that massive sum guaranteed through 2032, Fernandez will be in no hurry to abandon his deal unless a suitor matches or exceeds his current earnings.

The fact he is contracted for such a length of time also gives Chelsea no reason to lower their asking price.

The main barrier preventing a transfer comes down to the Premier League's financial controls and transfer fee amortisation.

When Chelsea signed Fernandez from Benfica in January 2023 for £106 million, they initially tied him to an eight-and-a-half-year deal to spread the fee across the length of the contract. It was later reported Chelsea extended his stay by a further year to a total of nine-and-a-half years, spreading that amortisation cost even more thinly.

As of June 2026, here is how the remainder of that deal looks on paper.

• Initial Transfer Fee: £106 million
• Contract Amortisation Length: 9.5 years (Approx. £11.15m per year)
• Amortised Fee to Date (3.5 years): Approx. £39m written off
• Player's Current Book Value: ~£67 million

To avoid booking a loss in an accounting sense under Premier League financial control guidelines, £67m is the bare minimum fee Chelsea could accept.

However, having invested over £100 million in him, and selling anywhere near that accounting floor would represent a huge sporting write-down. To generate a meaningful accounting profit, Chelsea must hold firm on their £120 million valuation.

These financial obstacles are compounded by a lack of market activity in his services, as well. According to transfers journalist Ben Jacobs, Chelsea have not received any formal approaches for Fernandez over the past two months.

And so, with no suitors stepping forward - including the most likely candidate Manchester City who have already dropped a British record fee on Elliot Anderson - £56 million in guaranteed wages, and Chelsea holding firm on their valuation, it is FourFourTwo's view that Enzo Fernandez is going nowhere.

Here's another FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz! You have a mere 90 seconds to answer 10 tricky football trivia questions, so let's see what you've got.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has a lot more football quizzes courtesy of Kwizly and there's something for football quizzers of every stripe, from identifying the locations of these 10 iconic football statues to listing the 72 current teams in the Football League – the Championship, League One and League Two.

Can you name all 95 clubs to have won any one of the top four tiers of English football and list every Premier League player nominated for the Ballon d'Or since 2000? It's a challenge but you'll get there.

We also have a footballer autobiographies quiz and we want you to name the top 100 goalscorers in the history of the Premier League. If you're looking for something even tougher, get stuck into this: Guess these team line-ups based on the nationalities of their players alone.

Did you pay close attention to the latest major summer tournament? Then you'll be all over FourFourTwo's Big World Cup 2026 quiz.

Let's give you a real test. Can you name 100 players simply by the clubs where they've played football in our latest career path quiz?

We have puzzles as well. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

A player scores a last-minute winner and caught up in the emotion of it all, whips their shirt off, sending it as far into the crowd as physics will allow, or leaving it strewn on the turf behind them.

How many times have we seen it? Countless. And as sure as day follows night, the referee begins reaching into their pocket to provide the customary yellow card that goes hand-in-hand with the so-called 'offence'.

It's not hurting anyone, except for perhaps the egos of men who don't boast athletically-trained physiques. So, why are players penalised for this display of emotion?

Introducing Gillette's 'Shirt-Off' campaign

Arsenal legend Ian Wright and Gillette have teamed up to say enough is enough, once and for all. It's 30 years since the first yellow was shown for it, before the rule was brought into law in 2004.

Now joining forces, Wrighty and Gillette reckon it's had a fair run but the consensus is it's football's stupidest rule. You only need to listen to the boos from the stands whenever the official brandishes the yellow to determine whether the footballing populace are in favour or not.

Gillette’s ‘Worth Celebrating’ petition calls on football's decision-makers to scrap the automatic yellow card rule for players who do shirt-off celebrations. The aim? To defend emotional, spontaneous celebrations.

Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike made headlines last season when he was shown a second yellow card for taking his shirt off after scoring the winner against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

IFAB (International Football Association Board) - which is an ironically joyful-sounding acronym - state players are permitted to celebrate when a goal is scored, but it cannot be excessive.

The rule exists to prevent players from engaging in provocative behaviour towards the opposing team and its fans, as well as displaying political messages.

At the heart of Gillette's campaign is the mantra that passion should be celebrated, not punished. And so, should the petition reach 100,000 signatures, Gillette will write an open letter to IFAB formally calling on the rule to be axed.

“Can we get rid of this silly shirt off rule and give them back a bit of passion and joy?!" Wright says.

“Sometimes players are getting sent off for two yellow cards when one of them is for taking their shirt off!

“I hope the fans get behind the petition, help us bring back the joy to goal celebrations.”

Gillette's bring back the joy petition can be found HERE. The GilletteLabs BODY + INTIMATE range is available now at major retailers nationwide and Gillette.co.uk.

It has been a summer of chaos and upheaval at Newcastle United, but you wouldn’t know it looking at Matthias Jaissle as he faced the media for the first time at St James’ Park on Tuesday.

Donning a smart suit, slicked-back hair, the Magpies’ new coach began by shaking every hand in the room before taking to the stage. He is supremely cool and confident, knowing his own mind and radiating belief that everything will not only be okay on Tyneside, but that great days and nights will follow.

Yet, having arrived at the end of July following Eddie Howe’s swift departure, in just enough time to see captain Bruno Guimaraes follow Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon out of the exit door, Jaissle is under no illusions. He faces a tough task, with just over two weeks until the Premier League opener at home to Liverpool.

"A big challenge"

The 38-year-old insists he sees opportunity rather than negativity. “It is a challenge, a big challenge,” Jaissle said. “We lost big characters; this is a vacuum. Others need to step into it, either through signing these profiles or existing players. We are aware of what we need internally.”

“Always when there is a transition period, it is not time to complain. We see the chance, not the negative. We want to do our best, and we are here to support the players. There will be adjustments in the next days and weeks, but we are focused on our daily work."

“I would have loved to have started from the beginning and been involved in everything, the signings and being involved from the first day. It is something I cannot influence.

“We’ll use every day in the best possible way to improve. This is a collective task for the whole club. If we are all thriving in the same direction, it is going to be successful.”

At their best under Howe, Newcastle were a nightmare to live with, hunting every ball and overwhelming opponents with their pressing and energy. It is no secret that the words “Intensity is our Identity” adorned the walls at the training ground.

As Howe’s flame began to wither towards the end of his reign, culminating in a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League last season, so did that core principle. But as a product of the Red Bull project, a disciple of Ralf Rangnick who has won league titles at RB Salzburg and Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, Jaissle wants to reinforce it, describing Newcastle as a “perfect fit” for his ideals.

“[We should be] front-footed, intense, aggressive and, of course, successful,” he said.

“That is why I am sitting here; the belief we have as a coaching team, the identity of Newcastle United is linked closely together [to that]. It is a perfect fit in my eyes. It is going to be exciting.

“Football is really complex. We can press, why are we doing that? To get the ball, and then you need to have solutions and be smart. You have to have your identity, how we want to play, vertical, we want to score goals, but it depends how the opponent is playing, it is about adaptation as well. We need to use their weaknesses and our strengths.”

Jaissle also believes his relationship with England boss Thomas Tuchel could be important as he settles into Premier League life. They go all the way back to the early days of his playing career, and Tuchel influenced his coaching journey, too.

“The connection is there, it has been a long connection,” he smiles. “He was my coach when I was a youth player in Stuttgart. He is an amazing coach; I really admire him and appreciate him a lot – what he did and will do in the future. He is really special; I am looking forward to getting insight from him about the league.”

His persona on the touchline is at odds with the man sat in the chair at the front of the room. He says he is passionate, emotional and will not change that.

There were no promises of a long-term vision, and some fans could be forgiven for asking wider questions of the Saudi-backed project. But, ultimately, if first impressions say anything, Matthias Jaissle certainly believes he will leave his mark on Newcastle.

Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly is surprised by links with Premier League rivals.

It has revealed that Arsenal were ready to cash in by football.london, who exclusively broke that Chelsea were interested in the player.

But despite the Gunners having landed Bruno Guimaraes in recent days, this apparently not the case.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is 'Arsenal through and through'

Well-placed Arsenal source, Hand of Arsenal – who has broken news of signings, line-ups and more in the last couple of years, to become a reliable social media presence online – has reacted to what they call the “noise” around Lewis-Skelly.

“Skelly is fully Arsenal through and through,” the account wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“The noise today did not come from the player side at all. Infact, they were shocked at reports and confused. The boy loves Arsenal but the interest in him is real.”

Lewis-Skelly broke into Arsenal's first XI in the 2023/24 season as a left-back during an injury crisis that saw several first-teamers injured, before signing a bumper extension to his contract last summer.

The first half of last season was a difficult one for the youngster with Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie ahead of him in the pecking order – but after establishing himself in the centre of midfield, he managed to oust Martin Zubimendi, featuring prominently in the run-in and starting against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

The acquisition of Bruno Guimaraes could well limit the amount of minutes that Lewis-Skelly plays next season – but FourFourTwo understands that manager Mikel Arteta wants to have four players competing for the two spots in the double-pivot, with Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly and Guimaraes all vying for a place along with Declan Rice.

Lewis-Skelly also has the versatility to play at left-back – something that has interested both Chelsea and Manchester United.

As a homegrown teenager with a long contract, Arsenal are in a position where if the 19-year-old were to leave, they would expect a record sale for his services.

Fellow Hale Ender Ethan Nwaneri is expected to depart this summer, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze and even Max Dowman as competition in his positions.

Lewis-Skelly is valued at €45m by Transfermarkt. Arsenal play Coventry City on Matchday 1 of their Premier League title defence.

In just under a fortnight, Crystal Palace will visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium to kick off their 2026/27 Premier League campaign. They'll be a leading centre-half light, without the most successful manager in their history and with a series of new arrivals who are yet to prove themselves in the English game.

Are the Palace hierarchy taking a risk given what we know about England's top division?

Standing still as a Premier League club rarely means anything other than going backwards, particularly when the teams around you recruit aggressively.

Should Crystal Palace fans be worried about the 2026/27 Premier League season?

Oliver Glasner’s departure left a void at Selhurst Park, albeit not for very long with the appointment of Pierre Sage, who masterminded an improbable Ligue 1 title challenge with RC Lens last term.

While Glasner's relationship with sections of the home support was occasionally strained, there is no denying his calibre as a top-tier head coach. Replacing a manager of his proven pedigree is always a difficult undertaking, regardless of how long Palace had to make their decision.

From a squad perspective, FourFourTwo aren't overly enamoured by the business the South London club have done so far.

Take Palace's reshuffling of their wide attacking options, for instance. The swap deal involving Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson raises immediate questions about the club's long-term trajectory. Is replacing one inconsistent Premier League winger with another truly improving the squad, or is it an uninspired sideways move?

They are different players, despite playing in similar positions, but neither feels like the transformative force needed to elevate Palace’s attack into the upper half of the table. From the outside, if anything it reflects a safety-first mindset.

The club’s recruitment strategy elsewhere is also of interest. Spending on an unproven youngster from Major League Soccer in Zavier Gozo is entirely reasonable in isolation - it fits Palace’s established, admirable ethos of identifying raw, high-upside talent.

However, an 18-year-old making the leap from North America cannot be framed as a marquee signing tasked with carrying a primary attacking burden in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the handling of outgoing talent could be deemed short-sighted, highlighted by letting Romain Esse join Club Brugge. While Esse has failed to kick on at Selhurst Park as many had hoped, it was an open secret that his limited minutes stemmed primarily from his relationship with Glasner.

With new management taking the reins, why not offer the gifted youngster a clean slate?

Defensively, the warning signs are even more pronounced after losing Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea.

Replacing him with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza on free transfers may look thrifty, but it's a risk. Tomiyasu is an intelligent player, but his historic injury record makes relying on him as a week-in-week-out starter a roll of the dice. Mingueza provides versatile depth, but in all likelihood neither truly replicates Lacroix’s impact.

If Palace fail to complete further marquee business before the transfer window closes, this summer could end up being a sharp step backward, especially when considering the strengthening that has gone on at clubs who finished below them last season.

Liverpool can certainly challenge for the Premier League this season.

That's the view of former Reds striker Michael Owen, who says that he's been impressed by Andoni Iraola and that the Basque simply needs time at Anfield to show what he's capable of.

With Liverpool entering a new era, few are predicting the Premier League title to return to Merseyside – but Owen says it's “possible”.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola needs time to implement his own style, says Michael Owen

Liverpool were disappointing last season, with Arne Slot losing his job as a result of a fifth-place finish, despite winning the title 12 months earlier.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Owen – who now helps UK gamblers compare online casinos as the British ambassador for Casino.org – believes that Iraola has a “building job”, and says he's impressed by what he's seen at Bournemouth.

“He has proven at Bournemouth that he is a top manager and has an excellent style of play,” Owen tells FourFourTwo.

“I have been very impressed when watching Bournemouth play and I hope this can be translated to Liverpool next season. It’s a rebuilding job for sure with Salah leaving and the way Liverpool ended last year and the style of football as well.

“So it’s a big job indeed and the pressure is on, as Bournemouth, with respect, are not as a big of a club as Liverpool, so he will need to look to implement a style of play quickly for the team to start winning.

Despite the size of the task at hand, however, Owen says that he's been so impressed with the style of play on the south coast that he believes that his former side could challenge for the title again.

“From the way Bournemouth played, if you can deliver that at Liverpool, with the quality Liverpool have now and can bring in, then it’s possible to begin to challenge again for sure,” he says.

Liverpool take on Newcastle United in the opening game of the Premier League season.

Round Two of the Carabao Cup has been drawn, with some eyebrow-raising permutations.

At this stage of the competition, Premier League teams not involved in European football enter the fray, with 11 top-flight sides kicking off their cup journeys before the start of September.

And that's thrown a spanner in the works for Chelsea and Fulham – who were both drawn at home in the cup.

When will Chelsea and Fulham play their Carabao Cup fixtures?

Scroll through the fixtures for the next round of the Carabao Cup and you'll see in the southern section of the draw that, yes, August 27 is a busy evening in West London.

That's because both Chelsea and Fulham have been drawn at home in the competition, to Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon respectively: which isn't supposed to happen, due to limits on policing and transport.

With Sky Sports having chosen the Blues vs the Whites for a Monday night slot on August 17, Carabao Cup fixtures would ordinarily have been played on a Thursday night, allowing for 72 hours' rest.

And so, Chelsea's clash with Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham's trip to Sunderland were both moved to Sunday slots.

But there's a knock-on effect in the EFL, with Wimbledon and Luton both in League One action the Saturday after their cup ties – so if those Carabao Cup ties are scheduled for the Thursday, then the Saturday games should move to the Sunday.

Still following? Well, if those League One games move to the Sunday, there's the complication of the following Tuesday already having a full programme of League One games.

That could impact a further four matches, which could have to move to Wednesday: meaning either teams will have to play two games within 48 hours, or supporters will have their travel plans changed.

This isn't the first time that the EFL have had to make concessions over fixture pile-ups,.

The third round of the competition now has seeding to ensure that teams playing in Europe don't clash with one another, while 2019 saw Liverpool face Aston Villa on 17 December at 19:45 GMT, before competing in the Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar the following day at 17:30.

Is anyone else getting the impression that we might just have too much football?

The best player on Earth right now, arguably, is Barcelona's right-winger. It's arguable, too, that Arsenal's, Chelsea's, Manchester City's, Manchester United's and – up until this summer – Liverpool's right-winger are all better than their left.

Scroll through the most valuable players in the world on Transfermarkt, and on the right, you'll be spoiled for choice: Lamine Yamal heading up the list ahead of Michael Olise, Desire Doue, Bukayo Saka, and new Real Madrid man, Yan Diomande. Transfermarkt actually values the top 10 right-wingers in the world right now to be a full £200 million more valuable than the top 10 on the left.

It begs the question of why there's such a difference between the two roles – which should surely be mirrored.

The dearth of world-class left-wingers has something to do with maths

Let's start with the very basics. Most left-wingers are right-footed attackers who cut in on their favoured foot to attack the goal: it's been that way ever since the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho revolutionised the game in the 2000s, but has a lot to do with players like Thierry Henry popularising the notion that an attacker in the opposite half-space to their favoured foot has more of the goal to aim at.

Estimates of how many players are left-footed fluctuate wildly, from 10 to 25 per cent – meaning that the vast majority of footballers on Earth prefer to use their right foot. From that, one may deduce that surely, there should be more quality left-wingers than right-wingers?

It's not quite that simple, however. Think of the maths.

Imagine you're coaching an academy team with five young attackers, who can all carry the ball, beat a defender, pick a pass and strike a ball with venom. Statistically, only one of them will be a left-footer. It simply makes sense to play the left-footer on the right wing, because he can do something the others can't: cut inside on his natural foot.

Right-footers thus end up elsewhere. Had Eden Hazard, Neymar, Jamal Musiala or Florian Wirtz been left-footed, they would have almost exclusively played on the right wing growing up – but because they're both right-footed, they've played plenty of football at No.10. Even a more physical profile like Jude Bellingham could have been developed as a right-winger, had he favoured his left foot.

By the time a left-footed attacker makes it in senior football, he has probably spent most of his development in the right-wing funnel. He knows that position better than anyone on the pitch – but having played his entire life with a touchline over his right shoulder, he may lack the 360-degree awareness that a right-footer may have had from having played a handful of attacking positions in his development.

It seems strange to imagine someone like Arjen Robben or Mohamed Salah regularly playing centrally, for example – but while Alexander Isak or Marcus Rashford have several of the same traits (speed, movement, finishing), the latter two have played as centre-forwards a lot more than the former. Their preferred foot has something to do with that.

There's certainly a perception, too, around what we expect from left-footed players. We expect lefties to be naturally more creative – they certainly look more graceful to the naked eye to some people – and that almost certainly has something to do with the fact that we just don't see them very often. There's a case, too, that left-footed right-wingers grow up in a right-footed world, and thus have to find solutions that right-footers will never have to.

And then there's the excitement of finding ‘the next Lionel Messi’ from those bringing the next generation through. If you have a mercurial left-footed attacker in your academy – whether that's Martin Odegaard or Ryan Gauld – there will be an effort to ensure a pathway: you've found the most valuable commodity in the game, after all.

The Barcelona side that gave Messi his platform has become so influential that dribbly midfielders and ball-playing centre-backs have both been prioritised in youth football over the last decade – to the detriment of several other roles in football. The role of a traditional playmaker has been phased out, with chance creation now mostly generated from a high press. Box-to-box midfielders have become rarer, as teams search for specialists.

And specialised right-footed left-wingers have usually either moved up front or into midfield, depending on their physicality and finishing – while players like Morgan Rogers and Junior Kroupi play behind a No.9, rather than straight from the left.

The lack of world-class left-backs

Thanks in part to that Barcelona side, we have more midfield profiles in the modern game than we know what to do with. A top-level midfielder with intensity can play right-back these days – just ask Arne Slot last season or Declan Rice over the World Cup – whether they're inverting or overlapping.

To highlight the maths once more, how many left-footed right-backs have you ever seen, compared to the other way around? Well, if fewer than 25 per cent of players really are left-footed, there's a fair chance that the average youth team doesn't even have a leftie in its back four.

And if this imaginary team really does have a left-footed left-back, capable of offering good support to the left-winger ahead of him, the chances of him being good at defending, too, are slim. Besides, even those left-backs who were world-class going forward and simply fine in defence – Bukayo Saka, Gareth Bale, even Alphonso Davies for Canada – usually get moved further up the pitch. Left-back is seen as one of the last priorities of any manager, despite how much world-class full-backs can elevate your XI.

Coaches are simply picking from a much bigger pool when it comes to right-backs: that's reflected in the lack of genuinely world-class left-backs at the top level. Just in English football, Gareth Southgate's golden generation was defined by its talent at right-back, with the likes of Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James all fighting for a berth. The left full-back spot was all Luke Shaw's if he was fit: Ben Chilwell's, if he could make a case for it, and by the end, Trippier's.

But the game has changed significantly, and so many teams don't attack with Roberto Carlos-style full-backs anymore. That's partly down to increased physicality in the modern game, demanding more of what players are physically capable of – but it's also down to tactical shifts. Teams prefer to invert full-backs, or leave them at the back for building play. Wingers are expected to hold the width a bit more instead. Even the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Nico O'Reilly – who really are attack-minded left-footed left-backs – aren't there to support their left-winger: often, the left-winger is there to hold the width for them to attack the box.

Which brings us to the left-wingers thriving in the modern game, and their constant behind them.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola are lucky enough to play with arguably the best left-back in the world in Nuno Mendes. Vinicius Junior's best football at Real Madrid arguably coincided with Ferland Mendy's. Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz both played best alongside Andrew Robertson. Raphinha and Marcus Rashford both benefited from Alejandro Balde, Rafael Leao was world-class alongside Theo Hernandez, and Kingsley Coman was at his best with Alphonso Davies behind him. Cristiano Ronaldo had Marcelo, Hazard had Cesar Azpilicueta, Neymar had Jordi Alba, and Franck Ribery had David Alaba. Look at Ronaldinho and Carlos, or Henry and Ashley Cole.

Jeremy Doku has sparkled at times, and both Phil Foden and Leroy Sane were left-footed left-wingers holding width – but the right-wingers always shone more for Guardiola's Manchester City. Arsenal have had consistent right-backs in Ben White, then Jurrien Timber, while the left has been somewhat of a problem position, with arguably their last world-class left-wing option, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, having Kieran Tierney to work with behind him – while even Saka and Sead Kolasinac offered a solid overlap. Even Matt Targett and Ben Davies were solid Premier League-level players, there to provide a service for Jack Grealish and Son Heung-min, respectively: there are simply fewer and fewer of those bombing left-backs around these days.

That's not to suggest that any of those left-wingers wouldn't have made it without a left-back behind them to support. But it feels like the current generation of left-wingers are already at a disadvantage to their predecessors, when the standard and profile of left-back has changed so dramatically over the last decade.

And that's not even to mention the obvious: if top-level left-backs are in such scarcity, it's no wonder that the average right-winger looks so much better. The average left-winger is up against a right-back who, statistically speaking, fought off much better competition.

If Paris Saint-Germain value Barcola to be worth over €100m, there's a good reason for that. If Arsenal decide not to pursue an alternative to Vinicius Jr, that may well be because there are so few game-changers in that position in world football. If Nico Williams becomes a nine-figure transfer, that's maybe down to how few of his contemporaries are on his level. If Juventus charge more for Kenan Yildiz than RB Leipzig did for Diomande, it's not because of talent; it's because of scarcity. And perhaps, in a roundabout way, the cheapest way to sign a world-class left-winger is to sign a left-back who can improve what you already have.

Because strangely, world-class left-wingers have almost become a more precious profile than the Palmers and Sakas on the opposite side – despite all the odds. Does football need to evolve to produce more superstar left-wingers?

Arsenal have been given the chance to bring a long-time target from Barcelona to North London.

The Gunners have suffered several setbacks in the transfer market this summer and are now racing to finalise a squad that manager Mikel Arteta hopes can defend the title – something that Arsenal haven't done in almost a century.

With Barcelona open to offers for big players this summer as they look to raise capital, the Premier League champions may well be in for a star that Arteta has coveted for years.

Barcelona open to letting Arsenal target Jules Kounde leave

Spanish publication Sport have reported that following Ronald Araujo's exit from Camp Nou on a loan deal to Liverpool, the Blaugrana are also willing to let Jules Kounde leave, too.

Manager Hansi Flick is said to have his right-back position covered with World Cup winner Eric Garcia and La Masia graduate Xavi Espart, with Barça still to sign a centre-forward following Robert Lewandowski's departure and grateful of any big bids for fringe players.

Arsenal have long coveted Kounde, and with the Frenchman's international team-mate William Saliba limping out of a World Cup semi-final over the summer with a worrying back injury, Arteta is weighing up his options in defence ahead of the new season.

Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel have looked somewhat shaky as a partnership in the heart of defence in pre-season, with Sport noting, “Arsenal would need to convince a player whom Hansi Flick no longer considers strategic.”

Towards the backend of last term, Liverpool and Manchester City were said to be interested in Kounde, though the 27-year-old would command a sizeable transfer fee, given his experience and wages in Catalonia.

With Arsenal interested in Ezri Konsa, however, Kounde could work out to be a more-effective option, as Europa League winners Aston Villa dig in their heels at the prospect of selling another first-teamer to a Premier League rival.

FourFourTwo understands that attackers remain the priority for the Gunners, with Arteta reluctant to bring in another defender unless the right opportunity presents itself.

With the Gunners boss admitting recently, however, that Jurrien Timber is still “weeks away” from returning to the pitch, the Gunners may well have to move for either a centre-back or a right-back before the transfer window closes.

Kounde can play in both positions, featuring more as a full-back since his move to Barcelona from Sevilla in 2022.

The Frenchman is valued at €60m by Transfermarkt. Arsenal play Coventry City on Matchday 1 of their Premier League title defence.

Liverpool have agreed terms with Bradley Barcola to sign a five-year contract.

After spending over £400 million last summer, the Reds have moved slowly this summer under new manager Andoni Iraola, signing Victor Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet for modest fees before confirming the loan move of Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo.

But with Liverpool's No.1 target Barcola now agreeing terms, according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, it appears the 20-time English champions are closing in on what could be yet another £100m buy.

Bradley Barcola has agreed Liverpool move - but Liverpool haven't agreed terms with Paris Saint-Germain

According to Tavolieri, Barcola has put agreed to move to Anfield on a five-year contract, with Liverpool now just needing to agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for his signing.

With PSG targeting Ajax starlet Mika Godts – and the Belgian being pulled from de Godenzonen's Eredivisie clash of the season on Sunday – any Barcola exit could hinge on the European champions' pursuit of a replacement.

PSG are also said to be close to confirming a move for World Cup final hero, Ferran Torres, as they look to win three consecutive Champions League titles.

Tavolieri posted last year in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Liverpool had seen a bid for Barcola rejected and that the fee would exceed €100m, following the Alexander Isak saga last season, in which the Swede moved to Merseyside for around £125m.

FourFourTwo understands that the Reds have been reluctant to pay top dollar for Barcola, and are looking to talk PSG down from an original €140m valuation – though an agreement in principle on personal terms will certainly help their case.

The Frenchman was signed from Ligue 1 rivals Lyon in 2023 and has won two European titles since his move, making 152 appearances for Les Parisiens and establishing himself at international level for Les Bleus.

But there has always been a feeling that the 23-year-old is a peripheral figure in a frontline that also contains Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele, while compatriot Desire Doue has ousted Barcola from the starting line-up in the last two Champions League finals.

While Barcola has made 45 appearances in the Champions League while in Paris, only 31 of those have been from the start.

At Liverpool, Iraola will have the likes of Victor Munoz, Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Florian Wirtz to choose from on the left wing, while also having to consider how to replace Mohamed Salah on the right.

Barcola is valued at €90m by Transfermarkt. Liverpool take on Newcastle United when the Premier League season kicks off.

Trump claims it would be a 'terrible mistake' to replace him Infantino as FIFA President as the Swiss comes under increasing pressure to resign.

However, the Commander-in-Chief's defence has inadvertently exposed the exact reason for the rift threatening to tear at the fabric of world football.

Infantino is currently experiencing the greatest challenge to his presidency. For millions of supporters globally, the Swiss administrator has long been perceived as a symbol of corporate greed.

Stay in your lane, Donald

Dubbed a 'megalomaniac' by leading newspaper columnists and a man obsessed with endlessly expanding tournaments, diluting competition, and chasing commercial yields, Infantino is far from a popular figure.

All of the above has come at the expense of match-going fans and footballing tradition, too.

Fan hostility has now permeated executive corridors following the publication of a joint open letter co-signed by the presidents of UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Concacaf.

The respective confederations have accused FIFA leadership of a 'failure of judgment' and a 'fundamental breach of trust' after Infantino attempted to push through a plan to sell off commercial stakes in the World Cup, and other FIFA competitions, to investors on a truncated timeline, which many believed was to limit scrutiny.

With three of football’s six continental bodies demanding an independent investigation and refusing to back Infantino, Trump took to social media to defend the FIFA chief.

"Fifa would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino," Trump said.

"He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again."

Trump's mention of a 'profitable' World Cup misses the point spectacularly. To politicians and boardrooms, the tournament may be little more than a corporate asset. However, to the billions of people who watched this summer's competition, profit margins are of little importance.

The World Cup is cherished because it is a festival of football belonging to the collective. It is a global celebration of passion, national identity, emotion, and sporting endeavour.

When leaders reduce the world's greatest spectacle to dollars and cents, they highlight their blindness to the soul of the sport.

Newcastle United's close season of 2025 delivered the pain of losing one star player to a domestic rival, so how must it feel losing two?

Much has been written about the many big-name departures from Tyneside. The doom-mongering and pessimism was inevitable. Not only have Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães left in the past year, but last season’s top-scorer in all competitions – Anthony Gordon – and the man who led Newcastle to a first domestic trophy in 70 years, Eddie Howe, are gone too.

Yet this has deflected attention away from those who have been arriving, in particular a relatively unknown 18-year-old from Ajax: Sean Steur.

The next Frenkie de Jong?

A new central midfielder with just 25 senior appearances was never going to get pulses racing, especially when stepping into an area of the pitch recently vacated by two players many deem worthy of the world-class category.

Unlike his ever-so slightly more senior fellow midfield signing Aladji Bamba, some have already made the judgement that Steur will be a rotation option. His capture, worth up to £23 million on a five-year deal, is merely indicative of an intelligent change of transfer approach, with the club now moving proactively for young talent with a look to the future.

However, based on what he has already shown in his short career and the undoubted potential, there is an argument that Steur is ready for first-team action now.

There have been few better all-round central midfielders to have broken into Ajax’s first-team this century than Frenkie de Jong. The Barcelona man may have struggled with injuries in recent years, but when fit he is still regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world. It thus stands that if the youth coaches at Ajax were describing Steur as the next De Jong, you should sit up and take notice.

The reasons for the comparisons, and the appraisal of Steur as the brightest emerging talent since the player Steur himself refers to as his idol, are numerous. As one might expect from someone who has come through the Ajax ranks, Steur is technically superb. Some players instantly look like they belong on a football pitch with a ball at their feet, and he is one of them. And not just because of his confidence as a 10 year old doing over 2,000 kick-ups pre-match in the Johan Cruijff Arena.

A two-footed passer, Steur can quickly glide up the pitch thanks to his ability dribbling the ball and has a quick change of direction for someone of his height. Akin to De Jong, he is always playing with his head up, able to slow or quicken the pace of the game. Although he made his debut under Francesco Farioli in the 24/25 season, it wasn’t really until midway through the last campaign that Steur became a first team regular.

This makes the stats from Opta even more impressive – of those midfielders who started the season 18 or younger in the Eredivisie, Steur came out on top for chances created and carries of the ball, and was second for passing accuracy and total passes. He was also first for duel success and second for tackles and possession wins. These latter statistics point to an element of De Jong’s game that is often overlooked and that Steur has also shown signs of having in his arsenal - the capacity to get around the pitch and break up opposition attacks. Interestingly, despite such a short space of time in the first team, he ended up the third-ranked Ajax player for pass completion in the opposition half, demonstrating an ability to make penetrating attacking passes, just like De Jong. Based on this, it’s unsurprising that Steur reads the game well, having an innate understanding of space that looks easy but we all know is not.

Even if he is still new to the stage, Steur has already shown he has the ability to conduct his own Dutch orchestra, just like his idol.

Mature beyond his years

One should never place too much weight on pre-season, but a recent piece of praise from The Chronicle on Steur is telling: “Looks to be playing above his tender years.”

Of the many reasons Ajax were reluctant to sell such a highly-rated midfielder, the maturity and confidence in Steur was a prominent one. For example, in terms of atmosphere and pressure, there are few more intense matches than ‘De Klassieker’ between Ajax and Feyenoord. In 2009, the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam even came to an agreement with the KNVB to prevent away supporters from attending games, a ruling that still stands today. At just 17, Steur started in the fixture, before starring in the away game at De Kuip, scoring his first professional goal in the biggest fixture in Dutch football.

It takes a certain type of character to thrive in such an environment when still only a teenager. Indeed, it should also not be overlooked that he came to the fore during a period of significant instability at Ajax, where criticism rained down from the terraces more fiercely than the traditionally temperamental local weather. The club managed to get through three different managers last season and ended up a lowly 5th in the Eredivisie, their joint lowest finish since 1999. These are hardly stable foundations for a young player to find his feet. Yet Steur did.

Despite a slight frame, he is six feet tall and could yet become a real physical presence. Aligned with the aforementioned defensive statistics, he could offer more tenacity than people might expect. Furthermore, he is a player who knows his own mind. Make no mistake about it, he has arrived at Newcastle to play, not sit on the bench. One of the major reasons for him leaving Ajax was because of the lack of guarantees on his role whilst discussing an extension to his contract. It can only be a good thing that Steur knows what he has to offer and has the ambition to prove it on the biggest stages.

On its day, there are few more atmospheric stadiums than St James’ Park. To hold your own and thrive there – particularly in the middle of the pitch – demands a certain type of personality. A concoction of confidence, assuredness and resolve. Bravery is not just about putting your foot in but demanding the ball. Made of stern stuff, Steur will do both willingly.

A great fit for the new coach

Of course, another notable signing has been that of new head coach Matthias Jaissle. The former Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Ahli Manager is said to favour a dynamic, high-pressing and counter-pressing style, reliant on quick ball progression in the final third following a calm build-up from the back.

It almost reads like a product description for a Sean Steur all-action toy. The two-footedness and composure make him press-resistant on the ball, combining with his natural inclination to provide incisive forward rather than sideways passes to quickly spring attacks. The tempo of Premier League football may initially take some getting used to, but Steur has already shown at Ajax that he savours winning back possession. A midfielder for Jaissle needs to be disciplined, energetic and proactive – all attributes you can assign to Steur.

Moreover, he can play in multiple positions. This could be invaluable for Jaissle, who has shown a willingness to adapt shapes based on opponents and the context of a game. He can play as a deep-lying six, a box-to-box 8 and even as a number 10, although there is work to be done on adding goals to his game. The fact Newcastle moved so quickly for a relatively inexperienced player is perhaps evidence in itself that they believe Steur has what it takes to excel on Tyneside, even if the man originally in the dugout when he arrived has changed.

A player for now and the future

Fans should of course, keep their feet on the ground to an extent with Steur. He naturally needs time to adjust to a new league, a new home and to keep growing physically. Yet he has all the foundational attributes – technically, physically and mentally – that a player needs to succeed in the Premier League. There is no reason why he cannot start making a big impact in the coming season, and several reasons to suggest that Newcastle United now have a really exciting pool of young central midfielders to build around.

Ultimately, with the losses of Tonali and Guimarães, perhaps it will turn out to be short-term pain for long-term gain. And if that is to transpire, there is a strong chance that Steur will be at the very heart of that progress for many years to come.

The Premier League is many things to many people but an easy place to carve out a career it is not. There have, however, been a handful of players who've done the business for a short while. This FourFourTwo quiz is all about them.

Quite sincerely and with no shade whatsoever (apart from that one guy), this quiz pays tribute to a clutch of attacking players who hit a rich vein of form in the richest league in world football.

There are 20 questions to answer and a pretty generous 12 minutes on the clock. You should have no problem getting through these but there are a couple of pitfalls in there. You know, just for a laugh. Let us know your score below.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has a vast store of football quizzes, all courtesy of Kwizly. Let's begin with something to really get your teeth into and ask you to name every top-flight club in English football since 1945.

If 81 years' worth of clubs is too many, how about sticking with just one and naming every team in the EFL in 2026-27. That's 72 in all between the Championship, League One and League Two. We also want to know whether you can name every team to have won one of the top four divisions.

Did you breeze through this one-season wonders quiz with ease? Here's a real test in the form of our latest career paths quiz. A cool 100 players to name based only on the teams for which they played.

Elsewhere, FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 65 features clues on Premier League title winners, the Super League, famous sponsors and superagents. Remember to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

It's time for another FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz! Can you answer 10 football trivia questions in double-quick time? Let's find out.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has many more football quizzes courtesy of Kwizly. We'll start by testing your knowledge of the most recent major summer tournament with FourFourTwo's Big World Cup 2026 quiz.

With teams promoted into and out of the EFL in May, we want you to list the 72 current teams in the Football League – the Championship, League One and League Two. Why don't you identify the locations of these 10 iconic football statues while you're at it?

We also have a footballer autobiographies quiz and an absolute beast that asks you to name the top 100 goalscorers in the history of the Premier League. Not only that, but can you name every Premier League player nominated for the Ballon d'Or since 2000?

We also want you to name all 95 clubs to have won any one of the top four tiers of English football and guess these team line-ups based on the nationalities of their players alone. That's elite-level stuff but we believe in you.

If you're still wanting more, give this one a crack. Can you name 100 players simply by the clubs where they've played football in our latest career path quiz?

We have puzzles as well. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

West Ham United have discovered the steep cost required to land primary attacking target Troy Parrott.

Dutch side AZ Alkmaar are reportedly looking for a near-Championship-record fee of €20 million (£17 million) for Irish international Parrott.

According to Sky Sports, the Eredivisie outfit have rejected an opening proposal from the Hammers. As per reports in the Netherlands, the AZ hierarchy are adamant they will not sanction the departure of the 24-year-old unless their full valuation is met.

Troy Parrott on verge of record-breaking transfer

Nuno Espirito Santo remains in situ at the London Stadium following West Ham's relegation and is said to have identified Parrott as the focal point for the Hammers' forward line as they bid to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The East London club have generated substantial capital this summer following the sales of both Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes, deals which will earn the club in the region of £150m.

Those outgoings have provided a new-look board with funds to reinvest in the playing squad. However, club officials will be mindful of maintaining strict financial discipline.

Relegation from the top flight brings a significant drop in revenue, meaning West Ham must balance their ambitious squad overhaul in the Championship with sensible financial planning.

Parrott’s stock has soared during his two-year stint in the Eredivisie, where he has netted over 50 goals across all competitions. His heroics for the Republic of Ireland last season catapulted him into the wider footballing consciousness, although he was ultimately unable to fire his country to the 2026 World Cup.

Parrott holds crucial homegrown player status owing to his formative years in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy, which is vital for complying with squad rules in the EFL.

FC Porto have also expressed interest in Parrott's signature, but West Ham remain in pole position to complete a deal if a price can be agreed.

If West Ham end up paying upwards of £17m for the striker, he could become the most expensive signing ever made by a Championship club, particularly if performance-related add-ons are involved.

Currently that is the £20.5m obligated purchase of Florentino Luis by Burnley this summer, who was immediately sold to Premier League new boys Ipswich Town.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero is reportedly open to joining North London rivals Arsenal this summer, according to a report from transfer journalist Ekrem Konur.

Arsenal have entered the market for defensive reinforcements following injury to William Saliba, who suffered a long-term back injury while representing France at the 2026 World Cup.

Saliba's absence leaves Mikel Arteta short of options in central defence as Arsenal look to defend their Premier League title.

Cristian Romero is 'open to' Arsenal move

Romero has seemingly made clear to Tottenham management that he intends to leave the club before the transfer window closes.

A potential move to the Emirates Stadium would allow the 28-year-old Argentine international to remain based in London while competing in the UEFA Champions League with the reigning domestic champions.

However, Tottenham executives would be understandably reluctant to sell one of the core members of their squad to their local rivals, even if an exit has been in the offing for some time.

Spurs' hierarchy would prefer a transfer to an overseas club, with interest previously registered from LaLiga club Atletico Madrid.

Any formal approach from Arsenal would likely face significant opposition from both groups of supporters.

From Spurs' perspective, agreeing a deal with Arsenal would draw criticism from supporters, largely due to the principle of strengthening a direct rival and past cross-North London transfers.

Sections of the Arsenal fanbase remain skeptical about Romero as a player of interest, too. His poor disciplinary record in the Premier League, in addition to his conduct with the Argentine national team during their recent World Cup campaign only served to further alienate many English supporters.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, Romero joining Arsenal would ruffle more than a few feathers, to say the least.

It could even be a transfer that rivals Sol Campbell's switch in 2001 and the associated bad blood that came as a result of that particular move.

The Carabao Cup is back, with Round Two on the horizon.

The season seems to start earlier every year – and that's certainly the case in the League Cup, where we've already had a preliminary round (between just the four lowest-ranked EFL clubs) and a first round between 70 sides.

Now for the competition to introduce Premier League teams: let's explain what's going on with Round Two.

When will Round Two for the Carabao Cup be drawn?

Round Two for the Carabao Cup will be down live on Sky Sports Football on Monday August 10, at approximately 7:20pm.

Sky Sports presenter David Prutton hosts alongside Jobi McAnuff and Jamie Mackie, with the draw part of the build-up before Plymouth Argyle face Exeter City in a Devon derby to round off the First Round.

Will Round Two of the Carabao Cup be regionalised?

Yes, Round Two of the Carabao Cup sees all 46 teams split by north and south.

This is not a perfect split, however: Norwich City and Leicester City are geographically among the 22 northernmost teams in this draw, yet both are placed in the South section.

West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, meanwhile, are geographically among the 24 southernmost teams, yet both are placed in the North section.

Walsall, Peterborough United, Shrewsbury Town and Birmingham City all find themselves on the margins of the border – while York City found themselves in the southern section of the Round One draw, as a promoted team through from the preliminary round.

The EFL have been known to take travel routes into account, along with historical regional alignments, while looking to maintain the exact required quota of teams per section, rather than drawing a strict horizontal line across a map.

Will Round Two of the Carabao Cup be seeded?

No, the Carabao Cup is not seeded at this stage – but the EFL have introduced seeds in Round Three, purely for logistic reasons.

English teams in the Champions League and Europa League play two more matchdays than those in the Conference League, meaning that there could be a fixture pile-up without some kind of system to keep these sides from meeting.

Last season, for example, third-round Carabao ties began on the weeks commencing September 16 and 23, with European fixtures clashing.

Which Premier League teams enter Carabao Cup at Round Two?

A total of 11 Premier League clubs enter at Round Two – with any side in Europe getting a bye to Round Three.

These are as follows:

• Brentford
• Chelsea
• Everton
• Fulham
• Hull City
• Ipswich Town
• Leeds United
• Newcastle United
• Nottingham Forest
• Sunderland
• Tottenham Hotspur

Ball numbers

What are the ball numbers for Round Two?

The ball numbers for Round Two of the Carabao Cup are as follows.

North:

1. Barnsley
2. Blackburn Rovers
3. Blackpool
4. Bradford City
5. Burnley
6. Crewe Alexandra
7. Doncaster Rovers
8. Everton
9. Fleetwood Town
10. Hull City
11. Leeds United
12. Lincoln City
13. Middlesbrough
14. Newcastle United
15. Nottingham Forest
16. Preston North End
17. Sheffield United
18. Sheffield Wednesday
19. Shrewsbury Town
20. Stoke City
21. West Bromwich Albion
22. Wolverhampton Wanderers

South:

1. AFC Wimbledon
2. Birmingham City
3. Brentford
4. Cambridge Utd
5. Cardiff City
6. Charlton Athletic
7. Chelsea
8. Coventry City
9. Fulham
10. Ipswich Town
11. Leicester City
12. Leyton Orient
13. Luton Town
14. Millwall
15. Norwich City
16. Peterborough
17. Reading
18. Southampton
19. Stevenage
20. Tottenham Hotspur
21. Walsall
22. Watford
23. West Ham United
24. Plymouth Argyle or Exeter City

Barcelona could be forced back into the transfer market following a training ground setback for young forward Roony Bardghji.

The Swedish international is reported to have sustained a serious knee injury during a training session, leaving the pitch in pain, raising fears of a lengthy, layoff.

In light of the sudden blow, the Catalan giants may now reignite their interest in Manchester United star Marcus Rashford.

Marcus Rashford back to Barcelona? Maybe

Rashford spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Spotify Camp Nou, offering attacking depth across Hansi Flick’s forward line.

Although Barcelona held an option to sign the England international permanently at the conclusion of the loan, they ultimately chose not to exercise the buyout clause earlier in the summer transfer window, instead signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United.

However, Rashford’s long-term future back at Old Trafford remains uncertain. His relationship with sections of the Manchester United fanbase has become strained in recent seasons, leaving both the player and the club open to a parting of ways before the transfer deadline.

Bringing in Rashford would not be a direct like-for-like replacement for Bardghji. The Swedish youngster typically operates as a winger on the right-hand side, whereas Rashford does his best work cutting inward off the left.

Nevertheless, adding the 28-year-old back into the squad would grant Flick tactical flexibility.

With new signing Gordon likely to start on the left, signing Rashford would allow Los Cules the option to deploy both Englishmen together on opposite sides, giving Spain World Cup star Lamine Yamal a rest after a long summer of international football.

Rashford arriving once more, potentially on loan, would offer much-needed insurance should Yamal suffer an injury.

Given Barcelona's tight financial constraints and the timing of Bardghji's injury, an outright purchase of Rashford appears less likely.

Instead, Barcelona could attempt to arrange another season-long loan deal with Man United rather than buying him outright, which would be a considerable outlay they have previously baulked at.

Arsenal are readying moves for Viktor Gyokeres' heir, as manager Mikel Arteta reshapes his attack.

The Swede signed for the Gunners 12 months ago as a long-awaited no.9 to spearhead Arteta's side and provide more of a focal point in an Arsenal side that struggled to score goals at times with Kai Havertz up front.

But after netting 97 goals in 102 appearances while at Sporting, Gyokeres has faced big critics, and failed to win over swathes of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

Arsenal in for Kaua Elias, as a long-term replacement for Viktor Gyokeres

While Gyokeres netted 21 goals in all competitions last season, the 28-year-old struggled massively against bigger teams, failing to net against all but two teams in the top 10 of the Premier League last season, and with his all-round game called into question, as he struggled to hold up the ball and bring others into play in the way that Havertz does.

FourFourTwo understnds that Atletico Madrid have an interest in the Gunners frontman – and with Arsenal wanting Julian Alvarez, there is the possibility that the Premier League champions offload Gyokeres a year after paying what the BBC reported to be £55 million for his services.

Now, Sport Witness have honed in on Brazilian no.9 Kaua Elias as a potential option for the Gunners to sign up front – with TNT Sports relaying information of Arsenal's interest.

The Shakhtar Donetsk frontman is cut more from the same cloth as Havertz, with his physical frame praised, and while Arsenal are still searching the market for an A-list attacker to bolster their threat in forward areas, Elias may be more of a supplementary squad player.

Arteta has already made a signing in that vein this summer in the shape of Christos Tzolis – who may well only feature as a backup to a bigger-name left-winger by the time the window is over – but with Arsenal focusing on Alvarez after their failed attempt to sign Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, the dynamics of Arsenal's frontline may shift a little.

If Alvarez plays on the left, he would work better alongside a target man – which Gyokeres has already shown he isn't in this system.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal would only entertain a particularly interesting offer for Gyokeres and are in no rush to move him on just yet, with Arteta loving the mentality and work ethic that the former Coventry City man brings to his side.

Arsenal were left with just Gyokeres as a recognised centre-forward for much of last season, as both Havertz and makeshift option, World Cup winner Mikel Merino, were sidelined for much of the season through injury.

Both have returned fit to pre-season, however, and may well alleviate some of the burden from Gyokeres' shoulders this term, with the reported £30m needed to secure Kaua Elias likely to be invested into another defender or as part of a bigger attacking transfer.

The 20-year-old is valued at €30m by Transfermarkt. Arsenal face Coventry when the Premier League season kicks off.

Chelsea's decision to sign 36-year-old Jordan Henderson earlier this summer had armchair analysts questioning what on earth the Blues were doing. But, the logic was sound.

Prior to Henderson’s arrival at Stamford Bridge, 28-year-old goalkeeper Robert Sanchez held the distinction of being the oldest member of a particularly youthful squad.

Over the past few seasons, many have believed Chelsea to be lacking supervision, dressing-room authority, and leadership, not least incoming boss Xabi Alonso.

Newcastle could be signing their own version of Jordan Henderson

Now, Newcastle United find themselves at a similar crossroads following the departure of key dressing room figures.

New manager Matthias Jaissle's preparations for his maiden Premier League campaign are well underway, but his squad is not yet complete.

According to reports in France, Newcastle are stepping up interest in Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - a transfer which if completed, like Henderson to Chelsea, has perhaps caught people by surprise.

The 31-year-old Dane represents a vastly different age profile to Newcastle's other summer business, which has prioritised youth with arrivals like 18-year-old Sean Steur and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba.

But in a squad suddenly lacking experience, the merits of a Hojbjerg-type arrival are obvious.

Newcastle need to add dressing room leadership and fast. Their coach is among the youngest managers in the league, the club have reluctantly sold the club captain and their vice-skipper came to the end of his Premier League shelf-life.

Bruno Guimaraes completed a £75m switch to Arsenal last week, Kieran Trippier departed at the beginning of the summer, and Italian international Sandro Tonali exited for Tottenham. In one fell swoop, Newcastle have lost the heart of their side.

Jaissle’s squad possesses talent, but it is currently lacking natural leaders, and at a time when the club is going through a transition, Newcastle need all the guidance they can get.

This is why Hojbjerg, on paper at least, makes sense as a summer move. Boasting 254 Premier League appearances from spells at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, the Denmark skipper is widely-regarded as a consummate professional.

Make no mistake, Hojbjerg will not arrive as a direct replacement for Guimaraes or Tonali in terms of what he is capable of doing on the pitch. Instead, he is a candidate for setting the standard at St. James' Park, much like Granit Xhaka’s impact down the road at Sunderland, or Henderson’s veteran presence at Chelsea.

Given the leadership vacuum left by Guimaraes and Trippier, it wouldn't be the greatest surprise if Hojbjerg arrived and immediately assumed the captain's armband. Although, there's every chance local lad and England international Dan Burn will be handed that particular responsibility.

Chelsea, or more likely Alonso, recognised that Henderson’s experience was required to anchor their young squad. In the same way, Newcastle seemingly recognise that Hojbjerg is a steady hand who can help a new coach navigate a transition season.

Newcastle United could add experience at the back in Fikayo Tomori, following their exodus this summer.

That's according to fresh reports, as the Toon look to rebuild their side after losing the likes of Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and most recently, Bruno Guimaraes, in the transfer market.

With new Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle bringing in youth prospects who can develop with the club, Tyneside has lost plenty of experience – with Tomori one candidate to restore it.

Newcastle United at the front of the queue for Fikayo Tomori

Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport have reported that Tomori was left out of Milan's friendly against Chelsea recently due to new manager Ruben Amorim not favouring the Canada-born defender.

Quotidiano Sportivo now notes that Newcastle are “knocking” for his signature along with Coventry City.

While Amorim deciding he doesn't want Tomori may come as somewhat of a surprise, given that the Portuguese infamously favours a three-at-the-back formation, the 28-year-old hasn't been in the best form over the last year and has struggled with playing in a high line at times.

A return to the Premier League could well help to revitalise the former Scudetto winner's career, however, as a squad option with plenty of experience under his belt.

Newcastle are reeling from losing captain Guimaraes, with PIerre-Emile Hojbjerg reportedly eyed to vill the leadership void in the centre of midfield.

Tomori, meanwhile, could play in the centre of defence or as a full-back, given question marks over his positional sense – a role that the Magpies are still looking to fill after Trippier departed on a free transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of the season, and with questions persisting over Lewis Hall's future.

Milan would struggle to command a big fee for the England man, either way: Tomori's current contract expires in a year's time, with the Rossoneri in no rush to renew.

After making his senior England debut in 2019 – having represented the under-19s, under-20s and under-21s for the Three Lions, following a switch of allegiance from Canada's under-20s – Tomori has played just six international games.

The last of which came under Thomas Tuchel, however, with the Milan star in the first XI against Uruguay in March for a friendly, starting at left-back.

Tomori is worth €17m, according to Transfermarkt. Newcastle face Liverpool on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Manchester United have begun to turn away from Lewis Hall, as the club continue their recent transfer strategy.

It's been a frugal summer at Old Trafford with just Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos signed so far – both for under £50 million, with the likes of Matheus Fernandes deemed to be out of budget.

And that could well be a theme of the closing weeks of the window, with long-term Manchester United target Lewis Hall potentially too expensive, too.

Manchester United turn attention to Joaquin Seys, as talks begin

According to The Sun, United have opened talks for Club Brugge full-back Joaquin Seys, as they eye cut-price options at full-back.

Seys was a member of the Belgian side who made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup over the summer, and with a price tag just £30 million, he could represent excellent value for money.

The Red Devils have identified left-back as a potential area of upgrade in the side, with Luke Shaw the club's longest-serving player and injury issues having hampered him throughout his career.

Despite featuring in every Premier League fixture last term, the 31-year-old played just seven times the previous season and has only completed 30 games a season three times in 12 seasons.

FourFourTwo understands that Hall was deemed to be the perfect upgrade, given his ability to invert into midfield, overlap like a traditional full-back and his excellent defensive attributes – but with United wanting to keep costs down, the England star would well fetch upwards of £50m, especially given the fire sale that's already happened at Newcastle United this summer.

Seys is a bright prospect at 21 years old, who has already played in the Champions League, appeared six times for his country and is attracting interest from the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.

United may wish to consider that Patrick Dorgu could well be the starting option at left-back, with the Dane impressing in the Premier League thus far – though Dorgu has also played further forward, too.

After exiting at the first hurdle in both cup competitions, United played just 40 games last term, but will need to beef up their squad this time around, with a return to the Champions League looming.

FourFourTwo understands that the club are still weighing moves in midfield, right-back and potentially left-wing.

Seys is valued at €20m by Transfermarkt. United take on Hull City on the first day of the season.