During his two-decade career as a professional footballer, Diego Forlan has played in eight countries across three continents and turned out in a World Cup semi-final on his way to winning more than 100 international caps.

This journey has thrown up plenty of career highlights, but for the former Manchester United man, the 2010 Europa League final remains a particular standout.

The forward was a key part of Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 extra-time success over Fulham in Hamburg that night, scoring both goals for his side, including a 116th-minute winner to end the Cottagers' fairytale run to their first European final.

Forlan on firing Atletico to Europa League glory

“That night in Hamburg was one of the best of my career,” Forlan tells FourFourTwo. “A dream final. Not so much because it was a brilliant match, but because of the script.”

Fulham’s remarkable run to the final in just their second-ever European campaign had seen them first navigate a group containing Roma, CSKA Moscow and Basel, before Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg were accounted for in the knockouts.

“Fulham arrived as the underdog, but they made life very difficult for us,” Forlan continues. I scored after half an hour, Simon Davies equalised, and the final went to extra time.”

With the clock continuing to run down, penalties loomed, only for Forlan to deliver when it mattered most, as he took full advantage of a chance that fell his way deep in the second half of extra time.

“When everything seemed to be heading for a penalty shootout, Sergio Aguero battled for a ball out wide and spotted me in the heart of the box,” he continues. “I managed to get the tip of my boot to it to give Atletico the title.”

Forlan’s reaction to the goal was as instinctive as his finish.

“I took my shirt off and threw myself onto the turf as if it were a swimming pool,” he recalls.

For Forlan, the significance of the goal stretched further than just adding another title to Atletico’s roll of honour.

“That goal tasted like glory, because it also marked a turning point for a club that started to feel important again,” he believes.

“Spain’s capital, a city used to seeing Real Madrid celebrating titles, was painted red and white, and thousands of fans gathered at Plaza de Neptuno in a huge display of pride.”

Less than two years ago, FourFourTwo sat inside the bowels of Al Ahli's inner city training ground in Jeddah, and whispers abounded. “If he loses this game, the manager might well be sacked,” one Saudi Pro League expert told us that evening, as we waited for Matthias Jaissle to arrive for his latest pre-match press conference.

Al Ahli had won only three of their first eight games of the new league season, and sat eighth in the table before the Jeddah derby with title-challenging Al Ittihad – a fixture that would attract a raucous crowd of 52,546. Given that Jaissle's club were one of the Saudi Pro League's big four – all owned by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF) – their results were below expectation.

Back then, the main focus of our visit to Al Ahli had been the recent signing of Ivan Toney, rather than Jaissle, who was largely unknown to British audiences in October 2024. Our question was whether he could help his new frontman make England's next World Cup squad – Jaissle knew Thomas Tuchel, having played for him in the youth teams at VfB Stuttgart.

“Let's see if Thomas calls me and asks how Ivan is doing,” the smartly dressed Jaissle told FFT. “Ivan has the potential, definitely – he must deliver here to be seen in the UK, and we're doing our best to bring him into the best shape.”

Prior to this summer's World Cup, Tuchel did indeed call Jaissle to discuss Toney, revealing the “fantastic feedback” he received was enough to persuade him to pick the 30-year-old in his squad. By then, though, Jaissle could easily have been long gone as Al Ahli boss.

He did lose that Jeddah derby against Al Ittihad, a tetchy game interrupted by a sandstorm that blew dust from the nearby desert into the stadium. He avoided the sack, but was reportedly on his way out two months later after a loss at Al Kholood, with Max Allegri said to be his long-term replacement.

Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo's definitive Top 100 List

That was until ultras protested at the training ground, putting up a banner declaring “Enough failure, leave!” The message was aimed at the club's hierarchy, rather than the manager. Jaissle stayed, and became an Al Ahli legend within months.

Jaissle was a central defender during a playing career that saw him help Hoffenheim to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2008, when he'd just turned 20. He'd been expected to be alongside Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels and Manuel Neuer as part of the Germany under-21 squad that thrashed England in the final of the Euros in 2009, but damaged his ACL shortly before the tournament and would never be the same player again.

Further injuries forced him to retire in 2014, aged 25, before he got a job as a youth coach at RB Leipzig – his former Hoffenheim manager Ralf Rangnick had since become a key man in Red Bull's football project. Jaissle adopted a similarly high-pressing style, and has taken it with him ever since. After a stint as assistant at Danish club Brondby, he joined Red Bull Salzburg, led their feeder side FC Liefering to a joint-highest finish, then was handed the reins at the main club, replacing Jesse Marsch in 2021.

Working with young players such as Benjamin Sesko, Karim Adeyemi, Noah Okafor and Brenden Aaronson, he took Salzburg to a double in his first season, plus the Champions League's knockout stage for the only time in their history. They lost 7-1 at Bayern Munich in the last 16, while Jaissle was still only 33.

A season later, they went 30 matches unbeaten on the way to yet another domestic triumph. It was Salzburg's 10th straight title, but they haven't won the league since Jaissle left that summer. The German joined Al Ahli just a month after they'd been one of four clubs to be taken over by the Saudi PIF – together with Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr. Jaissle's new club had been Saudi Pro League champions in 2016 but relegated since, only returning to the top flight in the same summer as his arrival.

They quickly signed Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessie and ex-Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin, finishing an encouraging third in Jaissle's first season – enough to qualify for the Asian Champions League.

Then came Toney's arrival, and that tricky start to 2024-25 when Jaissle so nearly lost his job. He knew the pressure he was under when we visited, but didn't let it show – remaining professional throughout, even taking time to greet visiting European media afterwards. It was hard not to warm to him.

“Things take time – the club has a long-term vision,” Jaissle told us, subtly calling for patience as he attempted to turn around results, while nodding to his ability to improve young players. “I hope we can do better by implementing the philosophy from the top down to the academy, because at some point we'll need the young talents. In my eyes, that is the right approach.

“A lot of signings were made before I arrived, so it's important as a coach that you're flexible enough to adapt to a new country, culture and player profiles. In the long run, it's important everyone is aligned, that you improve your squad and players in the way you want to play.”

Jaissle was afforded time to do that. Their progress to the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League had been a factor in him avoiding the sack – Al Ahli had a stronger second half of the league campaign, improving to fifth, then surprisingly became kings of Asia for the first time ever. The Champions League's final three rounds all take place in Jeddah, giving Al Ahli a home advantage that helped, but they still had to defeat reigning Saudi champions Al Hilal in the semis, before a final victory over Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale – conquerors of Ronaldo's Al Nassr.

Last term, while finishing third in a three-way domestic race, they went all Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest and became continental champions again. Toney was key, scoring 72 goals in two seasons under Jaissle.

When PIF-owned Newcastle were looking for a manager to replace Eddie Howe this summer, it shouldn't have been a surprise that they opted for the German. Howe will be a tough act to follow, having delivered the Magpies a first major honour in 56 years. Why have a manager who's won one historic trophy, though, when you can have a gaffer who's won two?

Liverpool and Chelsea have entered a late-window battle to secure the signature of AS Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara.

Both Premier League clubs are reportedly weighing up a move ahead of Tuesday's transfer deadline.

According to a report from Foot Mercato, both sides have registered interest in the 22-year-old Senegalese international as they scramble for late midfield reinforcements.

Liverpool and Chelsea go head-to-head for Senegal midfielder

At Stamford Bridge, the sudden urgency to land Camara stems from an impending major departure. Enzo Fernandez looks increasingly likely to join Manchester City before the window shuts, leaving the Blues searching for a dynamic replacement to replace the World Cup winner.

Losing the Argentine would certainly impact Chelsea's midfield structure, making the signing of a proven, high-energy operator a priority for the club's recruitment team.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are yet to submit a formal proposal but it's reported they admire the player and could yet make a move.

Camara could prove to be the solution to their own tactical vulnerability. Liverpool’s midfield has been having ongoing issues, and Andoni Iraola's side remain uncomfortably threadbare in central positions following recent squad moves.

With starting options facing demanding workloads across domestic and European commitments this season, securing an additional, durable midfield option before the deadline is viewed by many fans as vital business.

Camara is one of French football's most dynamic young midfielders. The former Metz and Generation Foot prodigy is a box-to-box operator who combines tackling and ball recovery with press-resistant traits such as ball-carrying and forward passing.

At Chelsea, Camara would likely slot in alongside Moises Caicedo, providing the mobility, counter-pressing, and defensive discipline needed to balance what is one of the league's most exciting attacks. His work-rate would go some way to cushioning the blow of Fernandez’s likely departure, too.

At Anfield, Camara’s versatile profile aligns neatly with Iraola's tactical and physical demands for his central pivot.

Capable of functioning either as a deep-lying midfielder or a roaming central box-to-box option, he would offer cover and rotation for both Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. Camara's ability to break up opposition counter-attacks before quickly advancing possession would give Liverpool the balance they appeared to lack on the opening weekend of the new season.

It remains to be seen what Monaco's asking price will be, but Camara is valued at €40m by Transfermarkt and has three years remaining on his contract, which is likely to be a lucrative deal given the tax exemptions afforded to players in the principality.

Doubt has been cast on Newcastle United’s anticipated sale of Nick Pope following a disastrous European night for Scottish champions Celtic.

The Bhoys' failure to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League league phase this season has somewhat altered their financial outlook in the final days of the summer transfer window, placing Pope’s proposed move to Parkhead on the brink of collapse.

Celtic's drop into the Europa League will inflict a blow to their finances for the 2026/27 campaign.

Celtic may be forced to reassess Newcastle transfer

Under UEFA’s prize money distribution framework, reaching the Champions League league phase guarantees a club an automatic starting fee of €18.62m (£15.7m).

However, participation in the Europa League pays out just €4.31m (£3.6m) by comparison, representing a revenue deficit of €14.31m (£12.1m).

Overall, Celtic's defeat by Austrian side LASK Linz is expected to cost the club between £21m-30m in potential revenue - an especially bitter pill to swallow given the lead they held in the fixture.

This financial shortfall could leave last season's Scottish Premiership winners struggling to justify the expenditure required to land veteran goalkeeper Pope.

FourFourTwo understands Nick Pope's Newcastle deal saw the England goalkeeper remunerated increasingly year-on-year, meaning his current earnings are likely to surpass Celtic's current wage structure.

While Newcastle remain willing to sanction the move to streamline their own goalkeeping department, Celtic may not be able to comfortably accommodate Pope’s Premier League salary without a financial safety net of Champions League football.

Without Champions League participation and the revenue stream it guarantees, Celtic’s decision-makers could now be forced to reassess whether Pope remains an essential signing in the final days of the transfer window.

Arsenal’s ongoing quest to bolster their frontline has seen them linked with superstar names such as Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. and the like.

However, smart recruitment often lies in identifying world-class potential before the price tag hits eye-watering figures.

Enter Olympique Lyonnais' 21-year-old winger Malick Fofana.

Arsenal have found their cut-price Martinelli replacement

The Belgian international, who operates on the left-hand side, has suddenly become much more affordable following the French outfit's failure to qualify for the Champions League.

In last night's agonising Champions League play-off second leg against Fenerbahce, Lyon fought back to level the aggregate score in the second half. What appeared to be their decisive goal, though, was ruled out by VAR, allowing Fenerbahce to prevail and consigning Lyon to the Europa League.

Lyon's failure carries significant financial consequences for a club that has been no stranger to balance sheet issues in recent times.

Under UEFA’s current distribution model, reaching the Champions League league phase guarantees earnings of €18.62 million (£15.7m) simply for participation.

By contrast, dropping into the Europa League yields a modest base fee of just €4.31m (£3.6m) - an immediate deficit of €14.31m (£12.1m).

Similarly, a victory in the Champions League yields €2.1m (£1.8m) compared to the Europa League's €450k (£386k).

Factoring in the diminished value pillar allocations alongside the smaller performance bonuses, Lyon stand to miss out on an estimated €30m to €40m (£25m–£34m) in total European revenue this season.

For a club already walking a financial tightrope, this shortfall is the worst case scenario.

Severe financial distress nearly saw Lyon demoted to Ligue 2 by the DNCG (Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion) - the financial watchdog and regulatory body for professional football clubs in France - a couple of summers ago, compelling them to sell players like Rayan Cherki to Manchester City on the cheap.

According to French journalist Romain Molina, Lyon must generate €100m (£86m) before June 30, 2027 or risk sanctions from the relevant financial and regulatory bodies again. Most of that figure is likely to come from player sales, meaning members of the squad like Fofana will probably be jettisoned.

This hands Mikel Arteta, Arsenal and other interested suitors, something of a transfer open goal.

With Gabriel Martinelli looking set to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, Fofana could offer Arteta an option as a replacement and long-term ceiling-raiser.

Where a player like Vinicius Jr. would have commanded an astronomical fee well over £150m alongside structure-busting wage demands, Lyon’s vulnerable negotiating position means Fofana can be acquired for a fraction of that cost. Arsenal have effectively been given the green light, but must move swiftly to capitalise before competitor clubs swoop in.

The Manchester club have unintentionally derailed the Magpies’ pursuit of Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo, according to reports.

Newcastle had been in negotiations over a fee with the Ligue 1 outfit for the Belgian international forward, but the club may now go in a different direction after failing to agree.

The high-profile transaction between Manchester City and Lille, which sees Ayyoub Bouaddi join Enzo Maresca's side, has altered the negotiating landscape.

Manchester City land Ayyoub Bouaddi but deal has consequences

Man City’s £81 million purchase of the teenage midfielder has deposited a massive windfall of cash into Lille's accounts, transforming the French club's balance sheet.

Before Man City’s intervention, Lille were - as is the case with huge swathes of French football - operating under pressure to balance their books.

This would have made structuring a deal for Fernandez-Pardo achievable for Newcastle, however, that financial leverage has now vanished.

With their coffers overflowing from the Bouaddi deal, Lille no longer need to sell for economic reasons. Consequently, the French side have been able to play hardball in talks, holding out for a steep asking price that far exceeds what Newcastle are willing to pay.

Therefore, with Newcastle unwilling to overpay in an inflated market, the Magpies have reached a roadblock in negotiations, according to reports on the continent.

The setback occurs while Newcastle and Manchester City remain engaged in direct business elsewhere.

Newcastle are finalising a reported £50 million transfer for Man City midfielder Nico Gonzalez, which will reinforce Matthias Jaissle's options in the middle of the park.

Liverpool’s midfield unit is in a bind as the club prepares to sanction yet another departure from its engine room.

According to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, Spanish midfielder Stefan Bajcetic is on the verge of returning to his hometown club, Celta Vigo, with negotiations over personal terms approaching a final agreement.

The potential departure of the 21-year-old comes on the heels of Curtis Jones completing a £30 million move to Serie A champions Inter Milan.

Liverpool lose another midfielder

Losing Jones has thinned out Liverpool’s squad depth, and allowing Bajcetic to pack his bags leaves manager Andoni Iraola with surprisingly threadbare reserves in central areas, even if he was unlikely to mount a challenge to the established starting order this season.

Behind options like Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai, the bench is looking especially scarce ahead of a domestic and European campaign.

There is growing fan anxiety over the Reds' balance in central midfield, too.

Supporters are likely to view this latest transfer manoeuvre with skepticism. With Szoboszlai and Gravenberch both inclined to push forward in possession, shipping out rotational options without securing a defensively-minded replacement feels like a gamble that risks leaving the defence exposed.

For Bajcetic, heading back to Galicia represents a homecoming of sorts. Liverpool originally signed the youngster from Celta Vigo’s youth setup in December 2020 for a modest fee. He was developed into a deep-lying midfielder under Jurgen Klopp and enjoyed something of a breakout 2022/23 campaign, featuring sporadically under the German.

However, growth-related injury setbacks halted his rise, restricting him to just three senior appearances during 2023/24 season before subsequent loan spells at Red Bull Salzburg and Las Palmas.

While a return home offers Bajcetic a fresh start to reignite his promising career, Liverpool supporters are left questioning the strategy of letting another engine-room reserve walk away.

Wrexham have reportedly agreed a deal with Ligue 1 side SCO Angers for defender Jacques Ekomie, according to a report from Foot Mercato.

West Ham United and German club Hamburger SV were also reported to be pursuing the 23-year-old left-back.

French sports newspaper L'Équipe previously reported West Ham's interest in the Gabonese international, with Angers placing a €10 million (£8.7m) valuation on the player.

West Ham miss out on international defender

However, Wrexham are now understood to have moved ahead in negotiations to finalise terms with the French club before West Ham could.

The outcome comes following a winless start to the Championship campaign for West Ham following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

Despite retaining one of the highest-salaried squads in the second tier, West Ham have recorded one draw and one loss from their opening two league fixtures against Burnley and Charlton Athletic, respectively.

West Ham hold significant transfer capital after selling Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes earlier in the window.

The substantial fees recouped from those two departures provided financial flexibility for squad reinforcements, but an agreement for Ekomie was not reached on this occasion.

Ekomie joined Angers from Bordeaux in 2024 and made more than 50 appearances in French football.

His anticipated departure for Wrexham leaves West Ham searching for alternative defensive options in the final days of the transfer window.

Stamford Bridge officials must offload four senior players before September 1 or risk watching players tear up their contracts and walk away on free transfers under a new legal framework.

The summer transfer window for English clubs closes in a matter of days, leaving the Blues with a major squad bottleneck.

Premier League registration limits, FIFA loan caps and strict new player protection laws pose a significant problem for the Blues, if it cannot be rectified in time.

Chelsea's squad registration bottleneck

Chelsea’s bloated first-team squad currently stands at 39 players. While 10 of those qualify as Under-21 players, meaning they do not occupy a spot on the Premier League's 25-man squad list but remain eligible to feature, the reality for the rest of the squad is stark.

Because Premier League rules cap senior squads at 25, four established over-21 players will be left unregistered if they remain on Chelsea's books after the window shuts.

Loan loophole closed

In previous years, Chelsea might have bypassed registration headaches by farming surplus players out on loan, particularly to French side Strasbourg under the shared BlueCo ownership umbrella.

However, updated FIFA regulations have restricted that particular route.

FIFA limits clubs to a maximum of six international loans per season, with a secondary rule stipulating that no more than three players can be loaned to the same club.

Chelsea have already burnt through two of their six outgoing international loan slots, including one to Strasbourg. Consequently, Chelsea possess four remaining outgoing loan spots in total and can send a maximum of two more players to Strasbourg.

The consequences of leaving players unregistered are far more dangerous than the dressing-room discontent of previous seasons. A new agreement between FIFA and global players' union FIFPRO now gives exiled players housed within a club's "bomb squad" the power to take legal action.

If a player is excluded from the official squad list or banished to train separately from the first-team, they now hold the legal right to cite "just sporting cause."

If Chelsea are deemed in breach of these employment standards, the affected player can theoretically terminate their contract with immediate effect.

For Chelsea, contract terminations would mean forfeiting hundreds of millions of pounds in amortised transfer value and potential resale fees. In theory, players signed for massive sums could walk away for nothing.

With the transfer deadline falling next Tuesday, September 1, Chelsea have less than a week to broker the requisite departures.

Robert Sanchez’s position as Chelsea’s starting goalkeeper is under genuine threat following a lapse in the opening game of the Premier League season against Fulham.

In conceding Josh King's first half strike, Sanchez was caught short on what should have been a routine save.

According to FotMob, King’s effort registered 0.07 xG (Expected Goals) and 0.07 xGOT (Expected Goals on Target), which indicates that 93 times out of 100, the average top-flight goalkeeper would be expected to save it.

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has some thinking to do in the goalkeeper position

Allowing such an effort to sneak into the net handed the hosts an equaliser and brought back to the surface some uncomfortable questions regarding the Spanish stopper's overall reliability.

This was hardly an isolated incident, either; Sanchez has committed the occasional high-profile error throughout his Chelsea spell, often leading directly to goals.

Last season, he was temporarily dropped in favour of Filip Jorgensen during the early months of Liam Rosenior’s tenure.

Now, with Xabi Alonso occupying the Stamford Bridge dugout, Sanchez faces a threat to his standing as Chelsea No. 1 and must once again prove himself to another manager.

Alonso may come to the conclusion that Sanchez lacks the composure required to serve as undisputed first-choice based on his Fulham display.

What makes Sanchez’s position more precarious is the evolution of Chelsea’s dressing room dynamic. Previously, at 28 years old, he held unique status as the eldest member of the first-team squad.

Twelve months on, that dynamic has shifted as the group is collectively a year older, and Alonso’s summer business saw Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck arrive.

With two decorated elder statesmen now in the building, Chelsea no longer depend on Sanchez, to the same extent, to provide leadership from between the posts.

Meanwhile, a very real competitive alternative has emerged in the form of Mike Penders. Returning from his loan spell at Strasbourg, the young Belgian stopper delivered performances statistically right on par with expectations while showcasing composure with the ball at his feet.

Given that distribution was always considered one of Sanchez’s primary strengths, Penders matches his elder counterpart while potentially offering greater long-term upside.

Leeds United have a golden opportunity to match or even eclipse their best Premier League finish in the modern era this season, and walking away from an expensive loan move is further evidence they are on track to achieve just that.

Mykhaylo Mudryk joining up with Daniel Farke's group at Elland Road never seemed a natural fit, even if the Ukrainian's talent is undeniable. While some may frame it as an inability to get a marquee signing over the line, it is probably more likely a reflection of the security Leeds have, across the board, in 2026.

Last term, the Whites signed Facundo Buonanotte on a second-half-of-the-season loan deal but the Argentine rarely played, never mind delivered. Given Mudryk's history, Farke's reluctance to guarantee game-time and the likely cost of bringing the attacker to Yorkshire, it always felt one that probably wouldn't get done.

Leeds' previous best since returning to the top flight was ninth (2020/21) under Marcelo Bielsa

Through a certain lens, this so-called transfer failure is perhaps the clearest declaration of intent Leeds have made all summer. Unwilling to compromise their long-term wage structure or bend to Chelsea's inflated game-time expectations for an unpredictable player, both sides have politely walked away.

Far from a setback, it is FourFourTwo's opinion that it will prove to be a bullet dodged, and a sign of maturity.

To appreciate how far Leeds have come, one must view this financial prudence through the prism of their volatile past.

Throughout the modern Premier League era, punctuated by emotional promotions in 2020 and 2025, stability has been fleeting, almost mythical at Elland Road.

The famous early 2000s heyday, filled with European nights, ultimately came at a crippling cost, built on borrowing that plunged the club into almost two decades of turmoil. You would have to rewind all the way to the early 1990s under Howard Wilkinson to find an era where Elland Road felt quite this grounded, structured, and secure.

Under the stewardship of 49ers Enterprises, Leeds are in safe, capable hands. The strategy during this transfer window has been surgical rather than superficial. Instead of chasing vanity projects, the board has systematically upgraded the starting lineup by bringing in top-tier talents like James Trafford, Tarik Muharemovic, and Harry Wilson.

Crucially, they have balanced the books through shrewd player trading, sanctioning Pascal Struijk’s move to Brighton without weakening the squad’s underlying foundation.

That sense of calm extends directly onto the pitch, where Farke has embarked on his fourth full season in charge.

Tactical and managerial continuity is a rare commodity in modern football, but Farke’s approach continues to pay dividends. Leeds kicked off their campaign with an away victory at Nottingham Forest last weekend - a venue where Forest lost just seven home games last term and won nine the year before. It could come to be seen as a statement victory that underlines their growing authority away from home. Leeds won only twice on the road last season.

While Leeds enjoy continuity, transition and uncertainty surrounds much of the division. This summer saw nine managerial changes at Premier League clubs, six of which occurred at teams Leeds consider direct positional rivals: Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Ipswich, and Forest.

While other dressing rooms are learning as they go under new leadership, Leeds have a settled, unified core. Key players Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Brenden Aaronson, and Jayden Bogle have all recently committed their long-term futures to the West Yorkshire club.

The underlying metrics further validate this upward trajectory. Since December 1, 2025, Leeds have accumulated nine victories, twelve draws, and just five defeats across twenty-six top-flight matches - the sixth-best record in the entire division over that period. It is no longer a temporary purple patch, rather sustained momentum from a club seemingly functioning with operational alignment.

The broader landscape represents a window of opportunity. With nine Premier League clubs burdened by the physical and mental demands of European competition, Leeds can channel their energy exclusively into domestic affairs. Free from midweek travel, squad rotation headaches, and fixture congestion, a settled Leeds side is perfectly positioned. Rejecting expensive shortcuts like Mudryk proves that Leeds value sustainability over optics, and that discipline is precisely why a top-ten Premier League finish is well within their reach.

While lots of football media write content around ‘what we learned’ from a match, this was a case of ‘what we already know’.

What most Liverpool observers already knew:

1. There’s a huge issue with the midfield

2. Liverpool are far too open on the transition

3. The full backs, especially Jeremie Frimpong, are major concerns

4. Alexander Isak doesn’t look like a Liverpool player

Liverpool’s issues were as clear at St James’ Park as they have been for a year, and in some cases well over a year.

The primary one is the midfield - both the setup and the personnel used.

“We’ve been talking about a defensive midfielder at Liverpool for the last three years,” assessed Daniel Sturridge accurately post-match.

Liverpool have midfield issues

Plenty of others have warned of it, going back to the very start of last season when Arne Slot changed his midfield setup to a ‘2-1’ rather than a ‘1-2’ - removing a more dedicated defensive minded holding midfielder and instead having two players alongside each other in midfield.

It means a completely changed role for Ryan Gravenberch, whose best six months came when he was positioned as more proactive ‘No.6’ in front of the defence in Slot’s first season in charge.

It was also done to accommodate Florian Wirtz as the new No.10 - something that Iraola has doubled down on and stated is where he, too, wants the German to play.

This is despite Wirtz’s best form with both Bayer Leverkusen and Germany being from a position on the left of an attacking three, cutting inside, and all evidence of his struggle centrally for Liverpool. Hooked after an hour at Newcastle, the £116 million signing is a major worry.

“If you actually analyse the midfield, they’re all naturally more attacking players,” Sturridge said on Sky Sports - which is certainly true. Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wirtz are offensive players, or at least want to be, and don’t have the natural defensive mindset of the likes of Fabinho or Rodri.

And it is perhaps Rodri who should be the signpost here to anybody saying that Liverpool supporters obsess over wanting a No.6 - of course they do, they saw firsthand how Fabinho transformed their midfield under Jurgen Klopp, and the whole league has watched how crucial Rodri has been to Manchester City.

The lighthouse was how former Liverpool assistant Pepijn Lijnders nicknamed Fabinho, for his ability to ‘organise the chaos’ and ‘defend forward. “On the defensive side of things, you have to be very alert to help the team,” said Liverpool’s former Brazilian. "I try to control the game.”

Liverpool severely lack a midfielder capable of controlling the game.

Arguably the best option there would be Alexis Mac Allister, whose introduction for the final half an hour saw him play more defensively than Gravenberch.

The Argentine does a similar role for his country, and did well there for a spell under Klopp previously too, even though, again, it’s not his natural game to be more defensive minded.

What Andoni Iraola says

Newcastle’s opening goal in particular showed the issue, with Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, the two midfielders, inside the Newcastle box as the counter-attack began.

It’s something that happened frequently last season, including when Antoine Semenyo charged through the middle in Liverpool’s opening fixture of 2025/26 for Iraola’s Bournemouth.

Now, the Reds’ new head coach needs to find a solution to a problem he previously identified as the opposition manager.

“I think it’s just not personnel,” he said in his post-match press conference at St James’ Park. “We have to adapt as a team to these situations and we have to know that these situations can happen.”

“It is something that we have to correct between a lot of players,” the Spaniard added.

Liverpool's invisible No. 6 search

Liverpool have needed a defensive-minded midfielder since Fabinho departed. That was in 2023, a summer that saw attempts to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia end in failure and eventually Wataru Endo was brought in in a surprise move.

"We need you,” Klopp told the Japan midfielder as they greeted at the training ground for the first time. "We really need you, and your heart, and your legs and your football ability and your football brain. Your desire, we need it.”

Little has changed in the three years since. Liverpool still need a midfielder of those qualities.

Mamadou Sangare, who debuted impressively for Brentford in their win against Tottenham, was reported to be among the players Liverpool were monitoring but didn’t move for this summer - a player who has the attributes and approach towards defending in the middle that fans crave.

Martin Zubimendi was another failed attempt at a signing two years ago, less of a combative defensive midfielder but more of a controlling one - Rodri’s deputy for Spain, it probably wasn’t a bad idea, even if he’s fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Adam Wharton is a player who has long looked destined to end up at Anfield, having been tracked since his Blackburn days. He again falls more into the control than combat category, but he’d certainly add something different in Liverpool’s midfield.

But for now, it appears the No. 6 fans wish for won’t be arriving, with recent reports suggesting that internal figures at the club don’t see it as a position that is required to be strengthened. Not many observers would agree.

Liverpool fans must hope Iraola finds a solution, and fast, otherwise it threatens to undermine any progress made in attacking areas this season.

Signing new wingers might help the situation by giving more pace and threat out wide, but it certainly won't solve it.

Liverpool debutant Jeremy Jacquet was thrown into the deep end during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Newcastle United.

The young French centre-back experienced a baptism of fire at St. James' Park, likening the atmosphere on Tyneside to one of European football's most notoriously intimidating arenas.

Jacquet, 21, recently completed his transfer to Anfield following an impressive rise through the ranks in Ligue 1.

Jeremy Jacquet: 'St James' Park is like Marseille's Stade Velodrome'

Handed his Premier League bow in front of 52,000 roaring Geordies, the highly-rated defender found himself thrust into the thick of a fiercely contested battle.

The clash saw Liverpool and Newcastle trade blows, ultimately sharing the spoils after a frantic ninety minutes that ended in a 2-2 draw. While the action on the pitch was at times breathless, it was the relentless noise from the terraces that left a lasting impression on the newcomer.

Speaking to French broadcaster Canal Plus, as quoted by Get French Football News, after the final whistle, Jacquet drew parallels between Newcastle's home and Olympique de Marseille's famous Stade Velodrome.

Across France and the wider European continent, Marseille's home ground is revered and feared in equal measure. It carries a reputation as an ear-splitting cauldron of hostility, where ultras create a visually spectacular and loud environment for visiting teams.

It seems the Geordie faithful managed to replicate that wall of sound on Sunday afternoon, offering the young Frenchman a stark welcome to the English top flight.

“The atmosphere? It wasn't bad. It reminded me a bit of the Velodrome," the young defender confessed. "It's an iconic stadium, fans shouting everywhere. That's why I'm here. I like that."

The newly arrived centre-back claimed to relish the intimidation, taking the St. James' Park decibel levels in his stride, although he was substituted during the second half for the more experienced Ronald Araujo, on loan at Liverpool from Barcelona.

Lewis Hall experienced the full spectrum of footballing emotions at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon, putting in a strong performance against Liverpool before inadvertently playing the pantomime villain.

The 21-year-old left-back was tenacious down his flank for 90 minutes in Newcastle United's 2-2 draw, showcasing his defensive nous and composure, both in and out of possession.

However, an agonising stoppage-time foul inside the box handed Dominik Szoboszlai the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot. Despite the late heartbreak, Hall’s overall display was among the finest on the pitch, serving as a emphatic reminder to Newcastle fans and interested suitors of his potential.

'No chance' Lewis Hall is signing for Manchester United, says Newcastle boss

It was a timely shop window display after three months spent out of the spotlight. Hall spent his summer on the outside looking in, omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad despite delivering consistent displays throughout the 2025/26 season.

Had Hall been plying his trade in the red of Manchester United rather than representing a Newcastle side that finished in the bottom half of the Premier League table, his international trajectory might have looked somewhat different. The added visibility and selection weight associated with Old Trafford often sways national team managers, a reality that could weigh on the young defender's mind.

This situation presents Manchester United with a transfer ultimatum of sorts. With just eight days remaining until the summer window shuts, the Red Devils must act now or risk missing out entirely.

Man United have long-considered Hall the primary candidate to succeed Luke Shaw, but time is slipping away, much to Newcastle's delight. Hall’s performance against Liverpool proved that months away from action have done nothing to dull his edge, putting the ball firmly back in Man United’s court to mount a late approach before the deadline passes.

Engineering a late swoop will be far from straightforward, as Newcastle quite rightly remain determined to stand their ground.

Speaking to Viaplay following the final whistle on Sunday, Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle poured cold water on suggestions that Hall could head to Old Trafford. When asked directly by former Man United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel whether Hall could be moving to Manchester, the German manager offered a swift and unequivocal response, declaring: "No chance! No chance!"

Jaissle made it clear that Newcastle view the full-back as a key player in this new-look side, meaning Michael Carrick's men will need to present an extraordinary offer to break Tyneside resolve before the window closes.

The tiny ground of O Vao sits just a few yards from the beach in Coruxo, on the west coast of Spain. Not far from the Portuguese border and just outside Vigo, the venue holds only 1,500 people, but was where arguably the most pivotal match of Andoni Iraola's managerial career took place.

In December 2019, Iraola was the manager of Mirandes – appointed not long after they'd been promoted to the Segunda Division. It was his first job as a gaffer in Spain, having been sacked just eight months into a stint with Cypriot club AEK Larnaca.

The early stages at Mirandes weren't all plain sailing, either. The club from Burgos province, close to Iraola's native Basque Country, won just one of their opening 10 league games under the new boss, to sit second bottom of the table. Even Racing Santander, who would eventually finish bottom by a distance, beat them 4-0.

Just when form started to pick up, Mirandes headed west to face Coruxo – of the 80-team third tier, split across four regional divisions in Spain – in the first round of the Copa del Rey. As the game entered stoppage time Coruxo led 4-3, on course for a major upset. Then came a controversial equaliser from the penalty spot – in the angry aftermath, the hosts had two players sent off, and Mirandes triumphed 5-4 in extra-time.

“Total madness,” was how one media outlet described a game that veered to and fro, like it was Liverpool vs Alaves in 2001's UEFA Cup final. “Coruxo deserved to win,” Iraola admitted post-match.

A whirlwind six weeks later, Mirandes had progressed to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for just the second time in their history, defeating La Liga trio Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Villarreal along the way. It was a cup run that alerted many to Iraola's budding managerial talent including the person who would be instrumental in taking him to Anfield this past summer.

Michael Edwards, Liverpool's chief executive of football when Iraola was hired in June, had known about him for a long time. Edwards had tried to lure Iraola to the club once before – as long ago as 2013, when the Basque was a 31-year-old right-back at Athletic Bilbao. Iraola spent almost all of his career at the club, making more than 500 appearances.

Liverpool were pushing for the Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers, midway through the campaign that would end with Steven Gerrard's slip against Chelsea, and considering adding competition to Glen Johnson at full-back. Edwards was then the club's director of technical performance, and had asked scout Julian Ward to contact Iraola's representatives. Ward went to watch him captain Athletic Bilbao to a November win over Malaga, before Liverpool expressed their interest in making a January move.

Iraola was tempted, and thought carefully before opting to sign a new contract at Athletic Bilbao – when Johnson got injured later that season, Jon Flanagan ended up filling in, even earning praise from Cafu. When Iraola informed Liverpool of his decision, unusually he accompanied it with a letter thanking them for their interest – saying he wished to play at Anfield one day, praising the ability of Johnson, and joking that he was surprised they still wanted him after watching the game at Malaga, when he didn't think he'd played that well. Edwards appreciated the letter, and kept an eye on Iraola's progress when he became a manager.

Mirandes understandably didn't go on to win the 2020 Copa del Rey, defeated by the Real Sociedad of Martin Odegaard, Alexander Isak and Mikel Oyarzabal in the semis. The one glaring absence from Iraola's otherwise impressive CV is the lack of a major trophy as either a manager or a player, despite coming astonishingly close several times.

Under Marcelo Bielsa, Iraola was part of the Athletic Bilbao side that reached the Europa League final in 2012, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford on the way. In the Bucharest showpiece though, Atletico Madrid beat them 3-0. “I don't know when an opportunity like this will happen to us again,” Iraola said. Athletic Bilbao haven't made it to a European final since.

Iraola was involved in five finals as a player and lost them all. The other four were all against Barcelona – one in the Spanish Super Cup, and three in the Copa del Rey. By the last, the 2015 Copa del Rey final against Barça's famous MSN front line, Iraola was getting a little fed up – particularly when a showboating Neymar pulled off a rainbow flick to rub in victory late on. “I didn't find it elegant or sporting,” the defender said.

He remained a nearly man at the very highest level. Iraola won seven caps for Spain during an era when they bagged three trophies, but his debut came a month after their Euro 2008 glory, aged 26. He wasn't selected for the triumphant World Cup squad in 2010, and was then ruled out of Euro 2012 through injury, just when it looked as though he might have made the cut.

When he became a manager however, it presented a new opportunity to climb to the pinnacle of the game.

On the face of it, being sacked only eight months into his first job looked like a failure, but the reality was more nuanced. At AEK Larnaca, Iraola made an instant impact, guiding them through three qualifying rounds to reach the Europa League group stage. In the league, they won six of their first eight games, but then didn't triumph in seven, and Iraola was fired.

“He did a fantastic job because we got to the Europa League group stage,” French striker Florian Taulemesse told NC-Network, a Cypriot media platform, also crediting a backroom staff member who has followed Iraola to Anfield. “He had a great strength and conditioning coach with him, Pablo de la Torre – the way he wanted us to play, we had to be in peak condition.

“Iraola was all about the high press, then every time we recovered the ball, he wanted to see vertical passes, not backward passes. He encouraged us to cross the ball from wide areas and shoot at the first opportunity. High press, recover the ball, create openings, shoot – do that again and again; attack, attack! Our wingers were fast, making us dangerous in transition.

“While it was his first experience as a head coach, he wasn't anxious. He was a calm coach who gave us a lot of confidence. But it became difficult mixing domestic football with European competition, because we were a Cypriot club with a small budget. We got a few injuries to key players and didn't have much depth. In Cyprus, three bad results get a manager sacked.”

That wasn't the case at Mirandes, where he recovered from his slow start, steering the club to 11th in the Segunda Division, as well as that Copa del Rey semi-final, before opting to leave the club when his one-year contract ended.

He joined Rayo Vallecano, who had finished just four places above Mirandes but had a history of playing in the top division semi-regularly – albeit often as overperforming minnows, at a stadium that holds less than 15,000. Within 12 months, Iraola took Rayo back to La Liga once more via the play-offs.

The progress didn't end there – they finished 12th in their first year back in La Liga and reached the Copa del Rey semis. Like at Mirandes, it was only the second time Rayo had ever got that far in the competition, having also narrowly avoided an embarrassing first-round exit – this time thanks to a penalty shootout victory at fifth-tier Guijuelo.

Rayo also caught the eye by beating Barcelona home and away – in the following campaign, they took four more points off the Camp Nou side. That made Iraola only the sixth boss in La Liga history to avoid defeat against Barça in any of his first four games facing them as a manager, and the first since Javier Clemente in the early 1980s. Some revenge for all those cup final defeats to Barcelona as a player.

“We weren't going to take the ball away from Barça the whole time, so we had to choose what to cover and direct the pressure towards their creators, and who was going to receive the ball,” Iraola explained after his fourth game against them, a 2-1 home triumph at Vallecas. “We didn't let them have the structure they wanted, and in the transitions we were dangerous.”

Iraola remains unbeaten against Barça today, having left Rayo at the end of his contract that summer, after improving their league position again to 11th. That February, Leeds had been rebuffed in their attempts to hire him, with Rayo unwilling to let him go before the end of his deal. West Ham were also linked, but it was Bournemouth who got their man, having surprisingly fired Gary O'Neil to create an opening for him – a move that had echoes of Southampton's sacking of Nigel Adkins to recruit Mauricio Pochettino in 2013, after the Argentine had impressed at Espanyol.

The end result was similar, too: like Pochettino at St Mary's, Iraola oversaw consistent progress at the Vitality Stadium, even if he got off to another slow start, winning none of his first nine league games. Having finished 15th the season before Iraola's arrival though, Bournemouth improved to 12th, then ninth, and then sixth last term as they qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. Again, he opted to move on when his contract expired.

His destination was unclear at that point – Manchester United and Chelsea were linked, but opted to place their trust in others, with Crystal Palace also waiting in the wings before Liverpool's decision to sack Arne Slot opened the door to Anfield. While Chelsea chose Xabi Alonso ahead of Iraola, the Reds preferred Iraola to Alonso – believing he was a better fit for the heavy metal football they wanted to return to, after such success under Jurgen Klopp.

Iraola is Liverpool's first Spanish boss since Rafa Benitez, although former Reds defender John Arne Riise thinks they're not that similar. “They're very different characters when it comes to how they communicate with players and how they act on the bench,” says the Norwegian, who played under Benitez. “I've watched Iraola on the touchline and he looks more energetic, more involved with his body language.

“Rafa was much more about strict tactics and a bit more cold-faced – I mean nothing bad by that because I had a great relationship with him, but I think players today will have more close, one-on-one conversations with Iraola than we typically had with Rafa.

“I liked the way Iraola's Bournemouth played by attacking with real pace and power, and how quickly they transitioned forward. I also loved the way they really sprinted back to support the team and stay compact the moment they lost the ball. It was similar to what we did during my first few seasons under Rafa, when we were challenging for leagues – quick transitions, powerful forward movement, intense tracking back. That was lacking last season.

“I'd like to see more enthusiasm and energy on the bench to engage with the fans and the players, as well – Arne Slot was very reserved on the touchline. You want that Jurgen Klopp style where he gets the crowd and the players going. It's important for Iraola to show he has that kind of passion.”

If Neymar turns up and starts doing a few rainbow flicks, that would certainly bring out a few emotions for a man who has never won a major trophy, but has now brought his managerial talents to a club where he has a genuine chance of doing just that. This is Iraola's ninth season as a manager – in the previous eight, his club ended in a higher league position than their last campaign. If he can keep doing that at Anfield, success won't be too far away.

Peter Reid knows better than most what it takes to lead Sunderland to the upper reaches of English football.

The former Black Cats boss led Sunderland to back-to-back seventh-place Premier League finishes in 2000 and 2001 - a feat that was not matched until last season.

Like Reid, Regis Le Bris followed up promotion to the top flight with an immediate seventh-place finish, but unlike the case of the former Everton midfielder, this was enough to secure European football, marking Sunderland’s first shot at continental competition since their European Cup Winners’ Cup tilt after their 1973 FA Cup victory.

Reid on Sunderland’s return to Europe

“I was absolutely delighted – to get to Europe is some achievement,” Reid tells FourFourTwo. “It’s a great club and the supporters are unbelievable.

“I went to the Championship play-off final in 2025 – we won, amazing, but I was thinking we’d sort of scraped through and needed to get recruitment right to have any chance of staying up.”

A busy summer followed the Black Cat’s Wembley victory 12 months ago, with more than £200million being spent on new arrivals, as Reid’s hope that the club got their recruitment right came to fruition.


“I have to say, the recruitment last summer was fantastic,” he continues. “Nordi Mukiele was so strong at the back, and Brian Brobbey was so powerful up front – absolutely fearless.”

Perhaps the most important player brought in last summer was a familiar face to seasoned Premier League viewers, in the form of a certain ex-Arsenal midfielder.

“Then there was the class of Granit Xhaka in midfield. Boy, what a signing he was. Just the calmest, most authoritative player you could have found.

“I went to the game against Newcastle [that Sunderland won 1-0], and there was just this feeling inside the stadium that something special was happening.”

Despite last season’s success, several pundits are tipping Sunderland to struggle this season, as they get to grips with balancing domestic and European football.

“You can never tell how a club is going to get on with the balance of Premier League football and Europe,” Reid admits. “Even though we’ve got the basis of a very good side that can compete against most clubs on our day, you need a deep squad.

“But I’m up there often and you can smell success in the air. The future is looking bright.”

As Liverpool’s title defence faltered last season and the team slumped to a fifth-placed finish, many believed that a lack of intensity in their style of play was to blame.

The Reds would finish 25 points behind Premier League champions Arsenal, with Arne Slot paying the price as the club moved to replace him with former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

The Spaniard has built his managerial reputation on an intense, relentless style, with former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch believing that Liverpool fans will quickly warm to the new boss.

Crouch on Iraola’s playing style

“The pressing that Andoni Iraola demands of his players is off the charts,” Crouch tells FourFourTwo, before admitting that he would not have enjoyed playing under the former Spain international.

“That wasn’t my game – I used to quite like pretending to close an opponent down, then when he ran past me, I’d have a little rest!”

And while Crouch does not see himself as fitting the modern-day style of pressing from the front, he insists that running was never an issue for him.

“If it was getting on the end of crosses, I’d run for you all day,” he continues. “But this constant running up and down, closing your marker and bending your run, it makes me tired just watching it.”

Crouch, therefore, has enormous respect for players capable of doing both jobs.

“I have huge admiration for players who can do both, though: press and win the ball high up the pitch, and also get in the box and score goals.”

The best Liverpool sides of recent years have been defined by their intense style of play and Crouch believes Iraola will be a hit at Anfield.

“Liverpool fans will take to Iraola’s style,” he adds.

“It’s more direct, more all-action, whereas Arne Slot’s play was more pedestrian.”

The post-Pep Guardiola era is underway at Manchester City, after the Spaniard ended his ten-year trophy-laden spell at the Etihad this summer.

As Enzo Maresca gets to work in taking the club into a new phase, former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes one of the first challenges will be to restore the fear factor at the club - something that was slipping under even Guardiola over the past two seasons.

For Hart, this crucial area is separate from tactics and personnel, with City once possessing an aura that immediately put opponents on the back foot. Getting it back, however, will not be easy.

Hart on City’s need to restore the fear factor

“They lost that one-goal lead they had when they lined up at the start of games,” Hart tells FourFourTwo, explaining how opponents felt like they were a goal down even before kick-off.

“There was a point in Pep’s reign that they got 100 points, when they were absolutely phenomenal.”

This sense of inevitability was once one of the defining features of Guardiola’s reign, but with the club’s last title coming in 2024, that psychological edge has faded.

“People aren’t as afraid of them any more, but you earn that over time,” Hart continues. “Hard work, grinding it out, being willing to go through tough moments. You’ve got to earn the right.”

As Hart looks back at last season, he does see reasons for encouragement in the upcoming campaign, not least as the club look to prepare for another key exit in Rodri.

“They didn’t struggle as much when Rodri couldn’t play,” Hart continues.

“And I liked the signings – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Antoine Semenyo, Marc Guehi, and Rayan Cherki was a breath of fresh air.”

The former City No.1 was also impressed by what he saw from the club’s current custodian.

“Ederson was an incredible keeper for Manchester City, but the biggest compliment I can pay to Donnarumma was that he very much made the shirt his own.

“Defenders trusted his angles – they didn’t let players inside, but the full-backs were quite comfortable letting people have shots from an angle.”

Arsenal’s 22-year wait for the Premier League title came to an end last season, sparking wild scenes of celebration in north London.

As thousands fans spilt out into the streets for the title parade, it was a reminder of the link between the club and its fans.

And for former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour, these scenes could provide Mikel Arteta’s squad with the perfect motivation to go again.

Ray Parlour on Arsenal’s motivation to run it back

“They said something like half a million people turned up to the parade,” Parlour tells FourFourTwo. “Which was amazing and just shows you how much that Premier League win meant to everyone.”

The Gunners ended their pre-season preparations with a convincing win over Manchester City in the Community Shield, with Arteta’s men the bookies’ favourites to be celebrating another title success next May.

If any extra motivation was needed, Parlour believes the current squad can utilise memories of the fans’ title celebrations.

“If you ask any of those players who were there, hearing those fans cheering their names, it’s the sort of thing you want to do again,” he continues.

“You’ll be looking around at your team-mates, saying ‘Lads, come on, who enjoyed that?’ I'm sure they all did and they will want to do it again.”

Parlour adds that this buzz will have stayed with the squad all summer and if utilised correctly, can be key in ensuring Arteta’s players maintain their hunger and help them deal with the very different pressure that defending a title brings with it.

“You get back to pre-season on a high,” he adds.

“People talk about money but, ask most players and they’ll tell you, football is all about getting as many medals as you can while you’re still playing.”

If Arsenal can maintain this mentality, then Parlour will be hoping he can join in those celebrations again, come the end of the season.

After romping to the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first campaign during the 2024/25 season, a £446million summer spending spree had Liverpool fans believing they were well placed to run it back.

Fast forward to the end of the season, and the Reds’ woeful title defence saw them finish in fifth place, 25 points adrift of champions Arsenal, as Slot paid the price by losing his job.

Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is the new man in charge and he will be hoping that after a season of settling in, the club’s 2025 recruits will make a bigger impact this season.

Owen on Liverpool’s 2025 signings

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes that last summer’s new faces can make an impact.

“I’m still excited by those signings,” Owen tells FourFourTwo. “Although they appear to have been disappointing, it’s hard to analyse whether that’s been because of quality, tactics or injuries.”

Liverpool broke the £100million mark twice last summer in their purchases of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, while Hugo Ekitike was a £69million signing and Owen is confident that trio can all prove their quality in a Liverpool shirt.

“I was thrilled when they bought Florian Wirtz, and I was thrilled when they bought Alexander Isak,” he continues. “I didn’t know much about Hugo Ekitike, but he turned out to be probably the best of the three last season.

“Isak missed his pre-season, struggled a bit when he came in – when he was then starting to show a bit, and actually scored a goal or two, he got injured.

“Then Ekitike got a horrific Achilles injury, an absolute nightmare, and I can’t imagine he’s going to be back too long before Christmas. But no-one can say Wirtz is not a great player, or Isak, or Ekitike.


Liverpool’s 2025 defensive recruits arrived on somewhat more modest fees and Owen still believes there are questions to be asked of the likes of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

“I must admit, I thought Milos Kerkez was a very good signing,” he continues. “But now I’m not thinking that, and I don’t know what Jeremie Frimpong is.

“He’s not really a right-back, but he’s good to have in the squad – you can play him as a right-sided attacker, or you can probably get away with him playing at right-back against a lesser team.


“He also picked up a lot of injuries, but in many ways, the positives now are the negatives from last term – the amount of injuries we sustained, and the fact that many of those players will hopefully be available again now. That will be a big boost to the manager. There are still some seriously talented footballers in the squad. It’s just a question of getting them all playing well together.”

As Michael Carrick completes his first pre-season as the permanent Manchester United manager, he will look to build on a promising five-month audition for the job last season.

The former Red Devils midfielder took charge as the club’s interim boss in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim and would lead his side to a third-place finish, a stark improvement on the previous campaign, when they stumbled to a 15th-place finish, their worst return of the Premier League era.

One attribute that Carrick brought back to Old Trafford since taking over was resilience, with former Red Devils defender Gary Pallister believing that this was a result of Carrick’s set-up in terms of both tactics and personnel.

Gary Pallister on what Carrick got right last season

“He changed the system,” Pallister tells FourFourTwo. “There was a lot of talk about that under Amorim, a lot of negatives towards the five at the back.

“I think sometimes that was maybe a bit of an excuse – whether it’s a five or a four, players should be able to adapt, but Michael brought resilience and freedom into the team.”

This freedom was helped by Carrick ending Amorim’s habit of putting square pegs in round holes.

“He played people in the right position,” Pallister continues. “Luke Shaw was back at left-back, and he gave Bruno Fernandes freedom – at times before he was stuck deeper in midfield, which I don’t think suited him when he’s the most gifted player in the league.

“He just gave people belief.”

Amorim was sacked in January following the club’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United at Elland Road, ending the Portuguese’s turbulent 14-month spell in charge. In Carrick, Pallister believes they have a manager who ‘gets’ the club in a way the now-AC Milan boss never did.

“I don’t know how bad things got under Amorim, but Michael understands what Manchester United is all about,” Pallister continues.

“He grasped that nettle as a player, then he went back in last season and just ignited a spark.

“He made the team more difficult to beat, and the players seemed to be playing for him. Were we always playing unbelievable football?

“I wouldn’t say we were – it wasn’t always sumptuous, fantastic, breathtaking football, but there was more of a mental toughness about the team. He’s got a great chance to build on things this season.”

“It never happens for people like us, you know.”

So reads the third line of We'll Live And Die In These Towns, by The Enemy. The Coventry band's 2007 single has been the unofficial anthem of the city's football club for several years now.

After 25 years outside of the top flight, Coventry City fans could be forgiven for self-indulgently attributing that one particular line to their plight of recent decades. This season, those fans will sing it to a worldwide Premier League audience for the first time.

Coventry romped to the Championship crown with 95 points and deservedly earned their spot in the top tier once more, under the management of Frank Lampard. Following spells with Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton, blue was the colour for him yet again.

The Sky Blues finished 11 points clear of runners-up Ipswich, scoring 97 goals. They spent 40 of the 46 game weeks in the automatic promotion places and, save for a mid-season wobble, the overwhelming majority of that was in top spot. Keeping the rest of the division at arm's length, without the benefit of parachute payments, is no idle task.

It has been an arduous journey. The club today is unrecognisable from the one that succumbed to relegation from the Premier League in 2001. Back then, they played at Highfield Road and had spent 34 consecutive seasons in the top flight – one of the longest-serving sides at that time, in fact, behind only Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool.

Even the current iteration of Coventry City is much changed from the one that was playing League One football as recently as 2020. It's a team that has evolved, shed its skin, morphed into something else entirely and finally rid itself of the financial deadweight that had, at one stage, dragged them down to the fourth tier.

In recent years, the trajectory has been upward, but plotting a way back from League Two is rare – nigh-on impossible, in fact. They've managed it in eight years, though there have been a handful of false dawns along the way.

The club came agonisingly close to a Premier League return in 2023, only to be defeated on penalties by Luton in the play-off final. In 2025, the decisive blow to their redemption hopes came in the last minute of extra time in their semi-final second leg at Sunderland. In between those campaigns, Coventry came within a hair's breadth of making an FA Cup final appearance, too, but for a tight VAR call denying them when they had seemingly battled back from 3-0 down to lead Manchester United 4-3.

Considering that the club had also spent the latter part of their previous top-flight existence circling the drain year after year, it hasn't been easy being a Coventry fan.

“There are signs up – even on the road signs – saying, ‘We're back',” Gordon Strachan tells FourFourTwo – the last man to manage Coventry in the Premier League was in the city this summer, and saw what the club's return to the big time meant to everyone. He continues: “The community, football-wise, took a battering for 25 years. It's a different world now in Coventry.”

He's not wrong. The Scot understands better than most what plights the club has been through over the past quarter of a century. He also knows what it went through before that. Strachan joined the club under his former Manchester United gaffer, Ron Atkinson, in 1995, and then became player-manager a year later. He hung up his boots in 1997 but stayed in charge for another four years, until four months after Coventry's relegation from the top division.

Strachan's family are still among the club's season ticket holders. While football ended up taking him elsewhere, it's a place that he returns to often.

“The eyes of the world are now on Coventry, which is great, and they're actually talking about the football,” he says. “For 20 years, it was, ‘Who owns the stadium? Who's got the shares in it? Where are we playing? Are we at Northampton or Birmingham? Who is the owner?'”

There were times when fans genuinely pondered whether the slide would ever end. Disputes over rent, administration, points deductions, Sisu, League Two, Mike Ashley, Frasers Group, Sixfields, St Andrew's… finally, though, the Premier League beckons.

"Up there with Jimmy Hill"

We'll Live And Die In These Towns is a song about the realities of post-industrial Britain, urban unemployment, and getting by despite the weight of it all.

Coventry was a hub for the automotive industry and the base of many leading car manufacturers before the turn of the 21st century. Such was the city's industrial might, it was even targeted in a Luftwaffe bombing raid during the Second World War. No longer is it an industrial powerhouse, but there are reminders of its past.

‘Getting by' is what Coventry City have done for much of the last 25 years. While the club's previous owners sustained a loss-making enterprise, supporters did their best to keep the spirit of a well-supported side alive.

“It's been painful for these people, absolutely painful,” Strachan tells us. “But the younger ones, who are 12, 13 – that's the catchment area. Coventry have captured another group of kids now, which they couldn't do for years. “The three main people in this have been Mark Robins, Doug King and Frank Lampard. Frank's had to take them over the line, but between the three of them, that's some group. I think Mark Robins is up there with Jimmy Hill, Noel Cantwell and people like that for the club.” It was Hill who managed Coventry to their last top-flight promotion, in 1967. Cantwell succeeded him and, three years later, led the club to sixth in the First Division – their highest ever finish.

To tell the story of Coventry's return to the top without reverence for Robins would do the experienced manager a great disservice. While Lampard will lead the team in the Premier League, he may never have taken the reins if not for Robins' promotion successes.

The former Manchester United striker brought Coventry back from the brink. He arrived at the club for a second spell as manager in March 2017, when they sat 10 points adrift of safety in League One and doomed for the fourth tier.

Yet they spent only one season in the basement division. Robins' charges confirmed their play-off place with a 0-0 draw at home to Morecambe on the last day of the 2017-18 campaign, then defeated Notts County and Exeter to go up. Promoted alongside Coventry that season were Luton, who, five years later, would beat them at Wembley to reach the Premier League.

The Sky Blues lifted the League One title during 2019-20's Covid-affected campaign, despite being forced to play their home matches at St Andrew's in Birmingham. They were seven points clear of third place with 12 fixtures left to play, having lost just three matches, when the season was cut short and settled on points per game.

Robins almost led the club all the way back to the Premier League, but for that shootout defeat in 2023. When the decision was made 18 months later to replace him with a big-name, big-time Charlie, there was consternation among fans and pundits alike. Robins was EFL royalty. He'd had a transformative effect on a beleaguered club. Lampard, meanwhile, had flattered to deceive in his second Chelsea spell and scraped by with relegation-dodging Everton.

It was a bold call – but one that paid off, to the tune of hundreds of millions.

From Blackburn to Las Vegas

Shortly after Lampard's arrival, Coventry made the mid-season signing of Matt Grimes from Swansea City. At 31, he has made 485 appearances across the EFL's three divisions, but only four in the Premier League, all as a young player for the Swans more than a decade ago.

Given that 383 of the midfielder's EFL outings were in the Championship – and included three failed play-off campaigns – the term ‘glass ceiling' felt appropriate. Grimes freely admits that after two or three years with no concrete transfer interest, coupled with Swansea's hopes of promotion waning over the course of his 10 years with the club, the chance to play in the Premier League seemed to have passed him by.

“I'm getting older,” Grimes tells FFT. “I gave a lot of years to Swansea and I'm very thankful for what they gave me in return, but I felt it was the right time to have a crack somewhere else. And it's turned out as well as it could have done. I thought to myself, ‘If I don't go and Coventry get promoted, I'd be gutted'. But then I thought, on the flip side, ‘If I go to Coventry and Swansea get promoted, I'd be just as devastated'.

“I remember my agent saying, ‘Just have a chat with Frank Lampard.' I was very settled at Swansea – I was very happy. We were like, ‘Let's just have a conversation and see how it goes.' As a midfielder, I don't think there's anyone you would rather play for than one of the greatest English midfielders of all time, if not the greatest. That was huge. It was a massive compliment that he wanted to sign me.

“I'm not sure exactly how many seasons I've played in the Championship – seven or eight, I think – but I've had three play-off campaigns and eventually won the league. The painful moments make the good ones even sweeter.”

After last year's play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland, the squad rallied, using their near-miss as motivation to start fast in 2025-26. “The message from the gaffer was, ‘We need to start quick,'” Grimes explains. “In my past experiences, when Swansea made it to the play-offs under Steve Cooper, I think we won five of the first six matches. Our form for the rest of the season wasn't great, but you're always just a couple of wins away from where you want to be – top two, top six.”

Coventry went a dozen league games unbeaten, and by the time their first defeat came at Wrexham at the end of October, they were top of the table with a goal difference of +25 – fully 16 goals better than anyone else. In their first dozen games, they'd won 4-0 away at Millwall, 5-0 at Sheffield Wednesday and 5-3 at Derby, while beating Birmingham 3-0 at home and dispatching QPR 7-1.

Forward Brandon Thomas-Asante tells FFT: “The QPR and Sheffield Wednesday matches were pivotal points when we sent out a message and made people respect us more, as well as beating Middlesbrough at home in February.

“Then when things weren't going so great, like in the winter when people were asking, ‘Is this when the wheels fall off?', we had the quiet confidence and humility to grind out a result or turn things around when the hype wasn't there. That was important. Over the past 18 months, we gained those minerals.”

Minerals were needed, as Coventry picked up only two wins from eight in mid-season. By the middle of February, the Sky Blues had also lost back-to-back games away at Norwich and QPR, then drawn 0-0 at home to struggling Oxford.

“If we're having a stinker and I come in screaming and shouting at half-time,” says Grimes, the club captain, “then the lads aren't going to take me seriously, because they know that's not the type of person I am. I think the days where you need to be the loudest, and scream and shout, are gone.”

His approach proved to be the correct one. Coventry picked themselves up, secured a vital 3-1 home triumph over Middlesbrough in their next game and regained top spot from them, as well as momentum. Having led the league for four months, they had been knocked off the summit for all of seven days.

“We dominated at the start, had a wobble, then recovered and won again,” Grimes says. “We won eight out of nine to cement our place at the top. Seasons like that don't happen often. Even now, I don't think it's fully sunk in.”

Coventry secured their long-awaited return to the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, courtesy of Bobby Thomas' 84th-minute header. They went up with three games to spare.

“It was funny after Bobby scored,” Grimes recalls. “That was probably one of the strangest feelings on the pitch. I was going to the gaffer, ‘Should we go and win it? Should we not? Do we want to go for the title tonight?' There were 7,000 fans there, something daft, which was a testament to them. It was more relief than anything at that point, because we knew it was going to happen. We were glad to get it done.

“The club have been down to League Two, had to groundshare and all of that, so I feel like an imposter talking about it because I haven't endured it the same way the fans have. But to give that back on that night, when we got the club promoted in front of 7,000 away fans, who travelled all the way to Blackburn on a Friday night, was very, very fitting.”

Coventry rounded off a title-winning campaign in style by putting 12 goals past Portsmouth, Wrexham and Watford over their final three league fixtures. Then the squad headed off to Las Vegas for a celebration. “

When teams come down from the Premier League, it's normal that all of the bookmakers have them to be in the top two or top six,” Grimes says. “So to win the league like we did, 11 points ahead of second – I don't think people will realise the magnitude of it until maybe a couple of years down the line.

“It was a season where most of what we touched turned to gold.”

Cosmic Frank?

Patently, Lampard knows how to win football matches. “You can't have too big a long-term plan at a club, because in football, the only thing that really matters is winning,” Strachan explains. “Frank's picked it up and added to it. It's nothing cosmic – it's good players, with a good understanding of what they're doing, doing what they're best at.”

The 69-year-old's view may be a simplified version of what it takes to manage a club, but it served him well for much of his Highfield Road tenure.

“Five years before relegation, we beat everyone – Liverpool away, Manchester United, Arsenal a couple of times, Chelsea three or four times, Aston Villa – so there were a lot of great moments,” he recalls with a smile. “I spent most of my life laughing. I had a great time.”

Lampard will likely say something similar when the time comes for him to hang up his, er, notepad – but that's a long way off for now. His uncle, Harry Redknapp, was a manager until the age of 70, which suggests that 48-year-old Lampard has at least two decades left.

“He has surprised me – I didn't see them going up at the start of the year,” Redknapp says. “I didn't see Coventry in it at all. I thought if they could finish sixth, maybe make the play-offs, it'd be a great season for him.

“He's got to make sure he goes into the Premier League prepared. Are they going to be good enough to stay up? That's the problem. We've seen it so many times: good young managers, who have done an excellent job and know the game quickly watch all their hard work unravel.” All right, Harry, let him enjoy it, will you?

“When results aren't going your way, you have people calling up the radio,” Redknapp continues. “Idiots who don't know what they're talking about come on and say, ‘Well, yeah, we're losing because he's a Championship manager.' What a load of rubbish.”

This year will be a test of Lampard and Coventry's mettle. Before Sunderland and Leeds' sterling efforts in 2025-26, all of the previous six freshly promoted sides had gone straight back down. Grim reality greets aspirational Championship clubs once they're in the promised land.

Redknapp thinks the Sky Blues need six quality players to stay afloat. Grimes is giving nothing away. “For any promoted team, the first goal is to stay up,” he says. “If you stay up, maybe then you can start to think about other things. We don't want to get carried away.”

Asked what stadium he's most looking forward to playing at, Grimes' answer is simple. “It's a cliche answer, but the big stadiums: Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United,” he admits, having grown up in a Liverpool-supporting family. One of those fixtures is first up. Coventry will go to reigning champions Arsenal in the 2026-27 Premier League's curtain-raiser on Friday, August 21.

After progressing from League Two to the top flight in just eight years, it will be quite the baptism of fire, before a first home game against fellow promotees Hull at the Coventry Building Society Arena a week later. The Premier League will require each to be agile, adaptable, cunning and clever. Do either have that in their locker? We'll soon find out. For 25 years, it didn't happen for teams like Coventry City. Finally, though, after a quarter of a century, it has happened. The Sky Blues are back – now, it's all about staying put.

Strachan was speaking to FFT as an ambassador for Coventry Building Society. Visit thecoventry.co.uk for info

The Turkish giants suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat at home to Ferencvaros in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off tie.

Having come off the bench against Kasimpasa in the Super Lig last weekend, the former Liverpool superstar was handed his full debut at Papara Park, but even the Egyptian's presence could not prevent his new side from faltering.

Trabzonspor dominated large periods of possession, registering a higher Expected Goals (xG) total from the match, but struggled to dismantle a resilient Ferencvaros setup.

Mo Salah waiting on first win in Trabzonspor colours

Operating on his usual right flank, Salah showed occasional flashes of his trademark quality, cutting inside to test the goalkeeper with a curling effort early in the second half.

However, the Hungarian champions stood firm, frustrating the hosts and proving clinical when their moment arrived.

Former Bristol City and Cardiff City winger Callum O'Dowda featured for the visitors, operating on the same flank as Salah.

With a 1-0 advantage secured on foreign soil, Ferencvaros head back to Budapest as favourites to advance to the Europa League league phase.

For Trabzonspor, the defeat carries consequences that extend beyond the pitch. Failure to overturn the deficit in Hungary next Thursday would see the club drop down to the UEFA Europa Conference League, inflicting a potential financial blow on the club.

Reaching the main stage of the Europa League guarantees participating clubs a baseline starting fee of roughly €4.3m, complemented by broadcast revenues and performance bonuses. In contrast, dropping into Europe’s third-tier competition reduces guaranteed entry fees to approximately €3.17m, alongside vastly reduced television market shares.

For a side that invested heavily to bring Salah to Turkiye, missing out on Europa League revenues represents a deficit they can ill afford.

FIFA have issued a series of sanctions against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and several individual players following disciplinary breaches during the 2026 World Cup, namely the post-match scuffle at the final on July 19.

The AFA have been fined a total of $321,000 (£235k) for breaches involving discriminatory chants and gestures by supporters, non-sporting demonstrations, team misconduct, and failures in match order and security.

FIFA have also ordered Argentina to limit spectator capacity to 50% for their next home match.

Argentina hit with substantial fine over World Cup fracas

A second match capacity limit and $100,000 (£73k) of the fine have been suspended subject to a probationary period, while $100,000 of the total fine must be directed into an anti-discrimination plan.

Individual suspensions have also been handed down to four members of the Argentine squad and staff following altercations at the end of the final. Meanwhile, one Spanish player has been sanctioned.

Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes will serve a 10-match ban and pay a $90,000 (£66k) fine, while defender Nahuel Molina has been hit with a seven-match ban and a $90,000 fine.

Argentina forward Thiago Almada and assistant coach Roberto Ayala were issued one-match and three-match suspensions respectively, with each receiving a $30,000 (£22k) fine.

Spain midfielder Gavi will serve a one-match suspension and has been ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, too.

FIFA have confirmed that all match bans will be served during the respective national teams' upcoming international fixtures this September and October.

All parties have 10 days to request a motivated decision prior to any potential appeal.

It is understood that part of Argentina's sanction relates to the players and supporters' display of a Falklands banner following the team's semi-final victory over England.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso was pictured with the flag in question, deemed by FIFA as an unsporting demonstration, before it was laid on the turf in front of Argentina fans.

William Osula is set to remain at Newcastle United for the upcoming campaign, bringing an end to months of speculation surrounding his future at St. James' Park.

The Danish forward was heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga throughout last season, with Eintracht Frankfurt identifying him as a top target.

A January transfer to the German club almost materialised in the closing days of the winter window, but the deal ultimately collapsed, keeping Osula on Tyneside to fight for his place.

Will Osula expected to play central role for Newcastle this season

That perseverance paid off during the run-in, as Osula enjoyed a strong end to the season, finishing the campaign with seven goals from eight starts.

He has built on that momentum throughout pre-season under new head coach Matthias Jaissle, featuring prominently throughout summer preparations.

Most notably, Osula delivered an eye-catching performance during a 1-1 friendly draw against Strasbourg, where his direct running and pressing caused problems for the French side's defence.

Jaissle’s tactical preferences could also suit Osula's physical profile, too. In previous managerial stints, the German manager has implemented a system featuring two centre-forwards designed to unsettle opposition backlines.

This setup relies on pairing an athletic, line-stretching runner like Osula, who can stretch play and press aggressively, with a supporting forward like Nick Woltemade, who drops into pockets of space to link play between midfield and attack.

"We've already learned [Jaissle's] play styles in and out of possession and how he likes to play tactically. It has been good," Osula told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I want to continue to show what I can do, remain confident. I know what I can do on the pitch so it's just keeping doing that."

Newcastle are without European football this season but could prioritise going deep in the cup competitions; the club's cohort of strikers will be expected share the bulk of the goalscoring load.

FourFourTwo understands Osula could play a central role for Newcastle from the start this season, as opposed to the bit-part function he has carried out in previous campaigns, beginning this weekend against Liverpool.

With his immediate future settled and a head coach who values his specific tactical qualities, Osula now has the platform to establish himself as a key fixture in Newcastle's attack under Jaissle.

Surviving in the Premier League as a newly promoted club is never easy, but Hull City have decided to approach the challenge like a game of Monopoly - because they don't have any other choice.

The Tigers have dumped their wallet onto the board, rolling the dice on a number of summer arrivals.

It is an ambitious, high-risk strategy that will either prove to be a masterstroke of recruitment or send them straight back from whence they came, without passing go.

Hull City are playing Premier League Monopoly

To understand why Hull’s hierarchy felt compelled to completely overhaul the dressing room, you have to look back at how they got here.

Statistically speaking, Hull were one of the poorest sides to ever secure promotion from the Championship. Their underlying metrics painted the picture of a team dramatically over-performing their Expected Goals (xG) and points tallies, relying on special individual moments to drag themselves over the line.

Standing still with that exact core in the top flight would have left Sergej Jakirovic woefully ill-equipped. The squad desperately needed surgery, and so the club have opted for a partial reboot.

The profile of incoming talent tells its own story. Hull have raided the market for players of a calibre that could be considered top-end of the Championship like Joe Gelhardt, Luke Herrington, Jack Butland, and Matt Targett.

They've sprinkled Jakirovic's squad with wildcards like Konstantinos Tzolakis and Nobel Mendy - unknown quantities in English football but could come to be considered lower-end Premier League players.

Through no fault of their own, Hull City are betting heavily that second-tier stars can make the step up, while lower-end top-flight names can hit the ground running, simultaneously.

There is a simple reality at play here: if any of these players were the finished article, clubs much higher up the footballing food chain would have snapped them up.

They are only available for a club in Hull's position because the more accomplished sides have question marks about their ceiling, consistency, or physical durability.

No signing encapsulates this approach better than Lucas Gourna-Douath. Once heralded as one of European football’s premier young midfield prodigies, the Frenchman’s career trajectory has stalled in recent seasons.

Taking a gamble on him as a newly-promoted side is the ultimate draw from the 'Chance' deck.

If Gourna-Douath unlocks his potential at the MKM Stadium, Hull might have landed on Mayfair for a bargain price. But if those early career scouting reports were overhyped and he simply isn't cut out for the Premier League, it becomes an expensive flop that leaves their midfield exposed.

What cannot be disputed is the spirit within the camp. Battling through adversity to snatch promotion proved that the squad possesses remarkable togetherness and complete buy-in for their manager.

But in the brutal environment of the top flight, grit and team harmony only act as a temporary 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. Eventually, it's quality, tactics and squad depth that decide your fate.

For Hull City, success this season is straightforward: survival. Achieving that would represent an extraordinary accomplishment given the sheer scale of the squad's transition.

On the flip side, the nightmare scenario is irredeemable. If these gambles crash and burn simultaneously, Hull could potentially threaten Derby County’s infamous 11-point record as the poorest side in Premier League history. Mauled by the Tigers? Mauled by the rest of the league, more like.

Liverpool’s decision to sanction Curtis Jones’ imminent £30 million transfer to Inter Milan is understandable from a purely financial standpoint.

The midfielder has already entered the final 12 months of his Anfield contract, meaning this summer represents the club’s last opportunity to recoup a significant fee rather than risk losing a homegrown asset for nothing next year.

Cashing in on an academy graduate delivers a neat £30m boost to the balance sheet. But, from a sporting perspective, taking a red pen to the squad's engine room midway through August is...certainly a decision.

Curtis Jones could hold the key to Liverpool's success or failure in 2026/27

Unless an immediate, top-tier replacement is lined up and has been kept under wraps from the press, it raises a glaring question: what on earth are Liverpool doing?

The expected sale leaves Liverpool’s central midfield looking rather thin, relying almost entirely on a core trio: Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

While those three have top level Premier League quality, the depth behind them is less so.

Wataru Endo remains in the squad, but the Japanese international is fundamentally a functional, defensive backup rather than someone equipped to start three matches a week.

Nineteen-year-old Trey Nyoni has featured throughout pre-season, but it's a big ask to expect him to replace one of the more senior players in that position.

Going into a campaign with essentially three senior central midfielders for two starting spots is...certainly a decision.

This level of depth, or lack thereof, is especially baffling when considering Andoni Iraola’s demanding, high-pressing style of play.

Iraola’s setup requires energy, relentless off-the-ball counter-pressing, and continuous box-to-box engine work in central areas.

Expecting Mac Allister, Gravenberch, and Szoboszlai to sustain that level of intense physical exertion across four competitions is, in FourFourTwo's opinion, asking for trouble.

In the modern game, muscle fatigue and soft-tissue injuries are an inevitability over a 50-plus match season.

Making matters worse is Liverpool’s habit of drafting central midfielders into emergency roles elsewhere on the pitch. In recent seasons, defensive shortages have repeatedly forced central players, most notably Szoboszlai, to plug holes at right-back.

If a full-back injury forces Iraola to slide Szoboszlai out wide again, Liverpool’s central midfield options are diminished overnight.

Granted, almost a fortnight remains before the transfer window shuts, but the transfer rumour mill offers precious little comfort.

Liverpool’s current recruitment drive is firmly focused on bringing in a wide attacker, according to reports, rather than bolstering the middle of the park. While speculative links to Adam Wharton persist, any late approach will be strongly rebuffed by Crystal Palace, who have no intention of parting with their prized asset so late in August.

Even if a deal were possible, Wharton himself may hold out for a rumoured move to Manchester City in 12 months' time. By choosing to bank £30m for Jones on the brink of contract expiry, Liverpool may have solved an accounting issue, only to leave themselves one injury away from a full-blown crisis.

In isolation, banking £30m for Jones who is on the brink of contract expiry is a good bit of business. But in current circumstances, it can only be deemed good business if Liverpool have someone else lined up in that position, who will meet Iraola's needs and elevate the profile of the squad. Even then, it mightn't be enough and Liverpool could find themselves running on fumes by March, coasting to the finish.

Newcastle United are preparing to say goodbye to long-serving goalkeeper Nick Pope, with the 34-year-old’s exit from St. James' Park entering its final stages ahead of the transfer deadline.

Pope’s standing in the squad has shifted following the arrival of head coach Matthias Jaissle.

The German head coach has overseen an overhaul of Newcastle's goalkeeping options this summer, signing both Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen. The pair are expected to serve as Newcastle’s first and second-choice shot-stoppers, respectively, for the upcoming campaign, leaving Pope firmly out of Jaissle's plans.

Nick Pope Newcastle exit imminent

Jaissle recently addressed Pope's situation following a pre-season match, confirming that open discussions have taken place regarding the player's future: "I had a talk with Nick. I really appreciate what he has done in his career.

"He knows exactly the situation right now and we need to deal with it in the best possible way."

According to various reports, Scottish Premiership champions Celtic have emerged as the leading contenders to sign Pope as they seek an experienced replacement following Kasper Schmeichel’s retirement.

The England international has also drawn interest from Premier League sides including Leeds United and Ipswich Town as he seeks guaranteed first-team minutes.

Although a move to either now seems less likely after the two clubs' respective captures of James Trafford and Kjell Scherpen.

An exit will draw the curtain on an eventful four-year tenure on Tyneside for the former Burnley shot-stopper. Arriving in the summer of 2022, Pope established himself as a fan favourite and a central pillar of Newcastle's revival.

His defining campaign came during the 2022/23 season, in which he helped Newcastle secure a top-four finish and UEFA Champions League qualification alongside a run to the Carabao Cup final.

However, Pope's time in the North East was also marked by setbacks. A costly red card against Liverpool saw him suspended for the 2023 Carabao Cup final, while recurring shoulder injuries sidelined him for substantial portions of subsequent seasons.

His relative limitations in ball distribution also contrasted with Jaissle’s preference for a modern, proactive keeper capable of playing out from the back.

FourFourTwo understands Pope is walking away from a lucrative Newcastle contract which is now into its final 12 months.

Chelsea’s hopes of securing their dream transfer scenario regarding Nicolas Jackson have hit a temporary roadblock, with suitors Napoli delaying any formal move, according to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Blues are eager to offload the 25-year-old forward, who seemingly does not feature in manager Xabi Alonso’s tactical plans at Stamford Bridge.

Jackson spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan at German giants Bayern Munich, netting 11 goals across all competitions. However, upon his return to West London, it is clear a permanent departure, or at least a structured loan with an obligation to buy, remains the priority for all parties.

Chelsea require quick resolution to Nicolas Jackson transfer saga

Napoli have identified Jackson as a potential target alongside Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus as they rebuild their front line.

However, Di Marzio reports that the Serie A side are stalling on opening official negotiations.

The Napoli hierarchy must first finalise an outgoing transfer before committing funds to a new striker, with Dutch winger Noa Lang linked to Ajax, Galatasaray, and Atalanta in recent days.

This delay leaves Chelsea in a delicate position as they attempt to trim their squad before the transfer window closes.

The club hierarchy are keen to avoid a repeat of recent seasons, where high-earning stars were banished to the 'bomb squad', forced to train separately from the main group.

Urgency to move Jackson on is amplified by regulations surrounding squad management. FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) now penalise clubs that isolate senior players.

According to the guidelines, forcing professional footballers to train alone without standard coaching, sports science, or medical support is classified as abusive conduct, giving players legal grounds to terminate their contracts for just cause.

Additionally, FIFA’s international loan caps restrict clubs to a maximum of six outgoing senior loans per season.

This prevents Chelsea from relying on their previous strategy of stockpiling unwanted talent on numerous overseas loans.

Chelsea need Napoli to resolve their outgoing transfers quickly so negotiations for Jackson can resume, allowing the Blues to finalise their squad list without falling foul of 'bomb squad' regulation.

Manchester United are closing in on the high-profile acquisition of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba, with personal terms now fully agreed ahead of a proposed move to Old Trafford, according to Sky Sports.

The 22-year-old Cameroon international has agreed in principle a five-year contract, which will keep him at Old Trafford until the summer of 2031.

With personal terms settled, the Man United hierarchy are now said to be finalising the financial structure of a club-to-club agreement with Brighton.

Carlos Baleba to Manchester United requires one more box to be ticked

The Red Devils have pitched a transfer package worth approximately £60 million, alongside an additional £5m in performance-related add-ons.

While Brighton had originally held out for a higher valuation, constructive discussions between both Premier League clubs have brought a full agreement closer than ever before.

Baleba has remained a long-term target for the Old Trafford club for well over a year.

Man United first identified the combative midfielder as an ideal recruitment candidate last spring before exploring the conditions of a mid-season deal during the January transfer window.

Although Brighton were firmly against selling the player midway through the campaign, the club are thought to have maintained an open dialogue behind the scenes, ensuring they were well-positioned once formal negotiations resumed this summer.

The signing of the former Lille star looks set to further bolster a Manchester United midfield in need of added physicality, mobility and defensive awareness.

Since making his high-profile move to the Amex Stadium as a replacement for Moises Caicedo, Baleba has matured into one of the most complete young box-to-box talents in European football.

With the five-year contract details agreed by the player’s side, all that's left to do now is for the two clubs to agree on a fee that suits all parties and the deal can be brought to a conclusion.

It could be that a medical is scheduled in the coming days should things progress as Old Trafford executives hope.

West Ham United look set to miss out on top summer transfer target Troy Parrott after negotiations with AZ Alkmaar stalled, according to reports from talkSPORT.

The Hammers had been in active discussions with the Dutch club over a deal for the Republic of Ireland international.

However, talks broke down after West Ham failed to meet AZ Alkmaar's valuation for the 24-year-old forward. The required fee would have made Parrott one of the most expensive signings in Championship history following West Ham's relegation from the Premier League.

West Ham pass on Troy Parrott transfer

LaLiga outfit Real Betis have emerged as new frontrunners, with the Hammers unable to compete with the level of football on offer in Seville.

The Spanish side are closing in on a €20m (£17m) deal to sign the former Tottenham Hotspur striker, with negotiations entering their final stages. Betis, who qualified for Champions League football after finishing fifth in LaLiga, can offer Parrott elite European competition and top flight football.

This summer's transfer pursuit follows a transformation in Parrott’s career since moving to the Netherlands.

After a productive loan spell at Excelsior where he scored 17 goals in all competitions, he completed a permanent transfer to AZ Alkmaar and quickly established himself as one of the more dangerous forwards in Dutch football.

Parrott enjoyed a prolific 2025/26 campaign in the Netherlands, registering 31 goals and 10 assists across 48 appearances in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar, including 16 goals in the Eredivisie.

Parrott’s club form was matched by headline-grabbing exploits for the national team last autumn, which saw him become a household name across Europe.

During Ireland's dramatic World Cup qualifying campaign, Parrott scored a hat-trick against Hungary that included a 96th-minute winner to secure a 3-2 victory.

Having been gazumped in their pursuit of Parrott, West Ham have turned their attentions to alternative attacking targets to lead their Championship promotion bid, bringing in Joel Piroe from Leeds United on an initial season-long loan deal.

The Hammers began their 2026/27 campaign with a Carabao Cup win over Portsmouth, followed by a 2-2 draw against Burnley in the league.

Meanwhile, Parrott is expected to finalise his move to Seville in the coming days.

Neil Sullivan’s route from a Premier League regular to international football did not follow the conventional path.

In fact, Sullivan’s opportunity to represent Scotland all came down to a chance remark to a reporter from this very publication during a promotion event.

The former Wimbledon stopper would win 28 caps for Scotland and go to the 1998 World Cup with the Tartan Army, and while stories of this nature can often be over-egged, the man himself insists it is true.

How FourFourTwo helped Sullivan earn his Scotland call-up

“Yeah, 100 per cent true,” Sullivan tells FourFourTwo when asked if the magazine really did help him earn a place in Craig Brown’s squad back in 1997.

As was the case with Sullivan’s other most famous moment in football, a certain future England captain was also on hand.

“I was sponsored by Sondico gloves at the time, and I think David Beckham’s shin pads were sponsored by them,” the former Spurs and Leeds stopper continues.

“We were doing a kind of promotional event at the same place, promoting the brand and taking photos and doing autographs with fans - no prizes for guessing whose queue was longer – and a FourFourTwo reporter was there.

“We had a bit of a general chat and then I just happened to mention that I had a Scottish grandparent. That went in the magazine and somehow it made his way back to Craig Brown. He rang me up and I jumped at the chance.”

Sullivan would make his Scotland debut under Brown against Wales in May 1997 and he would do enough to ensure he was part of the squad for the 1998 World Cup.

After former Manchester United ‘keeper Jim Leighton returned from international football in 1998, Sullivan became a regular starter during the Euro 2000 and 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

“It was amazing,” Sullivan says when asked about being part of the 1998 squad. “I went as our third-choice ‘keeper with Jim Leighton and Andy Gorham ahead of me.

“We went to America on a kind of pre-World Cup tour, and Andy decided that he didn't want to be involved, so I moved up to number two goalkeeper. We played the opening match against Brazil so we missed the opening ceremony as we were down underneath the pitch getting ready. That feeling was pure excitement.

“It was a brilliant summer, great to be involved even in a small way and soak up the atmosphere.”

From Arsenal’s Invincibles to Manchester City’s emerging superstars, Kolo Toure played with some of the greatest footballers of his generation.

The Ivory Coast international spent 14 seasons playing for Premier League contenders, from his time with the Gunners to the Citizens, up to his three-year stint at Liverpool which took in the beginning of the Jurgen Klopp era.

Selecting his Perfect XI for FourFourTwo, therefore, is no easy feat - but it’s a task Kolo set about with relish.

Kolo Toure's Perfect XI

GK: JENS LEHMANN

“Jens was a great shot-stopper who could catch the ball from corners and crosses – but he was also good with his feet. He had a strong personality… but oh my god, he was so crazy! You need that though, I think, as a goalkeeper. A lovely man, but very crazy. You didn’t want to get in his bad books, trust me.”

RB: LAUREN

“To be honest, I was torn between Lauren and Emmanuel Eboue. I played with Eboue for the Ivory Coast and at Arsenal and he was underrated both going forward and defending – but I’ve gone with Lauren. He was just immense, and he would kill me if he didn’t get in my team!”

CB: SOL CAMPBELL

“I’ve chosen two centre-backs, so of course, I went with Sol Campbell. He was powerful, strong in the air, an aggressive player – and he was lovely, too. I felt like I could always trust him and play my best football with him alongside me. I had a good relationship with him at Arsenal.”

CB: VINCENT KOMPANY

“I’ve gone for Vincent. We played a few games together at Manchester City and technically he was really good, as well as being as strong. He was very young when I played with him – but he was really mature and a leader for his age and of course he went on to have a tremendous career.”

LB: ASHLEY COLE

“I’ve got to go for Ashley Cole at left-back. Such a good player. Going forwards or backwards, it was easy for him; no problem. He had such energy and he was a really generous player. [FFT: you sometimes played right-back on the opposite side to Cole…] Yes, we’d both get forward a lot. But he was more natural in that role.”

DM: STEVEN GERRARD

“I’ve gone with a diamond – so I’ve gone with Stevie G from my time at Liverpool to ping the ball right and left. He’d moved into a deeper role by that stage in his career and his vision and passing range were perfect in there. A brilliant footballer and captain.”

CM: YAYA TOURE


“On the right of the midfield, Yaya Toure. [Laughs] If I don’t pick Yaya, he’ll ask why! He was a top player, technically and tactically. He could run with the ball and he could score goals as well. Oh, and he’s my brother! Yaya was always the better player of the two of us growing up, too, which I was happy with, I don’t mind my brother being better than me.”

CM: PATRICK VIEIRA

“I’ve chosen Patrick over David Silva – it was very hard. But Patrick had everything for a midfield player: he was so tall and powerful. Technically, he was really good, he could run, get from box to box and he scored goals, too. For me, he was a perfect midfielder.”

AM: DENNIS BERGKAMP

“I’ve got to have Dennis Bergkamp at the top of the diamond in this team, to find players and chip in with some goals. He was an unbelievable player and you couldn’t find anyone better past or present to do this role in this team, with these team-mates around him.”

ST: THIERRY HENRY

“What is there to even say about Thierry that hasn’t been said? His speed, his power, his desire to win… he was so professional, I have to choose Thierry Henry. He was a phenomenon.”

ST: DIDIER DROGBA

“For the last one, I didn’t know who to pick. It’s between Luis Suarez, Didier Drogba and Sergio Aguero… I’ve got to go for Drogba – but I have subs as well, right? [laughs] He doesn’t like the ball too much, but I’ve got to pick him because he was so physical, so determined and a guy you could always rely on in the biggest moments. A legend of African football and a great guy, too.”

SUBS: Gael Clichy, Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez

THE GAFFER: ARSENE WENGER

“It absolutely has to be Wenger. He was immense, he was the guy who gave me my opportunity to come to the Premier League. No one believed in me until him and David Dein (Arsenal’s vice-chairman until 2009) and they both gave me the opportunity to play for one of the best clubs in the world. It’s not easy to pick a boy from Africa, take him straight to England and put him in the Arsenal team after not even a year. I owe him everything.”

West Ham will play their first second-tier match in 14 years today when they visit Burnley in their Championship opener at 4pm.

The club’s relegation at the end of last season came after the Hammers spent a decade trying to establish themselves as a Premier League force, only to be undone by a series of poor transfers and recent managerial instability.

As he sees his old club get set for the new season, former Irons defender Tony Gale believes that the drop could represent an opportunity for the slate to be wiped clean,

Gale on West Ham’s reset

“We’ve spent as much money as everyone else, but we’ve spent it unwisely,” Gale tells FourFourTwo. “It’s time for a reset.

“We’ve got to be looking more into the players we buy – studying their characters, not just their playing style. Character is even more important in the Championship than the Premier League – nobody can underestimate that division.”

Gale insists that the team cannot assume they will be in the promotion mix come the end of the season. “It’s no good thinking that six teams will get into the Championship play-offs this season, so we’ll get promoted by hook or by crook,” he continues. “West Ham have to be aiming to go up automatically. It’s not going to be a cakewalk.”

One thing the Hammers do have going for them, Gale adds, is their fanbase. “The fans have rallied around, with 30,000 season tickets sold within a few weeks of relegation. They’ve shown their loyalty.”

Gale has first-hand experience of relegation and believes mentality will play a defining part this season. “Going down is all about your mindset,” he continues. “I did it twice and came back up. We were lucky because the footballing world wasn’t so financially based then, and a lot of us stayed. Relegation clauses didn’t exist at the time. Our attitude was that we went down, so it was our responsibility to get them back up.

“The first thing on a lot of players’ minds nowadays is finances. No doubt some will have pay cut clauses written into their contracts but there might be boys going into the Championship who have hardly played lately who’ll be on £100,000 a week.

“West Ham went down because of complacency, thinking that the three sides who come up are always going to go down. But Sunderland were sensational and spent wisely. Leeds? Their home record was brilliant and Elland Road kept them up.”

Yet despite the anguish of last season’s campaign, Gale does have room for optimism this year.

“Relegation isn’t the disaster that everybody thinks, though,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to the Championship. If you’re a fan, you’re a fan. West Ham may lose the tourist supporters who came over to London to watch a game of Premier League football and visit the old Olympic Stadium. Maybe 10,000 will drop off the average gate.

“But you’ll still have the same number of away supporters, because they’ll all want to come to our stadium. Even little Lincoln will fill it, don’t worry about that, it’s their cup final. Our fans have shown their loyalty and hopefully the club is about to turn a corner, for a brighter future.”

Looking back, it’s funny to think we might have picked berries from the same bush. Back in 1959, those blackberries proliferated to the rear of The Bend, the most unlovely corner of an unfashionable ground – Vicarage Road, home of the equally forgotten Watford FC.

Then, I was 18 and one of the 'Boys on The Bend', a disparate cluster of perhaps 20 fans who used the low bank as a vantage point to peer over the greyhound track and watch the newly-named Hornets. I was only aware of my own group, yet I might have noticed a podgy 13-year-old Pinner County Grammar School boy looking equally pleased.

Perhaps, had we talked, he might have volunteered that he’d inherited his love of Watford from his father, Stanley, and that his uncle, Roy Dwight, had scored and broken his leg in the FA Cup final that year. But the gulf between our teenage years was a chasm unlikely to be bridged at that stage.

The fifty quid a year Director

We’d have been shocked if someone had predicted that, as a result of my negotiations, our paths would next cross deep in the breeze-block heart of Watford’s unimpressive main stand. That young schoolboy, Reggie Dwight, would later burst on to the scene as Elton Hercules John, the iconic, flamboyant rock star. I would take a somewhat less exotic route to our eventual meeting, by joining the local newspaper.

In the early 1970s, after a series of phone calls to my home from Elton’s European manager Vic Lewis informing me that the star wanted to become a director, I persuaded him that I could sell the idea to Watford’s autocratic chairman Jim Bonser.

Beleaguered by fan criticism, the chairman treated the approaches of monied men as a threat to his regime. However, I convinced him the concept of Elton becoming one of the 20 or so vice-presidents – paying £50 per annum for a seat (plus access to a pay-bar and free sandwiches) – would be good PR.

So, one Friday morning in August 1973, the short, dapper, personable Lewis arrived at Vicarage Road, soon followed by Elton who, apart from platform shoes, was by his standards soberly dressed.

Bonser – expecting to meet an inarticulate, bizarrely dressed ‘nutter’ of whom he’d never heard – was pleasantly surprised. Elton impressed, being polite, well spoken, knowledgeable on the game and deferential to the chairman, to the extent of addressing him as ‘Sir’.

On cue, Bonser offered honorary vice-president’s facilities, which Elton declined, saying: “I’ll pay. I’m here to help not sponge”, and Lewis mentioned, casually: “Perhaps Elton might do a concert to raise funds.” It would become a well-worn Fleet Street cliche over the years, but Elton had set foot on the Yellow Brick Road, the third phase of a love-affair that started with schoolboy enthusiasm, developed into a teenage crush and became a full-blown adult affair lasting several decades.

There were break-ups and splits – he was twice appointed chairman, three times a director and twice life president – but no matter how many times he left, he kept coming back to Watford. It was an affair that would cost him in excess of £4m (largely spent on ground improvements), a gigantic hike in his personal phone bill and tears of frustration. But mainly, it brought the joy of seeing his dreams realised. Watford emerged from Division Four in 1978 and five years later finished runners-up to Liverpool in the top flight, reaching the FA Cup final in 1984.

Mozart and mustard

It was not all plain sailing. The early days were depressing. Soon after he’d held a 1974 concert at the ground, he was elected on to the board, only for the club to be relegated to Division Four that season. Elton did not take setbacks well. When Watford went through a slump, he was seldom contactable and if they were heading for defeat at Vicarage Road, the then chief executive Eddie Plumley recalled: “He would go down the stairs from the directors' box, and turn and peep over, like a small child. I have known him turn to his mother and say ‘Come on, we’re going’, long before a match has ended.”

Not everyone welcomed him into the hallowed halls of League football. Elton was asked to leave one club’s boardroom because he was deemed ‘improperly dressed’.

A few years later, among those guilty of ‘funny looks’ were the patrons of a distinctly up-market hotel restaurant in Vienna, one of several unusual venues, including Paris and Milan, selected for board meetings. “Elton was in Austria on tour, and we flew out there and met at this crowded hotel restaurant,” remembered fellow director Muir Stratford. “Elton joined us at the table dressed as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, complete with wig. You could have heard a pin drop when he came in.”

He was not asked to leave on that occasion, but initially Elton took the snubs, the looks and even relegation in his stride, pointing out: “This is not a momentary indulgence by a showbusiness personality who will tire of it and look for a new toy. I’m here for the long haul.”

His arrival pleased the players, bringing an element of celebrity to an unfashionable Fourth Division club, but there was some irritation over the media’s obsession with the Elton connection.

“I see Elton scored again,” moaned one player after a win was greeted by the all-too-familiar headline of ‘Rocket Men take off’. The star himself admitted: “Everyone at Watford is so normal and down to earth. It’s a stabilising influence on my life and keeps me sane, compared to the falseness of showbusiness. I get my leg pulled more at Watford than anywhere else.”

In turn he was appreciated, not least because he was natural. Luther Blissett, who rose with Watford from Division Four to Division One and was capped by England, said: “The thing with him, he just wanted to be one of the lads. He would come into the dressing room before games and the older players would even give him some stick over what he was wearing.”

After hiring a plane to fly to a Division Four fixture at Workington, he travelled back on the train with the Watford party. When it was discovered that the ordered meals were in the kitchen but there was no sign of British Rail staff to prepare and serve them, without hesitation the rock star mucked in with a fellow director and his wife, serving the players, taking it in good heart when they asked: “Any mustard, my good man?”

A call from Auckland

After two relegations in four seasons, Jim Bonser was under pressure, but he wasn’t ready to bow to the fans’ demands. “How can Elton John be chairman, when he’s out of the country most of the time?” he fumed. Throughout it all, Elton kept a low boardroom profile until the time was right, in May 1976, when he bought out Bonser and took over the club.

We scheduled a major interview for a Monday morning, only for the national press to come out on the previous Saturday with Elton’s revelation of bisexuality. That afternoon, there was an abnormal interest from the press in Watford’s game at Rochdale. Elton fended off most of them, before hearing Spotland’s faithful become the first to chant: “Elton John’s a homosexual.”

I despaired that it would end the likelihood of the interview, but he was true to his word, arriving on the Monday and answering every question. Checking over his quotes, one did worry him: “I’m not a raving homosexual.” The coming out was only partial, then.

Yet he was relaxed enough to remove his hat during the interview. A few wispy hairs were no big deal; his biggest concern was how the dressing room – “such a heterosexual environment” – would take his dressing-room revelations. On arriving at Rochdale, he’d been assured by manager Mike Keen: “We are behind you, your private life is your own affair.” Elton found that “uplifting” and was saddened by the “maturing experience” when he had to axe Keen a few months later.

“I’m not a quitter, I’m used to setbacks and jibes,” he said, but there were occasions when it got to him, not least when Watford were becalmed after appearing certainties for promotion to Division Two. Elton made for the boardroom toilet to contemplate and come to terms with the setback, having witnessed much of a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Colchester on Good Friday.

Later, manager Graham Taylor noted the chairman was clearly angry. It transpired, while in the toilet, he heard a group from Colchester’s party come in to relieve themselves and joke how their team had “shoved it up Watford and that poofter”.

“I said he must be used to rising above it and suggested, as chairman, he should go over to the Colchester directors and express congratulations and wish them all the best for the rest of the season,” Taylor later revealed. “He did just that but when he came back, he looked at me, said ‘F**k you’ and went home.”

On occasions, visiting chairmen, immediately after a match, would be amazed to receive a call from the star congratulating them on their defensive work, discussing their missed chances and other results.

“If he’s so keen, why doesn’t he attend games?” was the observation of many after putting the phone down, only to be stunned to discover the Watford chairman was in Auckland or the like, on tour.

“Those phone calls were amazing. No matter where he was or what time zone it was, he would phone in before a match,” remembered Plumley. “He would get the team news, then hook into the local hospital commentary and listen to it for two hours. He would talk to me and the manager afterwards. It might be the middle of the night where he was, but he was always on, practically every home match.” For away games, he phoned his mother all afternoon for updates from teletext.

Graham Taylor, or Bobby Moore?

Elton was generous throughout. When I requested an interview to mark a decade of his chairmanship, he arranged for me to fly to Miami where he was touring and spend 48 hours in an opulent country club.

Every pre-season, he would throw open his Old Windsor home and garden to players, staff and their families for a party, complete with bouncy castle, and enter into the spirit of the day. “I remember Elton grabbed my baby son Elliott, and laughed when he was sick all over his shoulder,” recalled Blissett.

Under his chairmanship, Watford trailblazed the ‘family club’ image, and Elton was very much hands-on, giving out Easter eggs and Christmas presents to the Junior Hornets. Vicarage Road was even extolled in Parliament for being a hooligan-free family environment – a concept Elton had gained from his association with the US club LA Aztecs.

The chairman’s biggest disappointment was at Watford Council’s “lack of people with similar vision”, as he sought to build the first all-seater stadium in the country since the war. The council blocked every scheme, finally turning down plans to develop Vicarage Road and causing Watford to appeal to the minister for the environment. The club won with costs – Elton taking the field before a match and holding up a sign stating simply: ‘We’ve won’. So, when he and Taylor were accorded the freedom of the borough, Elton did not accept the accolade personally.

“Elton’s main contribution, apart from the money for the ground, was his enthusiasm, that was terrific,” recalled director Stratford. “But there were a couple of times when we took issue with him.”

The first was when Elton’s early Watford association saw him develop a friendship with England boss Don Revie and his squad. When looking for a manager to lift the Hornets from the depths, he first approached England skipper Bobby Moore, to the consternation of his fellow directors, who were keen on Lincoln’s Graham Taylor. Moore, as events were to prove, was not managerial material, but 10 years later, after Taylor had left Watford, Elton angered his fellow directors by lining up Dave Bassett as his replacement, without consulting the board. The result was strife and relegation.

Back in 1977, when Revie confirmed that Taylor was “the best young coach in the country”, Elton made an approach. After one false start – Taylor had no intention of hooking up with a rock star and his temporary whims – he attended an interview at Elton’s home and listened to him outline his dreams of taking Watford, not just to the Third Division, or even the Second. Taylor, who was interested in creating something unique rather than duplicating past successes, was hooked.

“He said he wanted to get Fourth Division Watford into Europe,” Taylor later explained. “I asked him how much he thought such a thing would cost, and he replied, ‘About a million’. I thought, ‘You will do for me pal’.

They targeted achieving First Division status in 10 years, but made it in five – Taylor telling his chairman after the promotion-sealing victory: “Mission accomplished.” And it was pretty much on budget – the club’s accounts showed Watford owed Elton £1.2m.

The Hornets celebrated their debut in Europe, through the UEFA Cup with games in Kaiserslautern, Sofia and Prague, six years into Taylor’s management and appeared in the FA Cup final after seven, watched by a tearful Elton and his new wife Renata.

“You can’t equate the millions with the joy being involved with Watford has given me,” he said, after shelling out a further £2m towards building a new stand in 1986.

Yet within a year, hounded by The Sun and reports on his private life, which resulted in the issuing of 17 writs, Elton attempted to sell the club. Sensing the honeymoon was over, Taylor moved to Aston Villa, before Elton finally sold to developer Jack Petchey, accepting just £1 in settlement of his £4m loans.

Boardroom to board games

He was to return as a director a few years later, but resigned over the policies of his successor, only to reappear once again in 1997 as figurehead chairman with a consortium that re-appointed Taylor as manager.

Second time round, despite two successive promotions and a season in the Premier League, Elton attended only a few matches in four years because – in dressing-room vernacular “his missus doesn’t like football”.

After Taylor retired and Watford suffered financial meltdown under Gianluca Vialli’s management and the collapse of ITV Digital, Elton quit as chairman and director. He later kept in regular touch by phone with a succession of managers, financing a couple of purchases and their wages, also donating £750,000 proceeds from a concert held at Vicarage Road.

Throughout the years, his relationship with Taylor was pivotal. “He’s like a brother to me,” admitted Elton, who in the early days spent many evenings with the manager and his family, playing board games and chewing the cud. They were both bad losers, prone to tantrums, I was assured.

“Graham even tells me what he thinks about my records, clothes and concerts – he ‘s straight to the point, which I love,” said the star, who remembers being asked to pop in for coffee at the manager’s house one morning, and arrived fearing he was going to lose Taylor to a big club. “Rita served her husband a coffee,” Elton revealed. “Then Graham poured champagne and brandy into a pint pot and passed it to me, saying: ‘You can’t face the day without this’. That was an example of his being like a brother, giving me a wake-up call.”

Subsequent revelations have pinpointed those years as when Elton was struggling with drugs. “I was never aware of that – as he said, he did drink a bit,” admitted Taylor.

Stratford endorsed that point: “I wasn’t aware of drugs – he was volatile, up one minute, down the next, but great company. We got pissed a few times. Sometimes we’d stay and drink, and plan ahead in the boardroom after a match, late into the night, sending out for fish and chips.”

Drink also played a part when Watford residents were surprised to discover one night that the carol singers at their door were none other than the club’s chairman and his manager.

“We’d been to the Chinese Embassy, for instructions, before the club toured China the following summer,” Taylor explained. “We had so many of these really potent liqueurs. Elton came back to our house and we were dropped off somewhat the worse for wear. That’s my major claim to fame – I went carol-singing with Elton.” The session came to an end when they sung outside Taylor’s house by mistake and were dragged in by his wife.

For all those associated with Watford, Elton John’s involvement, along with Taylor, helped the club realise the ‘impossible dream’ – its treasured halcyon era.

One day Elton opened the station halt to the rear of the ground, enabling visiting fans to avoid the streets and emerge on the concreted away terrace. Years before, it had been The Bend, just clinker and railway sleepers. Walking back into the ground, I motioned to the back and he broke into a large smile when I reminded him: “The blackberry bushes were just there.”

This article originally appeared in the September 2009 edition of FourFourTwo

As Zinedine Zidane gets set to return to the France national team setup as head coach, it is worth remembering just how big an impact the 54-year-old has had on his nation’s football culture.

From his upbringing in Marseille to becoming the face of France’s historic 1998 World Cup victory, few players have left such an indelible mark on the game.

For his former France teammate Djibril Cisse, Zidane’s influence went far beyond his impact on the pitch, as the ex-Liverpool striker believes that the former Real Madrid man’s journey, personality and playing style all contributed to making him a sporting and cultural icon.

Cisse on Zindane’s influence

“He was a little kid from the mean streets of Marseille,” Cisse tells FourFourTwo of Zidane’s beginnings, where he was born and raised in the city’s gritty La Castellane neighbourhood.

“He came from a very tough neighbourhood - a background that swallows so many people up. It’s not easy to become someone with this kind of start in life, but he did it.”

It was this ability to rise from such humble beginnings to the very top of the globe’s most popular sport which makes Zidane’s story so compelling.

And for Cisse, this - in addition to his sublime ability with a football - all plays into why Zidane was able to make such a difference in society.

“The best players in the world don’t just win matches but they influence people’s lives,” he continues.

“Zidane didn’t do that with his personality, like Ali, but he did it with his technical ability, his winning mentality and his elegance.”

This came courtesy of Zidane’s positive approach on the pitch, as he would let his attack-minded football do the talking.

“He was never the type of player who would sit deep and hope for a draw. He always saw the possibility to break forward and go for the win and you always had a chance with him in your team.

“Not only that but his sublime skill, his showboating and his effectiveness made so many people around the world fall in love with French football. Playing alongside him for the national team was an honour.

“Again, like Jordan, he is the GOAT of his sport in my opinion. A legend in my country."

For any player, leaving a club after a decade of loyal service is never an easy decision to make.

And for Matt Grimes, who spent 11 years with Swansea City, the decision to part ways in January 2025 was always going to be something of a gamble, given how synonymous he was with the Welsh side.

But fast forward 18 months and Grimes is getting ready for another crack at the Premier League after his decision to join Coventry City paid off handsomely.

Grimes on his decision to join Coventry

“I gave a lot of years to Swansea and I’m very thankful for what they gave me in return,” he tells FourFourTwo. “But I felt like it was the right time to have a crack somewhere else.”

The Sky Blues would pay £4million for the midfielder, who admits that his decision to join Coventry was in part made by the fear of missing out on what could have been.

“It’s turned out as well as it could have done,” he continues. “I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t go and Coventry get promoted, I’d be gutted’.

“But then I thought, on the flip side, ‘If I go to Coventry and Swansea get promoted, I’d be just as devastated’.”

With a decision to make, Grimes mind was made up when he got the chance to talk to Coventry boss Frank Lampard.

“I remember my agent saying ‘Just have a conversation with Frank Lampard’,” he adds. “I was very settled at Swansea, I was very happy, and we were like, ‘Let’s just have a conversation, see how it goes’.

“As a midfielder, I don’t think there’s anyone you’d rather play for than one of, if not the greatest English midfielder of all time. It was huge. It was a massive compliment that he wanted to sign me.

The 31-year-old has spent much of his career chasing promotion to the Premier League and after several agonising near-misses, achieving this goal with Coventry has vindicated his decision to move on from Swansea.

“I’m not sure exactly how many seasons I’ve played in the Championship, I think seven or eight, but I’ve had three play-off campaigns and eventually won the league.

“The painful moments make the good ones even sweeter.”

Uruguay’s 2010 World Cup campaign was something of a rollercoaster ride for La Celeste.

After missing out on the 2006 edition, the team topped a group featuring France, Mexico and hosts South Africa on their way to the semi-finals, where they were eventually eliminated by the Netherlands.

This would prove to be Uruguay’s best World Cup campaign since their 1970 fourth-place finish, but the two-time winners needed to dig deep to even make it to the tournament.

Forlan on his memorable World Cup qualfying strike

With their qualification hopes hanging in the balance, the team travelled to Quito to face Ecuador in their penultimate qualifying match, knowing that defeat could end their hopes of making the World Cup.

The challenge of playing at 2,800 metres above sea-level is a well-documented one, but this particular match would go on to be one of striker Diego Forlan’s most memorable performances.

“It was the penultimate matchday of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” former Manchester United striker Forlan tells FourFourTwo.

“We were in Quito, a city where it’s always difficult to play because of the altitude. In the second half, Antonio Valencia scored to make it 1–0.

“We were against the ropes, because a defeat would have left us with no chance of reaching South Africa.”

A goal behind and in tough conditions, Uruguay needed someone to step up.

“Straight after that blow, we put together a good move, I assisted Luis Suarez and we made it 1–1,” he continues. “But we needed to win.

“In the very last attack, Ecuador’s goalkeeper fouled Edinson Cavani inside the box. I was the most experienced one, so I decided to take the ball and assume responsibility.

“Even though it was a critical moment, I don’t remember feeling particularly nervous. I struck it perfectly into the top corner.

“That win took us to the play-offs against Costa Rica and we ultimately reached the World Cup.”

“I know what to expect from George Best.”

Some statements are just destined to make their speaker look foolish from the moment they leave their lips. On September 4, 1976, it was the turn of Lindsay Parsons to find that out. Bristol Rovers’ stalwart full-back was speaking to the press ahead of his side’s Second Division fixture against Fulham at a packed Craven Cottage – more than 21,000, double the average gate, would cram in to witness the debut of the former Ballon d’Or winner.

“I’ve played against him before against Manchester United,” Parsons went on. “I’ve never had a complex about him and I’m not going to start now. I’ll mark him out of the game. There will be no dream debut for George Best.”

It took just 71 seconds for Fulham’s new star man to make his brash man-marker look silly, curling an exquisite free-kick around the Rovers wall and into the net with effortless class, as spectators still made their way through the turnstiles.

It would be the only goal of the game, but for the remaining 89 minutes, Best made Parsons and his team-mates dance to his tune, as if to highlight just how misplaced the defender’s arrogance had been. A drop of the shoulder would send them one way, a stepover the other, a feint of a pass bringing them back again, all against a backdrop of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from Cottagers who couldn’t quite believe their luck.

Best’s performance raised a glaring question that dominated the backpages of the tabloids the next day. How could this footballing icon, one of the greatest players in the world, be playing in the Second Division?

The simple answer lay in direct opposition to Parsons’ claims: after he left Manchester United, you never really knew what to expect from George Best.

“Damn those electric curtains!”

When people recall the magic of the Manchester United great, they remember him in the iconic number seven shirt, just as he remains in statue form outside Old Trafford. Most likely, they remember his stratospheric rise to global stardom, and his goal against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, in the year he was crowned the continent’s finest player. They might also remember him scoring six goals in a single game, during an 8-2 FA Cup thrashing of Northampton Town.

For the most part, they remember Best of the 60s, but that was merely part one. Throughout the 70s and early 80s, the second part of Best’s career was as bizarre and chaotic as the first was miraculous.

Over the course of a decade, Best turned out for a plethora of different clubs across the globe, was sacked by some, walked out on others, was taken to court by one, and was served a worldwide playing ban by FIFA. It was a cyclical tale of brilliance, hope and self-sabotage that few could take their eyes off.

“He was never late for training. Never missed it. And he was a great trainer, too,” said former Manchester United team-mate Willie Morgan. “His downfall started when he had that bloody house built.”

In July 1970, Best moved out of his humble room and board at Mary Fullaway’s house in the Manchester suburb of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. He’d stayed with the maternal figure since moving to the club at the age of 15, and throughout his rise to the top, but was now settling into his first own home – one much more befitting to his level of celebrity.

The purpose-built luxury bachelor pad, which he named Que Sera, was packed with smart-home gadgets far ahead of their time and was said to be one of the most famous modernist designs in the country. It was also credited as the catalyst of its owner’s unravelling.

With little to no security and a design of floor-to-ceiling windows all around, Best found himself living in a £35,000 goldfish bowl, as crowds of people would form outside the building. The problem, compounded by the fact that regular planes on the Manchester Airport path would set off the automated curtains and give the tourists a good look at Manchester United’s top scorer in his bedroom, made him seek an escape. As he sought refuge from his own home in the city’s bars and nightclubs, a spiral of missed training sessions, disciplinaries and public criticism began.

“I just don’t know what’s wrong with the lad,” his boss Matt Busby told reporters after the first such incident. There would be many more under successors Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Docherty – by New Year’s Day in 1974, Best was playing his last game for the club, an unbefitting 3-0 defeat at QPR.

He was just 27 years old, but as time moved on from that fixture at Loftus Road, doting fans grew doubtful of ever seeing him on a football pitch again. For nearly two years, one of the world’s most talented sportsmen spent his prime living the life of a retired footballer in Spain, insisting he was done for good. The only football he played came in the form of a handful of games for Jewish Guild in South Africa for an £11,000 payday, and two friendlies for non-league Dunstable Town.

Throughout it all, Best remained registered to Manchester United, and needed the club’s permission to play. His sustained attachment left some hope of a return to Old Trafford, although not much expectation. What nobody could have possibly expected, however, was what happened next.

The friendlies at Dunstable – a favour for their manager Barry Fry, his former team-mate in the Manchester United youth system – had lit a fire in Best, and he announced to the world that he was making a comeback. It wouldn’t be with the Red Devils – instead, the superstar decided to officially sever ties with the club and sign for fourth-tier Stockport County.

“I want to harden up,” he said. “I want a bit of kicking from eager youngsters in the Fourth Division to keep me on my toes, to keep me moving. But I’m after the big time and I’m determined to make it.”

Playing only in Stockport’s home games, he set about getting himself into shape and dodging the temptations of his vices by checking himself into a health farm. He was determined for it to be the beginning of a rise back to the top. Where better to start than the bottom?

“He’s the greatest player I have seen,” Stoke City forward Jimmy Greenhoff declared after a friendly match between his First Division side and Stockport on November 10, 1975. “No-one else could have come back after two years and played as he did.”

The crowds were drawn in – Stockport’s attendances tripled for a glimpse of Best on the pitch. They got what they came for. The Northern Irishman scored his side’s only goal in a 1-1 draw, but was unlucky not to bag a debut hat-trick, hitting the crossbar twice.

Over the next 47 days, Best played three league matches for the club, starring in all of them, scoring two goals, inspiring two wins and a draw. Having suffered defeat in seven of the previous 11 matches before the shock signing, Stockport now looked like a side who couldn’t lose. Suddenly, every club wanted a piece of George Best – his outlandish plan to use the Fourth Division as a way of putting himself in the shop window seemed to be working.

“I’ll give some team at least three good years if they give me a good contract,” the 29-year-old declared in one of many ‘come and get me’ pleas. “If I can get to Spain to sign for Real Madrid, who’ve come in for me, I could make a fortune. No woman, no taste of high life, is going to take that chance away from me.”

Handcuffed to a model

Real Madrid and Barcelona were indeed said to be interested, but no official approach was ever made. There were advanced talks with top English clubs, but they wanted insurance for taking on a footballing magician with a penchant for disappearing acts, so offers from the likes of Chelsea were on a pay-as-you-play basis. The FA had made it known that such a deal wouldn’t be allowed, with the concern being that the terms would facilitate another home-games-only affair.

Best had a brief spell in Ireland with Cork Celtic – on the other side of the Atlantic though, the burgeoning North American Soccer League (NASL) was going all out for his signature. Los Angeles Aztecs were so desperate to stave off the competition that they agreed to Best’s request for them to also sign his pal – gambling buddy, Bobby McAlinden. George made the case to the Aztecs general manager John Chaffetz by describing McAlinden as a “good little midfield player” who’d “played for Manchester City”.

“That satisfied him,” Best recalled. “I simply neglected to say that Bobby only played once for the City first team, before being transferred to Port Vale and then Stockport.” At the latter, McAlinden had only played for the reserves, before quitting to become a roofer – before his move to Los Angeles, he was more used to five-a-sides at the local YMCA.

A smug Best thought he’d tricked his new club, and perhaps he had. But the willingness to bend to their star player’s will was a sign of things to come. Chaffetz realised the way to deal with the reputation of his new signing, as well as the media circus that tagged along, was to lean into it. He met Best at the airport and immediately handcuffed him to a young model he’d brought along for the occasion, telling everyone who’d come to welcome the star that the stunt was to “make sure he doesn’t go anywhere”.

The club’s head coach Terry Fisher also understood the assignment. “There was going to be one set of rules for George and another set for the other internationals on my team,” he said. “Once you understood it wasn’t about trying to get George to conform to anything, it was more going to be about trying to understand what George wanted from coming to America, you could form a partnership.”

The approach was a welcome change for Best, who found glittering form, armed with a point to prove. Previously he’d ducked out of an agreement to join New York Cosmos from Manchester United – the NASL side instead signed Pele and general manager Clive Toye, still reeling from being stood up at Manchester Airport, teased: “Why sign George Best when you can sign the best?”

Just like a certain Second Division full-back later found out, words like that tended to stay ringing in the ears of the former Ballon d’Or winner. “I’m better than Pele,” Best told reporters after arriving in the NASL. “In fact, I think I’m better right now than Pele was in his prime.”

During his time there, Best lit up the league, named in the division’s all-star team alongside Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Gordon Banks. “For me, America offered a fresh start,” Best wrote in his autobiography, Blessed. “It took me out of the goldfish bowl at home and the drinking, gambling routine which I knew I had to stop. It also allowed me to play football without the massive pressure that had been on me when I played for United. I was training like a lunatic at the beginning... I drastically cut down on my drinking too and for a time, at least, I kept the demons at bay.”

Two other names to feature in the NASL’s all-star line-up were Rodney Marsh, of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and Bobby Moore, who’d joined San Antonio Thunder on loan from Fulham. Once the NASL campaign finished in late August 1976, the trio all headed to Craven Cottage.

Best’s dream debut against Bristol Rovers was followed by one of his greatest showings since the glory days, in a 2-1 League Cup win over Peterborough. With Best operating on one wing and Marsh on the other, the two played as though the rest of their team-mates were front-row spectators, seeking each other out every time one of them received the ball. Towards the end of the first half, Best broke the deadlock with what one newspaper reporter described as “one of the finest goals I have ever seen”. Taking the ball from Marsh, the long-haired and bearded No.7 casually flicked it up into the air and volleyed a looping shot from 30 yards, which dipped into the top corner.

While Manchester United gave Best his greatest memories on a football pitch, Fulham provided him with the most fun he’d ever experienced on one. That Peterborough victory was the start of a partnership that brought entertainment back into English football, during a time when it was criticised for being dull and defensive. On occasion, Best would even run over to the opposite wing and tackle his own team-mate, as an audacious party trick.

“We had celebrities coming to watch us every week,” remembered Tony Gale, a youngster at the club back then. “Anyone and everyone wanted to come and watch Fulham play in the Second Division. Rodney and Mooro brought a certain glamour, but George is the man I still regard as the best I played with. Goodness knows what he was like in his pomp. Every day in training, we watched him do things with the ball that I never saw anyone do again throughout my career.”

Behind bars

It may not have been the return to the top that Best felt he was destined for, but those years in the white of the Aztecs and Fulham, rather than Real Madrid, remain celebrated. Sadly, his association with both soon turned sour as he admitted later that he began to “wake up in the mornings needing a drink”.

A drink-driving car crash outside Harrods in London catapulted Best through the windscreen, fracturing his shoulder and leaving him needing 57 stitches in his face. After heading back to LA for the 1977 NASL campaign, he returned to Fulham that autumn, but made just 10 more appearances, fleeing back to America to open a beach bar and become his own most loyal customer. “I decided I’d had enough and went back to LA,” Best wrote in his book. “It was the off-season of course, but there was no off-season as far as drinking and women were concerned.”

Fulham were furious. Following Best’s appearances in the 1978 NASL, he didn’t return to Craven Cottage at all, instead heading off on a European friendly tour with Detroit Express. The Cottagers took him to court, prompting FIFA to issue a worldwide playing ban that remained in place for six months.

By then, Best had already left Los Angeles, too. A new owner had taken over the Aztecs and planned to tap into a new supporter demographic by filling the squad with players from Mexico, resulting in a fast decline in the standard. “I followed the familiar pattern of drinking to forget the football and managing it so well that I even forgot to turn up for training,” Best said. “In the end, I told them I didn’t want to play for them any more – they packed me off to Fort Lauderdale Strikers.”

With the “demons well and truly returned”, as Best put it, he played on for another six years, although that was broken up by his fight against the ban, two spells in a rehab centre and a three-month prison sentence for drink-driving and assaulting a police officer. He had spells at Hibernian, San Jose Earthquakes, Bournemouth, Brisbane Lions and Northern Ireland’s Tobermore United, as well as making guest appearances for Hong Kong duo Sea Bee and Rangers, Newry Town, Australian club Dee Why, and Reading for a friendly against New Zealand at Elm Park in October 1984, by which time he was 38.

Despite Best’s struggles, there remained moments of mind-boggling brilliance. His Fort Lauderdale debut had seen him score with his first touch, finding the back of the net again from “an almost impossible angle” in a 5-3 thriller. So great were some of his performances for the San Jose Earthquakes that Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson arranged to meet the 35-year-old in London to discuss a shock return. Just like the Cosmos boss at Manchester Airport, Atkinson was left waiting on a no-show.

Asked years later what his biggest regret in life was, Best responded without hesitation: “Leaving United.” Finally given the opportunity to return though, he’d instead signed for Bournemouth – at the Third Division club, a notice reading “George Best will not be playing today” was a more common sight than the man himself. You never really knew what to expect from George Best.

It's Arsenal vs Manchester City in the Community Shield: as you've never seen them before.

Pep Guardiola is gone, meaning that both the Gunners and the Citizens have his disciples in charge: Manchester City beat Arsenal twice last term in league and cup competitions – before Mikel Arteta finally had the last laugh with a long-awaited title.

So who's got this one wrapped up? Can we really tell anything from it? And do either side really care? FourFourTwo whips out the crystal ball once more.

Community Shield: Arsenal vs Manchester City predictions

It's hard to say what exactly will happen in what is essentially just a friendly – but Man City come into this one unbeaten in preseason (for all that's worth).

New boss Enzo Maresca obviously had a lot more incentive to hit the training ground early and instil his methods into his players – and with the likes of Omar Marmoush, Phil Foden and Savinho wanting to impress the new manager, World Cup heroes Erling Haaland and Elliot Anderson might not start.

Arsenal, meanwhile, don't feel nearly as ready for the new season: William Saliba is a long-term injury doubt, Jurrien Timber isn't back yet, and both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have been given a longer break following World Cup exertions. Expect Bruno Guimaraes from the bench, Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, new signing Christos Tzolis from the left, and Noni Madueke to start on the right.

It looks like Viktor Gyokeres could well lead the line, too – with Kai Havertz behind in midfield – and the Swede has struggled against bigger sides. Arsenal may have to rely on set-pieces once again, with new boy Tzolis very adept from a dead ball.

The Maresca factor could be key, too. The Italian fared generally pretty well against Arteta during his time at Chelsea, despite having a weaker team, and he'll be keen to make a statement here that City can challenge for the title this term.

With both teams still bedding in, there'll certainly be more hunger from the blue corner… and Arsenal may well have to defend for swathes of the match, given that they're still getting up to speed.

You can't exactly write off the Premier League champions, though, who won't be treating this as a friendly, especially if Gabriel – and his lifelong vendetta against Erling Haaland and any team he plays for – has anything to do with it.

Arsenal vs Manchester City score prediction

Kepa will likely start as the cup keeper – and that means the Spaniard will, inevitably, generate a headline.

We see this one as a largely cagey affair with chances for either side, though: Marmoush to capitalise on some sloppy defending from Arsenal early on, before the Gunners hit back through Gabriel heading home a free-kick in the second half.

And then to a penalty shootout, where Kepa is once again the focus – but can't do anything about Savinho dinking a Panenka over him to win City the Shield.

• Score prediction: Arsenal 1-1p Manchester City

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 Sveacasino.

“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 Hajper.

“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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.