It’s time to sign off here and switch our attention to the Premier League’s opening game – champions Arsenal hosting promoted Coventry City. Scott Murray will be your guide.

Here’s some more on today’s big transfer news: Ezri Konsa is an Arsenal player after completing his £51m move from Aston Villa. Here’s what the England centre-back had to say:

I’m super excited. It’s a privilege to be here and can’t wait to get started. I want to keep winning, I’m hungry to win and that’s what I’m here for. It’s a proud moment for me and my family to play for one of the best teams in the world.

I like to build up from the back and have a lot of the ball. It’s Mikel’s style and from what I’ve seen, the same way the defenders here play. So hopefully I can add a little bit more.

It’s good being versatile. I can do both jobs, right-back and centre-back, but for me ultimately, wherever the manager wants to put me is, I’ll always do a job and do my best.”

It’s Football Daily on the futility of pre-season predictions:

José Mourinho is back in the Real Madrid hotseat, and insists he can get Vinícius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé playing together – but it may take time.

“They are incredible players, and incredible players want to play with incredible players,” he said before the league opener at Espanyol. “Top players have frustration when they play with teammates who are not top.”

“The best want to play with the best. After the tactical adjustments, it might be a little bit more difficult … It’s harder to find the perfect set-up for all three. But here we are. I want all three of them to feel comfortable on the field together.”

There’s no way this ends well, is there? Not if the Netflix doc is anything to go by. The bit where Ronaldo is trying to chat to him in the tunnel … painful viewing.

Here’s all the live sport you can follow with us over the weekend – and a reminder that you’ve got about 10 minutes to update your fantasy football teams.

Remember the World Cup? Fifa have finally got around to punishing Argentina for their post-final behaviour, with Leandro Paredes receiving a 10-game ban. I guess there were bigger fish to fry at HQ.

More on our earlier chat about inflated prices; here’s an email from Chris Lambert. “We reached the point where failing on the pitch increased your value, when Premier League clubs realised they had to get cute about PSR.”

“We already have a system of buying clubs and selling clubs, where those with deep pockets (Spurs) pay inflated prices, and those without (Villa) hold fire sales.”

Here’s the goal in question; note the Norwich player who spots the handball from the same distance as the ref, Tim Robinson.

The Norwich head coach, Philippe Clement, says it is “madness” there is no VAR in the Championship after his side were beaten by a handball goal last weekend.

The Belgian listed 81 countries around the world that use the technology in their leagues in a press conference ahead of Saturday’s match against Millwall, in response to West Brom’s Aune Heggebo scoring last Saturday with his hand.

Heggebo has since been given a two-match ban by the FA for “successful deception of a match official” in relation to the incident, which set West Brom on their way to a 2-1 win.

“There are countries (using VAR) that never played a World Cup,” Clement said. “It’s madness for me that there’s no VAR (in the Championship).

Earlier this year, Championship clubs rejected the opportunity to bring in Football Video Support (FVS), which is similar to VAR but requires fewer resources and operates on a challenge system.

West Brom appealed Heggebo’s charge on the grounds that the ball took a deflection off the goalkeeper immediately before hitting his arm. The charge was upheld by a regulatory commission on Thursday.

“Albion remain steadfast in their support of Aune, whose character and integrity have been evident throughout his time at The Hawthorns,” West Brom said in a statement.

Thanks, Tom and hello all. You’re not listening to North Norfolk Digital, but here’s some hot Norwich news anyway …

My time’s up. To see you through to the live action later this evening is Niall McVeigh.

Johor Darul Ta’zim have set a new world record of 109 ⁠consecutive league matches unbeaten after opening the Malaysian Super League season with a 3-0 victory ⁠over Kuching City ⁠in ​the Charity Shield.

Marcos Guilherme scored in the 11th minute, while Oscar Arribas and Shahab ⁠Zahedi each found the net in the second half as Johor Darul Ta’zim picked a comfortable win at Sultan ⁠Ibrahim Stadium.

The win saw Johor Darul Ta’zim surpass the 108-match streak that Ivory ​Coast’s ASEC Mimosas compiled ‌between 1989 and 1994, ‌which the Malaysian club had matched with a 14-1 victory ‌over Kelantan The Real Warriors in their final match of last season in May.

Sam Cunningham went to Malaysia to meet former Watford boss Xisco Muñoz and learn about how he plans to lead Johor Darul Ta’zim to AFC Champions League glory. You can read feature here:

Chelsea have turned down an offer from Leeds to sign Mykhailo Mudryk on loan. The winger is available to play again after his doping ban case was resolved earlier this summer. He’s back in training and has options on the table. Brentford and Strasbourg have shown interest.

I have a few minor transfer stories to keep you across. Coventry have signed Dan Bentley from Wolves on a two-year deal to serve as a backup option for No1 keeper Carl Rushworth.

Former West Ham academy product Divine Mukasa has returned to east London on a season-long loan from Manchester City. The England under-19 international moved to Manchester in August 2023.

Dayann Methalie has joined Sunderland on a long-term deal from Toulouse. The 20-year-old left-back is the Black Cats’ second signing of the summer after fellow defender Thomas Meunier joined in July.

Jose Mourinho has admitted he will not consider the first season of his second spell as Real Madrid boss a success if it ends without silverware. The 63-year-old Portuguese was appointed head coach at the Bernabeu Stadium in June, 13 years after ending his first spell in charge. His first league game of his second spell comes at Espanyol on Saturday.

Madrid finished the 2025/26 campaign, which began under Xabi Alonso and ended with Alvaro Arbeloa at the helm, without a major trophy.

Asked at his pre-match press conference what he would consider a successful season, Mourinho replied: “A successful season can be viewed in many ways. But in the end, the only pragmatic way is through results.

“A lot of work is done on many levels, growing the structure of a club, preparing the club for the next 10 years. But in the end, results are what count.

“We have four competitions – or, if we want to say it, three plus one minor competition. But finishing a Real Madrid season without trophies is not a successful season.”

“Totally agree with you that it’s difficult to justify Tottenham’s fee for Savinho,” writes Adam Large via email. “That said, I’d be careful about comparing it to what City paid - their negotiations with Girona were…well, not exactly arm’s length, to put it mildly.”

That is a good point, I had overlooked the multi-club element. I’m just interested in when we reached the point that failing at a big club increased your value.

It appears as Omar Marmoush and Savinho are set to join Spurs for a combined £160m. What have they done to justify those fees? Marmoush scored a banger the season before last but last term he scored just eight goals, the majority in the cup competitions. Savinho started ten league games and fell down the pecking order. They are by most metrics ‘flops’, yet Savinho’s value has more than doubled and Marmoush is worth £15m more than City bought him for. The same applies to Liam Delap, who Chelsea are keen to move on after a dud season, with reports suggesting the Blues want at least £50m. Make it make sense.

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said he was comfortable with his squad and that the club ⁠was prepared for further movement before the transfer window closes.

City host Bournemouth in their Premier League opener on Sunday but preparations for the new season have been hit by the exit of key ​midfielder Rodri to Barcelona. Brazilian winger Savinho and Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush look likely to join Tottenham.

Maresca said Rodri and Savinho had made clear that they wanted to leave, but described Marmoush’s position as ⁠different.

“When the player wants to leave, then it is complicated to convince them to stay,” Maresca told reporters. “It happened with Rodri and the same ‌thing is happening with Savinho. ‌Since day one he has come in and said he wanted to leave, so now we are waiting.

“Omar ‌is still here, still with us. He is different to Savinho, so we will see what happens.“

Maresca said he was working the club on potential squad additions but was not drawn on specifics. For the visit of Bournemouth, the City manager confirmed that Jeremy Doku would be missing after suffering a calf injury against Arsenal. Midfielder Matheus Nunes has returned to fitness, while the rest of the squad is available. Reuters

Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly: ‘It’s given me more of a focus: club football is my one job’

A lot of the youngsters look up to me. It’s a nice feeling. It shows that they respect me and they value me, which is nice. And equally so do I [respect them]. I’m kind of a person that believes everyone https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/21/aston-villa-rachel-daly-womens-super-league-england-lionessesshould have a voice in the building. If I can reflect that to the wider group, then they can feel comfortable being able to communicate.

The former England striker has been speaking to Tom Garry about retiring from the Lionesses, being a role model, and taking on Chelsea in the WSL.

Full interview:

Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed Micky van de Ven is Tottenham’s new captain. Dutch centre-back Van de Ven, who signed a new long-term contract earlier this month, will replace Cristian Romero after he joined Atletico Madrid last week.

Van de Ven is part of a five-player leadership group which includes Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and 20-year-old Archie Gray, who could wear the armband at Brentford on Saturday with Van de Ven and Porro not ready to start.

De Zerbi said: “The new captain is Micky van de Ven. The second Pedro Porro, the third Ben Davies, the fourth James Maddison and the fifth Archie Gray.

“Why five captains? Just because I want many captains inside of the pitch and to be clear in the position.

“Every one of them deserves to be captain or in the group of the captains, but personality and passion is not if you are captain or not captain.” PA Media

Afternoon all, what did I miss?

Thanks for your company, Tom Bassam is back in the chair for the next stint.

Fabian Hurzeler refused to discuss the future of Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba amid links with Manchester United. The 22-year-old is reported to be a transfer target for United, but Hurzeler insisted his focus is on the Seagulls’ clash with Aston Villa before revealing Baleba is not fit for Sunday’s game.

Brighton boss Hurzeler told a press conference: “He’s a Brighton player. Like I said, I’ll never comment on any rumours that are currently in the media, it’s also something I definitely can’t control.

“A lot of things are written, I know about situations but again, in two days I have a very important game together with my team and with my staff. We want to have a good start in the Premier League season, that’s the only focus we have at the moment.”

Hurzeler was also asked about the importance of Yankuba Minteh, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool, he said: “We know in general all the players there are rumours about, they are important players for us because they’re a big part of the journey the last two years.

“In football, you have to understand, it’s normal if you’re successful as a team, if the team is doing well, they’ve had some good achievements, then an individual can shine. Then of course there will be a big ask for our players, that’s part of our identity and part of my job here.

“It was clear for everyone this might happen during a busy transfer window. We can go through every individual player, we all know how important these kinds of players are for me, but we also know that good achievements, big achievements, especially in the Premier League, you create offers, you create a lot of attention.” PA Media

I am one of life’s great curmudgeons, refusing to partake in anything fun nor watch popular programmes. After years of complaining about Fantasy Football, I have felt the need to see if it adds anything to my life.

Denmark’s football association (DBU) has vowed to find a credible alternative to Fifa President Gianni Infantino in next year’s election, declaring ⁠on Friday that it had lost confidence in the head of world soccer’s governing body.

The DBU said Infantino’s aborted proposal to sell commercial stakes in ⁠Fifa tournaments, including the ⁠World Cup, ​had created “a fundamental crisis of confidence in Fifa’s leadership” that could not be repaired by withdrawals or apologies.

The DBU said it did not support ⁠Infantino in the 2023 presidential election and would not do so at the next election, which will take place at the 77th Fifa Congress in Rabat, Morocco, ⁠on March 18.

“We are pleased that several federations are now withdrawing their support,” the DBU said in ​a statement after a board meeting. “DBU, together with ‌Uefa and our international colleagues, ‌will work to ensure that the member associations in the presidential election in 2027 have a ‌real choice and a credible alternative that can unite Fifa across confederations and rebuild the trust that has been broken.” Reuters

Gareth Southgate is not stressed about the new season. The former England head coach is at the cricket in Leeds.

Friend of the show Steven Pye has been in touch re Arsenal v Coventry back in 1993.

”Arsenal were 5/1 second favourites to win the title, but a Mick Quinn hat-trick stunned the majority inside Highbury (including me, sat inside the far from complete new North Bank).

”It’s quite interesting to note the fat-shaming of Quinn in most match reports, and the fact that he openly admitted to placing a £50 bet on himself to be Premier League top scorer at 50/1.”

Giovanni Cafagna writes: “I was moved reading about Karl Gibbons excitement of taking his son to his first match. I still remember when my dad in the remote year 1978 took me, nine years old, to San Siro for the the first time. I never forget the joy of being there with my dad watching teenager Franco Baresi in his debut year. As an avid collector of Panini stickers he was one of my heroes. After so many years, and with my dad gone to support Milan from heaven, the memory of being with him, still brings tears. Don’t you worry Karl.”

Crystal Palace have agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign Axel Disasi on loan and are expecting further interest in some of their key players in the final week of the transfer window, having informed Manchester City that Adam Wharton is not for sale.

Reviving United amid the chaos of Amorim’s departure and finishing third last year was a fine effort by Carrick. Yet when he took over, the team were already out of both domestic cups and not in Europe. That left 17 games for the then caretaker to navigate. Now Carrick has a full programme of Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup fixture before him: a litmus test of his side, as well as of the 45-year-old.

A squad with the requisite depth of quality is beginning to form. If Baleba is added alongside a left-back – Newcastle’s Lewis Hall and Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly remain on the radar – by 1 September, then Carrick will have been bolstered by four new major transfers. There remains question marks regarding the centre-back unit but ultimately the manager can have no excuses.

If you want some live sport, get on the OBO for England v Pakistan. The hosts are very much on top.

“Whilst not my team, I am going to see Brentford tomorrow for my first visit to the Gtech “Community” Stadium,” writes Karl Gibbons. “However, more exciting is that it will be six-year-old son’s first ever game live. He is mildly excited, whereas I am very excited. Any suggestions advice to keep him engaged or what to do near the stadium would be greatly appreciated!”

I’ve not been to the Gtech, so can’t offer specifics, maybe others can.

Maybe I can push this again two years on for my experience of taking my daughter to her first match.

Former West Ham academy product Divine Mukasa has returned to East London after joining the Hammers on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

The England under-19 international, who turns 19 on Saturday, was born in Newnham and joined West Ham’s academy at the age of six, spending 10 years there.

He has appeared six times for City’s first team, including twice in the Premier League, since moving to Manchester in August 2023.

Mukasa spent the second half of last season on loan with Leicester, and becomes West Ham’s sixth signing of the summer. PA Media

Will you get to visit a new ground following your team this season? If so, let us know which stadium you are most excited to see.

Tomorrow will be my first visit to the MKM Stadium.

Fill your boots with all 20 Premier League previews. Ipswich and Nottingham Forest are the best, in my opinion.

What are our writers predicting for this season? Check out the video.

The Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones is close to completing his £30m move to Internazionale after undergoing a medical with the Italian club.

We are at midday in the UK and with it comes John Brewin’s preview of Tottenham’s season. Phwoar!

Your friend and mind Ross Heppenstall has been to Hull to see Sergej Jakirovic before the big kick-off.

Three months on from those wild celebrations, Sergej Jakirovic’s new-look side must defy the odds again – and then some – to survive in the Premier League. Hull have been written off as relegation certainties by bookmakers and pundits, including former England duo Carlton Cole and Joe Cole, who ridiculed them on their podcast this week. “Hull are gone, man,” said the latter. “They have spent £70m and I’d be stunned if they stay up. They have come in through the back door, they’ve slipped in.”

Such barbs do not faze Hull’s head coach, who was in typically ebullient mood before Manchester United’s visit to the MKM Stadium on Saturday lunchtime. “I’m buzzing,” said the 49-year-old. “Of course there’s a very big gap between the Championship and Premier League. We’re up against the best teams, players and managers and I’ve seen all the predictions. But it’s a great motivation to prove them wrong because we don’t have anything to lose.

Arsenal begin their title defence at home to Championship winners Coventry. This is the same fixture from the opening weekend in 1993-94, when the Gunners were humbled by Micky Quinn, who claimed to have put a £50 on himself to win the top scorer gong.

Check out the report from that day, courtesy of the Guardian Research Department.

What is going to happen in Ligue 1 this season? Housewives’ favourite Luke Entwistle has the answer.

On the eve of a new Ligue 1 season, many clubs seem a little distracted. Even those accustomed to competing at the top have concerns that transcend the pitch. In a league that contains the greatest team on the continent, the focus of the majority of clubs has shifted to surviving and providing, rather than competing.

Any fighting spirit has long since been kicked out of Paris Saint-Germain’s competitors; back-to-back Champions League titles will do that. It feels like a long time ago since Kylian Mbappé moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer, leaving behind a scent of opportunity that filled the nostrils of Marseille, Monaco and Lille. Roberto De Zerbi was bullish when he joined Marseille. “I’m not here to finish second,” said the manager, who has since moved to Tottenham. Finishing second has now become an aspiration, especially for a club such as Marseille, given their predicament.

I will be at Hull v Manchester United tomorrow to see the Michael Carrick era begin in earnest. It will be interesting to see how he sets up his midfield against the newly promoted Tigers, who will be eager to take a big scalp on their return to the Premier League.

It seemed like a joke, a hoax, when at 10pm on 19 June, Ravenna broke the news of Ronaldinho’s signing. The Brazilian, a former Ballon d’Or winner and one of the most recognisable figures in world football, had played his last official match in 2015 for Fluminense; a professional signing in Serie C at 46 years of age seemed unrealistic, to say the least. With football’s attention taken by the World Cup, the game was shocked by this bolt from the blue. For the most part, it remained in disbelief.

There was much discussion, in the city and around the world, about the real value of this operation, and we talked about it too, speaking with the mayor, the fans, and the president of Ravenna, Ignazio Cipriani, scion of the family known globally for Harry’s Bar, who is giving his city much more than a dream.

Just had a look at Robbie Ure, who has decided to have his full name on the back of his Sevilla shirt …

The fourth season of the critically acclaimed football drama Ted Lasso has taken a surprising twist. The show’s writers have decided to have their hero coach AFC Richmond’s women’s team, testing whether Ted’s “Lasso way” can work in a very different footballing environment. We’re only three episodes in, but I’ve already found myself wondering if the series will showcase what makes the women’s game distinct, or just treat it as the same sport with different characters.

The early signs are promising: we’ve already seen the issue of substandard facilities, initial disinterest from the club’s fanbase and the flak that Coach Chilton gets for exhibiting the same qualities lauded in the men’s coach, Roy Kent.

Kári Tulinius gets in touch to say: “You have that right about Seville being a great place to live as a player. It’s up there among the world’s great football-mad cities. The derby between Sevilla and Real Betis is one the games I’d most like to attend in the world. There’s a reason it’s known as El Gran Derbi.”

Where Parrott will come up against Scottish strker Robbie Ure, who joined Sevilla a few weeks back.

Coventry City have completed the signing of goalkeeper Dan Bentley from Wolves on a free transfer.

The former Bristol City started Wolves’ first game of the Championship season, a 2-2 home draw against Blackburn, but has been allowed to leave for Coventry, where he has signed a two-year deal. Bentley will provide backup for Carl Rushworth, who joined permanently from Brighton earlier this summer after an impressive season in the Championship.

Krishnamoorthy emails: “A digress from Premier League thought but it involves a former player. Rodri said ‘I am fulfilling my dream’ on joining Barcelona. He said virtually the same on joining Atletico and Man City. Why can’t these players come up with something that adds a bit more spice. As a matter of fact, most joining and leaving have a standard text that is rattled off with zero thoughts.”

Wait until you hear about Robbie Keane’s unveilings …

We have previewed all 20 Premier League teams, with Sunderland the latest to fly off the shelf.

Marco Rose is positive ahead of his Bournemouth debut at Manchester City on Sunday. The German head coach was unveiled in May after Andoni Iraola made the decision to leave the south coast club.

Bournemouth are one of nine Premier League teams to make a managerial change this summer and Rose knows what to expect up against new Man City boss Enzo Maresca.

Rose told a press conference: “The things I saw so far with Chelsea and now Manchester City, it’s a clear idea, a clear philosophy. You know what you get, you know what they want to play, you see the processes and the approach they have. It’s quite intense against the ball, high pressing and, with the ball, you know what quality you face and you see a clear idea in established play.

“It’s a tough challenge but we are quite positive. We had a really good pre-season. I settled in very well and everyone supported me and the new coaching staff.”

The Cherries lost forward Junior Kroupi to a foot injury during pre-season, but scored 22 goals across five friendly fixtures this summer. “Everyone put a lot of effort into the preparation and all the things around so we feel well prepared for the upcoming season and for the game against Manchester City,” Rose added ahead of his Premier League bow. PA Media

Fair play to Troy Parrott for moving to the Netherlands and proving himself. In terms of picking places to live as a footballer, Seville has to be up there. What a lifestyle he is about to buy into.

Real Betis strengthened its attack for a first Champions League campaign in 21 years by signing Ireland forward Troy Parrott, whose five goals in two World Cup qualifying games lifted his country into an unlikely playoffs spot.

Parrott signed a five-year deal after joining from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, Betis said in a statement late Thursday.

The transfer fee for the 24-year-old former Tottenham player was reportedly 16 million euros ($18.8 million). Parrott scored 31 goals for AZ last season and made headlines with stunning back-to-back games for Ireland in November. AP

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said a change in Jamal Musiala’s treatment for a neurological dysfunction was ⁠the reason the midfielder collapsed in two consecutive matches and that there is no cause for alarm.

The 23-year-old Germany international ⁠went down six ⁠minutes after ​coming off the bench in Bayern’s 4-2 friendly win at Heidenheim on Tuesday and required medical attention before being assisted ⁠from the pitch. He also collapsed during Bayern’s 3-1 friendly victory over RB Leipzig on Saturday.

Musiala said this week that he had been diagnosed ⁠with the disorder and that the episodes were “currently part of my everyday life”.

Speaking ahead ​of Bayern’s German Supercup match against ‌Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, ‌Kompany moved to ease concerns about the player’s health. “I spoke with Jamal, he said, ’no ‌problem, you can say it’,” he told a press conference. “With his treatment he changed some things and that had some side effects. That is normal, that during treatment you try something else.”

Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl said the club were fully behind the player, who had wanted his condition to be make public. Musiala ‌will not be in the squad for Saturday’s match, giving him time to adjust to his condition now being public knowledge.

“We’ve known ​about it the entire last season,” Eberl said. “The players also knew about it. For us, it’s become part of everyday life. He changed something in his medication, which is why these situations became clear. We will give him all our support, have already done so, ⁠and will continue to do so. We’re doing this together.” Reuters

Ten things to look out for this weekend? Good to have it at double digits, nine would just be silly.

Nothing like a bit of exclusive news to kick off the shift. Can we keep this momentum going? We shall see!

But you will always thank the memories, Tom. I have the greater stamina so will be here for four hours of non-stop fun/football journalism.

Short stint for me on the Friday football blog this morning, here to take over is Will Unwin.

While football is truly back today, we did also have football last night and there was even a Premier League team involved.

Ryan Naderi’s second-half strike gave an unconvincing Rangers a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg of their Conference League playoff tie against Czech side Jablonec at Ibrox.

Brighton generously repaid the cost of their travelling fans match ticket for the hardy souls who made it to the far north of Norway to watch the Seagulls draw 0-0 with Tromsø in their Conference League playoff. Those watching back home had to shell out £12 for something called SolidSport and did not get refund.

Also in Conference League qualifying action, Hearts managed a 2-2 draw at home with Rapid Vienna and Hibs drew 0-0 away in Gent.

Full roundup here:

One of my favourite things for any new season is the first month when referees try to enforce a new directive, make a couple of harsh decisions on bookings or red cards and then slowly go back to the old ways after the first international break. A couple of years ago it was lengthy extra-time periods, but see also ‘preventing the restart’ or ‘high threshold’ for VAR. This season we have some new ones and Sarah Rendell has been looking at them and some other fresh items here:

Why not start the day right with some transfer tittle-tattle? There’s some tasty morsels in today’s Rumour Mill, including this little treat:

After Vinícius Júnior signed a shiny new deal at Real Madrid, Arsenal are having to look elsewhere for a new winger. Turkey’s Kenan Yildizm who plies his trade with Juventus, is of interest to Mikel Arteta and the Gunners hierarchy. One potential way of getting the deal done is to send Gabriel Martinelli in the opposite direction.

Will Unwin has the full rumour roundup: