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Tottenham are in talks with Manchester City over a potential double deal for Savinho and Omar Marmoush.Talks between City and Spurs are understood to be progressing, but no agreement has been reached so far, while Savinho is ready to join Tottenham.City have targets in mind for any player that leaves and will aim to replace them with less than two weeks to go in the window.Spurs are also waiting for Liverpool to sign Bradley Barcola and, potentially, his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye before they bid for Gakpo on top of Savinho.Stream the Premier League with no contractIf they cannot get Gakpo, Spurs are believed to be ready to pursue other targets, with interest in Pedro Neto at Chelsea.There has been speculation that Gakpo could also be deployed as a No 9 under Roberto De Zerbi; however, while he would be considered for the role if he joins, he is not their primary option.Spurs want to sign a new out-and-out goalscoring centre-forward and someone who can also link up the entire forward line.In theory, that means Spurs could make up to nine first-team signings this summer, despite having already spent more than £200m.Tottenham have spent more than £200m on six first-team players already this summer. They spent £185m on two midfielders, Sandro Tonali and Matheus Fernandes, from Newcastle and West Ham respectively.Jan Paul van Hecke, meanwhile, joined from Brighton for £52m to replace Cristian Romero. Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka all arrived on free transfers.

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Steven Rosen’s company liquidated after high court hearingPrevious owner claims it is owed fees from 2024 saleThe Sheffield United co-chair, Steven Rosen, is facing disqualification as a director by the English Football League after the company through which he bought the club two years ago, COH Sports Bidco Limited, was liquidated.The winding-up order issued by the high court in London is the result of a dispute between United’s owners and their predecessor, Prince Abdullah’s United World, which claims it is owed £35m by Rosen and his business partner Helmy Eltoukhy in unpaid fees resulting from the £110m sale of the Championship club in December 2024.Abdullah filed the winding-up petition last month after Rosen and Eltoukhy transferred ownership of the club to a new parent company, 1919 Partners LLC, which he alleged was part of an attempt to avoid paying the outstanding debt.1919 Partners concede £35m is outstanding to United World, but insist the debt is not behind the restructure. A spokesperson declined to comment after Wednesday’s hearing.“Sheffield United Football Club is aware of today’s hearing at the high court,” read a club statement. “This is a matter between the current owners and former owner.”Nevertheless, there could be ramifications for United. Under EFL regulations, any club official who is the subject of two insolvency events is prevented from acting as a controlling owner or director. In 2023, Rosen was a director of a US medical manufacturer, Invacare, that filed for bankruptcy, so he could be forced by the EFL to stand down and reduce his shareholding in United.The EFL is also likely to launch a formal investigation into the allegations that the club’s owners are deliberately seeking to avoid paying fees owed from their purchase of the club, which would result in a points deduction if they are found guilty. EFL sources with knowledge of its rule book confirmed that an insolvency overseas would count as a disqualification event.“The EFL notes the high court’s decision to issue a winding-up order on COH Sports Bidco Limited,” a spokesperson said. “The league will consider the implications of that development in line with its regulations, including whether any further action is required.“In addition, the EFL continues to consider other regulatory matters following changes to the club’s ownership structure and developments within the wider group. As these issues remain ongoing, the EFL will make no further comment at this stage.”United World claimed the club’s owners have refused repeated requests to reach a mediated settlement. “United World made every effort to resolve this matter amicably and tried until the morning of the hearing to give the owners a final opportunity to find a solution and spare Sheffield United the consequences of their conduct,” read a statement. “That approach, like everyone before it, received no response.“It appears that Helmy Eltoukhy and Steven Rosen are simply not concerned about what this means for the club. What happens to Sheffield United now is the result of their choices.”

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Tough start awaits for promoted trio, with Premier League matches against last season’s top three and European qualifiersCoventry signed off their previous Premier League campaign with a match against Bradford City, the one team to finish below them in 2000-01. They pick up again in the top flight away to Arsenal; last season’s champions, favourites to retain the crown and the No 1 ranked side in the world according to Opta.At least they will have played what should be the hardest fixture of their 38 first. Except that their next away trip takes them to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.Coventry’s home game with fellow promoted side Hull, which falls between these daunting trips, will feel very welcome, even if both meetings last season ended in goalless draws. It will be just as vital to the visitors. Hull begin the season by hosting Manchester United, then welcome Aston Villa to the MKM Stadium in week three.Those sides are a step below Arsenal and City but they will be competing in the Champions League this season. While Hull’s opponents in weeks four and five are not in Europe, they are Chelsea and Newcastle. It makes for a tough opening five games before the first international break of the season.In light of them facing big clubs who underachieved in 2025-26, a look at wage bills may be a fairer way to assess the difficulty of opponents. It does not make the opening five fixtures appear any easier for the promoted sides, who all feature in the seven hardest sets by this measure.Opta’s average opponent rating gives Ipswich the easiest first five matches of the promoted sides. Yet unlike Coventry or Hull, their first three are all against clubs that finished in the top seven of the 2025-26 Premier League: Sunderland, Manchester United and Liverpool. However you choose to assess opposition strength, the start of the season looks ominous.Such matches are often portrayed as unimportant to top-flight new boys. That they are a free hit, an opportunity to collect unlikely points. If you lose, so what? It’s what everyone expected anyway. Beating your direct relegation rivals is what matters. Recent history suggests the harder games are more important than cliche dictates, even if we cannot be certain at this point which clubs will be in the European qualification places next May.Leeds took a very creditable 10 points from matches against the top seven last season. That was five fewer than Arsenal, albeit from two extra games. Seventh-placed Sunderland also did well, taking nine points from the sides that finished above them. Even Burnley, who were unable to retain their Premier League status, earned eight points in 14 clashes with the top seven.The six promoted sides from the preceding two seasons, all of whom were relegated, did not perform as well. Ipswich won six points from the leading seven sides in 2024-25, though Leicester and Southampton took one apiece. It was a similar story the season before, as Luton claimed five points while Sheffield United (two) and Burnley (one) took very little of note from the top teams. If you are keeping count, you will have noticed each trio collectively earned eight points, fewer than Leeds or Sunderland alone last season.Maybe this is irrelevant. Burnley’s eight points from the top seven counted for little when they took 14 from their other 24 matches. Wolves, while not promoted, had a nine-11 points split between the facing the top septet and the teams eighth or lower too. But starting badly increases pressure on a manager, no matter the level of expectation. The fixture computer has not treated Coventry, Hull or Ipswich kindly.

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Two of the most powerful men in English football have joined forces to hit out at FIFA and the U-turn which allowed USA striker Folarin Balogun to play on at the World Cup last month, despite the red card which should have led to an automatic ban.Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League and Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer in England, say the decision undermines faith in football at all levels of the game.Balogun was sent off in the last 32 match against Bosnia & Herzegovina which led to an automatic ban under World Cup rules, without the opportunity for appeal, or for the ban to be reduced.However, US president Donald Trump then called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to complain, which led to the decision being overturned and Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium in the last 16.Webb said: "I was really troubled by it. I don't know the ins and outs of the process, but what we know is: a red card was shown. You can form an opinion about the validity of the red card, I can understand why it was given."We know that there was pressure placed by a politician onto FIFA, because that was admitted. We know that the suspension was taken away for that particular tournament, and suspended, through a process which seemingly didn't exist before the tournament started."Decisions that had been taken previously were viewed as correct or incorrect, based on your judgement. Far too often now, decisions are viewed as correct or corrupt by people who want to type all over social media.Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract"They try to draw inferences around decisions they don't agree with and what the motivation is behind that decision. But that is borne out of no fact, no evidence."And when you get that situation, it opens up the space for people to think 'this sort of thing is happening all the time behind the scenes' - and it's not."Masters, who on Tuesday called on FIFA to sack Infantino, agrees.He said: "We should be looking back on the World Cup, the football that was played, Spain being the best team, and England's agonising semi-final defeat. But we're not, we are talking about other issues, and that's a huge shame."The Balogun issue stands alone in that isolated incident which is very difficult to comprehend when you look at it. I think it is, again, a self-inflicted moment (by FIFA)."Why do FIFA not have a red card review process like the one that exists in many other leagues, including the Premier League, where if there has been a miscarriage of justice - not that I'm saying Balogun's red card was a miscarriage of justice - but it can be dealt with on that basis, rather than use a system which is only about the length of suspension which there is no option to overturn?"That created controversy unnecessarily in my view."Masters went on to say that he hopes the Balogun controversy will not undermine confidence in referees and the disciplinary process in the Premier League, insisting the competition is completely honest and legitimate."Coming back to the issue of do people do believe their eyes, I do scroll through social media every now and then and I do bump into some of the stuff that some people are saying and thinking out there," he added."But I do believe that fans, when they turn up and we have 99 per cent sold out, and they watch what's going on on the pitch, it's everything that it should be. It's just the same. It's English football, everyone's trying their best, referees are trying their best, there's lots of controversy, but it is what it says it is."

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Harry Kane says "the itch isn't there as much anymore" to one day return to England from Germany and try and break the all-time scoring record in the Premier League.The striker left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich in 2023 having scored 213 goals in the English top flight, 47 goals short of Alan Shearer's tally of 260.Kane has been in sensational form for club and country since moving to Munich, and last season hit a total of 73 goals.He has entered the final 12 months of the four-year deal he signed after his £86.4m move from Spurs three years ago, but is set to begin discussing a new contract at Bayern.After receiving the Golden Shoe for finishing top scorer in the Bundesliga on Wednesday, the England captain stressed how settled he feels at Bayern.Kane said: "When I first left, for sure it was something I thought - I would definitely be coming back. That itch isn't there as much anymore."I am extremely happy here in Munich, it opened my eyes to a totally different world of football outside of England and it has made me appreciate European football even more."I just think the team we have here and the manager, my family is really settled here, it is just about being in the best place possible."Never say never, but for now I am concentrating on Bayern Munich and we will see what the future holds."Kane scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern last season as Vincent Kompany's side completed a league and cup double.Kompany took charge of Bayern in 2024 and Kane credits the ex-Manchester City defender with taking his game to another level."I think this is the best version of myself for sure," he added."I think last season speaks for itself, from that sense the best season in my career no doubt."Since the boss has come in he has elevated my game to another level. That is down to the style of play, the way we attack and the way we defend, the way he gives players freedom to sometimes receive the ball deeper and sometimes arrive late in the box."I also had a lot of this and these kind of different positions during my Tottenham career as well, especially from the Mourinho stage onwards, it was the same sort of thing - I had freedom to come deep and get the ball and I had a great relationship with Son Heung-min."It has been building but I think this season with the team I have around me, the players we have and the system we play with the coach, it has just elevated me to another level."Kane set to begin talks over new Bayern contractListen to the latest Football Daily podcastSoundsGet football news sent straight to your phone

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The arrival of Patrick Vieira as the new coach of Senegal comes at a particularly difficult time for the national team - so much so that there is the possibility the former France captain may not even take charge of the Teranga Lions.The 50-year-old's appointment has been announced despite him not having signed a contract, and the date of his official presentation remains unknown.Senegal's football federation (FSF), which is currently riven by off-field issues, said discussions regarding the "administrative and contractual arrangements" for Vieira are continuing between the two parties.The ex-Arsenal and Inter Milan midfielder was unanimously approved as the man to succeed Pape Thiaw at an FSF meeting on Monday, with former Netherlands international Patrick Kluivert among the other names considered.However, uncertainty surrounding the termination of Thiaw's deal remains.Vieira's predecessor was sacked following the dramatic last-32 exit to Belgium at the Fifa World Cup without Senegal's government, which funds the national team, formally endorsing the decision.He is demanding the payment of several months' worth of outstanding wages as well as various bonuses, with the total reportedly amounting to almost $815,000 (£600,000).Meanwhile, a ruling on the election of the current FSF leadership - which has been contested for the past year - is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) by Friday.With the FSF leadership increasingly isolated, without the backing of the government or the general public's support, and constrained by the impending Cas ruling, it nevertheless had little choice but to act quickly to fill the Teranga Lions hotseat.The calendar will not wait, with Senegal back in action in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on 23 September when they travel to Mozambique in their Group J opener. A meeting with Ethiopia follows days later.The Cas ruling in Lausanne could call into question the legitimacy of the FSF hierarchy and potentially even the choice of Vieira as head coach.Moreover, for all his achievements as one of the greatest footballers of the modern era Vieira's record in management has been less impressive.Beyond all of that, Vieira's connection with Senegal carries a deeply symbolic significance.Born in Dakar in June 1976 to a Cape Verdean mother and a Gabonese father, Vieira began kicking a football around the sandy streets of the capital until the age of eight.His family moved to France and his life went in a different direction, becoming a Premier League icon during his time with Arsenal, amassing over a century of France caps, and helping Les Blues to the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.He faced Senegal only once as a player, in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup when France suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against a generation led by Aliou Cisse and including Thiaw - the two men whose coaching legacy he is now following.But Vieira never truly severed ties with the country of his birth.Indeed, one of his most significant contributions came towards the end of his playing career when he made a major investment in the creation of the Diambars Institute.It would go on to become one of Africa's leading football academies and, less than two decades later, one of the foundations of Senegal's recent success.Diambars has produced players including Idrissa Gana Gueye, Bamba Dieng and Abdoulaye Seck, all of whom have played a part in Senegal's story since 2018.Crowned champions of Africa for the first time in February 2022 at the delayed 2021 Afcon, the Teranga Lions secured a second title with a 1-0 win after extra time in January's Afcon final. However, the ultimate destination of the trophy will be settled by Cas after Thiaw called his side off the pitch following a controversial penalty awarded to hosts Morocco in stoppage time.The challenge facing Vieira is the rebuild of a team attempting to look towards the future after one of the most successful chapters in its history.There is plenty of promising young talent coming through but those players will have to carry the weight of a formidable legacy left by the old guard of Sadio Mane, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Gana Gueye.The shortlist for the new coach included Kluivert, Vieira's compatriot Patrice Carteron and two former Senegal internationals in Habib Beye and Oumar Daf.The Frenchman dropped a series of hints that he was in the running to take charge, most notably during the unusually high-profile coverage of his recent holiday in Senegal.Vieira amassed a glittering list of honours as a player but has found similar success hard to come by as a manager.He began his coaching career with New York City FC in 2016, leading them into the play-offs in both of his two seasons at the helm, only to see his team lose twice in MLS conference semi-finals, including a 7-0 aggregate hammering by Toronto FC.He then guided Nice to creditable seventh- and fifth-placed finishes in Ligue 1 before being sacked in December 2020 and joining Crystal Palace in July 2021.Vieira earned praise for an attacking style as he led the Eagles to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2021-22, but was dismissed in March 2023 when Palace were three points above the relegation zone following an 11-match winless run in the league.Then-chairman Steve Parish said the decision was taken with "enormous regret" but in order to keep the Selhurst Park side in the top flight.Then came a year at Strasbourg and another mid-table finish in Ligue 1. The Frenchman's most recent job was at Italian side Genoa, whom he departed by mutual consent last November with the team winless and bottom of Serie A.International management presents its own challenges and, with defeated candidate Mady Toure contesting last August's election of FSF president Abdoulaye Fall, Vieira may find his long-awaited return to Senegal far more dramatic than he intended.

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USA striker missed no matches after sending-off‘Far too often now decisions are viewed as corrupt’Howard Webb was “really troubled” by the decision of Fifa’s disciplinary committee to suspend Folarin Balogun’s ban for a red card during the World Cup, warning of a growing belief in refereeing conspiracies among supporters. Webb, English football’s chief refereeing officer, was speaking before the new Premier League season, where, among a series of new measures, independent assessments of key refereeing decisions are to be made public for the first time.“I was really troubled by it,” Webb said of the reprieve for the USA striker Balogun, which followed a direct appeal from the US president, Donald Trump. “What do we know? We know for sure that a red card was shown. I understand why it was given. We know that there was pressure placed by a politician on to Fifa, because that was admitted. And we know that the suspension was taken away for that particular tournament and suspended through a process which seemingly didn’t exist before the tournament started.”Webb said the scandal would only reinforce a change that has already taken place, whereby spectators watch a referee make a mistake and see conspiracy rather than human error. “We live in a world now which is different to the one that I occupied as a referee,” he said. “Decisions were previously viewed as correct or incorrect, based on your judgment. Far too often now decisions are viewed as correct or corrupt by people who want to type all over social media. They try to draw inferences around decisions that they don’t agree with and draw a motivation behind that decision which is borne out of no facts, no evidence.”Webb’s feelings on the Balogun scandal were echoed by the chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Masters. “We should be talking about looking back on the World Cup and the football that was played, and Spain being obviously the best team and England’s agonising semi-final defeat,” Masters said. “We’re not. We’re talking about other issues. I think that’s a huge shame. The Balogun issue … is very difficult to comprehend really when you look at it.”English football’s refereeing body has announced a series of measures and targets for the new season, including a rebrand. Now known as Pro Ref, it has committed to publish each week the assessments of an independent key match incident (KMI) panel, which assesses the biggest decisions taken by Premier League referees. As reported by the Guardian, Pro Ref will also publish audio of conversations between referees and players during matches, and it will continue to use X to publish real-time information during games.Pro Ref has expanded the pool of specialist video assistant referees working at Stockley Park as it seeks to reduce the length of time taken on interventions – which averaged 41 seconds last season – and eliminate incidents where VARs intervene and should not. “I’d rather have missed interventions than over-interventions,” Webb said. “I’d rather VAR not get involved wrongly to rectify something that wasn’t wrong in the first place, because that’s a damaging effect on the game.” In a further attempt to improve the speed of decision-making, the protocol behind semi-automatic offside technology has also been streamlined.Webb said fans and players alike can also expect to see more penalties awarded for holding at set pieces. “More situations will be penalised, not only in August or September, but throughout the season,” Webb said. “[But] I’m not going to commit to say we’re going to go from here to penalising lots of contact. Contact is still part of the game, we still maintain a high threshold, but this time next year, all being well, we’ll be able to reflect on a season where more offences have been penalised.”

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Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has completed a £52m move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Qadsiah from Manchester City.The 28-year-old only joined City last summer in a £46.5m move from AC Milan, but struggled to make an impact.Reijnders made 50 appearances in all competitions for City, scoring seven goals, helping them win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in Pep Guardiola's final season in charge.He started all three of the Netherlands' group-stage matches at the 2026 World Cup, but was an unused substitute in their last-32 defeat by Morocco."I have been incredibly privileged to play for Manchester City, and I have relished every minute of my time here," said Reijnders."From the very moment I arrived, everyone at the club - players, coaches and staff - made me feel so welcome and a part of the Manchester City family."I would also like to say a special thank you to the City fans who were so warm and supportive both to me and my family."City's new manager Enzo Maresca left Reijnders out of his squad for Sunday's disappointing 3-0 Community Shield defeat by Arsenal.The Dutch player has reportedly signed a five-year contract with Al-Qadsiah, who are managed by former Liverpool and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.Reijnders is the latest midfielder to leave City this summer, after Rodri completed a £65m move to Barcelona and Bernardo Silva left the club when his contract expired and signed for Real Madrid on a free transfer.Spain international Nico Gonzalez has also been linked with a move to Newcastle, while City are in advanced talks with Lille over a deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, and have not given up hope of signing Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez.'Everyone wants clarity' over Man City chargesRodri ready for 'excitement again' after Barca complete £65m dealWhy Fernandez uncertainty has echoes of Isak sagaAsk about Man City - what do you want to know?

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Chelsea reporterPublished4 hours agoChelsea striker Liam Delap has lost the number nine shirt at the club and is one of several players now training separately to the main squad.A number of players who could move before the transfer window closes on 1 September - including fellow forward Nicolas Jackson and winger Mykhailo Mudryk - are in a second training group at Cobham.But club sources insist it is nothing like the "bomb squad" approach taken last season when several players were frozen out.Fringe players such as Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi trained at different times last summer, on different pitches and in separate buildings.Their treatment prompted the Professional Footballers' Association to contact Chelsea - but it is understood the players' union has no such concerns with the current approach.The players in the smaller group are training adjacent to Xabi Alonso's main squad and joined by defenders Tosin Adarabioyo and Disasi, but also new signings Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson.There were 12 players in the smaller group on Wednesday, although that number fluctuates. Academy players are also involved, and movement between the two groups remains possible.Chelsea are seeking £65m for Senegal striker Jackson - who spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich - and £50m for Delap, while French defender Disasi has an asking price of £25m.Ukraine international Mudryk, 25, has not played a competitive match since November 2024, although he is now free to play after resolving a doping case and is available on loan. Tosin, 28, is attracting interest from Benfica, Marseille and a number of Premier League clubs.The Blues are trying to reduce the size of their squad before the end of the summer transfer window, with 40 senior players on their books.Englishman Delap joined the club in a £30m move from Ipswich Town last summer but only scored one Premier League goal in 28 Premier League appearances, 16 of which were as a substitute.He was awarded the number nine shirt, but that has now gone to fellow forward Joao Pedro.

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After coming on as a second-half substitute during Bayern Munich's pre-season friendly with Heidenheim on Tuesday, Jamal Musiala lasted just eight minutes before collapsing for the second time in four days.In scenes very similar to the incident against RB Leipzig on Saturday, the 23-year-old was comforted by team-mates including England captain Harry Kane.Musiala has since revealed he is experiencing "easily treatable absence seizures", stemming from a type of "neurological dysfunction".But what are absence seizures and are they likely to affect the Germany attacker's career going forward?Bayern have confirmed there were signs of Musiala's condition before the World Cup, but they had yet to affect him playing football.Speaking to Sky Sports, honorary president Uli Hoeness said: "We have been aware of the problems for some time. But last weekend against Leipzig was the first time it happened on the pitch and was visible to everyone."We thought that if it didn't happen again so quickly, the medication he is taking would help. But when it happened again four days later, in the same way, I was stunned."Many supporters questioned the decision to play Musiala so soon after he fainted on Saturday.But Bayern officials have moved quickly to assure supporters the German international had been cleared to play on Tuesday by medical experts ."We've already taken precautions," added Hoeness. "The doctors treating him, the neurologists and specialists, have provided us with written confirmation - because this was absolutely essential for us - that, in their view, there are no concerns regarding Jamal taking part in high-performance sport."Without that, we would have been acting negligently. Since we've had this written confirmation, we've been sleeping a little more soundly."But I must say, I'm rarely at a loss for words or without a clear solution. We'll have to feel our way through this new situation first."Following his collapse on Tuesday, Musiala posted a statement on Instagram, where he said the seizures have become part of his everyday life.Absence seizures are a type of generalised seizure that commonly affect children and young adults.There are two types of absence seizures: typical and atypical.Dr Meneka Sidhu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, said typical absence seizures usually last seconds and the person affected may appear to be daydreaming or looking blank."In an absence seizure, a person has varying degrees of loss of awareness and can result in the person affected losing balance and being unresponsive during the seizure itself," she added."It can be very short-lasting, and the person can continue like nothing happened. With atypical absences that last longer, people may have automatic movements like fidgeting with their hands, eyelid fluttering and lip smacking. Some people may fall."If it's multiple seizures over a period of time - while being treated by ongoing medication - then it's a form of epilepsy. For anybody affected by epilepsy, it is important to try to identify triggers to avoid these. For people who play sport, triggers may include hyperventilation and dehydration."When effectively treated, there is no reason absence seizures should stop anyone playing sport."Musiala's condition is one that has been managed by other elite athletes.Musiala's recent diagnosis is the latest setback in what has been a desperately unlucky period to his highly successful career.His 2024-25 campaign was ended by injury in early April and, just over a week later, he was involved in a serious traffic accident.Musiala was still able to return to action two months later to take part in the Fifa Club World Cup but then suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle - in the quarter-final against Paris St-Germain - which ruled him out for 196 days.The former England Under-21 international then played with a metal plate in his foot from January until the end of this summer's World Cup in North America, where he made four appearances for Germany.The plate was removed in July, limiting his ability to train during pre-season."Musiala hasn't been much of a factor in the past 18 months," said German football expert Constantin Eckner. "He came back for the Club World Cup but suffered a broken leg when he collided with Gianluigi Donnarumma."It took him months to recover from that. He just had a metal plate removed from his left foot so he played with that for half a year and had to deal with ankle issues."Naturally, his performances left much to be desired. The start to the upcoming season would have been difficult anyway, because he didn't take part in team training for some time due to the surgery in which the plate was removed. Now, there's another stumbling block."Eckner added Bayern's £43m summer signing of Morocco attacking midfielder Ismael Saibari was in part to protect against Musiala's fitness issues."Musiala is Bayern's top earner alongside Harry Kane, but his contribution hasn't been anywhere close to Kane's," he said. "He is still young and things can change again."He has a release clause in his contract that could be triggered next summer, but the fee would be in the nine digits. It is unrealistic that any club would be willing to pay that for him at the moment."

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Midfielder has been a target for Italians since JanuaryJones in the final year of his contract at AnfieldInter are in talks with Liverpool over a deal for Curtis Jones, with the 25-year-old expected to leave his boyhood club should the Italian champions offer around £30m. Jones has been a target for Inter since January and was the subject of a failed €25m bid from them in June.Liverpool valued their homegrown midfielder closer to €40m, but with Jones in the final year of his contract, and no sign of an agreement over an extension, that figure is unlikely to be reached.Intermediaries representing Inter contacted Liverpool in July with a proposal to pay up to €35m (£30m) for Jones. Negotiations between the clubs commenced on Wednesday. No agreement has been reached, but should Inter go to €35m as has been suggested, Liverpool are likely to sanction Jones’s departure. Inter’s willingness to pay Tottenham €35m for Djed Spence last week is seen as a benchmark figure for the Jones deal.Jones, who has played six times for England, has been at Liverpool since the age of nine, but has been unable to secure a regular first-team starting role and cut a frustrated figure at times last season under Arne Slot.Andoni Iraola, Slot’s replacement as head coach, spoke at his unveiling about the importance of keeping the Toxteth-born midfielder and of having a local identity in his team. But Inter’s determined pursuit and the risk of losing the player on a free transfer next summer have also to be factored in by Liverpool.

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In the 1941 RKO Radio Pictures/Mercury repertory theatre production Citizen Kane, Orson Welles essayed a man who began as a whirlwind of prolific energy, only to spectacularly fizzle out, to the extent that near the end, stubborn pride his only remaining fuel, he could barely move around or achieve anything of note at all. Football Daily isn’t sure how any of this relates to Charles Foster’s namesake Harry, or his recent Geopolitics World Cup campaign; nor are we sure what bit of Welles’ career Harry’s mooted move from Bayern Munich to Al-Hilal would be comparable with. The flawed masterpiece The Magnificent Ambersons, perhaps, or that thing where he loses his mind over Findus peas.But potential transfers are all the rage right now, nestled as we currently are in the otherwise barren taint betwixt the aforementioned GWC and the new domestic season. Arsenal are in the market for a centre-back, because they always are – the foundations built by George Graham go wide and deep – and are sniffing theatrically around Ezri Konsa of Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarel Quansah. Either would suffice. Or possibly both. Quansah’s former club Liverpool are desperate for defensive reinforcements too, so naturally they’re concentrating their efforts on yet another slight forward, Ethan Nwaneri the latest name on a long list that also includes half of the PSG squad and will probably lead nowhere. To be fair, their sporting director Richard Hughes is reportedly off to Al-Hilal once this window shuts, and there’s all this Kane stuff going on, the poor man can’t be expected to do everything at once.By way of contrast, Manchester United have been much more proactive in the market this summer. Having signed just a single useful central midfielder between 2007 and 2025 in Bruno Fernandes (subs please check), it now appears they’ll land three in as many months. They’ve already thrown Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans into that big gaping hole that’s been in the middle of Old Trafford for decades, and are now very close to adding 2024’s Carlos Baleba to the mix. The only question will be whether the difference between the £100m previously demanded by Brighton and the £65m the Cameroon international could now cost is either a smart bit of business by United or a big red flag. Football Daily certainly isn’t sure, so without anything useful to contribute, and the weather outside finally turning, we’re off to prepare for the onset of winter. Now, where’s that goddamn sled? We can never find that goddamn sled.“We are so close to making history for unbeaten games in a row. This isn’t normal in football” – former Watford boss Xisco Muñoz tells Sam Cunningham how he plans to lead all-conquering Johor Darul Ta’zim to AFC Big Cup glory.double quotation markDon Revie and his merry henchmen [Tuesday’s Memory Lane, full email edition] getting ready for a night on the lash, as it was back then. Lest we forget: one-club man Jack Charlton once said ‘I cant play football, but I can stop those that can’. Diamond geezer eh?” – Alvin Jordan.double quotation markIt was bewildering to read in Tuesdays’s Football Daily that ‘Kevin Lamour was a lone dissenting voice inside Fifa’s lair when Gianni Infantino’s plot to flog part of the World Cup to private investors – potentially on the cheap – was rumbled’. He was far from lone. Fifa’s secretary-general, Mattias Grafström, called the FFE plans a ‘sad and reproachable series of events’ in an email to staff. Fifa’s chief of global development, someone called Arsène Wenger, pronounced the withdrawal of FFE ‘absolutely necessary and beyond question’. Above all, Infantino’s right-hand man, the Fifa senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, stated: ‘I cannot stand by while Fifa considers selling a stake in the World Cup. Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally. It is a bad deal for Fifa’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.’ And unlike Lamour, Grafström, or Wenger, Cordeiro put his money where his mouth was and resigned” – Simon Skinner.double quotation markTalking of players’ wages, my Middlesborough friend who knew Wilf Mannion told me that when he was chosen to play for England at Wembley that they gave him a third-class rail ticket to get there. Unfortunately the train was so crowded that he had to sit on his suitcase in the corridor the whole way to London (not an unusual situation in those days)” – Bob Hopper.If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Simon Skinner. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.