Key events
“People want to talk about Ethan Nwaneri; inside the club, outside the club. The buzz around the attacking midfielder as he tore his way through the youth ranks, having joined at nine, was palpable.”
Here’s David Hytner on Nwaneri back in March.
Nwaneri signs new five-year Arsenal contract
Arsenal have tied down Ethan Nwaneri with a new five-year contract, the 18-year-old rewarded for an impressive campaign last year. He scored nine goals in his 37 appearances, including 11 starts in the league.
He told Arsenal’s website: “It means everything to me, I’m so happy to have got it done. This is where I feel at home, and where I’m going to develop the best. I’m ready.”
Manchester City have announced the signing of goalkeeper Eartha Cumings from Rosengård. The 26-year-old previously played for Bristol City, Charlton and Liverpool, and won the Swedish league title last year, with Rosengård winning 25 of their 26 games and conceding just nine goals. Tidy.
Manchester United have completed the revamp of their men’s first-team building at Carrington and it is looking very snazzy indeed.
Premier League ends partnership with Stonewall
PA is reporting that the Premier League has ended its partnership with Stonewall, bringing an end to the league’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which involved captains wearing rainbow armbands.
Ipswich’s Sam Morsy chose not to wear the armband last season, with religious reasons cited, while Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi wore an armband that had “I love Jesus” written on it. The England centre back avoided any formal action from the FA but was reminded of kit regulations prohibiting religious messages.
A spokesperson from Stonewall told PA:
“Rainbow Laces has helped improve LGBTQ+ inclusion, acceptance and participation in sport at all levels, whether player, participant or fan.
“Rainbow Laces has helped to significantly shift the dial and while it can still prove difficult for elite players themselves to be openly LGBTQ+on the pitch, there are now some role models; at the grassroots level it is easier to participate and as a fan the LGBTQ+ community has increasingly felt more accepted.
“Over the years, Rainbow Laces has benefited from a wide range of partners with a natural ebb and flow reflecting cultural and sporting changes. Alongside other sporting bodies the FA has been instrumental in advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion at the grassroots level and more recently the Women’s Super League has taken up the mantle as the women’s game has grown – enabling Rainbow Laces to reach more diverse audiences.
“Increasingly, the younger generation – where one in 10 identify as LGBTQ+ – are focusing on fitness, health and mental wellbeing. Enabling LGBTQ+ inclusion and participation in sport remains vital; Rainbow Laces and its sporting partners will remain at the centre of those efforts in the years to come.”
Will Unwin reports on Sheffield Wednesday and the turmoil at the club.
Those at the King Power Stadium are due to show their disdain for the ownership by leaving their seats empty for the first five minutes and covering the area with a large anti-Chansiri banner. A plane is scheduled to fly overhead with a further message aimed at the owner.
An aside: when did football fans start making the plane message a thing? Turns out that ‘Moyes Out’ in 2014 was not the beginning.
Manchester City’s Vitor Reis is on the move, joining Girona on a season-long loan. As announced by City, the centre-back “will now link up with our sister CFG [City Football Group] club”. The 19-year-old signed for City in January and has made four appearances for the club.
Afternoon, all. As promised, here’s John Brewin’s preview of Fulham, who have become a stable mid-table outfit.
There is much talk of the growth of the Premier League’s middle class, and yet Fulham, who finished 11th last season, have received nothing like the same garlands as Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford, the clubs immediately above them in the table.
Righty, time to hand over to Taha. Thanks for reading.
We’re nearly up to date with the Premier League previews. I’ll leave you with E before Taha Hashim adds today’s freshly-released offering when I hand over in five or so minutes.
E is for Everton.
Let’s get the brain engaged. Quite a few football questions in the Friday quiz. Surely you can beat my modest 9/15.
Want to liven up that train journey to one of tomorrow’s Championship matches? Well, we have the perfect solution as our very own Ben Fisher is doing a Q&A on the Championship in Saturday’s Matchday live feature.
Ping your questions to: matchday.live@theguardian.com.
Palace present appeal over Europa League demotion
Ed Aarons
A delegation from Crystal Palace has spent the morning presenting its appeal to the court of arbitration for sport in Switzerland as the club attempt to be reinstated in the Europa League.
Uefa demoted Palace to the Conference League after they were deemed to have breached its regulations on multi-club ownership – a decision the club’s chair, Steve Parish, described as “one of the greatest injustices in the history of European football”. He was part of the Palace delegation that arrived at Cas headquarters in Lausanne early on Friday and is understood to have argued that Palace had been singled out by Uefa and that its rules had not been applied consistently.
John Textor held shares in Palace and the French side Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League, but he has since sold his 43% stake in the Premier League club to fellow US businessman Woody Johnson.
Palace will continue to present their case this afternoon but a decision from Cas is not expected until Monday, with the FA Cup winners set to face Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Nottingham Forest, who qualified for the Conference League after finishing seventh in the Premier League, are expected to be promoted to the Europa League if Palace’s appeal fails.
More Premier League previews. Let’s check out C.
C is for Chelsea…
C is for Crystal Palace…
Will Still was a fascinating appointment by Southampton back in May. Ben Fisher gets his chat on with the new Saints boss, who will bid to guide Southampton back to the top-flight following last season’s relegation.
Liverpool Women appoint Taylor
Liverpool Women have confirmed the appointment of Gareth Taylor as the club’s new head coach.
The 52-year-old had previously enjoyed a five-year spell at Manchester City, winning the Women’s FA Cup and League Cup and just missing out on the WSL title in 2023/24.
Taylor told the club’s website: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Liverpool’s new head coach. Everyone in football knows about the history, size and potential of this club, and I am really looking forward to the task ahead.
“Our aim is to create a team that supporters can be proud of, which plays good football and which will hopefully bring success along the way.”
LFC Women managing director Andy O’Boyle said: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Gareth to the club. This has been a very detailed process and it was clear that Gareth was the outstanding candidate. He has a proven track record of building successful, identity-driven teams and his ability to develop players and help them reach the next level is second to none.
“We have a very clear vision of how we will return LFC Women to the upper echelons of the game and this is a crucial step on that journey. We want our team playing with a clear identity as a Liverpool team, playing Liverpool football in front of passionate Liverpool fans. Gareth shares that vision and we believe he has the qualities and experience to deliver it.”
A cheeky revelation from England women’s goalkeeper Hannah Hampton speaking on TalkSport in the last hour. During the Euro 2025 final shootout against Spain, Hampton revealed she’d seen that the Spanish goalkeeper, Cata Coll, had written notes about England’s penalty takers on her water bottle. But, if that was crafty, Hampton’s response took it to a new level: she chucked Coll’s bottle into the crowd! Just as clever was that the England camp cut off any chance of a reciprocal gesture by making sure Hampton’s notes were scrawled on her own arm. It’s the details!
Here’s a nice read from Nick Ames.
A few lines from new Aston Villa forward Evann Guessand following his move from Nice.
Speaking on X, the Ivory Coast international said: “This club is special. History, pride, passion, the belief.
“When I heard they wanted me I didn’t think twice. I am ready to give my all, every game, every minute.”
Can’t argue with his PR skills. Guessand will hope to play a part when Villa host Newcastle in their Premier League opener next weekend.
Here’s the fixture list for the opening weekend in the Championship. And what a way to kick off tonight. Ipswich are the title favourites at 3/1 while opponents Birmingham are third in the bookies’ lists at 7/1, just behind 11/2 Southampton.
Friday 8 August
8pm Birmingham v Ipswich (all times BST)
Saturday 9 August
12.30pm Charlton v Watford
12.30pm Coventry v Hull
12.30pm Southampton v Wrexham
3pm Middlesbrough v Swansea
3pm Norwich v Millwall
3pm Oxford v Portsmouth
3pm QPR v Preston
3pm Stoke v Derby
3pm West Brom v Blackburn
5.30pm Sheffield United v Bristol City
Sunday 10 August
4.30pm Leicester v Sheffield Wednesday
More Premier League previews. And a busy category this one: the Letter B.
B is for Bournemouth…
B is for Brentford…
B is for Brighton…
B is for Burnley…
Aston Villa sign Guessand
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Ivory Coast striker Evann Guessand from Nice.
The 24-year-old frontman has been secured for a fee of £26m plus £4.3m in add-ons. Between 2020 and 2025, Guessand scored 19 goals in 89 League appearances for Nice. He’s played 10 times for the Ivory Coast, netting once.
From the Villa website: “Guessand came through the ranks at the French club and enjoyed a 2024-25 campaign where he scored 12 goals, helping Nice finish fourth in Ligue 1. The Ivory Coast international, who is a versatile operator capable of playing across the front line, was also named Nice player of the season last term.”
Boss Phil Parkinson has been reflecting on Wrexham’s journey as they prepare to play their first game in the second tier for 43 years when travelling to Southampton on Saturday.
Parkinson is looking forward to running out as underdogs, a status the Red Dragons have rarely had since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney began their transformation of the club that has produced three consecutive promotions, taking them from the National League to the Championship.
“It’s amazing that we’ll be running out at Southampton in front of a packed house, against a team that has spent a lot of time in the Premier League over the last few years,” said Parkinson.
“When I look at my first game here, Solihull away in front of a couple of thousand people, and four years later we’re running out at Southampton. Sometimes you do have to step back and appreciate what we’ve done.
“I don’t want us to fear it. I want us to go into every game ready to be positive. We’ve always been at our best when we’ve played in a positive way. We’re going to go into each game with that mindset and see where that takes us.”
Back to the season previews and, in Sesame Street style, here’s the Letter A.
A is for Arsenal…
A is for Aston Villa…
If you missed it yesterday, four English players and a Scot have been nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or. They are: Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer and Scott McTominay.
I was in Naples a month or so ago for a holiday and there were plenty of replica shirts of McTominay hung up around the place. But, my goodness, no current Napoli player comes anywhere near the absolute worshipping of Diego Maradona. Around every corner, there he is. Cardboard cutouts in shop windows, carousels filled with Maradona socks, his own fizzy drinks range and, of course, pop art murals of the Argentine legend liberally adorning walls all over the city. There’s one particular area located in the Quartieri Spagnoli where it’s a shrine to the No.10. Top tip: get the metro to Toledo and it’s a short walk. Surprisingly, there were posters for sale there of his 1986 handball against England.
David Wall has emailed on the subject of Manchester United’s forward line.
“With Manchester United signing Benjamin Sesko there seems to be an assumption that they’ll try to sell Rasmus Hojlund. Would that be a mistake? It seems very optimistic to assume that Sesko will adapt immediately to a new country and league, and especially without having had a pre-season to get to settle into the side. And it’s ridiculous to think that he could play every game. So they’re going to need more than one centre-forward in the squad, and of those they have (Hojlund, Zirkzee, Obi), Hojlund is the best.
“But as well as needing cover for Sesko, it seems too soon to give up on Hojlund. He’s obviously talented, you can see that when he’s been on those scoring runs. And people like Alan Shearer on MotD have often highlighted how good his movement is, but that the service to him has been poor. He was brought in as a player to develop but the conditions around the club since then have hardly been conducive for that. If they were to sell him then it’s almost a sure thing that he’ll be banging in the goals within a few games wherever he moves to, given supportive conditions and where other players are actually looking to make opportunities for him. I know they need the money but it seems a very shortsighted move if they try to get it by selling Hojlund.”
In this week’s Football Weekly Extra, the panel discuss whether Benjamin Sesko can have a big impact at Old Trafford. Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Ben Fisher. Take a listen!
This morning’s Rumour Mill has dropped. Manchester United’s Rasmus Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho feature in the outgoings while Newcastle’s search for a striker is now bleeping away over Molineux with a potential bid for Jørgen Strand Larsen.
We’re over an hour into the blog and are yet to provide an Alexander Isak update. Inevitably, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was asked about the Newcastle striker in his morning press conference but channeled his Tim de Leede and played it back to the bowler.
“As you know, from me and I think every manager works like this, you never talk about players that are not yours,” said Slot. “I can talk about Hugo [Ekitike], who we have signed and who has done really well until now.
“We are very happy with the squad and have every reason to be happy because we won the league last season. OK, players left but we brought players in as well and youngsters are doing good.”
This is a bit of a strange one. Barcelona have stripped Marc-André ter Stegen of the captaincy after a feud escalated between the Germany goalkeeper and the club over his injury status. Barca begin their La Liga title defence on 16 August at Mallorca.
So what of Crystal Palace? The alphabet dictates that they’re No 8 in our list of Premier League pre-season team previews. We’ll drip feed these throughout the day but let’s mix up the order given that Palace are in action against Liverpool on Sunday. Ed Aarons runs the rule over the Eagles, noting that uncertainty over which European competition they’ll play in and a lack of summer recruitment has made for a less-than-ideal backdrop to the new season.
Arne Slot has given fitness updates on two of his Liverpool players ahead of Sunday’s FA Community Shield showdown against Crystal Palace. Alexis Mac Allister picked up an injury at the end of last season and has been slowly phased back in, playing just under an hour against Athletic Club on Monday. Joe Gomez didn’t play any part in the double header against the Spaniards.
Slot on Mac Allister: “He will be in the squad. He was out for two months I think, or longer because we didn’t play him in the last four games of the season. He trained with us since a week now, played 30 minutes, 45 minutes.
“So that’s not a situation where you would start a player [and] play him for 90 minutes. Starting is possible but definitely not for 90 minutes.”
Slot on Gomez: “Unfortunately he has a minor injury at the moment but he will be back with the team very soon.”
Here’s Tom Garry with an exclusive: Bristol City have signed Sophie Ingle on a free transfer from Chelsea. That’s quite the coup for the WSL 2 club after the Welsh international, capped 142 times by her country and awarded an OBE in 2023, won five WSL titles, three Women’s FA Cups and two League Cups during her time at Chelsea. Elsewhere, Liverpool are about to confirm the appointment of Gareth Taylor as new head coach.
Some more transfer news. Bournemouth’s backline from last season continues to be ripped apart but the Cherries have one highly-rated replacement lined up. And there’s goalkeeper news at West Ham.
Here’s Will Unwin on Benjamin Sesko’s move to Manchester United. The club will pay an initial £66.3m and the rest in potential add-ons for the 22-year-old, who scored 13 times for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season.
Is the 6ft 5in striker the answer for the here and now? Is 13 goals in the German top-flight really that many? Newcastle wanted him too so the Slovenian is clearly highly regarded. Let us know your thoughts.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot is currently chatting away amiably in his pre-FA Community Shield press conference. “A good challenge for us to start the season,” says Slot. He also lists Liverpool’s attacking options, stressing that Jeremie Frimpong can act as a right winger (and stand in for Mo Salah) as well as a right full-back and that Florian Wirtz could operate as a left-winger at times. More from Slot later. Notably, he doesn’t mention Darwin Núñez as part of Liverpool’s frontline and that’s because the Uruguayan is moving to Al-Hilal for £46.3m plus add-ons.
Here, Andy Hunter looks at the striker’s hit-and-miss spell at Anfield.
Let’s start with Ben Fisher’s preview of the new Championship season. Will your team be listed as an ‘automatic promotion contender’, a ‘playoff hopeful’ or a ‘relegation candidate’? Ben also lists three youngsters to watch.
Preamble
We seem to hear it every season that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of. That claim has merit, and perhaps even more so this year with Birmingham and Wrexham added to the mix as they continue their bid to speed through the leagues. As usual, the three relegated sides – Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton – will be expected to challenge, as will Sheffield United after racking up 90 points last season but still falling 10 short of automatic promotion. We’ll set the scene for opening weekend and, get this, it starts tonight with Birmingham v Ipswich, two of the sides most heavily tipped for promotion.
Elsewhere, the transfer merry-go-round keeps spinning fast and Manchester United have continued to rebuild their forward line by agreeing a £73.3m deal with RB Leipzig to sign Benjamin Sesko. The striker is on his way to Manchester to undergo a medical before finalising the move. A central midfielder is also on Ruben Amorim’s wish list so brace yourselves for news of that, more plot twists involving Alexander Isak as well as Newcastle’s attempts to sign anyone at all.
And don’t forget that on Sunday, we’ll get the chance to see some of Liverpool’s exotic new signings in action as the champions take on FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield. Right, let’s get this going!
