Category: English Premier League

• Fee for forward could reach £71m with add-ons

• Mbeumo wanted United despite Spurs interest

Manchester United have agreed a deal worth more than £70m to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. A fee of £65m will be paid up front and a further £6m could follow in add-ons

The Cameroonian, who scored 20 Premier League goals last season, has been a key target for Ruben Amorim. United first made an offer for Mbeumo six weeks ago and had a number of bids rejected. Mbeumo made clear he wanted to move to Old Trafford despite interest at Tottenham from his former head coach Thomas Frank, and personal terms are not thought to be an issue.

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• Offer to Brentford for forward includes guaranteed £65m

• Manchester City sign 18-year-old midfielder Sverre Nypan

Manchester United have made an improved bid for the Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo. The offer is worth up to £70m, with £65m guaranteed and the rest add-ons.

Ruben Amorim is eager to sign Mbeumo, who has indicated to Brentford he would like to join United, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe is eager not to pay over the odds. The London club have turned down at least one bid for Mbeumo from United and have demanded about £70m for a player who scored 20 Premier League goals last season.

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Pre-season trips to Asia may not be new for English clubs, but they remain a huge global engagement opportunity

Fifty years ago, Arsenal lost 2-0 to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, with jet-lagged players struggling to deal with frogs bouncing around the Merdeka Stadium pitch as well as the legendary local striker Mokhtar Dahari.

Since then, however, many aspects of Asian tours by English clubs have changed. They have become, mostly, slick affairs. This summer, Arsenal will visit neighbouring Singapore for games against Newcastle and Milan. Then to Hong Kong for an unusual north London derby against a Tottenham team that will also travel to South Korea to face Newcastle. Liverpool visit Japan and Hong Kong just weeks after Manchester United were in action there on a post-season tour, which they finished in Malaysia.

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• Forest also preparing complaint to Premier League

• Spurs alleged to have made illegal approach for player

Morgan Gibbs-White’s expected £60m move to Tottenham is on hold because Nottingham Forest are considering legal action over an alleged illegal approach for the player.

Forest are also preparing a complaint to the Premier League, arguing that Spurs’ conduct surrounding the proposed transfer has been inappropriate. It had been expected that Gibbs-White would undergo a medical on Friday before completing the move.

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• England midfielder to undergo medical on Friday

• Gibbs-White scored seven and had eight assists last term

Tottenham are poised to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest after triggering a £60m release clause. The England midfielder is expected to undergo a medical on Friday and could complete the move in the next 24 hours.

Gibbs-White has also attracted interest from Manchester City since excelling at Forest, whom he joined from boyhood club Wolves in 2022 for an initial £25m in a deal that was worth up to £42.5m.

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• Forward will be Regis Le Bris’s fourth summer addition

• Sunderland linked with move for Jordan Henderson

Sunderland are to confirm the signing of Simon Adingra from Brighton for an initial £21m plus bonuses as they continue their preparations for life in the Premier League.

It is understood that the Ivory Coast forward, who has made 73 appearances for Brighton since signing from Danish side FC Nordsjælland in 2022, is on Wearside to complete his move after having his medical on Wednesday. Sunderland have a longstanding interest in Adingra and he was part of negotiations in January in which their playoff final hero Tommy Watson moved to the south coast for £10m, before returning on loan, although a potential swap deal failed to materialise.

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• Ghana attacker will sign six-year deal subject to medical

• West Ham want at least six signings and must raise funds

Tottenham have reached an agreement to sign Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £54.5m.

Kudus is due to undergo a medical on Thursday and will sign a six-year deal. The Ghana attacker will become the first player to leave West Ham for Spurs since Scott Parker in 2011.

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• Madueke not expected to end Arsenal’s interest in Eze

• Sunderland pay about £19.5m to buy winger Talbi

Arsenal have opened talks with Chelsea over signing Noni Madueke. Personal terms have been agreed with the winger, who is increasingly likely to move to the Emirates Stadium.

Chelsea have been revamping their attack and decided they were open to selling Madueke after winning the Conference League in May. The 23-year-old has had a bit-part role during his side’s run to the Club World Cup final and is likely to benefit from a change of scenery. Madueke made a late substitute appearance during the win over Fluminense in the semi-final.

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• Ronaldo says teammate’s death ‘doesn’t make any sense’

• Wolves say ‘memories he created will never be forgotten’

Jürgen Klopp and Cristiano Ronaldo led the tributes from across the football world to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool and Portugal forward was killed in a car accident in Spain. Jota’s brother, André, also died in the crash in the province of Zamora.

Jota was 28, a father of three young children and had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, less than a fortnight ago. Klopp, who signed Jota for Liverpool in 2020 and managed him for four seasons, posted on Instagram: “This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it!

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• Nottingham Forest extremely reluctant to sell Elanga

• Goalkeeper Trafford was also wanted by Howe last year

Newcastle have had a £45m bid for the Sweden right-winger Anthony Elanga rejected by Nottingham Forest but hope to succeed where they failed a year ago by signing the Burnley and England goalkeeper James Trafford.

Eddie Howe has long admired Elanga but, as first reported by the Athletic, Forest are extremely reluctant to sell. They also appear uninterested in a potential part-exchange deal involving the Newcastle left-winger Harvey Barnes.

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• Thomas Frank’s Spurs start at home to Burnley

• Sunderland face West Ham, Leeds host Everton

• Check out the full Premier League season fixtures

Liverpool will kick off their Premier League title defence with a home game against Bournemouth on Friday 15 August, on an opening weekend when Manchester United host Arsenal.

Thomas Frank’s first match as Tottenham’s manager will come on the Saturday at home against promoted Burnley, and Sunderland’s return to the top flight also begins at home on 16 August against West Ham. The third newcomers, Leeds, have the Monday night slot for a clash with Everton at Elland Road.

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• Premier League had revenue of £6.3bn in 2023-24

• ‘Challenge of fan unrest at ticket price and accessibility’

England’s football system is “under strain” in a climate of tension between commercial imperatives and the needs of supporters, according to a new report from Deloitte. The analysis also warns that uncertainty over the role and scope of an independent regulator is “unhelpful” to those wishing to join the rush of investors entering the sport.

The Annual Review of Football Finance painted an overall picture of a booming industry, pointing out that the European football market was worth a record £32.2bn in 2023-24. More than £16.9bn of that was generated by the “big five” leagues, with the Premier League alone recording revenues of £6.3bn. Deloitte cautioned, though, that those numbers do not tell the full tale of a game caught between its community roots and the requirement for continued growth. “There can be no doubt that the system in English football is under strain,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner at Deloitte sports business group, in the report’s foreword. “Repeated reports of fan unrest at ticket price and accessibility demonstrate the challenge in the modern era of balancing commercial growth with the historic essence of a football club’s role and position in society: as a community asset.”

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Aston Villa and Manchester United must shift surplus players while Sunderland and Leeds seek extra squad depth

Recruitment was cast as the main reason for the club’s disappointment last season. Mikel Merino playing as an auxiliary centre-forward after Kai Havertz had broken down made that apparent. This will be a summer with a marked difference with Andrea Berta ready to go as the club’s new sporting director. Berta spent 12 years at Atlético Madrid, supplying the players and foundation behind Diego Simeone’s dynasty. Arsenal seek to avoid friction between Arteta dictating as he did previously and Berta wielding the same kind of power that was so effective in Madrid. Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig is heavily linked to the striking vacancy with Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres seen as too costly. Martin Zubimendi is expected to reunite with Merino in Arsenal’s midfield, though Real Madrid may yet turn the midfielder’s head. Kepa Arrizabalaga will come in as a back-up goalkeeper within a squad well set for success but missing the final pieces. John Brewin

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• Trailblazing official battled rare neurological condition

• Rennie oversaw more than 300 top-flight matches

Uriah Rennie, the first black Premier League referee, has died at the age of 65. The Jamaica-born official grew up in Sheffield and oversaw more than 300 top-flight matches, starting with his breakthrough appointment as Derby hosted Wimbledon in August 1997. The game was, however, abandoned due to floodlight failure.

The Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association posted on X: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former chair and trailblazing referee, Uriah Rennie. Uriah made history as the Premier League’s first black referee, officiating over 300 top-flight matches between 1997 and 2008. He broke down barriers, shaped our football community and inspired generations to come. Our thoughts are with Uriah’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

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Two of our 20 predictions were accurate – and we were right about Spurs qualifying for the Champions League

What we predicted: Arne Slot admits he had “big shoes to fill” after Jürgen Klopp’s departure. They may be impossible to fill in terms of rapport with supporters, force of personality and authority. But, in the more important fields of winning and developing this Liverpool team, Slot will back himself to make his mark. There is space for improvement.

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