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Our newsletter takes a look at how the two expansion teams are taking different approaches as they prepare to enter the ever-so competitive league next year

On 13 March , the NWSL will commence its 14th regular season as the pre-eminent league in the United States. For the first time in its history, it will do so with 16 teams. That is double the number from the inaugural season in 2013 and a rapid rise from the nine teams that played out the 2020 campaign.

There is an inevitable aura of excitement surrounding the latest expansion as new opportunities for fans and players acceleratein an aspirational league. Halfway through the NWSL’s 13th regular season – which resumes this weekend after a prolonged summer pause – how are the expansion clubs, new and old, holding up?

Players can still live the dream in League Two. It’s a strange one, but a dream all the same

I am staring at a video posted by my beloved Cambridge United. Their stuff is pretty good. It’s four days until our League Two campaign begins at home to Cheltenham. “Striker, Acquired” it reads, the video showing a man with a neat beard in baggy jeans wearing the new home shirt. The music is the kind that if it was played too loudly in a confined space I would instantly get a migraine. OK, these things aren’t aimed at me.

The man does some keepie-uppie in bright white trainers. He has an endearing smile. He side-foots a few, points at the camera, leans against a post, rests a ball against his right hip and then smashes a penalty into the roof of the net. Our new saviour is here. The man to score the goals to get us back into League One at the first attempt.

• Newcastle forward is training at former club Sociedad

• Champions have spent nearly £300m this summer

With Liverpool being heavily linked to a move for Alexander Isak, Arne Slot said the club would never hesitate to sign a quality player if the chance presents itself. The Premier League champions have already spent close to £300m this summer and are expected to bid for the Sweden striker, who is training alone at his former club Real Sociedad.

Liverpool are long-standing admirers of Isak and have funds available from the £65.5m sale of Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich. Isak is known to be keen on moving to Anfield and it was confirmed by Sociedad on Thursday that he is “working with his trainers” at the club’s Zubieta base after missing Newcastle’s tour of Asia. The 25-year-old has three years left on his contract and Newcastle would want around £150m for their prized asset. Liverpool, it is believed, do not want to pay more than £120m. Regardless they will almost certainly have to break the British transfer record to get their man.

• Dane scored in 4-1 win over Bournemouth

• Club linked with Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins

Rasmus Højlund insists he wants to stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford, despite Manchester United’s eagerness to sign a new striker. Ruben Amorim was unable to offer the Danish international any guarantees over his future after Højlund scored in a 4-1 pre-season win over Bournemouth.

United are interested acquiring either Benjamin Sesko or Ollie Watkins prior to the closure of the transfer window after a difficult season in front of goal, saw them score 44 goals in 38 games on the way to a disappointing 15th-placed finish. Højlund has personally struggled since his £72m move from Atalanta two years ago, netting 14 times in 62 league appearances but netted the opener Chicago, before Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and Ethan Williams increased the lead, while Bournemouth’s consolation came courtesy of a Matthijs de Light own goal.

Stockport have shown plenty of ambition in the transfer market while Darren Moore’s Port Vale look to stave off drop

Last season was grim for Luton, culminating in them suffering a second successive relegation. But there remains plenty of quality at Kenilworth Road. Teden Mengi could easily be playing in the top flight, while Millenic Alli is a leading light of the recent intake. Most importantly, perhaps, the manager, Matt Bloomfield, knows this division well. Cardiff were also relegated from the Championship last season and will be hoping their new manager, Brian Barry-Murphy, can arrest the Welsh club’s slide.

PGMO puts its officials through their paces on the Costa Blanca and offers an insight into what goes on off the pitch

“Three, two, one,” comes the countdown from Francis Bunce, a senior sports scientist at the referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), before he blows the whistle to kick off the much-anticipated maximal aerobic speed (Mas) test. It is 8.53am at the La Finca resort on the Costa Blanca, about 30C and the warm-up has very much been and gone. This a six-minute all-out run. “They call it Mas because at the end you’re just praying for it to finish,” says a smiling Keith Hill, one of the referee coaches observing the session with Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer.

Part of Webb wishes he had a time machine, so he could teleport here a minibus of referees at their peak in 2003, when he joined the Premier League list, to witness the evolution of training. Now they run approximately 12km a game and use technology such as Playermaker, straps that attach to boots and can read running gaits, track how quickly officials change direction and identify injuries. Scott Ledger, who has been an assistant referee on more than 500 Premier League games, is wearing boots fit for the occasion, Adidas Copa Mundials decorated with the Spanish flag. This is day three of a five-day pre-season camp but the Mas is the main event from a physical perspective.

Younger brother of Wayne hopes he will not be needed on the pitch as he embarks on first managerial job

Macclesfield FC have grown accustomed to being the most famous team with the most famous names in their league. In a previous life, the club listed Sammy McIlroy, Paul Ince and Sol Campbell as former managers. Since their rebirth in 2020, the former Premier League players Neil Danns, Alex Bruce and, most notably, Robbie Savage, have enjoyed spells in the hot seat.

John Rooney’s surname is unlikely to go unnoticed, yet the younger brother of the England and Manchester United legend Wayne is, by his own admission, a far less glitzy appointment than his predecessor Savage, whose effervescent character came to define Macclesfield in recent years.

Today’s fluff is flexible

There is some swirling uncertainty surrounding the future of Ollie Watkins, so Aston Villa are taking precautions. They have got on to the blower to Porto to ask how much Samu Aghehowa would cost. André Villas-Boas, who is now the club president, wants £55m for him, which is a big chunk of change but the 20-year-old did score 19 in 30 appearances last season and is a fully-fledged Spain international.

Speaking of Spanish strikers potentially on the move, Sunderland are in talks with Chelsea to sign one of their many reserves. The Black Cats want Marc Guiu, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Barcelona just over a year ago. His first season in England resulted in only three Premier League appearances and it comes as no surprise, after the signing of Liam Delap, that he might need to move elsewhere to get more time on the pitch. At the other end of the pitch, Sunderland are closing on Robin Roefs, who will cost an initial £9m from NEC. One player not leaving the Stadium of Light this week is Nectarios Triantis after a £1.2m bid from Derby was rejected for the midfielder.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Sanny Rudravajhala and George Elek to preview the return of league football this weekend

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On the podcast today; the Football League is back with League One and League Two kicking off this weekend. While most fans are concerned about their summer signings there are two clubs in real peril: Sheffield Wednesday look set to start the season in the Championship without a manager, a full playing squad or even a complete stadium - can they find a buyer? Meanwhile, Morecambe seem like they have found a buyer but can’t sell - what’s going on there?

Spurs and Newcastle are two of the clubs who have made signings from the world’s fastest growing talent pools, with greater recognition of the technical ability they bring

Arsène Wenger was ahead of the curve in 2013 when he identified one of the world’s fastest growing talent pools. “I find a new market that is very interesting and very competitive is the Japanese market,” he said. “Look at the number of Japanese players who play now in Germany for example.”

And now England. This summer, Japan’s Kota Takai became part of the new Thomas Frank era at Tottenham while Birmingham have added another two Japanese players to take their contingent to three. They also have the South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho while his compatriot Park Seung-soo has joined Newcastle from Suwon Bluewings.

Bristol Rovers will be hoping theirs is a short stay in the fourth tier, while another difficult season awaits Accrington

MK Dons finished 19th last season but Paul Warne is a good manager and the club have backed him in the transfer market. Aaron Collins has arrived from Bolton for £800,000, a huge fee in the fourth tier, with Will Collar also joining from Stockport.

• England will host China at Wembley on 29 November

• Prize fund for Women’s FA Cup frozen for another year

England will play China in a friendly at Wembley on 29 November, their first confirmed fixture following the Lionesses’ Euros triumph at the weekend.

The match will be the third of four friendlies for Sarina Wiegman’s victorious team across the autumn, with the first two, in October, still to be announced, and pits the Asian champions against their European counterparts. It will also be the Lionesses’ third Wembley fixture of 2025, following victories over Spain in February and Portugal in May.

In a Euro 2025 special, we look at other champions with short-lived leads and young England award-winners

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Chloe Kelly scored the goal that won Euro 2022 and the penalty that won Euro 2025. Including penalty shootouts, has anybody else scored the winner in two major international tournaments? And which women have dominated a whole competition?” asks Emma Pollard.

For a player who has never started a knockout match at a major tournament, Chloe Kelly has had … a reasonable impact. She scored the winner against Germany in extra time in 2022, and the winning penalty in the shootout against Spain on Sunday. Kelly also set up Alessia Russo’s equaliser in the final, played a key role in both goals against Sweden in the quarter-finals, kept England in the tournament with a nerveless penalty in the subsequent shootout, and then scored a 119th-minute winner against Italy in the semi-finals.

Semi-final first leg: scored Sweden’s second equaliser in 3-2 win away to Italy

Semi-final second leg: scored both goals in 2-1 win (5-3 agg)

Final: scored Sweden’s only goal across the two legs against England, which ended 1-1 on aggregate, then scored the winning penalty in the shootout
(NB: The tournament began at the semi-final stage)

Quarter-final: second goal in 2-0 win over Sweden

Semi-final: opening goal in 3-0 hammering of England

Final: equalised in the 10th minute v Denmark, then scored in the 89th minute to seal a 4-2 win

Last 16: scored two penalties in 2-1 win against Spain

Quarter-final: scored both goals in 2-1 win over hosts France

Semi-final: didn’t play v England due to injury

Final: opened the scoring from the spot in 2-0 win over the Netherlands

History-making England captain is often seen barking orders but has a more introverted persona off the pitch

Leah Williamson stops, unable to scrape the grin off her face, pizza in hand, hair still damp from the post-match shower and a fat lip. “Not annnother one?!” I say to her, mimicking her parody of the viral general election clip after England lifted the Finalissima. “Annnother one?!” she replies, still grinning.

I am not the only one who remembers the clip. “NOT ANOTHER ONEEEEEE,” Lauren Hemp commented on Williamson’s Instagram post.

Choosing the best matches from Switzerland provokes plenty of debate along with the outstanding players and the pick of the goals

England seemed to have lost it once, twice, three times against Sweden on a night of nail-shredding drama that sharpened the sense that destiny had rich bounty in store for Sarina Wiegman’s side. It was also the first match, no doubt of many over the coming years, that made a hero of Michelle Agyemang. Nick Ames

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide

• Women’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

• Men’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

• Hope is to increase appeal of Everton Women to investors

• Capacity to start at 20,000 with scope to increase

Everton have transferred ownership of Goodison Park to their women’s team in a move it is hoped will attract external investment amid growing interest in the sport in the US.

The club announced in May that Everton Women would play their home games at Goodison next season following David Moyes’s side move to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the Guardian has learned they have since taken ownership of the 133-year-old ground.

• Rangers draw 1-1 in Athens to win 3-1 on aggregate

• Shelbourne into Europa League after Qarabag defeat

Djeidi Gassama turned super-sub once again with a crucial goal as Rangers beat profligate Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate in their Champions League second qualifier in Athens.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg at Ibrox, only another fine performance in the Olympic stadium from Rangers’ goalkeeper Jack Butland, who thwarted the Greek side in the first leg, kept the tie goalless at the break. Filip Djuricic opened the scoring with a header in the 53rd minute but moments after coming off the bench, Gassama, who scored from a substitute’s role on his debut last week, levelled at 1-1 with a stunning drive.

• Hato, 19, set to sign seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge

• Dutch forward Simons could cost up to €70m

Chelsea have agreed to pay an initial €40m (£35.5m) for Jorrel Hato, with the teenage Ajax defender set to sign a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge having already agreed personal terms.

The Netherlands defender is due to fly to London for his medical in the coming days after Chelsea finalised the terms of the deal, which it is understood includes significant add-ons. The 19-year-old has made more than 100 appearances for Ajax’s first team and is capable of playing as a left-back or in central defence. He fits Chelsea’s policy of signing promising young players on long-term deals.

• Palace ask for £35m in advance if deal goes through

• Glasner warns of ‘another false start’ if no new arrivals

Arsenal have been informed that they would have to pay more than half of Eberechi Eze’s release clause up front to sign the England forward, with Crystal Palace determined not to allow him to leave for less than a fee that could reach up to £67.5m including bonuses.

It is understood Arsenal officials have held initial talks with Palace over a deal for Eze, who has two years left on his contract at Selhurst Park. Palace are believed to have indicated that they are not willing to accept any bids below the 27-year-old’s release clause and want £35m in advance, with the rest of his initial £60m fee due in instalments.

• Prohibition notice issued 10 days before season starts

• Stand built in 1960 has structural and electrical faults

Sheffield Wednesday have been banned from opening Hillsborough’s North Stand to spectators due to safety concerns, further compounding the challenges facing the crisis-hit club before the new Championship season.

With Wednesday under an EFL transfer embargo, and Danny Rohl departing as manager this week, a prohibition notice issued by Sheffield city council means another problem has hit the club’s ownership, led by the Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri. Wednesday’s first home game of the season is on Saturday 16 August, against Stoke.

Fifteen players have represented both Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League but that is not a record

Noni Madueke has made the short journey across London to join Arsenal from Chelsea. Some Arsenal fans have expressed annoyance at their club giving yet more money – £52m – to their rivals for a player deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. The road from Chelsea to Arsenal is a well worn path. Kepa Arrizabalaga swapped south-west London for north London earlier this summer for £5m, following in the footsteps of Kai Havertz and Jorginho, who made the same move in 2023 for a combined £77m.

A total of 15 players have represented both Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League, with Havertz and Jorginho joining Ashley Cole, Cesc Fàbregas, Petr Cech, Olivier Giroud, David Luiz, Emmanuel Petit, Lassana Diarra, Nicolas Anelka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, William Gallas, Willian and Yossi Benayoun.

Influenced by Pep Guardiola, Roberto De Zerbi, Luis Enrique and others, no team in the world relies on buildup quite like this newly-formed group

For a goalkeeper under pressure, there’s one safe way out: turn away from the opponent, shield the ball with your body and boot it long.

A few minutes into the second half against Nashville last weekend, Pablo Sisniega did the exact opposite.

Super Falcons were two goals down to Morocco in the final but comeback repaid Justine Madugu’s faith in his team

Eyebrows were raised when Justine Madugu was appointed as the new Nigeria coach in September last year, having had no head coach experience in international football before taking on the role.

On Saturday the “gamble” – if you call it that – paid off when the Super Falcons came from 2-0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

After years spent in striker-less formations, the Premier League’s top teams are seemingly all set to rely on a big body (or two) up top

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It’s only been a decade since it seemed the center-forward was being refined out of existence. Spain had won Euro 2012 with Cesc Fàbregas as a false nine, and Germany, who largely took Spain as a model, were less than convinced they needed one at the 2014 World Cup. They fielded Thomas Müller as a false-ish nine until the quarter-final, when Jögi Löw finally went back to basics and turned to Miroslav Klose. That he was 36 only seemed to confirm that the old-fashioned No 9 was an old-fashioned phenomenon – a dying breed. Yet this summer, the main interest in the transfer market has been the carousel of strikers.

Of course, strikers never entirely disappeared. The four leading scorers in the Premier League in 2014–15 were Sergio Agüero, Harry Kane, Diego Costa and Charlie Austin. Mauri Icardi and Luca Toni topped the charts in Italy, while Cristiano Ronaldo, his conversion to A No 9 complete, was top scorer in Spain (although that he was followed by Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, and Neymar suggested a greater variety of goalscorer there).

Opponents from the striker’s time in Portugal on how they attempted to contain Arsenal’s new signing

Stopping Viktor Gyökeres was arguably the greatest challenge in Portuguese football over the past two seasons. Every time the new Arsenal striker stepped on to the pitch, defenders, goalkeepers and managers braced for 90 relentless minutes. Across his two years at Sporting, he scored 68 goals in 66 league appearances – and added another 29 in other competitions. But what is it really like to face the Swedish forward? And how can Premier League teams hope to contain him?

For Kewin Silva, the name stirs up difficult memories. In April, the then Moreirense goalkeeper was forced to fish the ball out of his net three times during one of Gyökeres’s standout performances for Sporting. Earlier in the season, the modest northern club had stunned the Lisbon giants with a 2–1 home win. Gyökeres did score from the penalty spot that day, but Moreirense’s defence managed to keep him quiet otherwise. In the return fixture, however, with the title race intensifying, nothing could stop him.

Uefa’s director of women’s football says 16-team Euro 2025 has been a success even without making a profit

“It really makes me emotional, it’s just something we didn’t have in my time,” says Nadine Kessler as she surveys the popularity and sheer scale of a sport whose future she now helps shape. Uefa’s director of women’s football was a brilliant player before retiring nine years ago after 11 surgeries on a knee; she was world footballer of the year in 2014 and, having won the European Championship with Germany a year previously, knows what it takes to dominate a continent.

Staging an entire tournament is a different matter, although one she has become accustomed to since joining the governing body in 2017. “I need to throw my to-do list out of the window,” she says before sitting down at Uefa’s designated hotel in Basel to survey the reverberations of a record-breaking Euro 2025 before the final. “It’s like my craziest match-day,” she says. “But it’s incredible.”

South Korea match will revive bitter memories of 2022 exit as Australia seek to find the right blend before next March

As Tameka Yallop unfurled the purple scroll revealing the Matildas’ final group-stage opponent for next year’s Asian Cup, whispers rustled across the Sydney Town Hall crowd.

South Korea. The same team that had knocked them out of the quarter-final of this tournament almost four years ago. The game that plunged Australian football fans and media into despair.

• Messi, Alba miss All-Star Game without league OK

• MLS suspends both for Inter Miami’s next match

• Garber says policy review may come after decision

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba have been suspended from their next club match after missing Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game against Mexico’s Liga MX.

Messi’s club coach Javier Mascherano told reporters on Friday the Argentinian World Cup winner had sat out the showpiece due to fatigue, while Alba is believed to have sustained a knock in their previous MLS fixture.

A summary of the report obtained by the Guardian found no specific issue with how the club handled a report of abuse but improvements could have been made

An investigation commissioned by the National Women’s Soccer League found that the San Diego Wave front office “could have done more” to address a sexual assault allegation from a member of the club’s staff, but ultimately found no specific issue with how the claim was handled because the alleged victim did not use the term “sexual” when describing her experience.

The finding is contained in a report summarizing the investigation, which had not previously been made public but was obtained by the Guardian US.

• Marc Brys was thought to have quit this week

• Letter claimed resignation was due to lack of payment

Marc Brys has denied he has quit as coach of Cameroon despite the country’s football federation confirming his exit on Wednesday, as the Belgian said his email was likely hacked and his alleged resignation letter did not come from him.

It is the latest twist in a long-running battle between Brys and the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) since his appointment by the country’s sports ministry in April 2024.

Even now, some want to downplay last night’s historic win, but the facts are plain. We yearn to be the best: palpably, our women are doing that

It felt like deja vu when Chloe Kelly smashed the ball into the back of the net, winning the game for the Lionesses and signalling the end of the Women’s Euro 2025 final. England beat Spain after a tense penalty shootout. The word of the tournament was “resilience”, declared presenter Gabby Logan after the game. It is hard to argue with that.

It was as though the team had written a list of milestones they were ticking off as the tournament progressed. They are the first English senior team to defend their title, and the first to win a major tournament on foreign soil. Their coach, Sarina Wiegman, simply said: “A team is what we really are. We can win by any means.”

Ava Vidal is a standup comedian based in London and patron of the charity Show Racism the Red Card

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Few noticed the Lionesses taking a stand when they didn’t kneel. Tackling racism is much bigger than just football, but there are plenty of active steps fans and clubs can take

Searching for ways to wield power when you ultimately have none is hard. The decision of the Lionesses to use their most powerful tool, their collective profile and voice, which is amplified during a major tournament, to support Jess Carter after her decision to speak out about the racist abuse she has received during the Women’s Euro 2025 was a brave one.

They should be applauded because in their statement and collective action there is an attempt to go beyond condemnation of racism to demanding real change and grappling with what that looks like and how you do it – all while trying to win a second major tournament trophy.

It appears a radical departure by FSG to build so ambitiously from a position of strength, while sending an ominous warning to their rivals

Almost £300m worth of talent added to a squad that cruised to the Premier League title last season and Liverpool may not be spent yet. Whatever they’re smoking in Boston is having an unusual effect on a global fanbase.

Big-spending Liverpool, blowing competitors from Bayern Munich to Newcastle out of the water with their pulling and spending power, may be a strange reality for supporters who not so long ago sang: “The Reds have got no money, but we’ll still win the league.” The chant can be retired now that the first part is demonstrably untrue. It always was.

Jess Carter’s decision to step away from her social media accounts highlighted the vulnerability female footballers face – we must have zero tolerance for these abuses

When the England defender Jess Carter revealed she had been subjected to a barrage of racist abuse on social media during the Uefa European Women’s Championship, it exposed a stark reality: the women’s game is thriving on the pitch but remains deeply vulnerable to discrimination and online abuse off it.

Carter’s decision to step away from her social media accounts highlighted her vulnerability and she received support from England’s head coach, Sarina Wiegman, her teammates and the Football Association. Within hours of her statement, the FA had engaged UK police and begun collaboration with social media companies to trace those responsible – demonstrating an impressively swift and decisive response. In October 2023, the Online Safety Act became law, ensuring social media platforms have a duty to protect users from content such as racist abuse. Platforms have a responsibility to identify and remove harmful content including all forms of hate speech, with Ofcom responsible for enforcing the legislation.

Our cartoonist looks at how the Lionesses retained their crown as European champions

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• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

Arsenal’s new signing arrives with a reputation for goals but also mystery around his iconic celebration

Every goalscorer needs a trademark celebration and the one Viktor Gyökeres has shown off over the past few years has certainly increased its reach of late – fingers interlocked, thumbs pushed up, a mask formed across his mouth and nose.

As Gyökeres’s transfer from Sporting to Arsenal has edged along, fans of the London club became increasingly desperate for clues. They were convinced they spotted one when the defender Riccardo Calafiori was pictured at their kit launch with the shirt pulled up towards his eyes; mask‑style. And then there was Myles Lewis‑Skelly, another of their defenders, looking at a Gyökeres-to-Arsenal story on his phone and copying the gesture.

The 10-year contract is worth £1bn but it has also opened the door to increase the club’s global profile with other lucrative partnerships

Manchester City had a billion reasons to celebrate the new kit deal with Puma announced last week, yet beyond the bottom line the value of the contract may prove priceless.

The Guardian has learned that the 10-year deal, worth £1bn, contains clauses giving the German sportswear manufacturer options to extend the partnership way beyond that, but most significant to City may be what Puma’s endorsement and huge financial commitment say to independent brands and the Premier League about the club’s value.

Early moves in the market are revealing about the state of the Premier League title contenders and their priorities

The transfer window at this stage is essentially fan fiction. What if Dr Frankenstein had turned up at Pemberley and conducted a waspish romance with Elizabeth Bennet? What if Akela was not just a wolf but a werewolf? What if famous and attractive Tennis Player X were having a fling with famous and attractive Tennis Player Y? And what if Arsenal actually signed a centre-forward?

There hasn’t yet been time for reality to intervene. It’s like the day after the World Cup draw when everything exists in a realm of pure perfection and you can imagine the platonic ideal of each country facing off, unsullied by form, injury or disputes over bonuses.

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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Correctly installed as lava-hot favourites to be relegated back to the Championship, seconds after the final whistle was blown at the end of their last-gasp playoff final win over Sheffield United, Sunderland promptly lost their standout player, Jobe Bellingham, to a far more successful club who might conceivably win a trophy more prestigious than Fizzy Cup in the next 70 years. Instead of raging about cosy cartels, the unfairness of PSR and the fact their billionaire owner isn’t allowed to spend money on players that the football club he owns hasn’t earned, mackems have since looked on with increasing intrigue as their club’s hierarchy have unveiled a series of new signings that, while unlikely to prompt talk of a serious title tilt, may at least ensure that Sunderland do not feature in any conversational comparisons with Derby County and their record low Premier League points tally of 11 in the coming months.

Perhaps the reason for Sheffield Wednesday’s 10-man, 16-0 defeat to Halliwell FC in 1887 (yesterday’s Football Daily) was that not all members of the 1896 FA Cup-winning squad were trusting of the Victorian time machine technology that the club were clearly using at that time?” – Garreth Cummins (and others).

Although the number is the same as Football Daily’s pedants, my only knowledge of ‘Bonnie Blue’ is that I thought it was an affectionate name for Cowdenbeath’s home kit. And that’s the story I’m sticking with” – Simon Mazier (and 1,056 others).

Re: Forest’s ownership. Guy Stephenson is partially correct (yesterday’s Football Daily letters); it is the same Evangelos Marinakis who put his shares into a blind trust earlier in the year, but it’s also the Evangelos Marinakis that reversed the situation in June when it became apparent it wasn’t required” – Jim Hearson.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Today’s rumours are upside down

Gianluigi Donnarumma would be most people’s pick as the best goalkeeper in the world, playing for the best team in the world (not now, Chelsea fans), the Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. So while the French club’s decision to sign a new goalkeeper – and a very good goalkeeper in Lucas Chevalier from Lille – is an eyebrow-raising one, it simply felt like an expensive exercise in keeping Donnarumma on his toes. Imagine the Mill’s surprise that Donnarumma is now being linked with an exit from PSG … to Manchester United! Just why an elite keeper would want to join a team that finished 15th in the Premier League, is not playing in Europe and has no serious ambition for a league title is beyond comprehension, particularly as the usual answer is money. Donnarumma already earns €12m per year after tax, and United have spent the last couple of years pleading poverty. But L’Équipe seem fairly convinced of the rumours and we are just here to translate.

Borussia Dortmund are light on wingers after Jamie Gittens left for Chelsea and Jadon Sancho has again been mooted as a potential replacement. The Englishman has twice signed for the German club – most recently on loan in January last year – and the 25-year-old could complete a permanent switch with Manchester United asking for just £20m. Any deal would be dependent on Sancho taking a substantial pay cut.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, John Brewin and Mark Langdon as Liverpool look to sign Alexander Isak, while the panel answer your questions from the pre-season mailbag

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On the podcast today: Luis Díaz out, Alexander Isak possibly in at Liverpool. They are close to ‘winning’ the window, but will that make them favourites to win some of the actual silverware on offer this season?

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack and Sophie Downey to break down Sunday’s Euro 2025 final in Basel

On the podcast today: After three weeks of drama, 30 matches and 104 goals, it all boils down to England v Spain in the Euro 2025 final. The Lionesses overcame the “group of death” and two nerve-shredding knockout games, while Spain have combined flair with resilience to reach their first-ever women’s Euros final.

The panel examines how both sides have developed since their World Cup final clash two years ago, the key tactical battles that could determine the match, and whether Sarina Wiegman’s England can embrace the underdog role. Plus, how will the Lionesses cope with injuries, and can Spain’s midfield prowess unlock another trophy?

Plus: most champions-in-waiting beaten en route to Champions League glory and the hottest English match on record

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“Arsenal have signed a new keeper, Kepa,” noted John Marsden last week. “Are there any other examples of players with a name so similar to their position?”

While we can’t find a player named Left Back, there is a former Anderlecht defender by the name of Mark De Man (which, admittedly, is an on-pitch instruction not a role). The Belgium international earned five caps for his country and retired in 2012 with a spell at third-division KSK Hasselt, having rejected the chance to make the move to Kilmarnock. “I have two children and my wife has a good job. I did not want to move to Scotland on my own,” said De Man.

Best players, best managers, best matches, best goals, biggest flops and biggest gripes: our writers have their say

Mohamed Salah. The numbers don’t lie – 47 goal contributions in the Premier League was an outstanding return from the Egyptian, who seems to be getting better with age. Ed Aarons

Arne Slot’s first season could not have gone any better while Wolves fans drank to Vítor Pereira’s arrival

By winning the league, the Dutchman surprised pretty much everyone. He faced the daunting task of succeeding Jürgen Klopp and inherited the German’s squad, adding only Federico Chiesa, who barely kicked a ball in anger. Not much changed from the previous year, except Ryan Gravenberch became the designated defensive midfielder as Slot’s Liverpool looked to get on the ball as much as possible. Slot was never going to be a personality who generated headlines like Klopp did, keeping his cards close to his chest, but he always comes across as someone who is very personable and has brought the players closer together. Slot made Liverpool an efficient winning machine – rarely thrashing teams, often winning by the odd goal or two – and that allowed them to race to a second Premier League title. No one could compete with the Reds, which was partly down to rivals dropping their standards but most of it can be attributed to the fact Slot made his team superior.

Managers, teams and players who have disappointed over the campaign – including the reigning footballer of the year

Ruben Amorim’s average points tally of a point per league game since arriving at Manchester United in early November puts him just above Malky Mackay’s record at Cardiff and Paul Jewell’s Premier League record with Bradford, Wigan and Derby. While Sporting won the Primeira Liga title without Amorim, United have fallen down the table to 15th since the Portuguese took the reins from the interim coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Much of the ire towards United has been directed at the owners but on the pitch Amorim has failed to adapt his squad of expensive, experienced internationals into anything approaching a cohesive unit. The Europa League final defeat by Tottenham showed how much work is left to do.