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Forward has not yet been registered by financially troubled club in a summer when Real Madrid have spent €200m

La Liga begins again in Girona on Friday evening, a five-day weekend to start it off, and for the first time the division’s biggest clubs, every side competing for the title, share a vital weapon: they all have Englishmen in their team. Trent Alexander-Arnold, just Trent now on his No 12 shirt, has joined Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid. Nine players have left Atlético Madrid, but Conor Gallagher isn’t one of them. Marcus Rashford has landed in Barcelona, 39 years after Gary Lineker. And Oviemuno Ejaria has just signed a two-year deal at Real Oviedo.

Or, if you prefer your obvious jokes to have a slightly different bias, another team for the punchline, Tyrhys Dolan has joined Espanyol.

• Spurs take PSG to penalty shootout in Super Cup

• ‘They gave everything – it’s the smallest of margins’

Thomas Frank described himself as “very, very proud” of a Tottenham team that came within two minutes of a famous Uefa Super Cup win over Paris Saint-Germain. They were ultimately defeated on penalties after squandering a two-goal lead and their new manager was left to rue an inability to bend the outcome to their will in the shootout.

Goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero appeared to have rocket-launched Frank’s tenure before Lee Kang-in and Gonçalo Ramos curtailed the celebrations. But the Dane saw plenty of encouragement in the way his players dominated their star-studded opponents for the first three quarters of the match.

Celebrities play it. Footballers play it. Gradually, insidiously, fantasy football has seeped into the way we consume the game

Perhaps you’re a template kind of guy. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re spurning the triple Liverpool consensus and stacking your team with handy differentials like Jarrod Bowen and Donyell Malen. Perhaps even Erling Haaland could be considered a differential given his historically low current ownership stats. Perhaps you’re feeling a cheeky BB GW1, followed by a FH GW2. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re furiously stabbing at the “close tab” button on your browser in the hope of purging these words from your eyes as expeditiously as possible.

In which case, relax. This is actually a column about sport: what it is, what it isn’t, how we watch it, where it’s going. Most important, you can rest assured I shall not be relating any details of my Fantasy Premier League exploits, for the same reason I will not be sharing my dreams, my Wordle stats or the contents of my belly button. However fascinating you may find your own, it is genuinely no excuse for wasting anybody else’s time.

Re-establishing themselves in the top tier will be tough but the Wearsiders are throwing everything at the challenge

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 4th in the Championship

Dispute between governing body and commercial partner has forced top-flight clubs to suspend player salaries

Crystal Palace may be disappointed the court of arbitration for sport ruled against them on Monday but at least they now know their fate. Imagine if all Premier League clubs were waiting for a court decision that would, in effect, determine whether the season would go ahead at all. That is the situation the 14 Indian Super League (ISL) teams find themselves in. The whole of football there has been waiting for a ruling from the supreme court. It was expected in mid-July but has still not arrived. The season is due to start in September. Or at least, it was.

The ISL, formed in 2013, has grown from eight teams to 14, becoming the top tier along the way. Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL) runs the competition but put the 2025-26 season on hold on 11 July. At the time, despite the shock, most stakeholders felt it would go ahead but confidence, trust and bank balances have taken a turn for the worse.

Today’s tall tales want to swing their hips

It’s been an unusually busy summer at Manchester City: lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous. And Hugo Viana, City’s new director of football, isn’t done yet. According to selected rags, City may hijack Chelsea’s move for the RB Leipzig and Netherlands forward Xavi Simons.

City are also attempting to reunite last year’s France Olympic squad by stealth. First they signed Rayan Cherki; now they’re being linked with the Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin for the second of our Premier League preview podcasts

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today; can Leeds become a force again in the Premier League? Will Liverpool’s big-spending summer result in consecutive league titles?

• Goalkeeper Lee Nicholls stars for League One side

• Jay Stansfield strikes late for Birmingham victory

The goalkeeper Lee Nicholls was the hero for Huddersfield, who overcame Championship opponents Leicester via a penalty shootout after an entertaining 2-2 Carabao Cup first-round draw at the League One club’s Accu Stadium.

Huddersfield started strongly and Ruben Roosken and David Kasumu both had strong penalty shouts turned down early on after both appeared to be tripped inside the box.

After the club’s two previous attempts to sign the forward, Ruben Amorim will be hoping they have found the real deal

It has, for a while, appeared to be destiny. Benjamin Sesko’s arrival at Manchester United was third time lucky for last season’s Europa League finalists, having attempted to make a deal for the Slovenia striker when he was leaving Domžale in 2019 and again when he agreed to fly the Red Bull Salzburg nest in 2022, eventually joining up with RB Leipzig a year down the line.

Now United have their still-only-22-year-old man and if Sesko has been feted in the inner circles of European football since his mid-teens, one could suggest the wait has not only be worthwhile but that it could work in favour of Ruben Amorim as he attempts to author a dramatic uptick in the fortunes of the English game’s premier fallen giant.

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

Presenter on mixing Sky and BBC duties, the benefits of a conversational style and replacing a legend

Kelly Cates is about to begin the busiest year of her career. That, to be fair, is an estimate, because the football presenter and broadcaster has always been a grafter. From Setanta Sports to Channel 5 there are few places where she has not applied her blend of deep knowledge and emotional warmth, and as of this weekend she will be the face of the BBC’s and Sky’s coverage of the Premier League.

The action gets under way at a second home, Anfield, from where Cates will host Sky’s Friday Night Football coverage of Liverpool v Bournemouth. This follows two preview shows for the BBC, and precedes her first shift on Match of the Day.

Nuno Espírito Santo will hope to build on last season’s success but playing in Europe could be problematic

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 7th

How well do you remember the goals, games and controversial moments of previous opening weekends?

Eddie Howe’s side hope the Champions League and smart additions can banish memories of a challenging summer

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 5th

Ruben Amorim has to turn the ailing club around this season, after £200m on a new forward line, or he could be the next to pay the price

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 9th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 15th

Squad will need to adapt quickly to Pep Guardiola’s evolutionary tactics, while a battle looms between James Trafford and Ederson for the No 1 jersey

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 3rd (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season: 3rd

• Study finds organisations ‘shirking their duty of care’

• Issue raised again this week by England’s Jess Carter

Most of Britain’s leading sports teams and governing bodies still have no specific safeguarding policies to protect women from online abuse, research has found.

The study, which analysed the public policies of 52 organisations and clubs across football, cricket and rugby union, warns they are “shirking their duty of care, shifting the responsibility on to athletes to safeguard themselves” as a result.

• Calvert-Lewin undergoing medical at Leeds

• Bournemouth sign Diakité from Lille for £30m

Liverpool are close to signing Parma’s teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni for an initial fee of £26m. The 18-year-old was a target for several Italian and Premier League clubs after impressing for Parma last season but Liverpool look to have beaten off the competition as they attempt to increase Arne Slot’s defensive options.

Manchester United were among the Premier League clubs to register interest in the defender. Inter had hoped to reunite Leoni with the former Parma coach Cristian Chivu but were unable to match the financial offer from Liverpool.

• Sky pundit was banned from final game of last season

• Forest looking for assurances before welcoming him back

Nottingham Forest have not resolved their dispute with Gary Neville before the new Premier League season and want assurances from the Sky Sports pundit before welcoming him back to the City Ground.

The former Manchester United captain was banned by Forest from the final game of last season after an intervention from their owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who had taken exception to Neville’s criticisms of his conduct.

• Clubs, Sky Sports and TNT Sports support innovation

• Cameras can provide near-instant replays of incidents

The Premier League is planning to test Ref Cams in selected matches during its ­opening round of fixtures this weekend with a view to making the new technology a permanent feature of live TV games for the rest of the season.

The Guardian has learned that the clubs have given their approval for the trial, with the Premier League’s broadcast ­partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports, also supporting the innovation.

• Forward says club paying for lack of clear direction

• He believes United need to ‘make a plan and stick to it’

Marcus Rashford has offered a withering assessment of Manchester United’s decline, claiming a lack of identity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired has marooned the club in “no man’s land”.

The on-loan Barcelona striker insists the club’s predicament hurts him as a United player and fan, and laid the blame firmly at Old Trafford’s door. Too many managerial changes and different strategies had undermined the playing principles established under Ferguson, said Rashford, and prevented any meaningful transition. He believes United will not be serious contenders for the Premier League again unless they keep faith with a clear plan.

Plus: two European ties in the same stadium on one day and the highest opening weekend goals-per-game ratio

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“I have just heard CMAT’s song Vincent Kompany because I am cool, young and relevant,” writes the cool, young and relevant Will Unwin. “I was wondering if any other player’s name is the title of a song, beyond simply being referred to?”

In this age of streaming, there are many songs online whose titles are the names of footballers, but a few hundred listens here and there doesn’t make them particularly noteworthy. So we have wound back a bit to a time when songs were more commonly created in studios, not bedrooms.

Two designers from different eras reflect on the changing look of soccer through logo design

Lance Wyman is among America’s greatest-ever graphic designers, and his fingerprints are all over any number of American cities.

Wyman’s style is instantly recognizable – simple, bold and clever. Wyman often works in wayfaring, and his signs and instructions to viewers often use simple, geometric shapes to get the job done, often incorporating a playfulness as well. His approach has made his work timeless. In 2011, when the government of the District of Columbia wanted their metro map updated, they went right back to Wyman, who had crafted the original design for the system about 40 years earlier.

Being brought to the club through family ties has been a blessing and a curse but Premier League football this season will ease the pain of 5am wake-up calls

Long-term relationships often come with sporting baggage. He gave me Sunderland and I gave him Adelaide Crows. One of us has done much better in this deal.

When we first started dating, I remember asking him, an Englishman, which Premier League team he supported. He was very well spoken so I was expecting a London club, or, because everyone else seemed to support them, one of the glamour teams. So, when he said Sunderland, he caught me off guard.

Winger with millions of followers explains how the ‘female-first mentality’ at the Serie A minnows was a big draw

It is not difficult to understand why any Italian club would want to sign Alisha Lehmann: last season she helped Juventus win a league and cup double, she is an international winger who accumulated 19 goals and 10 assists in England’s Women’s Super League and, yes, there is the small matter of her 16.7m Instagram followers and 12m TikTok followers, an online presence that commands a commercial power vast for any athlete and pretty unique in women’s football.

What is perhaps not so immediately obvious is why, aged 26 and with her peak football years probably ahead, she would opt to join a club that finished in the bottom half of Serie A last season and cannot yet offer European football. However, the Switzerland forward’s reasons for signing a three-year deal with FC Como Women, she says, have a deeper meaning.

The South Korean superstar is one of the most beloved players on his home continent, giving MLS a valuable chance to raise its profile

South Korean baseball fans have long been accustomed to organizing their weekends around MLB schedules – now it is time for the country’s soccer supporters to do the same with MLS.

Son Heung-min has started his two-year contract with Los Angeles FC, coming just after the attacker helped Tottenham Hotspur become the biggest club in his homeland (even if claims of close to 13 million fans are surely wildly overexaggerated) and one of the biggest in his home continent. Now it is the time to see what he can do in Los Angeles on the field and what the club can do off it.

Ruben Amorim’s side still a work in progress after Fiorentina friendly but hopes are high for moment when Benjamin Sesko joins attacking newcomers on the pitch

David de Gea’s appearance between the sticks at Old Trafford was a moment of nostalgia for Manchester United fans, a reminder of better times. The goalkeeper’s departure at the end of the 2022-2023 season epitomises the club’s self-inflicted problems, the sort of business ineptitude that has scarred United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will demand is a thing of the past.

When André Onana, a goalkeeper well-known to the then manager Erik ten Hag, was available for nothing, United allowed De Gea to run down his contract and then spent £40m on the Cameroonian a year later. The logic was lost on everyone, missing out on a fee for the Spaniard, despite a subpar final season, and then splashing out on an inferior replacement.

Its young, diverse and passionate fanbase offers a huge opportunity, but too many clubs are only scratching the surface

The Lionesses are simply the most successful England football team in history, winning back-to-back European Championships and becoming the first England senior team to win a major tournament on foreign soil. It is an incredible achievement and one that will reverberate through the women’s game for many years to come.

The head coach, Sarina Wiegman, is simply world class; it’s an overused phrase but absolutely fitting in this case. To reach five major finals in a row (including a European Championship win and a World Cup final with the Netherlands before joining England) is a record that may never be surpassed. She was an inspired choice by Kay Cossington, the former Football Association technical director who targeted her for her ability to build a strong culture and sense of team as much as her obvious tactical acumen.

Familiar tones of rage, pain and betrayal that envelop men’s football were missing during England’s joyful run to glory

“You can’t stand their voices? ALL women’s voices?” “Yes.” “Are you married to a woman?” “I am. And she feels the same.” Hmm. To be fair to Dave from Egham, whose name has been changed to protect the confused, the whole setup here was pretty bleak. It was Dave’s destiny a week on from England’s victory at Euro 2025 to find himself going viral after an appearance on LBC radio.

In the clip Dave objects to the sound of all women’s voices, even if they’re Adele or Billie Holiday. Specifically he objects to women talking about women’s sport, which Dave hates because it is being thrown down his throat, and thrown down his throat to the extent he has to ring up a radio station and talk about the women talking about the women’s sport, simply to disentangle its tendrils from his throat, to steal a few gargling, sputtering final breaths.

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

• 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.

Portuguese club kept Luuk de Jong’s move under wraps, stunning their fans and making André Villas-Boas happy

Transfer news spreads like wildfire in this day and age. Leaks have become not only common but expected, by clubs, journalists and agents. So when Porto unveiled Luuk de Jong, it stunned the football world. Not even employees and teammates knew until moments before his presentation at a friendly against Atlético Madrid. So how did they pull it off?

What unfolded was a story with the intrigue of a spy thriller. The striker was the last to board the plane he took from the Netherlands to Porto last Sunday and timed his arrival on matchday to avoid crossing paths with anyone. Upon landing, he was the first off the plane and ushered into a van with tinted windows that drove him to the stadium. His entourage – anonymous to fans – collected his luggage.

• Sonia Bermúdez and Iraia Iturregi to take over

• Federation thanks Tomé for work and dedication

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has confirmed the contract of its women’s team manager, Montse Tomé, will not be renewed when it expires at the end of August. The under-23 manager, Sonia Bermúdez, has been appointed to replace Tomé, with the former Spain international to be assisted by Iraia Iturregi in a new joint model.

Tomé was appointed in 2023, the assistant manager taking over from Jorge Vilda, who was sacked after Spain’s first World Cup win. Long-held frustrations boiled over after the federation’s then president Luis Rubiales’s inappropriate actions during the medal ceremony, including kissing Jenni Hermoso.

Footballer Suleiman al-Obeid was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza last week, according to Palestine Football Association

Mohamed Salah has criticised Uefa for failing to state how a footballer known as the “Palestinian Pelé” died in a tribute it posted.

Suleiman al-Obeid, 41, was killed on Wednesday in southern Gaza when Israeli forces attacked civilians waiting for humanitarian aid, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said.

Former third-tier club with no financial muscle from remote municipality of 14,000 inhabitants lead country’s top flight

For Mjällby’s opponents, a trip to the far south of Sweden feels like a journey to the Earth’s end. “When teams come on here on the bus they drive and drive, through the farms, past the fishing harbours,” says Hasse Larsson. “They keep driving and then, when they can’t drive any further, they find our stadium.”

They discover an institution whose heart and soul are rooted in Sölvesborg, a remote municipality of 14,000 inhabitants. Nowadays they find a club front and centre of an extraordinary story unfolding in Allsvenskan, the country’s top flight. Mjällby are four points clear at the top with 12 games left; they have lost once and, should they escape intact from a visit to the champions Malmö on Saturday, the unlikeliest of dreams will become vivid.

Poised for a move to Al-Hilal, the striker will depart in the affections of many despite a hit and miss time at Anfield

It started with a goal to clinch the Community Shield against Manchester City on his Liverpool debut and a red card for a head-butt on his Anfield bow. There were glaring misses, falling-outs and some telling contributions in between, before it ended with Liverpool taking a rare financial hit on a one-time club record signing. Darwin Núñez never reached the heights Jürgen Klopp predicted he would, but it was an eventful three-year ride that ensures the striker is poised to depart in the affections of many at Liverpool.

Klopp led the signing of Núñez before and especially after his two appearances for Benfica against Liverpool in the 2021-22 Champions League. But he was not the only Liverpool coach to be sold on the Uruguay international’s talents, become frustrated by attempts to accommodate the forward and ultimately sideline him. Arne Slot followed an identical path with the mercurial 26-year-old.

A summer without a sporting director and failure to keep Alexander Isak happy has left the club with an almost dysfunctional feel

“If you want to understand Newcastle you first need to understand its place in the world – that is, a very long way from anywhere. The next major city is Leeds, two hours drive to the south … London feels very far away.”

If Eddie Howe can only hope his prospective signings do not stumble across the Rough Guides introduction to England’s northern cities, Newcastle’s manager may also reflect that it was not supposed to be like this.

Manchester City manager may still relish a title chase but, as the declines of Mourinho and Wenger prove, nothing lasts for ever

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the interview Pep Guardiola gave to GQ was how tired he sounded. The headlines that he was contemplating a 15-year break from the game didn’t entirely reflect what he said – “I don’t know how long I’ll stop for: a year, two years, three years, five, 10, 15, I don’t know. But I will leave after this spell with City because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body” – but his weariness was clear.

To an extent it is not a surprise. Jürgen Klopp was exhausted (and self-aware) enough after almost 15 seasons at Dortmund and Liverpool (plus seven at Mainz) to quit last summer. There were times last season, particularly in that four-month spell either side of Christmas when City’s form dipped alarmingly, that Guardiola seemed shattered. By his own admission, his decision last November to sign a contract extension to summer 2027 was motivated in part by guilt at the downturn. “The problems we had in the last month, I felt now was not the right time to leave,” he said. The problems got much worse.

Our cartoonist on the wacky plotlines and big characters to look out for as the new season begins

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

From a Saturday Night Fever-inspired video to a bizarre Lionel Richie-theme, it has been a creative time for signings

Sometimes it’s best not to overcomplicate things. The former Atalanta playmaker Alejandro “Papu” Gómez loves a dance (his hit single Dance Like the Papu went viral in 2017) and Padua is an absolutely gorgeous city in northern Italy, so this Saturday Night Fever-inspired transfer announcement video for the Argentinian that showcases both works a charm. In what feels like a high-quality production, the 2022 World Cup winner struts around the city in 1970s clobber: a leather jacket, an enormously lappelled shirt and a vintage pair of Copa Mundials, all to the sound of the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive. The context of this transfer to the Serie B side is that Gómez is finishing a two-year doping ban after taking a banned substance, which the now 37-year-old claimed came from his son’s cough medicine. Gómez, fifth on the all-time list of Serie A assists, continues to train independently but can start training with his new Padova teammates on 19 August.

A group of leading experts anonymously give the lowdown on how players are bought and sold, including the transfer market’s peculiar quirks

The whole system is lubricated by agents: how they work and how they make things work. At my club, we have closed the door to that now. We used to say we were open to what agents sent our way but in our experience only around one in 100 suggestions were useful, let alone successful.

With protests planned for the start of the season, the FSA chair believes only fan consultation will help address grievances

“I’m a bit younger, so this is all I’ve known,” says Nick Clarke, “but something that defines this moment is the feeling that it’s our last chance. You know that phrase: ‘The game’s gone’? I think the game is genuinely going away. It’s excluding traditional supporters and the communities that built the clubs in the first place.”

Clarke has just celebrated his 30th birthday and is coming off the back of a big season. As one of the four season-ticket holders behind the MCFC Fans Foodbank Support, Clarke has been active among the Manchester City fanbase and in the community since the pandemic. With the growing concern over the pricing and provision of tickets at his club last year, he helped coordinate protests by fans whose rivalries go back generations, but whose problems are increasingly shared. Supporters of Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United and others joined City fans under the banner “Stop Exploiting Loyalty” and in doing so became part of a new wave of supporter activism.

Veteran manager tells Donald McRae about his 45-year-career, upcoming tour and missing out on Virgil van Dijk

‘I was at Crystal Palace and I wanted a centre-half,” Neil Warnock says as, after 45 years as a manager, he describes how football has changed since his rise from non-league to the Premier League. “I sent Ronnie Jepson, my assistant, to Scotland to watch a centre-half. And he came back and said he would cost us around £4m, but he was very good. So I told the people at Crystal Palace.”

Warnock resists identifying Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, by name for he is deep in a story that illustrates how data analytics is not always infallible. “He asked for 24 hours and went to the data people. The next day he said: ‘We don’t want to go ahead.’ I asked him why and he said they don’t think he’s quick enough. I said: ‘He might not look quick enough, but he’s in second gear in Scotland. If he had to sprint, he’d sprint.’”

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When Football Daily were a lad and everything about football was much better, top-flight referees were able to go about their business unencumbered by nothing more hi-tech and new-fangled than a wrist-watch, a coin, a whistle, red and yellow cards, and a stubby little pencil they could’ve half-inched from the betting shop. Fast forward several decades and while the standard of officiating remains much the same, advances in the fields of both technology and vanishing foam dictate that Premier League refs are now forced to include spray cans, headsets and now body cameras on the list of items to be ticked off their pre-match checklists before they can lead teams out on to the pitch.

As an Atlético member of 13 years standing, can I throw a few more comments into the mix of La Liga’s anti-fan policies (yesterday’s Football Daily)? Want to book flights and accommodation to Spain to catch a game? Oh wait, you won’t know the date or even the time the nominal Sunday game will be played until a fortnight beforehand: Saturday, Sunday or even Friday or Monday (unless Barça or Real Madrid, natch). Fancy a midweek game then? Always Tuesday or Wednesday? Oh sorry, Barça have the Copa del Rey coming up so let’s switch other fixtures around to suit TV. Let’s go for Thursday with minimum notice. To hell with fans who’ve spent hundreds on flights, hotels and match tickets. And while we’re at it, let’s kick off at 9.30pm. Bitter? Moi?” – Rob Ford.

Big Website worlds collide! Yesterday’s Football Daily had an excellent photo of Vice-era Tubbs wearing a stunning teal/turquoise suit. And the kit review linked to this Wolves away kit” – Mike Wilner.

It was only the Community Shield, but issues from pre-season popped up again for Arne Slot in Liverpool’s loss on penalties to Crystal Palace

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It was the Community Shield, and that should not be forgotten. There isn’t anybody who has been watching English football for any period of time who hasn’t made the mistake of taking too seriously a conclusion drawn in the midst of the traditional curtain-raiser, giddy on the sight of Wembley in its pomp and the return of competitive club football from the summer wilderness.

Any analysis has to be tempered. Teams are always works in progress, evolving and developing, but that is never truer than in early August with new signings adapting to their teammates and surroundings, and others shaking the summer from their legs. Things will change. But after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and subsequent defeat on penalties in the Community Shield, it can be said with a degree of certainty that their new signings have gelled better at the front of the pitch than the back.

After 10 goals in 12 league games earned West Ham player a rising star award she talks dogs, sleep and her football dream

Shekiera Martinez’s family were sceptical when she told them, aged eight, she wanted to start playing football. She was one of four girls and a boy in her family, growing up in Germany, and one of her older sisters had by then given up the game. “I wanted to start but when I told my mum, she firstly said: ‘No, you won’t play for long, you’ll be like your sister,’” Martinez recalls. “And so then I gave her a promise that I would play for longer than my sister.”

Sixteen years later, the West Ham striker has certainly kept that promise. After progressing through her local boys’ team, playing for Eintracht Frankfurt for six years and thriving at youth level for Germany, Martinez most recently collected the Women’s Super League’s Rising Star award for the 2024-25 season after a breakthrough second half of the campaign in which she scored 10 times in 12 WSL games.

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan for the first of our Premier League preview podcasts

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: after finishing second for the third consecutive season, will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal go one better and be crowned Premier League champions? They have their striker at long last.