Premier League: countdown to the new 2018-19 season – live!
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News from Scotland, where prodigal Honduran Emilio Izaguirre has rejoined Celtic on a one-year deal subject to international clearance from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Fayha, returns to the Hoops to provide cover for left-back Kieran Tierney.
Mauricio Pochettino is happy. Very happy. So so happy. So so so happy that Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Toby Alderweireld and Hugo Lloris are back in training and that some of Tottenham’s World Cup stars might face Newcastle.
Poch quoth:
I am so happy in the way they come back to training on Monday. I am really, really, really, really, really happy. I am so proud about them because they were very focused on trying to arrive in a very good condition. Of course the circumstances are completely different from each other, and the profiles of the players are completely different. Some need more time to get fit than others. That’s normal. Some players will be fit to start the game. Some will be fit to be on the bench. Maybe some players will stay here to try to reach the level, to give more time, for different reasons – because maybe we don’t want to take risks, because they need more preparation, because the background or history of their injuries is different. That is why for us it’s so important for us to be right in our judgement now and take the best decision and then to provide the team a very good balance to try to be competitive against Newcastle. We’re going to be competitive. I promise you I’m so happy in the way everyone came back, so focused, so happy to join us again.
Cardiff are without deadline day loan signing Harry Arter on their return to the Premier League. Arter is unable to play against parent club Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, but Aron Gunnarsson is fit after missing the final pre-season game with a slight knee concern. Josh Murphy should make his debut after joining from Norwich, while fellow summer signings Alex Smithies, Greg Cunningham, Victor Camarasa and Bobby Reid are expected to start on the bench.
New Liverpool signing Fabinho faces a late fitness test before manager Jurgen Klopp decides whether he can make his debut at home to West Ham on Sunday. The Brazilian had a scan on a muscle injury on Thursday but although that came back clear the midfielder was sent home from training after feeling unwell. Joe Gomez is expected to be fit after missing Tuesday’s friendly against Torino but fellow defenders Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip are unlikely to be ready while World Cup finalist Dejan Lovren will not be considered having only returned from extended leave at the weekend.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche has been speaking, ahead of that Southampton clash on Sunday and after last night’s draw with Istanbul Basaksehir. Burnley failed to add anyone on deadline day, and they were otherwise engaged. Ben Gibson, Matej Vydra and Joe Hart were the arrivals.
He growled:
Even some of the big, big clubs haven’t got the player they wanted. And even more for us – we’re spending pretty decent money now, if you’re looking at 10million and 15million, and yet you can’t scratch the surface. It’s very frustrating and difficult and I’ve very pleased it’s closed.
Joe Hart seems very happy to be back playing.
I loved it. I thought the lads were absolutely fantastic and showed good European nous. An away result was so important, and I think we realised that with 10 or 12 minutes to go and we shut the door. I absolutely love playing in Europe. The Premier League is fantastic but, once you get a taste for it, it’s the place to be.
I’m going to grab some lunch and leave you in the capable hands of John Brewin. Back soon.
Here’s more reaction after news of Roy Hodgson extending his Crystal Palace contract.
Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, said:
I’m thrilled that Roy has agreed to extend his contract and I know the news will be a big lift to everyone connected with the club. We are looking to build on the hard work and results achieved last season and I believe this is the most important part of making that happen. It’s of course fantastic that Roy has a long connection with the club and I think that understanding the South London mentality is a benefit but make no mistake he’s here because he’s the very best man for the job as we look to take this club forward on and off the pitch. I am equally pleased that Ray Lewington has also extended for the same period, putting us in great shape for this season and beyond.”
Hodgson said:
I am delighted to have extended my contract with Crystal Palace. It is a club that has been close to my heart since I was a youngster growing up in the borough of Croydon, and having stood on the terraces in the 1950s, it is a wonderful thing to be managing my boyhood club all these years later. We can be proud of our achievements last season in turning things around despite a poor start, but this year we want to ensure we don’t endure the same struggles. I am thrilled that I have the support of the owners, who believe that I am the right man to help this club move forward and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”
As for Arsenal, Unai Emery will be without Sead Kolasinac and Laurent Koscielny for Sunday’s visit from Manchester City.
With Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela sidelined for the trip to Newcastle, Mauricio Pochettino will have to assess the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris after their World Cup exertions. Tottenham’s squad contains nine players who made it to the last weekend in Russia.
Watford host Brighton on Saturday afternoon. Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley and Nathaniel Chalobah are out for the former, Florin Andone and Jose Izquierdo are out for the latter.
What of Bournemouth? New signing Jefferson Lerma isn’t match fit yet, Junior Stanislas has a knee injury, Kyle Taylor is out and Diego Rico is suspended for the visit from Cardiff.
Who want team news? You asked for it. Let’s start with Southampton, who could hand Danny Ings a debut against Burnley on Sunday. Mark Hughes has a full squad to choose from after Cedric Soares recovered from illness.
Cardiff manager Livia Soprano reckons financial prudence is the way forward for the Premier League newcomers. The Welsh side have signed six players this summer. “I think we’ve spent about 25m net,” Soprano said. “We’re not throwing money away or doing things we can’t sustain. We’ve got players on loan so if things don’t go right it’s not going to bankrupt the club after 12 months. But at the same time the players have got something to prove and last year we gave most teams a run.”
Some news from the wires: Christopher Schindler has signed a new contract until 2021 with Huddersfield. Here’s what David Wagner has to say about the 28-year-old German defender.
We all knew that ‘Schindy’ was a top, top performer after his first season at Huddersfield Town, but his quality really shone through as we played in one of the best leagues in the world last season. He took to the Premier League as if he has played in it all his life. We’re absolutely delighted that he has signed this new contract at the club; it’s as good as any news or incoming that we had success with during the summer transfer window. As well as being a superb player, he is a top character in the dressing room too; a real leader.”
Mr Roy! Look how happy he is!
Crystal Palace F.C.(@CPFC)
🙌 We’re delighted to announce that Roy Hodgson has signed a contract extension, keeping him at #CPFC 🦅 until 2⃣0⃣2⃣0⃣!
Jurgen Klopp described Liverpool as the Rocky Balboa of this season’s title race, rather than the Ivan Drago, which was a reference to the attitude his players must take into every league game. The Liverpool manager, an avid fan of the Rocky films, believes with the right amount of aggression, belief and quality his team can eventually prevail and end the club’s current 28-year wait for the title – a la Sylvester Stallone in the final round of Rocky IV.
He explained: “I know a lot of people think that (Liverpool should win the Premier League) because we were so active in the transfer window but that is part of the business, it doesn’t decide anything. We want to be, it has been clear for ages, champion of England and winning the league but how can we say that? What about (Manchester) United? What about the other clubs? The champions Manchester City did not lose any player and brought in Mahrez, so it doesn’t make them weaker. They are top quality.
“We are still Rocky Balboa, not Ivan Drago. We are the ones who have to do more, fight more, and that must be our attitude. In the moment someone thinks we already reached that point (of winning the title) then that is when you start disappointing yourself and the people around you. Why should we do that? We didn’t reach anything so far. We went to finals. Should we go to a final again we should try to win it this time. In the league it is exactly the same: we came into the Champions League (places) but there are still two places at three and two which would be better than four. Then we can talk but at the moment it is nothing. It is like scientists without trying to see if it really works. We have to be like Rocky.” So there you have it, clear as day.
I went to Stamford Bridge to see Kepa Arrazibalaga yesterday. Fair to say the new Spaniard’s a confident lad, even though he’s now the most expensive goalkeeper in the world after joining Chelsea for £71.6m.
In terms of being the most expensive keeper in the world, it’s something I don’t think about,. I’m just going to be myself and try to give my best to the club. “I don’t really think about the price. It is not something I have in my mind. I just think Chelsea have made a great bet in taking me. I will do everything I can to repay the trust they have put in me. I don’t think there will be additional pressure. The only pressure I experience is the pressure I put on myself. I am a player who demands a lot from myself, so I will just try to give everything I can to the team.”
Game of the weekend? It has to be Southampton v Burnley Arsenal v Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. Unai Emery against Pep Guardiola, Shkodran Mustafi against Sergio Aguero, Granit Xhaka against Bernardo Silva. It’s going to be a strange experience for the Arsenal fans when they see Emery in the Emirates dugout instead of Arsene Wenger. But life goes on and Arsenal are going to have to hit the heights to deal with the Premier League champions, who looked in good nick when they beat an underpowered Chelsea in the Community Shield.
Jurgen Klopp has been speaking before Liverpool’s match against West Ham on Sunday. The Liverpool manager has revealed that Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan are out and that Fabinho, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are doubts. Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham’s new manager, is speaking to the press later today.
Andy Hunter(@AHunterGuardian)
Klopp on Liverpool’s title chances: “We are still Rocky Balboa, not Ivan Drago.” Didn’t Rocky win though?
In case you were wondering, here’s how the Guardian writers predicted the Premier League table. Most people had Arsenal winning the league, but I brought the average down by tipping them to finish bottom. By the way, we were asked to do this last month, so I imagine some people would like to alter some of their picks now the window’s shut.
1 Manchester City 2 Liverpool 3 Manchester United 4 Tottenham Hotspur 5 Arsenal 6 Chelsea 7 Everton 8 West Ham 9 Leicester 10 Wolves 11 Burnley 12 Southampton 13 Newcastle 14 Brighton 15 Fulham 16 Crystal Palace 17 Bournemouth 18 Watford 19 Huddersfield Town 20 Cardiff City
Regarding Douglas Luiz, the understanding is that the Brazilian has been refused a work permit to play for Manchester City this season and there seems little chance of this changing. It means he is set to return on lam to Catalan club Girona – he was there last season – where the hope will be he can make more appearances than last term. After missing out on Jorginho, Pep Guardiola had stated Douglas would be called on so this is a blow. However the manager still has Fabian Delph, Danilo, and Ilkay Gundogan as frontline players who can operate as Fernandinho’s stand-in as the holding midfielder.
Tottenham are the first Premier League club not to make a signing since the introduction of the summer window in 2003. Mauricio Pochettino has put it down to Brexit.
What the club is doing is showing it is so brave,. Building a new training ground, finishing this summer the lodge was a massive investment. Building a stadium that is nearly £1bn. That is true, don’t believe in £400m, that is the truth. Then with Brexit it’s worse because the cost is 30 per cent more. That is a drama, I feel sorry for the English people. For me that is to be brave. Of course maybe in the mind of everyone they will say, ‘Oh Tottenham didn’t sign’, but to sign for the sake of signing?”
Which Premier League team made the worst signing? Who’s going to be a complete flop? Sokratis Papastathopoulos? Lee Grant? I suppose that’s the problem with signings – they can go wrong. Must be why Tottenham didn’t make any.
George Boateng is on Sky Sports’ News. The former Aston Villa midfielder thinks that Everton’s business is “fantastic”. Marco Silva managed to bring in Bernard, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes yesterday. They’re also waiting for their loan for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma to be sanctioned.
This is actually how Spain make all their nimble passing midfielders.
Fulham were busy yesterday, breaking their transfer record to sign André Franck Zambo Anguissa for £30m. They also brought in Luciano Vietto, Sergio Rico, Joe Byran and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and look well set after winning the Championship play-off final last season. Slavisa Jokanovic’s side open against Crystal Palace tomorrow. Craven Cottage will be buzzing.
Manchester United begin at home to Leicester City tonight, and Jose Mourinho isn’t happy. We are approaching Year Three. Can’t wait. It could be a magnificent implosion. Ed Woodward and Mourinho don’t seem to be on the same page at all. Given Mourinho’s dissatisfaction with United’s transfer activity, tonight’s 0-0 draw with Leicester should be a sight to behold. But does the Portuguese have so much to complain about? He’s been allowed to spend heavily since arriving in 2016 and already has a load of centre-backs at the club. He seems to want to take a short-term view, while Woodward is reluctant to let Mourinho get rid of young players like Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial. Could we be heading for a Mourinho season?
Here’s a West Ham season preview. By, er, me.
They’re back! Ten things to look out for this weekend are back! Oh, how I’ve missed them. A whole four months I’ve had to do without them. And here they are, lovingly crafted by Paul Doyle, Ben Fisher and Nick Miller.
Hello. It’s Friday. The Premier League’s transfer window is over. The new Premier League season begins when Manchester United host Leicester City later. The Premier League season will become interesting when Jose Mourinho implodes on the Old Trafford touchline. Before that happens, though, we’ll be keeping you up to speed with the day’s news. Because we love you.
Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
