Key events
Graham Potter will lead West Ham against his former side Chelsea tonight and says his team are “a work in progress”.
The Hammers lost their opening Premier League match to Sunderland and it will be a tough task to bounce back against Enzo Maresca’s team.
We know we have to do more in terms of results and improve our performance. The players were gutted after the [Sunderland] game, and there was optimism and positivity, and now it is up to us to react.
We have to get more out of the squad that we have. We also look to improve, we will do that together, as a club, we will do that collectively and try to find the best solution.
It’s great when you’ve had a bad result, everyone thinks the silver bullet will come from outside and save us all. History would suggest it doesn’t work like that.
It’s about being a team and accepting the criticism when a bad result comes but to get on with your work and accept responsibility.
Last night Nottingham Forest confirmed the signing of Douglas Luiz from Juventus on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to make the deal permanent next summer.
The 27-year-old midfielder left Aston Villa last year to join the Serie A side for £42.35m on a five-year contract.
I am really happy to be here, it’s a big club and I decided to come here because I can see the ambition the club has. I am so excited to start with the team and give my best for the shirt and the fans.
Lots of rumours of Chelsea looking at possible defensive reinforcements after Levi Colwill’s injury and Wesley Fofana reportedly not being happy at the club but Enzo Maresca put those rumours to rest in his press conference last night ahead of tonight’s game at West Ham. The manager said the club were looking at “internal solutions” and reiterated as much when pressed about possible signings.
We are trying to find internal solutions. I repeat again. Maybe I need to improve my English.
On Fofana’s mood at the club and abuse he faced from fans after removing mentions of Chelsea on his social media:
I speak with Wes every day, he is very happy, especially because he is back from injury. He is joining all the sessions and is very happy.
Wes is happy, we are happy and there is nothing to add. If there is abuse on Instagram that’s never good – not good for Wes or any player but is something that we unfortunately cannot control.
Ben Fisher
The Liverpool youngster Lewis Koumas is close to agreeing a loan move to Championship promotion hopefuls Birmingham City. The 19-year-old Wales forward spent last season on loan in the division with Stoke City, where he scored six goals in 49 appearances in all competitions.
Ipswich agree deal to sign McAteer from Leicester
Ben Fisher
Ipswich have signed Kasey McAteer from Championship rivals Leicester in a deal worth about £12m. The Republic of Ireland winger is a graduate of Leicester’s academy and previously spent time on loan at AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers.
McAteer represents Ipswich’s seventh summer signing, with Chuba Akpom, on loan from Ajax, and Ashley Young high-profile arrivals. Ipswich, who visit Preston on Saturday, have so far failed in their attempts to sign Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League.
Leeds head to Arsenal tomorrow and Daniel Farke has promised his side will not “sell our DNA” to get the win.
We won’t sell out our DNA and park the bus. If you just try to defend you have no chance to survive there. We will try to be there with many periods with the ball. Will try to create chances to scare them. There will be periods where we suffer and we have to be well structured
The Leeds manager was also asked if Dominic Calvert-Lewin was any closer to making his debut for the club.
We’ll see. Each and every training session with the team is important for him. He had a long summer break, followed by a few weeks of individual training, where his general endurance was at a really good level. However, what he has missed is team training, and for that reason, each session is crucial.
He has made a decent impression, already well integrated, and you can see from day to day that he is growing. When we will use him for the first time, we’ll decide spontaneously. From a fitness point of view, he’s in good shape.
Wrexham will hope to get their first league win of the season tomorrow against Sheffield Wednesday and their 43-year wait for a win in English football’s second tier.
The ambitious Championship new boys have made a splash in the transfer market since sealing a stunning third straight promotion last term with 10 summer arrivals.
“We have had disappointing results,” said Conor Coady, who signed from Leicester earlier in the summer.
We’ve come away from the games thinking we should have won at least one of them, especially the Southampton one where we were 1-0 up so late.
But are we improving. Have we showed we can play? Yeah, of course but we need to get them wins on the board. We’re there to win games. It’s as simple as that.
We’ll keep trying, we’ll keep learning, we’ll keep getting better and hopefully it’ll come soon.
Howe has also been asked about the atmosphere at St James’ Park, which might be extra hostile given the circumstances:
The first home game is always going to be electric. I love experience those nights with the energy that the crowd bring us and I have no doubt that this will be a really passionate display from the home support. We need to harness that and use it but not be reckless with it, we need to concentrate on the game and not get too emotional.
Eddie Howe was asked specifically about Alexander Isak’s social media post claiming promises from Newcastle were broken:
There is always two sides to every story. My job is to support him and care for him, and we will see where we are in a week’s time. I hope I can work with him again and get him back to his best.
At the moment [reintegration into the squad] is not an option for us so rather than talk hypotheticals, I’d rather talk when we get to that point and try to get the best for Alex and get the best for the team. Until the point, we are better off focusing on the players we have available for the team.
Alex is an outstanding player and a very good person and a good character. He wants to succeed in his career and this has been a really difficult situation for him and for the players that we have to see us without him. If Alex decided to come back and play for us the players would welcome him back.
Without Isak, Newcastle will probably play Anthony Gordon as a No 9. The 24-year-old primarily plays as a winger but Howe believes he is more than capable of leading the line.
He has done it enough to be able to do the job really well for the team. I have played him there a number of times both as a starter and as a substitute. He plays it differently to other strikers but that can be a positive in the respect that he has devastating pace and a strong work ethic.
Of course he’s scored goals historically from wide areas but also from central areas and I think you can over play the change of position and I think he enjoys the role and he played really well last week. He had a lot of chances and a lot of shots so I thought it was a good display from him.
Thanks Will and hello everyone! Lots to be expected from these final 10 days of the window. Let’s see what else Howe has said on Isak and the game against Liverpool on Monday.
Having steered you through the early morning slot, it’s time for me to hand over to Yara El-Shaboury for the next few hours. Who’s going to get the official Eze announcement? It could be Yara! Scenes if so.
Dias signs new deal with Manchester City
Jamie Jackson
Rúben Dias has signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City that keeps him at the club until 2029.
The defender is intent on helping Pep Guardiola’s team claim more silverware after last season’s barren campaign.
The 28-year-old said: “My job now is to be the best I can be for the duration of this contract, so that I can play my part in helping us challenge for more silverware.
“I want to thank my teammates, Pep, Hugo [Viana], the coaching staff and everyone at the club. This is such a special place, and I am grateful every single day for the support I receive. Now the hard work begins, and I want to promise the fans that I will give everything to win more trophies and bring more success to City.”
The Portuguese centre-back has won 10 trophies in five years at City, making 223 appearances in all competitions.
Asked how he is dealing with the Isak transfer saga on a personal level, Howe adds: “I think these situations are far from ideal, talking press-wise, and a lot of the attention has gone on to that rather than the team and our preparation.
“But as soon as I leave here I’m back with the team, I’m back preparing training, taking training, delivering meetings, speaking to individual players and trying to get the group in the best frame of mind possible. So the job never changes, but the outside perception is one that’s of course totally different to normal.”
Howe says ‘no change’ in Isak impasse
Eddie Howe is speaking to the media ahead of Newcastle’s game against Liverpool on Monday evening and, unsurprisingly, everyone seems to be asking about Alexander Isak. The Newcastle manager concedes “there’s been no change” in the impasse between the club and the striker, who is pushing hard for a move to Anfield, and that he won’t be part of the squad when Arne Slot’s side visit St James’ Park.
“He’s contracted to us, he’s our player,” Howe says. “My wish is that he would be playing on Monday night with us, but he won’t be, and that’s regrettable at this moment. But 100% I want to see him back in a Newcastle shirt.”
Is anyone on Eze watch outside the Emirates at the moment? Perhaps with a handmade welcome sign on A4 paper and cardboard? Feel free to email in with any updates if so. Some Eze-themed street art has already popped up in the local area, while the latest is that his medical is imminent (or possibly already under way).
Sheffield Wednesday fans in revolt against Chansiri
Will Unwin
Sheffield Wednesday supporters are planning a protest outside the Thai embassy against the club’s owner, Dejphon Chansiri, over his running of the club. London-based fans will be joined by those travelling down from South Yorkshire to show their upset with the running of the club.
Owls fans will also boycott the team’s match against Leeds at Hillsborough on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup. Supporters will instead be encouraged to watch the game on a big screen outside the local working men’s club.
Supporters want Chansiri to sell the club but movement on a takeover has been slow, to say the least. They have previously held protests at their opening match against Leicester, when fans did not take their seats for the first five minutes and had a plane fly overhead with an anti-Chansiri message. That was followed by a whistle protest in the first home game of the season against Stoke.
“The London Owls are planning a protest against Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of our wonderful football club,” a fan statement read.
“We might be 160-plus miles from Hillsborough but our members feel just as strongly as those thousands closer to S6 that ‘Enough is Enough’ and unless Chansiri sells up soon then the club faces the prospect of financial ruin.”
Preamble
It’s Friday morning and rather than choosing life, choosing a job, choosing a career or choosing a family, we’re about to choose another weekend of Premier League football.
Round two of the 2025-26 season – still feels a bit weird to write that, the sands of time are slipping away at a terrifying rate aren’t they? – begins with Chelsea’s visit to West Ham this evening, but there will be a full slate of press conferences and team news to come.
There’s also the small matter of Eberechi Eze completing his move to Arsenal which, given the reaction it has already elicited online, is bound to make it a difficult day for Tottenham fans on social media. What better way to shut out the noise than joining us here?
As for the neutrals in that particular transfer wrangle, there will also be plenty of tidbits from the transfer market, EFL, Scottish Premiership and European football.
So grab yourself a brew, open a sneaky extra tab at work and let’s settle in for a day of minimum productivity and maximum Beautiful Game. Here are a couple of things to get you started:
