Key events
Arne Slot has given fitness updates on two of his Liverpool players ahead of Sunday’s FA Community Shield showdown against Crystal Palace. Alexis Mac Allister picked up an injury at the end of last season and has been slowly phased back in, playing just under an hour against Athletic Club on Monday. Joe Gomez didn’t play any part in the double header against the Spaniards.
Slot on Mac Allister: “He will be in the squad. He was out for two months I think, or longer because we didn’t play him in the last four games of the season. He trained with us since a week now, played 30 minutes, 45 minutes.
“So that’s not a situation where you would start a player [and] play him for 90 minutes. Starting is possible but definitely not for 90 minutes.”
Slot on Gomez: “Unfortunately he has a minor injury at the moment but he will be back with the team very soon.”
Here’s Tom Garry with an exclusive: Bristol City have signed Sophie Ingle on a free transfer from Chelsea. That’s quite the coup for the WSL 2 club after the Welsh international, capped 142 times by her country and awarded an OBE in 2023, won five WSL titles, three Women’s FA Cups and two League Cups during her time at Chelsea. Elsewhere, Liverpool are about to confirm the appointment of Gareth Taylor as new head coach.
Some more transfer news. Bournemouth’s backline from last season continues to be ripped apart but the Cherries have one highly-rated replacement lined up. And there’s goalkeeper news at West Ham.
Here’s Will Unwin on Benjamin Sesko’s move to Manchester United. The club will pay an initial £66.3m and the rest in potential add-ons for the 22-year-old, who scored 13 times for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season.
Is the 6ft 5in striker the answer for the here and now? Is 13 goals in the German top-flight really that many? Newcastle wanted him too so the Slovenian is clearly highly regarded. Let us know your thoughts.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot is currently chatting away amiably in his pre-FA Community Shield press conference. “A good challenge for us to start the season,” says Slot. He also lists Liverpool’s attacking options, stressing that Jeremie Frimpong can act as a right winger (and stand in for Mo Salah) as well as a right full-back and that Florian Wirtz could operate as a left-winger at times. More from Slot later. Notably, he doesn’t mention Darwin Núñez as part of Liverpool’s frontline and that’s because the Uruguayan is moving to Al-Hilal for £46.3m plus add-ons.
Here, Andy Hunter looks at the striker’s hit-and-miss spell at Anfield.
Let’s start with Ben Fisher’s preview of the new Championship season. Will your team be listed as an ‘automatic promotion contender’, a ‘playoff hopeful’ or a ‘relegation candidate’? Ben also lists three youngsters to watch.
Preamble
We seem to hear it every season that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of. That claim has merit, and perhaps even more so this year with Birmingham and Wrexham added to the mix as they continue their bid to speed through the leagues. As usual, the three relegated sides – Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton – will be expected to challenge, as will Sheffield United after racking up 90 points last season but still falling 10 short of automatic promotion. We’ll set the scene for opening weekend and, get this, it starts tonight with Birmingham v Ipswich, two of the sides most heavily tipped for promotion.
Elsewhere, the transfer merry-go-round keeps spinning fast and Manchester United have continued to rebuild their forward line by agreeing a £73.3m deal with RB Leipzig to sign Benjamin Sesko. The striker is on his way to Manchester to undergo a medical before finalising the move. A central midfielder is also on Ruben Amorim’s wish list so brace yourselves for news of that, more plot twists involving Alexander Isak as well as Newcastle’s attempts to sign anyone at all.
And don’t forget that on Sunday, we’ll get the chance to see some of Liverpool’s exotic new signings in action as the champions take on FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield. Right, let’s get this going!
