Time to sign off now; keep an eye on our transfer interactive for confirmation of those last few deals. It’s been quite a day. Goodnight!
It wouldn’t be a deadline day without a last-ditch Fulham move. Sky are reporting that a late £4m move for Huddersfield’s Terence Kongolo has been struck. The Dutch defender joined Fulham on loan in January, but injury curtailed his stay.
It seems those three deal sheets related to Benrahma, Kongolo and Jack Butland - with Spurs’ move for Joe Rodon going through before the deadline. It also appears the Benrahma fee for next summer is not obligatory, with further medical tests required first.
Here’s the full story, from Jacob Steinberg:
Saïd Benrahma joins West Ham on loan!
The deal that has been up in the air all week and looked to have collapsed earlier is now done - albeit as a loan with obligation to buy, rather than an immediate permanent deal.
And breathe! 😅 #WelcomeSaid pic.twitter.com/hyqaiwq0r4
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 16, 2020
Still waiting for official confirmation from West Ham or indeed Crystal Palace. Elsewhere, Bournemouth have loaned in Tottenham’s US international defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Swansea have signed Ryan Bennett on a free from Wolves.
Our man in the know, Jacob Steinberg, says Said Benrahma is a done deal, with West Ham paying a £5m loan fee, then £20m plus another £5m in add-ons next summer.
Bewnrahma to West Ham is done. Loan with obligation to buy #whufc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) October 16, 2020
Here’s more on Tottenham’s move for Swansea defender Joe Rodon:
Five minutes until the 7pm cut-off, and no official confirmation on either Benrahma to West Ham, or Butland to Palace. No need to panic, though. In other news, Harry Kewell’s Oldham have brought in Arsenal defender Harry Clarke on loan.
Joe Rodon joins Tottenham!
It’s a done deal - the Swansea and Wales defender has completed his move, for a fee believed to be around £11m.
✍️ We are delighted to announce the signing of Joe Rodon on a permanent transfer from Swansea City, subject to international clearance. #WelcomeRodon ⚪️ #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 16, 2020
Updated
Newcastle have signed South African teenage defender Bradley Cross after a successful trial. Cross left Bidvest Wits this summer after spending time on loan at Schalke. He will go into the Magpies’ under-23 side.
Another Football League loan has gone through, with West Brom striker Kenneth Zohore heading to Millwall until January.
Away from transfers, here’s our preview of Chelsea v Southampton, where Hakim Ziyech and Theo Walcott could make their first Premier League starts for their new teams:
Some more Football League loans: Leicester’s Matty James is off to Barnsley, Everton defender Callum Connolly returns to Fleetwood, Chelsea’s Jake Clarke-Salter is heading back to Birmingham and Wolves defender Dion Sanderson has joined Sunderland.
Middlesbrough have made a late bid to take Yannick Bolasie on loan from Everton; beyond that, we’re just waiting on those three late moves: Benrahma to West Ham, Rodon to Spurs, and Butland to Palace. We’ll keep you updated; catch up on all today’s deals here.
There are three Premier League moves which are subject to deal sheets, according to Sky Sports. I would imagine the three are Benrahma, Rodon and Jack Butland’s move to Palace. Reports claim Butland’s fee may be less than £1m, as the keeper is out of contract next summer.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Joe Rodon is signing his Spurs contract as I type. Benrahma is still on track, although some details still to be ironed out between West Ham and Brentford.
Joe Rodon is now signing his contract as Tottenham player until June 2025 - waiting for the deal to be announced, time for paperworks between clubs. ⚪️ #THFC #Spurs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 16, 2020
As yesterday when the deal was agreed, Saïd Benrahma is now expecting to be a West Ham player later today. He’s still confident, #whufc too as Moyes today - structure of the deal still to be 100% agreed with Brentford. Work in progress 🚨 #transfers https://t.co/0FWf1nfNf8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 16, 2020
It’s been a busy day at Blackburn, who have already brought in Norwich midfielder Thomas Trybull and Leeds defender Barry Douglas on loan. Now, Liverpool have confirmed that young forward Harvey Elliott is also heading to Ewood Park:
Harvey Elliott has joined Blackburn @Rovers on loan for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 16, 2020
Best of luck this season, Harvey 💪
Swansea have signed Manchester City defender Joel Latibeaudiere on a free transfer, in a move which may signal Joe Rodon’s departure for Spurs. Latibeaudiere was on loan at Twente last season, and played for Swans manager Steve Cooper in his England under-17 World Cup winning team. Cooper has also secured a loan move for Bristol City midfielder Kasey Palmer.
Here’s confirmation that Harry Wilson is a Cardiff player, for this season at least - with an announcement video filmed on a 2003-era flip phone:
💙 🏴#CityAsOne pic.twitter.com/f9ZeetBXfw
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) October 16, 2020
Thanks, Barry. While we wait for the last few deals to stagger over the line, news on a player who didn’t go anywhere. PA are reporting that Manchester United have triggered an extension clause in Paul Pogba’s contract, keeping him at the club until 2022.
That’s it from me for today. I’m off for a well-earned pint, but Niall McVeigh will keep you in the loop until the dust settles.
West Ham: “West Ham have submitted a deal sheet for Said Benrahma,” writes Jacob Steinberg. “They now have until 7pm BST to get the deal with Brentford over the line. It’s now going to be a loan with an obligation to buy.”
Loose End Dept: Nottingham Forest have signed Anthony Knockaert on loan from Fulham until January.
Loose End Dept: Cardiff City have signed Harry Wilson on a season-long loan from Liverpool.
Loose End Dept: Josh King is staying at Bournemouth.
The transfer window has closed ...
But there may well be a few loose ends to tie up. Will Joe Rodon move to Tottenham? Will Jack Butland secure his move to Crystal Palace? Has Josh King got the right hump? Have various clubs got various deals OVER THE LINE?!?!?!?!
Updated
Today's big stories ...
With just a few minutes left until the transfer window shuts and we can all get on with our lives, let’s have a quick run-down on the main stories of the day.
- Brentford winger Said Benrahma has joined West Ham on loan, but the Premier League club have an obligation to buy him at the end of the season. The clubs had agreed a £25m fee, rising to £30m for a permanent move, but a complication with the player’s medical left them stuck for time to sign, seal and deliver it.
- Tottenham and Swansea City are working frantically on a deal that would see the Welsh defender move to White Hart Lane. Ryan Bennett is on his way from Wolves to Swansea.
- Jack Butland is on the verge of moving from Stoke City to Crystal Palace, who have had a £25m bid for Watford’s Ismaila Sarr rejected.
- Norwich City manager Daniel Farke says the club have had no deadline day offers for either Todd Cantwell or Max Aarons.
- Josh Kings looks likely to stay at Bournemouth after a mooted move to West Ham fell through.
- West Brom have revealed that they have paid £2.5m of the £15m they agreed with Huddersfield Town for Karlan Grant. The rest of the money will be paid in similar sized instalments over the course of his six-year contract.
- Barry Douglas has become the first member of Leeds United’s promotion-winning squad to leave the club. The defender has signed a season long loan deal with Blackburn Rovers.
- Ben Woodburn has gone on loan from Liverpool to Blackpool until January.
Updated
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne will miss Manchester City’s next three games because of a muscle problem, according to Pep Guardiola. Jamie Jackson has the details ...
Marcelo Bielso speaks: The Leeds manager has had his say on Project Big Picture and unlike Pep Guardiola, he did not plant his buttocks firmly on the fence. “A humble opinion of mine is that the tip of the iceberg has a responsibility to the rest of the iceberg,” he said. “If anything describes English football, it’s Leagues One and Two. It’s important not to forget where you came from.”
Not long now: There are just over 30 minutes left until the window closes and I am looking forward to every single one of them. It looks like Josh King won’t be going anywhere until January at the earliest - despite wanting to leave Bournemouth, he is almost certain to stay put. Meanwhile in East Anglia, Daniel Farke has said Norwich have had no offers for Max Aarons or Todd Cantwell, who many thought might leave the club today. Having been linked with Barcelona, Roma and AC Milan in recent months, Aarons has a trip to Rotherham to look forward to tomorrow.
Deadline Day 2 is a straight-to-DVD affair.
— John Brewin (@JohnBrewin_) October 16, 2020
Leeds: Barry Douglas has gone to Blackburn Rovers on loan and Leeds director of football has written an open letter to the defender that would bring a tear to a glass eye.
“You are the first permanent member of our promotion winning side to leave us and therefore I felt I should write this open letter to express my thanks, but also to ensure the supporters know just how big your impact has been.
“You are clearly a top player and anyone who understands the game can see your quality. Unfortunately things have just not fallen for you in the way they should have done during your time at Leeds United, which can happen in football. A lot of people credit Marcelo with changing the culture of Leeds United since he arrived, which is absolutely true, but you also arrived during the summer of 2018 and I know a lot of people also believe that your arrival at the club sparked a change in the dressing room too.
“... Our head of communications always feeds back to me when players have gone above and beyond in the community and he has constantly informed me how much you have done for people in this city. You care and you are a good person.
“I understand why you are leaving. You are a proper professional and you want to play and I respect that greatly. You leave us as a champion on the pitch and I hope now people understand that you are a champion off the field too. Thank you for everything Barry. I wish you, Debbie, Kaidyn and your soon to be new addition all the luck in the world for the future.
“P.S You still owe me a free kick.”
Updated
Fulham: Scott Parker has revealed that his new signing, the centre-back Joachim Andersen was ruled out “for the foreseeable future” with injury. Ouch ... on a number of levels.
Robbie Keane appointed LA Galaxy boss.
It’s being reported in Ireland that Robbie Keane is to return to LA Galaxy to take over as the MLS club’s manager. In a Sun exclusive, Gary Stonehouse reports that the 40-year-old, who spent five years at LA Galaxy as a player, has agreed to take over Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who was fired earlier this week. Keane currently earns €250,000 per annum from the FAI, despite not being part of Stephen Kenny’s management team.
The former striker was part of Mick McCarthy’s coaching team, but Kenny chose not to have him on his when he succeeded McCarthy during lockdown. Despite having no managerial experience, Robbie will have his work cut out for him in LA – Galaxy are currently bottom of the MLS Western Conference after 16 games.
Said Benrahma joins West Ham ... on loan
Following problems with his medical, the Brentford winger has joined West Ham on a season long loan, because the two clubs apparently don’t have time to complete the necessary paperwork to make the deal permanent before the 5pm deadline. West Ham will be obliged to buy at the end of the deal and the fee arranged earlier today was £25m rising to £30m with add-ons.
Ben Woodburn: The Liverpool and Wales international midfielder has joined Blackpool on loan until 17 January. “I’m really looking forward to being here and playing football again,” said the 21-year-old. “[Blackpool head coach] Neil Critchley was a big factor in me playing for Liverpool and I feel as though he knows me as a player and I know him as a coach. Hopefully we can have a good connection and be successful on the pitch again.”
𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 ✍️
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) October 16, 2020
#NFFC are delighted to confirm the appointments of Nick Colgan and Steven Reid to the club’s first-team coaching staff.
Sunderland: Exciting news from League One, where Sunderland are believed to be interested in taking Wolves centre-back Dion Sanderson on loan. The 20-year-old academy graduate spent time on loan at Cardiff City, making nine appearances before lockdown. If Sunderland want to get him on board, they need to get their finger out - the window closes in one hour and 45 minutes.
Crystal Palace: “Crystal Palace have seen a late bid for Ismaila Sarr rejected by Watford, with the Senegal forward now expected to stay at Vicarage Road until at least January. Palace have had a longstanding interest in the 23-year-old having been in contention to sign him last summer from Rennes. But after strong interest from Liverpool earlier in the window and having rejected Manchester United’s attempt to sign Sarr on loan earlier this month, Watford were adamant that he would not be sold for less than their valuation of £40m.”
Leicester City: A calf injury means Jamie Vardy is a doubt for his side’s match against Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium on Sunday. Brendan Rodgers has plenty to think about ahead of the fixture – Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey are bothout, while the Leicester boss is also sweating over the fitness of Vardy, Jonny Evans, Dennis Praet and Wes Morgan.
Pep Guardiola, like so many other top flight managers, has been asked for his views on Project Big Picture and elected to sit on the fence. ““I want the best for English football,” he said. “I don’t have an opinion. I have not listened to the hypotheticals.” The Manchester City manager did go on to say “the towns, the villages - they love their teams and that is the point - I am pretty sure they will find the best solution for football itself.” If nothing else, you have to applaud his optimism.
And with that, I’ll hand you back to Barry. Enjoy the rest of your day.
David Moyes has been speaking about West Ham’s Said Benrahma pursuit, denying that the player failed a medical: “That’s not correct. We are still hopeful something can be done later today but I can’t guarantee that. Part of his medical is ongoing.”
Updated
Amid the flurry of Championship deals today, have we mentioned that Blackburn have snapped up the Leeds full-back Barry Douglas on loan until the end of the season? Well, we have now.
A slice of video from Solskjær’s presser earlier:
More Old Firm news, and Celtic manager Neil Lennon is playing it cautiously on Odsonne Edouard’s chances of facing Rangers at Parkhead tomorrow, the French striker having been in quarantine since testing positive while on international duty with France Under-21s.
Lennon said: “Edouard is back today. He will be assessed – we are going through that procedure at the minute, so we will know more later on this afternoon. He has been a bit tired and isolated but we will go through the tests and we will see how he is.”
“Blackburn are trying to sign Harvey Elliott on loan from Liverpool,” writes Andy Hunter. “Liverpool are open to discussions as it gives him an opportunity to play more regularly.
And down the road at Burnley, Dwight McNeil has signed a new contract with the club. The England Under-21 international has extended his current deal by 12 months to take him up to June 2024, with the option of a further year.
Jurgen Klopp, like all managers in today’s pressers, has been asked about Project Big Picture and the week’s politicking. “It’s important we speak about it,” he admits, given his club’s role. “There’s space for improvement wirthin football, a lot of times in life there must be a crisis to start people talking. I’m really happp that now we’re talking about.
“I wasn’t informed or involved but I can say the people involved are concerned about football – yes about Liverpol but about football in general. It’s not a problem. There are things we can improve and I really think if you improve them now before the real problems arrive in the future then that’s what I think people are trying to do.”
Peterborough’s Barry Fry – who knows, and has contributed to, the performative nature of transfer deadline day all too well – teases Sky Sports with a line that West Ham chairman David Sullivan’s been trying to call him but quips that he won’t answer until the deadline passes.
Gareth Bale will “probably” play for Spurs against West Ham on Sunday, José Mourinho reckons. “Of course he wants to play,” Mourinho said. “He wanted to play since the day he arrived, but it was not possible.
“I am not going to tell you if he is going to play, what I can tell you is that he is working very well, he is working in the way he was not able to do for a long time. The last week, especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the planning of the sessions had a big focus on him and he is in pretty good condition.”
Staying on the subject of Spurs legends of yesteryear, Darrien Bold mails in with something that looks deffo legit:
I might be late to the party on this one but I’ve just spotted tenacious midfielder and free agent Vinny Samways socially distancing outside Liverpool Lime Street station as rumours of him bolstering Everton’s title charge do the rounds...
Bournemouth’s Josh King is the back-up option for West Ham if the Saïd Benrahma deal falls through. I’ve been told the Benrahma deal is “very complicated” but it might yet happen despite the uncertainty over the Brentford winger’s medical. Less than fours to sort it all out...
Thanks Barry. The will-he-won’t-he Benrahma saga very much dominating the airwaves at the moment but elsewhere in the Championship Sheffield Wednesday are close to securing a loan deal for Cardiff’s Aden Flint. Wednesday, who’ve got ground to make up as a result of their 12-point deduction, are confident of securing the experienced defender on loan until January.
Tom Davies is going to take over here for an hour or so. Be gentle.
Blackburn Rovers: The Championship club have signed Leeds defender Barry Douglas on loan until the end of the season.
Sheffield United: Chris Wilder has announced that the Blades, who have lost all four of their Premier League games so far this season, will not be doing any more business in the window. “The players that are in the building are the ones we’re going to go with,” he told reports this morning. “They’re the ones that will take us through to January.”
Berahino? I meant Benrahma, of course. Minor brain-freeze and it’s fixed now. We will never speak of this again. Where is Saido Berahino these days? On loan at Belgian club Charleroi from Zulte Waregem, according to The internet.
More on Benrahma West Ham: If you were going to bet on any club to sign a player who has just failed a medical, you’d probably go all-in on West Ham. According to Talksport’s Jim White, West Ham are planning to re-test the Brentford winger as there is “still a massive desire to get the deal done”.
Updated
Benrahma to West Ham: Having stated earlier that Said Benrahma would join West Ham for £30m today barring a drastic last-minute change of events, Jacob Steinberg has confirmed that there’s been “a drastic last-minute change of events” after the Brentford winger failed his medical.
Updated
Said Benramha's move to West Ham in jeopardy
Big news coming out of West Ham, where it is being reported that Brentford winger Said Benrahma has failed his medical ahead of a proposed move to the Premier League side. More news as we get it ...
Updated
Timmy and Tammy. While it may not come as news to everyone, the revelation that Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has a brother named Timmy has certainly tickled me pink. The Fulham striker has joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until January, reports Ben Fisher ... who’s going to be the subject of a restraining order if he doesn’t stop pestering me with hot-off-the-presses transfer tell-all.
Southampton: Midfielder Josh Sims, who returned from a spell at New York Red Bulls in June, has joined Doncaster of League One on a three-month loan deal, reports Ben.
Championship chat with Ben Fisher ...
“Plenty going on across the Championship and it is a particularly busy day in south Wales with Tottenham Hotspur hopeful of tying up a deal for Swansea’s Joe Rodon, though Spurs will have to offer at least £15m between now and 5pm to land the Wales defender. Joel Latibeaudiere and Kasey Palmer are likely incomings at the Liberty Stadium, on loan from Manchester City and Bristol City respectively, while free agent Fabio Borini could return, although that deal can happen after the deadline. Swansea have lost the race to sign Liverpool’s Harry Wilson, however, with the winger set to join rivals Cardiff on loan.
Elsewhere, Everton are among a clutch of top-flight teams thought to be keen on Joshua King but Bournemouth’s valuation in excess of £17m has put off suitors given the Norway striker is out of contract next summer. A scenario whereby King stays put and signs a pre-contract agreement with a European club in January looks increasingly likely.
Meanwhile, Said Benrahma is set to cross the dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a £30m deal to West Ham and the Liverpool midfielder Herbie Kane is set to join Barnsleyon a permanent deal, for a fee in the region of £1.25m.
Potentially good news for Arsenal fans: It seems Kieran Tierney may be cleared to come out of isolation and play against Manchester City at the Etihad tomorrow afternoon.
While not confirmed yet, there's considerable optimism Kieran Tierney will be cleared to play at Man City. Looking much more promising than it did a couple of days ago. #AFC
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) October 16, 2020
Steve Bruce has revealed that Newcastle United employ a player bill-payer. “We’ve even got someone behind the scenes who pays all their bills,” said the manager. “It’s a fact of being a modern footballer; everything is done for you. Players today expect it.”
Although this is now standard practise at Premier League clubs it was not always so. “I’ve certainly never had anyone pay my gas bill,” said Bruce, a former Manchester United captain, before letting slip that he had, however, had “parking fines” taken care of in the past.
Player liaison officers have long been ubiquitous at top tier clubs. A favourite anecdote at Middlesbrough centres around the Steve McClaren managerial era when one was woken in the early hours by an urgent phone call from a striker pleading to be released from the car wash he had become trapped in at a deserted petrol station.
Newcastle United: Louise Taylor, wor lass in the north-east, has been in touch to reveal that Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has revealed details of just how pampered his players are. Watch this space ...
Harry Maguire may miss Manchester United's game at Newcastle. By @JamieJackson___ https://t.co/S6LEWR9fIT
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) October 16, 2020
Petition that hit almost 200,000 signatures has secured a Parliamentary debate on fan lock out while other sectors continue to admit spectators: https://t.co/U2b1bIiTn1
— The FSA (@WeAreTheFSA) October 16, 2020
Said Benrahma to West Ham ...
“Just waiting on confirmation of Said Benrahma’s move to West Ham,” writes Jacob Steinberg. “Barring a drastic last-minute change of events, he’ll join for £30m today. It’s £25m plus £5m in add-ons. It would be a surprise to see West Ham go for King too.”
Bournemouth and Josh King: Jason Tindall is tense as he waits to see how many, if any, high profile players he loses by today’s 5pm deadline, with speculation abounding regarding the futures of Josh King and David Brooks among others.
“In terms of outgoings, you can never predict anything in terms of transfer windows,” said a visibly fidgety Tindall in his press conference this morning. If something pops up at the last minute that you’re not expecting, then circumstances change. I’m not expecting a busy window, sitting here right now.”
King has made no secret of his desire to leave Bournemouth and has described the last two months of uncertainty as the worst of his life.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he told Norwegian TV during the international break. “There’s a lot that’s happened. I could have written a book about what’s happened the last two months and it had definitely become a bestseller. If I’m to be honest, it’s been the two worst months of my life. But I can’t give a reason.
“If it had been up to me, I would have already signed for a club and started the season, played four games and been in top form. I think the club would rather me be here but, as I said, I felt like I had done mine and been loyal to the club for many years. We had an agreement between us after what happened in January.”
Manchester United were interested in King, but signed Edinson Cavani instead. West Ham have had what Bournemouth described as a “derisory” offer for the striker rejected, but may move for him again today. The Premier League club have also been linked with Brentford’s Said Benrahma and are reported to have agreed personal terms with him.
Swansea City: Formerly of this parish until he had his head turned by the promise of riches beyond his wildest dreams from The Athletic, Stuart James has forgotten more about his beloved Swansea City than most of us will ever know. He has news of what sounds like a decent proposal ...
Understand that Swansea City are in talks with Fabio Borini, the former Chelsea, Liverpool, Sunderland and Milan striker who is available on a free transfer. Borini, 29, had a brief but successful loan spell at Swansea back in 2011 and was a hugely popular player at the club.
— Stuart James (@stujames75) October 16, 2020
Sheffield Wednesday: The Championship club have signed Jack Marriott on loan from Derby County until the end of the season. The 26-year-old striker has apparently been deemed surplus to requirements at Pride Park after Derby announced the surprise signing of Colin Kazim-Richards yesterday, following a successful spell on trial with the club. Marriott has one goal to his name for Derby in six appearances this season.
Harry Wilson: Liverpool’s Wales midfielder is expected to leave the club today and there’s no shortage of interest in the 23-year-old. Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Derby County are all believed to be interested in securing his scrawl, but reports from Wales suggest he is currently undergoing a medical with Cardiff ahead of a £1.2m season-long loan deal. Should Wilson move to Cardiff, Swansea will try to bring in Bristol City’s Kasey Palmer instead.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær talks about Harry Maguire's woes
Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been addressing the ladies and gentlemen of the press about Harry Maguire’s woes before his side’s trip to Newcastle tomorrow night.
“Football is very ... very ... you’re in the spotlight all the time,” he said. “When Harry is in the No ranked team that beats Belgium, that’s a normal day. And then you get the headlines when you get the sending-off, that’s just football for you. There’s so many ups and downs that we’ve got to deal with individually and as a group.
“Harry has got great resilience, I know he’ll bounce back. He wants to play, he wants to work his way out of the last couple of games he’s been criticised for. He picked up a knock just before he came off [against Denmark] so I’m just hopeful he’ll be fit. We had a look at him yesterday and we’ll give him a test today.”
Watford: Speaking of football’s nicer men, Ben Foster could be on the move today. The Watford goalkeeper is being linked with a move to Liverpool, where he would work as understudy to Alisson instead of Adrian. One of the hardest working men in football journalism, it should come as no surprise to learn that Ben Fisher had a very interesting chat with Foster not too long ago ...
Nottingham Forest: Chris Hughton, widely regarded as one the nicest men in football, returns to the dug-out on Saturday, when he brings Nottingham Forest to Ewood Park for a game against Blackburn in his latest managerial role. He has a big job on his hands following Forest’s disastrous start to the season and Ben Fisher spoke to him as he prepares for his first game in charge ...
Celtic v Rangers: The first Old Firm derby of the season takes place at lunchtime tomorrow, when Celtic will entertain Rangers at an empty Celtic Park. Their manager Neil Lennon has been talking about how weird an experience it will be for both sets of players to go about their business in spooky silence.
“I think it’s very difficult for this generation of players to go through what they’re going through,” he said. “We’ve adapted as well anyone but it’s a huge ingredient that’s going to be missing: the electricity, the atmosphere, the rawness, the noise, the colour ... it’s going to be a derby like we’ve never seen before. We’re on a good run and we want to maintain that consistency.”
Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey was forced off with injury after becoming Wales’s most capped ever goalkeeper when representing his country for the 94th time against Bulgaria on Wednesday night. His injury means Crystal Palace could move for Stoke City’s Jack Butland, who is looking for a fresh start elsewhere after falling behind Adam Davies in the Stoke City pecking order. Butland has also been linked with Liverpool and Southampton.
Taking care of business: A number of players could move from the Championship to the Premier League before stumps at 5pm, with Watford winger Ismaila Sarr among the bigger names expected to move. Manchester United had a deadline day bid for the 22-year-old rejected on the most recent deadline day and may up their bid in an effort to get him to Old Trafford. Brentford winger Said Benrahma, Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks, Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell and Swansea centre-back Joe Rodon are among others who could find themselves getting promoted from the Championship before the day is out.
Greetings one and all ...
The international break is behind us and normal – or as normal as it gets in the current climate – football returns this weekend. We’ll bring you news from various press conferences, in which we can almost certainly expect to hear assorted managers moan at great length and with plent of justification about how ill-advised it was to let players leave their club bubbles and go gadding around the world in the middle of a pandemic.
As if one wasn’t one too many, Deadline Day Two is also upon us, so you can expect plenty of last-gasp horse-trading before the domestic only window is inched shut at 5pm. The rules: Premier League clubs are not allowed sign anyone from a foreign club or do business with each other, but can keep doing deals with teams in the EFL or below.
We’ll bring you all the news that’s fit to print and much that isn’t, so stay tuned to your one-stop shop for all the day’s comings and goings.
