Right, it’s 5pm. That means it’s time to leave you to enjoy the weekend (as much as you can in these uncertain times). But before you go, do read The Fiver. Goodbye.
The Scottish Challenge Cup (or to give it its full name: the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup) has been cancelled after 34 of the league’s 42 clubs agreed it should be shelved. This is the competition that takes place for clubs outside the top flight that is still to be completed from last season. A spokesman for the SPFL said:
It is extremely concerning that so many clubs felt that they could not afford to participate in the Challenge Cup this season, given the continuing restrictions on fans coming to matches. Fans remain the lifeblood of the game in Scotland. Today’s decision to cancel the Challenge Cup this season is a further demonstration of the urgent need to get fans back into stadia safely, as they are in other countries. A continuing ban on fans threatens the very future of many of our clubs which have been mainstays of local communities across the country for generations.
The Premier League has committed more than £5.5m to over 1,000 clubs at grassroots level to help them prepare for the resumption of football, but cannot put any time frame on its negotiations over an EFL bailout. A total of 1,090 clubs in the National League system, the women’s football pyramid and the Welsh Premier League have benefited from grants paid from the Matchday Support Fund, enabling grounds to be made Covid-secure for the new campaign. For some of these clubs, this will assist them in welcoming back spectators. A support package for the three divisions below the Premier League remains the subject of ongoing dialogue.
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic wants to add some firepower before Monday’s transfer deadline. He’s got his beady eye on Huddersfield’s Karlan Grant, who scored 19 goals last in the Championship last season and had brief top-flight experience in 2018-19, and Leicester’s Islam Slimani. The Foxes striker scored nine times while on loan at Monaco last term. Here’s what Bilic had to say before his side’s trip to Southampton on Sunday:
I’m respectful to the clubs and I’m respectful to my players here. But the rumours are true, they are two that are on our list. Very quality players of course. We are trying to get one player, or at least one or a couple, but one basically – one will happen, and two would be good. We are totally concentrated on the striker position and I’m expecting that to happen. We need it. It will be crucial for us. We have good strikers, but we have to improve in that area. It’s crucial we get one quality guy that is going to give us something we don’t have at the moment.
With perfect records for both Liverpool and Everton in the Premier League so far this season the Merseyside derby is shaping up to be a humdinger in a fortnight’s time. It’s just been confirmed as the early kick-off (12.30pm BST) on Saturday 17 October. The Toffees host Brighton at 3pm tomorrow and Liverpool travel to Aston Villa for Sunday’s 7.15pm kick-off. The derby kicks off 63 hours after England’s game against Denmark finishes. I’m sure Jürgen Klopp will have something to say about that.
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Hello Gregg here. It’s well known that the weekend doesn’t begin until the Newcastle match preview is out. So let me get the party started!
Right, that’s me done for the day. Gregg Bakowski will steer you through from here. Have a great weekend, and enjoy whatever it is you can get to watch. Bye.
Southampton’s manager, Ralph Hasenhüttl, is hopeful of completing a deal for the Brest midfielder Ibrahima Diallo before the transfer deadline. Diallo, 21, is reported to have agreed a four-year contract, said to be worth £12m.
“First we must wait until everything is finished. I have seen so many things in this transfer window when finally the deal didn’t happen,” said Hasenhüttl. “Let us wait until he is here and then we can speak about how important it is. We know we have to bring players in, we lost a few players, we have to do something and hopefully this deal will happen.”
Squad sheets and match previews are beginning to come in:
Roy Hodgson has aired some thoughts on transfer window staple Wilfried Zaha, making it clear that he wants the Crystal Palace attacker’s suitors to back off:
“Well I have been told and I think Wilf has had it made clear to him that we are not interested in late bids,” he sniffed. “If it was going to happen, it would need to happen in a time frame which would give us a chance to see what we would want to do with the money. So close to the end of the transfer window, I would certainly hope it will not happen now and I want to continue working with him.”
Frank Lampard speaks, on the question of ‘advice’ from his old mentor José Mourinho
“I don’t think any remarks made on the touchline during the game can be called advice. They can probably be wrapped up as advice after a game when you manage to get back in the game and win on penalties so I don’t think that is the case. I would always be happy to not just take advice from fellow managers but everything around me whether it be my players, staff, people I respect, listen to in football outside football, in life. I think that’s what moulds you as a manager so I don’t think the Jose incident was ever advice. It wasn’t that.”
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The screamingly obvious fact that Fulham need to strengthen has not passed by Scott Parker, who is confident of making defensive reinforcements by Monday. “I would like to think with the centre-backs that by Monday we will have some additions in the building to help us and help the squad,” the manager said. “That is what you need when you take the step up from the Championship to the Premier League, you need to evolve and add that quality as well. We are all aware that come Monday hopefully there are some players here.”
One new recruit, Ademola Lookman, who joined on loan from RB Leipzig earlier this week, could start against Wolves on Sunday.
Jürgen Klopp’s been speaking about the Bramall Lane-bound Rhian Brewster:
“He couldn’t make it here so far but he has made big steps in his development. Rhian was really seriously injured and first we had to make sure he was ready again for all the demands of professional football and he is, 100%.
He played a really good half-season at Swansea, he was really impressive, he came (back) here and scored for us in pre-season and you could see he made big steps. If Rhian would be now 25, 26 I would say ‘OK, you can stay and work for your chance and then don’t say I didn’t say you couldn’t stay’.
“But it is a different situation when you are younger, [it is important] a player like Rhian in this position up front makes now the next steps and uses the time he lost during the serious injury – so it is possible a move to another club would make sense.”
Meanwhile Liverpool are preparing to welcome back Jordan Henderson, who has been missing with a knee injury since coming off at half-time at Chelsea two weeks ago. He probably won’t be ready to face Aston Villa on Sunday though before he joins up with the England squad.
More Sancho-move-dampening developments
Michael Zorc [Borussia Dortmund sport director] on Jadon Sancho deal: “Of course we communicated with Manchester United in the past. But everything there is to tell on this matter from our end has already been said. And that won’t change over the next three days”.
And staying on pandemic-related football news:
West Ham manager David Moyes has yet to return to work following his positive coronavirus test and looks likely to be absent at Leicester on Sunday.
The 57-year-old’s 10-day self-isolation period came to an end on Thursday after he and two players tested positive prior to the Carabao Cup match against Hull last week.
But his return has been put on hold with assistant manager Alan Irvine, who has been in charge for the last three matches, set to be on touchline duty again at the King Power Stadium.
Irvine said: “He’s OK. I spoke to him this morning but he’s not been in as we hoped he might have been.
“He’s feeling OK but at the moment we are just following all the guidelines and protocols. He’s in contact with the medical people at the club, obviously, and the Premier League.
“It’s been deemed that it is not right for him to come in just yet so we’ll take it day by day.
“Clearly this is an illness that affects people very severely. It is a very serious thing, I don’t think anybody quite knows what the full effects are and I don’t think it is consistent - it is different from one person to another.
“So it is vitally important that we are safe and follow the protocols that are in place. We need to think about the safety of everybody else at the football club.
“At this moment I would think that it is more likely he won’t be on the touchline at Leicester but that can change during the course of the day today and then tomorrow, so we will carry on the way that we have been trying to work in his absence.
“He may not be here in person but he continues to be involved in what we do and is making the final decisions with everything we are doing. That will continue whether he is on the touchline or not.”
Issa Diop and Josh Cullen, who also tested positive, are back at the club’s Rush Green training ground.
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In the least surprising news of the day, tonight’s game between Kilmarnock and Motherwell has been postponed. Killie’s entire squad was instructed to self-isolate after six positive Covid-19 tests so it was impossible for them to put a team out.
Jamie Jackson has run the rule over Manchester City’s shiny new £64.3m centre-back Rúben Dias so you don’t have to …
There are questions regarding his pace and ability to succeed at the elite level where City aim to dominate. The 6ft 2in Dias is not slow but nor is he considered fleet-footed. And there is a school of thought that he was not the most prized defensive talent to emerge recently from Benfica’s academy. Francisco Ferro is nominated by some for that status but Dias’s team-first, die-for-the-cause ethos made him the go-to at the club for Rui Vitória, then Vitória’s successors as head coach, Bruno Lage, Nélson Veríssimo and Jorge Jesus.
Read the full profile here:
And a bit of Palace news from PA Media:
While Palace are not expected to be busy in the transfer window during the final few days, free agent Nathaniel Clyne could return to Selhurst Park.
The defender has trained with the Eagles since last month and with young full-back Nathan Ferguson still out with a knee injury, there is a space for him to become part of the group.
“We believe and hope he is getting back to his best,” Hodgson said of Clyne, who started his career at Palace. “In the coming days we will reassess because it is a position where we are not covered at the moment because the young lad we brought in to play in that position is still struggling with a knee injury.
“There is an opportunity I think for someone like Nathaniel to come into the club if that is what everyone at the club wants and thinks is the right thing to do. Certainly I have been impressed.”
Everton may have strengthened impressively in the past couple of months, but they have some injury problems brewing. Jonjoe Kenny has been ruled out for a month with Allan sidelined until after the international break.
Midfielder Andre Gomes will also miss Saturday’s visit of Brighton with a minor issue, as will striker Moise Kean who is ill. Everton are already without Mason Holgate, Jarrad Branthwaite and midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin, though the prognosis on Richarlison is more hopeful, who also came off in the Carabao Cup win over West Ham with an ankle injury.
And a view from the other dugout …
As you might expect Pep Guardiola has been glowing about Marcelo Bielsa, ahead of Manchester City’s Saturday trip to Leeds United. “He is probably the person I admire the most in world football – as a manager and as a person.”I think he is the most authentic [original] manager all the time, in terms of how he conducts his teams, like he is unique. Nobody can imitate him, it’s impossible, especially his behaviour as a person off the pitch and related to the media.
“I don’t see him quite as much – now, when I have the pleasure to spend time with him, it’s always inspirational for me. My teams won more titles than him, but in terms of knowledge of the game, I am still away from him.”
He also weighed in on the current handball farrago. “Football is an unpredictable game. The hand from Eric Dier, the one from Brighton against United, West Ham against Arsenal: everyone knows if there is an intentional hand or when it is absolutely unintentional – when one guy is jumping in the box and after the deflection it hits the hand and you get a penalty: that, honestly, is quite ridiculous. But hopefully the referees and managers can decide the best for the game, to be most fair.”
There’s no escaping the essential appeal of the meeting between Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Elland Road tomorrow evening, and the Leeds manager’s been speaking about it, maintaining he was never Guardiola’s mentor and adamant that the Catalan has always been his own man.
“I do not feel like a mentor to Guardiola. It’s not just how I feel, it has been evidenced to not being the case,” Bielsa said. “If there’s a manager who is independent in his own ideas, that is Guardiola. It’s not just because I say it is, it’s because his teams play like no other team.
“The memories I have [of Guardiola’s Barcelona when Bielsa was at Athletic Bilbao] are they managed to neutralise our attempt to impose ourselves. Anyone who faced Barcelona in those four years will give you the same answer. Many believe that is the best club team ever created.
“I never find it comfortable to talk about an opponent’s weaknesses,” Bielsa said of Saturday’s opponents. “The season is very short and it’s hard to make conclusions as to whether they are weaker than before. To talk about an opponent’s weakness in public is never a comfortable thing.”
Leeds have refused to comment on reports since Bielsa’s press conference that their bid to sign the midfielder Michael Cuisance from Bayern Munich had fallen through.
When asked about the France Under-20 international, who had been expected to complete a move this week, Bielsa said: “I would prefer to talk about him when he is officially our player.”
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David Hytner flags up a couple of nuggets from José Mourinho’s press conference. First, a barb about the handball rule and who it might benefit: “I don’t like subjectivity in football because subjectivity normally goes to a certain side. I don’t like subjectivity. To be honest, the mails sent making comments about the previous penalties and about the subjectivity coming, I didn’t read them. I’m not interested in reading them. I prefer not to.”
And on his return to Old Trafford with Spurs this weekend to face his former club Manchester United: “What’s that? Revenge? I won so many times at Old Trafford as Man United coach and as an opponent coach. Revenge for what? Nobody treated me badly there, everyone was so nice to me, I don’t have enemies there, I don’t have bad feelings. Revenge for what? It’s just a football match I want to win.”
Thanks Gregg, Tom here returning to duty, and with a full story on that Europa League draw:
It sounds very much like David Moyes, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week, will not be on the touchline for the lunchtime kick-off against Leicester on Sunday. Mind you, they beat Wolves 4-0 without him last time out so another performance with Moyes managing remotely is perhaps no bad thing. Here’s what assistant manager Alan Irvine had to say at the pre-match press conference:
At this moment I would think it is more likely that he won’t be on the touchline at Leicester. That is something that can change in the course of today or tomorrow
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Jürgen Klopp has been speaking before Liverpool’s Sunday evening match with Aston Villa. He says Jordan Henderson is back in part-training after suffering a knee injury against Chelsea and his England call-up for games against Wales, Belgium and Denmark is a “win-win” situation:
He has absolutely no muscle issues, he’s not injured any more. Now we have to make sure he can make the next step. What that means for the weekend, I don’t know. I was in close contact with Gareth Southgate and it is clear that he will use the time with national team for getting match fit. Hendo had four or five days normal pre-season before he played his first game for us because of the situation we were in. He played against Chelsea and got this little injury, which was not serious, but he has been working on his physical things already for a few days but now [it will be] more football specific with us and then the national team. He will have minutes for England, which is then a proper win-win situation which I’m really happy about.
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Kilmarnock's entire squad told to self-isolate
Kilmarnock were supposed to be playing Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership at 7.45pm tonight but their entire playing squad have been instructed to self-isolate for 14 days following six positive Covid-19 cases. A statement from Scottish football’s Joint Response Group read:
NHS Ayrshire & Arran Test and Protect Team carried out Covid-19 contact tracing following the six confirmed positive tests at the club. As a result, the club has been advised by the local Problem Assessment Group that the whole playing squad should self-isolate for a 14-day period. This is in order to minimise the risk of further cases in the staff group and wider local community and to support Test and Protect. The SPFL board are meeting this afternoon to discuss the implications for Kilmarnock’s fixtures within that period and will issue a statement thereafter.
Killie are due to kick off their Betfred Cup campaign at Falkirk on Tuesday before hosting Dunfermline on 13 October 13. Their subsequent league game is a trip to Livingston on 17 October.
This has “lunchtime read” written all over it. Tim Parks wrote his cult classic about Hellas Verona two decades ago. Where are the characters in the book now?
Thanks Tom. Arsenal may have to do without William Saliba in their Europa League squad when they do begin their European campaign. It’s looking increasingly likely he could leave Arsenal on loan before Monday’s international transfer deadline, with Mikel Arteta admitting the next few days are a “crucial moment” in shaping his squad for the rest of this season. Here’s the latest from Nick Ames and Jacob Steinberg:
Right, and after all that draw-crunching, I’m off for some lunch and Gregg Bakowski will take the helm for a bit. See you later.
And that’s it. Some of the spice has been removed from all this, with the absence of - or limits to - crowds. Dundalk’s fans would have been making plans for Arsenal away already, and Leicester’s working out how to get to Luhansk, but there’s a few tasty ties in among that lot. More reaction to come.
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Group L: Gent, Crvena Zvevda, Hoffenheim, Liberec
Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Wolfsberger
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Group J: Tottenham,Ludogorets, Lask, Antwerp
Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sivasspor
Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague, Milan, Lille
Group G: Braga, Leicester, AEK, Zoryha Luhansk
Group F: Napoli, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Rijeka
Group E: PSV, PAOK, Granada, Omonioa
Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers, Lech
Group C: Leverkusen, Slavia, Hapoel Beer Sheva, Nice
Group B: Arsenal, Rapid Vienna, Molde, Dundalk
Group A: Roma, Young Boys, Cluj, CSKA Sofia
Group L: Gent, Crevena Zvezda, Hoffenheim
Group K: CSKA, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord
Group J; Spurs, Ludogerets, Lask
Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag, MaccabiTel AViv
Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague, Milan,
Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers
Group C: Leverkusen, Slavia Prague, Hapoel Beer-Sheva
Group G: Braga, AEK, Leicester
Group B: Arsenal, Rapid Vienna, Molde
Group A: Roma, Young Boys, Cluj
Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb
Group L: Zverena, Gent
Group F: Napoli, Real Sociedad
Group J: Tottenham, Ludogorets
Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag
Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague
Group G: Braga, Leicester
Group E: PSV Eindhoven, PAOK
Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege
Group C: Leverkusen, Slavia Prague
Group B: Arsenal, Rapid Vienna
Group A: Roma, Young Boys
Group L: Gent
Group K: CSKA Moscow
Group J: Tottenham!
Group I: Villarreal
Group H: Celtic
Group G: Braga
Group F: Napoli
Group E: PSV Eindhoven
Group D: Benfica
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen
Group B: Arsenal!
Group A Roma out first,
Here we go …
They’re explaining the format now, which is hedged by various rules about kick-off times and by no means obvious and all a bit Alan Partridge Soccermeter, with the additional geopolitical caveat that teams from Russia and Ukraine can’t be drawn together.
Former Napoli and Juventus defender Ciro Ferrera joins the stage for drawing duties
Awards time first, the Europa League player of the season: And it’s gone to our old mucker Romelu Lukaku for his prolific strike rate in the competition for Inter, edging out Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Ever Banega of Sevilla from a shortlist of three.
Right, they’re getting under way in Uefa-land – Nyon to be precise – for the draw …
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Here’s Jamie Jackson’s report from Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s media conflab:
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Leicester have got their new centre-back at last. They have completed the signing of Wesley Fofana from Saint-Etienne. West Ham, whom Leicester host this weekend, made a late bid to try to muscle in on that move but the player always made it clear that Leicester was his preferred destination. The 19-year-old has signed a five-year deal.
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Right, let’s turn our attention to the Europa League draw, which is coming up at 12pm. You’ll be wanting to know the seedings and pots, so here they are:
Pot 1 Arsenal, Tottenham, Roma, Napoli, Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, CSKA Moscow, Braga, Gent, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic
Pot 2 Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta Prague, Slavia Prague, Ludogorets, Young Boys, Crvena Zvezda, Rapid Vienna, Leicester, Qarabağ, PAOK, Standard Liège, Real Sociedad
Pot 3 Granada, Milan, AZ Alkmaa, Feyenoord, AEK Athens, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Rangers, Molde, Hoffenheim, Lask, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, CFR Cluj
Pot 4 Zorya Luhansk, Lille, Nice, Rijeka, Dundalk, Slovan Liberec, Royal Antwerp, Lech Poznan, Sivasspor, Wolfsberg, Omonoia, CSKA Sofia
Not an enormous difference in standards between pots 1 and 2 for my money, but we’ll see.
A bit of transfer news from the Championship:
🤩 As revealed by @paulblakeyuk …@MBonne9’s a #QPR player! 🙌#CestBonne
— QPR FC (@QPR) October 2, 2020
In the latest thrilling development in the José Mourinho-Gareth Southgate smouldering set-to, the Spurs boss has referred to the England manager as “Gary”, and said Harry Kane wouldn’t play in any Spurs friendlies this season. But will they even have any?
In more concrete Tottenham news, they are reported to have reached an agreement with Benfica to sign the Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius on loan deal that includes a £2.7m loan fee with an option to buy for a further £38.2m.
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Our man in Manchester offers his take on Solskjær’s transfer talk:
Solskjaer, in essence, saying @manutd squad is good enough to compete should no more players arrive: 'When I talk about the squad depth, of course the performances [last season] didn't warrant me [adding] more of them options [new signings]: the 11, 12, 13 players deserved...'
— jamie jackson (@JamieJackson___) October 2, 2020
England U21 squad news now, and there are call-ups for Liverpool’s Curtis Jones and Tottenham’s Japhet Tanganga to the party that will face Andorra and Turkey in upcoming Euro 2021 qualifiers. This is the squad:
Balcombe (Brentford), Bursik (Stoke on loan at Doncaster), Ramsdale (Sheffield United), Aarons (Norwich), Godfrey (Norwich), Guehi (Chelsea, on loan at Swansea), James (Chelsea), Justin (Leicester), Lamptey (Brighton), Panzo (Dijon), Tanganga (Tottenham), Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Dasilva (Brentford), Davies (Everton), Eze (Crystal Palace), Jones (Liverpool), Skipp (Tottenham, on loan at Norwich), Brewster (Liverpool), Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), McNeil (Burnley), Nketiah (Arsenal), Nelson (Arsenal), Sessegnon (Tottenham).
Steve Bruce has been speaking, inevitably, about the question of whether he’s under pressure after Newcastle’s less than sparkling recent performances. “Every manager needs time, of course, because nowadays, you can’t just change it overnight,” the manager said. “With transfer windows and especially now with what’s gone on in the world, it’s very, very difficult.
“Look, it’s still a work in progress – I know that sounds easy for me to say, but that’s what it is – and we are in the middle of change because I’m trying to change us from a team that plays with a back five and sitting deep into a more-forward thinking back four and playing from there.”
Dean Smith has been speaking, about Villa’s signing of Ross Barkley and more: “We’re pleased we’ve managed to get him, we’ve sold the project to him, and can give him the opportunity for game time to get into the Euros with England next year. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far, and he’s ready to go straight away, fit and ready.” As for further signings, Smith said: “We’re happy with what we’ve got at the moment, we’re comfortable with that, but we’ll keep our finger on the pulse to see if anyone comes in for any of our lads.”
Spirits are high at Villa Park and here’s Martin Laurence on why they’ve won the transfer window.
Sky Sports is reporting that Everton are close to agreeing a deal with Norwich to sign the defender Ben Godfrey, to round off a busy old window at Goodison (and at Norwich, who shipped loads of goals in the top flight last season but whose defenders have been in demand since their relegation, though Godfrey’s defensive stats are impressive).
If you think the current guidelines on allowing spectators into grounds are a tad rigid, check out the situation at National League Wealdstone, who play their first match in the fifth tier for 32 years on Saturday when they host Chesterfield. Fans aren’t allowed in, but they can go to the ground and watch it in the bar. Ben Fisher reports here:
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And here’s that Brewster story in full:
A merited upbraiding for me from Leicester fan Bert Fill: “Humph! ‘Arsenal, Spurs, Rangers and Celtic’, eh? Wot, no Leicester? We’re also going to have our league season ruined by Europa League Thursdays, thank you very much....” Perhaps I subliminally assumed you’d made it to the Champions League after all and the past seven months have just been a fever dream.
Some coy presser talk from Ole Gunnar Solskjær: “We’ve got players here who we believe in, the transfer window is still open for a while, the club have been working [on transfers] and know my view and that’s that we’re here to strengthen it. We’ll tell you when and if something happens.” Make of that what you will, but no white smoke on, say, Jadon Sancho there.
Solskjær also backed Gareth Southgate’s omission of Mason Greenwood from his England squad: “Mason is one of the top strikers of the future for England and for sure he is going to play many games for England. This now obviously has been a learning curve for him.
“Mason has to reflect on where he’s at and what he needs to do, how to get to where he wants to get to. I had a very nice chat with Gareth about our players and the England possibles. As I’ve said, games are very important for players to get some minutes but we’ll get loads of training into Mason. I respect Gareth’s decision, definitely.”
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From firmed-up stories to idle fluff, here’s Scott Murray sifting through today’s Rumour Mill. Could Arsenal’s lengthy pursuit of Houssem Aouar be sidetracked by the dastardly Qatar project?
More on that Brewster deal, from PA Media:
SSheffield United are set to break their transfer record after agreeing a £23.5million deal for Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster.
The Blades have been tracking the 20-year-old for some time and the PA news agency understands he has travelled to South Yorkshire for his medical.
As part of the deal Liverpool have negotiated a 15 per cent sell-on clause and a buy-back option which will be active for the next three seasons.
Brewster scored 11 goals in 22 appearances on loan at SkyBet Championship side Swansea after joining them in January.
He played just four times in cup competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side, his last appearance coming in the Community Shield against Arsenal at the end of August, with his missed penalty in the shoot-out giving the Gunners victory.
While highly-rated at Anfield - hence the buyback option inserted into the Sheffield United deal - his pathway to the first team has been hindered by the fact their front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane play virtually every week and Divock Origi and new signing Diogo Jota remain ahead of him in the pecking order.
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Some listening for you, with Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Paul Doyle:
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And a bit of early transfer news, on the last Friday before Monday’s increasingly distasteful cash frenzy. Rhian Brewster’s long-speculated over move to Sheffield United is set to finally happen, for £23.5m. Just the boost the Blades need?
Rhian Brewster is on his way to Sheffield United #LFC https://t.co/MqPOB87HU6
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) October 2, 2020
Preamble
Morning everyone. Here to prep you up for another weekend of huddling round laptops, trying to remember log-in codes and praying that our clubs’ livestreams don’t cut out at inopportune moments. Or just watching whatever’s on Sky/BT. We have a full Premier League programme spread out over the weekend, starting with Chelsea v Palace tomorrow lunchtime and concluding when in-form Villa face in-form Liverpool on Sunday night.
We’ve also got yesterday’s League Cup and Women’s FA Cup action as well as the Champions League draw to chew over. And more balls will be tumbling out of bowls at midday when the Europa League draw is made and we get to find out what Arsenal, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers will be doing with their Thursdays until Christmas.
To start us off, here’s some transfer news: West Ham have bolstered their back line with the £5m signing of the Czech Republic right-back Vladimir Coufal from Slavia Prague. The defender joins on a three-year deal. Jacob Steinberg has the full story.
And here’s 10 things to look out for this weekend, to get us in the mood:
