LONDON: Liverpool are closing in on a big summer signing after reaching a deal worth 120 million pounds to sign Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) winger Bradley Barcola.
The Reds have made positive progress in talks with the European champions after weeks of trying to lower PSG’s valuation, which was initially set at 145 million pounds.
Liverpool are now understood to be paying a basic fee of 100 million pounds, with another 20 million pounds in additional payments, the same structure as Florian Wirtz’s move to England last year.
Barcola, 23, has been a top target for Liverpool in recent months as the club look to replace Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian star moved to Trabzonspor.
Liverpool had previously also targeted Yan Diomande and had made an offer for the player, but it was rejected before he eventually joined Real Madrid.
Negotiations to acquire Barcola were led by sporting director Richard Hughes along with Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon.
This week, Liverpool also received information regarding Crystal Palace striker Ismaila Sarr, as well as holding talks with Brighton regarding Yankuba Minteh.
Liverpool are keen to bring in two strikers if conditions allow, so Barcola’s arrival does not necessarily mean they are done with Sarr or Minteh. They also made enquiries about PSG striker Ibrahim Mbaye earlier this month.
If completed, the move would be the most expensive signing of this summer’s transfer window, surpassing the record 117 million pounds Chelsea paid to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
Barcola was a product of Lyon’s academy before spending the last three seasons with PSG, helping the club win two Champions League titles and three Ligue 1 titles.
The winger played for France at this summer’s World Cup and scored against England in the third-place play-off. He has scored 39 goals in 152 appearances for PSG.
Liverpool will hope that their big spending this summer will yield better results than last season.
After spending more than 450 million pounds on new players including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike last summer, the 2024-25 English Premier League champions failed to repeat their excellent performance under Arne Slot.
The Reds only qualified for the Champions League after finishing fifth last season, but a ticket to Europe’s elite competition has helped them remain in the race for high-profile players.
Liverpool, who let Salah, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate leave earlier this summer, have so far signed central defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo and winger Victor Munoz.
Curtis Jones also left Anfield after joining Inter Milan for a fee of 30 million pounds, thus leaving Liverpool no longer with a home-born player in the first team.
Jayden Danns could potentially take on that role in the future.
The six-capped England player joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of nine and has long dreamed of a move to Serie A after failing to consistently find a place in the starting line-up at Anfield.
Liverpool opened the season with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United on Sunday, but escaped defeat through a late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty.
The Reds fell behind after just five minutes when Anthony Elanga finished off a quick Newcastle counterattack, but equalised early in the second half through a stunning goal from Cody Gakpo.
Joe Willock put Newcastle back in front two minutes later, but Szoboszlai saved Liverpool when he converted a penalty late in the game after Lewis Hall brought down Munoz in the box.
Iraola said: “It’s a strange feeling. It wasn’t the result we wanted but the way we scored at the end of the game made it feel better. However, we definitely wanted the win more.
“We started in the worst way we could have imagined. Away to Newcastle, the first game of the season, the atmosphere in the stadium, they had very fast players and we conceded a goal.
“They punished us and we had to chase the results. But we never gave up.”
MANCHESTER: Arsenal and Manchester City dominated the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Premier League (EPL) Team of the Year for the 2025/26 season as nine players from the two clubs were selected by their counterparts.
The PFA Awards ceremony took place at the Manchester Opera House today, with five players from Arsenal’s EPL-winning squad last season receiving recognition.
Goalkeeper David Raya, who won the Golden Glove Award after recording 19 clean sheets, was chosen to fill the goalkeeper position.
In front of him are three members of Arsenal’s main defence, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
The final spot in defence goes to Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly, who is also part of the four FA Cup champions’ representatives in the starting line-up.
The midfield also features Arsenal’s Declan Rice and City’s Rayan Cherki, as well as Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes set an EPL record when he produced 21 assists last season, helping United finish in third place.
The Portuguese player was previously named EPL Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Year, before completing his collection of individual awards by winning the PFA Player of the Year trophy.
None of the Arsenal strikers were selected in the attacking trio.
On the other hand, the three top scorers in the EPL last season filled the position through Erling Haaland who scored 27 goals, Brentford striker Igor Thiago with 22 goals, and Antoine Semenyo who scored 17 goals.
Semenyo joined City from Bournemouth mid-season.
The dominance of Arsenal and City was also evident in the overall list when only two of the 11 players selected did not play for either club.
Meanwhile, six players in the PFA Team of the Year for the Championship League are from the Coventry City squad that helped the club gain promotion to the EPL under Frank Lampard.
Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, as well as Everton new signing Hayden Hackney, who has impressed for Middlesbrough, were also selected.
For their League One rivals, Lincoln City also contributed four players to their best XI, in addition to Dom Ballard, who moved from Leyton Orient to Bristol City this summer.
Ballard stole the show with his new club when he scored a goal that was considered one of the best candidates this season.
The League Two Team of the Year saw Bromley and MK Dons each contribute three players, while Cambridge United had two representatives.
In the Women’s Super League (WSL), several England stars were also recognized, including Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton and Lauren James, Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Manchester City’s goal machine, Khadija Shaw.
MANCHESTER: Michael Carrick is now the top pick on betting sites to become the first Premier League (EPL) manager to be sacked in the 2026-27 season.
According to betting company Betfair, there is already a frontrunner to replace Carrick as Manchester United manager if he loses the job.
A shock 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Hull City on Saturday raised questions about United, despite their possession for long periods.
After finishing last season well, strengthening the squad with several new players and having a fairly positive pre-season, United instead displayed a lackluster performance in all aspects when facing Hull.
United’s squad is also still seen as less than solid in several positions, especially with the Champions League competition to contend with this season.
They were previously expected to start the campaign well when they were scheduled to face Hull and Ipswich in the first two matches before travelling to Everton in the third week of action.
However, the defeat to Hull was enough to spark concern, including in the betting markets.
The same firm has also shortlisted several candidates to replace Carrick, with former Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe the frontrunner to take over at Old Trafford.
Howe left Newcastle in the summer to take a break from coaching, but is now being considered as a candidate to replace Carrick. Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel are also on the list.
Betfair spokesman Sam Rosbottom said: “Michael Carrick is now the favourite to become the second manager to leave his post in the 2026-27 season, following the Red Devils’ shock defeat to Hull City on the opening day.
“Sergej Jakirovic and Frank Lampard are both second choices on the list.
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi is also at risk of being sacked following his team’s defeat to Brentford.
“Meanwhile, Unai Emery is also at the top of the list after Europa League champions Aston Villa were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton on Sunday.
“Other candidates at risk of leaving their respective positions include Matthias Jaissle and Regis Le Bris.”
MANCHESTER: Enzo Maresca admits Manchester City are still in the process of being built after their dramatic late victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium last night.
Marc Guehi’s equaliser in the 85th minute and Josko Gvardiol’s winner in the 91st minute gave the new City manager victory in his first match, after Marcus Tavernier had put the visitors ahead in the first half.
Maresca felt his team performed almost the same as when they lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield match last week.
“I feel the same as after the game against Arsenal. Normally, you judge by the results but I don’t see much change.
“Unfortunately, this is still in the process of formation and I am looking for a solution. Of course, when you win matches, it helps.
“When it comes to the Premier League, it’s impossible not to concede goals. The goal we conceded was their first attempt.
“They had two or three dangerous situations, but the important thing is how you react. We still have [Erling] Haaland, Elliot [Anderson], Marc [Guehi] and Nico O’Reilly, who are still in the pre-season phase.
“It makes a big difference physically and we will get better,” said the Italian coach.
Before the match started, City unveiled a giant banner or tifo featuring Maresca’s face with the message “Welcome back Enzo”.
“It was a perfect day. I was so happy to see the banner when the game started. We gave the fans joy at the end of the game.
“It was quite emotional. The team spirit was incredible. It was a game we deserved to win, but we didn’t have to wait until the last five minutes.
“We missed a few chances, then they scored and things got more complicated,” he said.
Maresca also played Guehi in the middle position, which is not the usual position for the player concerned.
“I knew Marc when he was at Crystal Palace and I always felt he could play as a midfielder because he’s a really good player.
“We tried him for a few days and I thought he performed quite well. He gives us another option for the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marco Rose is close to making his first start with Bournemouth by recording the club’s first win at City.
“We are competitors and we came here to win for the first time. We are on a good track to do it.
“However, we did a lot of things well. We still have a lot of things to improve. In the end, the way the game went, it was a bit unfortunate to lose like that.
“We had two situations, one through a corner kick and another through an attacking move, when we defended too passively.
“We need to defend better from corners and the second goal was also too passive.
“We always try to press forward and want to defend higher. Here, you have to find the right time to apply pressure and it’s difficult.
“We did very well until the end of the game,” said the German coach.
LONDON: Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Coventry in their opening Premier League match showed the reigning champions have not lost their desire to continue their pursuit of trophies.
Arteta’s squad continued last season’s momentum when they easily defeated Coventry, who were clearly struggling at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
The Gunners are the favourites to defend their title and the confident performance suggests their challengers may face a tough task to rival Arsenal this season.
Arteta was also pleased to see how his players tried to pressure Coventry relentlessly, making it difficult for the newly promoted team to develop their game.
“They look the same as last season to me. What I tell them is to show more desire and earn the right to be better than everyone else.
“There’s a lot to like about this performance. It’s a great result, but also the way we started the game.
“It’s about control, clarity and understanding. It’s really impressive,” said Arteta.
Arteta also praised the consistency of his players as they repeatedly broke through Coventry’s defence, with new winger Christos Tzolis also impressing on his Premier League debut after joining Arsenal from Club Brugge.
“We were so dominant, had an incredible connection with each other and were very precise when it came to possession of the ball.
“The players need to be decisive and they did that today. They looked really compatible and played with a clear purpose,” he said.
Asked whether Arsenal’s big win, on the day they completed the transfer of Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, proved they were stronger than other contenders, Arteta dismissed the notion.
“No. Because when I look at other squads, some of them are incredible and much bigger than us.
“We’re trying to improve the team and do what we feel is right for us and understand the players who can make us better and give us an advantage.
“Ezri is a player we really like in the defensive line. We got a great defender with a strong personality, so I’m very happy,” he added.
Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who was brought in from Newcastle in the summer transfer window, is sidelined through injury, but Arteta does not expect the player to be out for long.
Odegaard described the victory as an ideal start for Arsenal in the new campaign.
“A perfect start. Three goals and no conceded. It was a really solid performance.
“The quality of this team is incredible and we see it every day in training. The level of competition between us is also incredible and we all push each other,” said the Gunners midfielder.
In a clear illustration of how blunt Coventry’s attack was, it took the visitors 60 minutes before they registered their first touch inside Arsenal’s penalty area.
Frank Lampard’s side are back in the top flight after 25 years and the Coventry manager admitted his team have learned lessons from Arsenal.
“A great team and a good lesson for our players to see the true level required. They played like champions.
“It’s a tough match for us, but the experience of being in this stadium, the atmosphere at the start of the match and seeing the quality they have could be good for us.
“When you concede a goal, it’s not a good thing from us and that’s the reality,” said Lampard.