Liverpool Echo

David Moyes wants Everton to take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur visiting Merseyside days after Champions League commitments - something they failed to do at Anfield last month

Everton will look to exploit any fatigue in Tottenham Hotspur’s squad when Thomas Frank’s side visit Merseyside just days after Champions League action. Spurs drew at Monaco on Wednesday night, earning a useful point through the heroics of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

They are one of nine Premier League teams with European commitments this season and David Moyes said it was important his Everton side sought to take advantage when the fixture list allowed.

The Blues boss was bitterly disappointed his side failed to begin well at Anfield last month, when a slow start cost them the chance of taking anything from a Liverpool side that had been embroiled in an energy-sapping match with Atletico Madrid days earlier. He appears determined not to allow his players to make the same mistake again when Spurs visit Hill Dickinson this afternoon.

Asked whether the commitments of other teams presented an opportunity for his own, Moyes said: “Absolutely, there's the effort that has to go into the midweek games and the Sundays, or whatever day you're playing.

“It's a huge effort for any club, so it gives us a little bit more time and maybe this year it'll be helpful.

“There is another side to having regular games. There are some players who you can't play often enough and you could give them game time, more often. I think that is helpful. But I'm looking at some of the results last night, I'm looking at Larnaca beating Crystal Palace, Villa against Go Ahead Eagles [Unai Emery’s side lost 2-1 in the Netherlands]. The European games are really tough.

“It wouldn't matter who you're playing, there's just a big, big trip, big. It's not an easy thing to be that good every game, if you know what I mean. It's not easy, it’s very difficult.”

Moyes, who took his former side West Ham United into Europe three times and oversaw success in the Europa Conference League, said the additional time he had with his players on the training ground in comparison to those seasons was helpful, given the progress he is trying to lead at Finch Farm.

He is in no doubt that he would rather Everton have to deal with the demands of European football than not, however. The Scot has repeatedly set the club's ambitions at qualification for the European competitions.

He said: “We were talking about it the other day, there are many more days of training. Sometimes you could have too many days training, in some ways, because recently I have been brought up with playing Thursday, playing Sunday, and that's nearly the way it goes for weeks.

“I've got to say, I hope in the future I get another chance to do it. Maybe not a Thursday, maybe a Tuesday or Wednesday, I mean if it was Champions League, but overall if it happened to be a Thursday then I would take that, that's for sure.”

One weapon at Tottenham’s disposal on Sunday will be Mohammed Kudus, a player with history with both Moyes and Everton.

It was Moyes who introduced him to the Premier League after signing him from Ajax - a deal that came a year after a loan move to the Blues, with an option to buy, fell through at the eleventh hour.

On the Ghana international, Moyes said: “He is a brilliant player. He's got so many attributes to his game. He is a great boy to work with. I hugely enjoyed him and had a good relationship with him.

“He has got great strength, great balance. It is very hard to knock him off the ball, he has the ability to go inside or outside. He could play several positions.

“I think his form last year wasn't as good by all accounts, but I see him doing lots of things, whether it be scoring goals or creating goals.

“And I think at the moment, from a distance, he'd nearly look like Tottenham's best buy of the summer. I'm not an expert on Tottenham, but that's the way it looks.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank was asked about Xavi Simons and whether his adaptation to life in the Premier League mirrors that of Florian Wirtz at Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has preached patience over £52m signing Xavi Simons and agreed with a comparison to Liverpool's £116m buy Florian Wirtz. Both players made the move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League in the summer.

Simons and Wirtz forged reputations as two of the best young playmakers in the world with their performances for RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.

But the 22-year-olds have struggled since arriving in England. Simons has produced only one assist for Tottenham in eight games while Wirtz has the same number in 11 appearances for Liverpool and is also waiting to score his first goal.

The Netherlands international was withdrawn after Spurs went behind in their 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa on Sunday while, for the second Premier League game running, the Germany international started on the bench as the Reds went down 2-1 at home to Manchester United later on in the afternoon.

But Frank has rallied around Simons after a comparison to Wirtz.

"I think that's a very good question and also a very good comparison with Wirtz, who is also a very good player just like Xavi," said the Tottenham boss ahead of his side's Champions League clash at Monaco tonight.

"A couple of things, new country, new club, new city and just needing to settle in.

"We are all getting judged every game but we also need to see the bigger perspective and I see it all the time.

"I always look for glimpses and bits and pieces. For example with Xavi, there were some good bits and I worked with him and I asked him to arrive a bit more in the box. When I looked at the game back, he did.

"Was there a big eye-catching moment? No, but there were good glimpses and I think it is constantly going in the right direction."

Wirtz is expected to be recalled to the Liverpool starting line-up this evening when they take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

The former Leverkusen favourite impressed as a second-half substitute against Man United and before that game Reds boss Arne Slot offered a similar verdict to Frank.

"If you've been brought in for so much money, people look mainly at goals and assists, but I can tell you he could be on six or seven assists already," Slot told Sky Sports.

"If you look at the passes he's played to his team-mates which unfortunately didn't lead to goals, one of the greatest examples is the Chelsea game where after one minute (since coming on) he had this great flick to Mo Salah.

"For Mo, this is 99 times out of 100 a goal. I have to say 98 out of 100 because the last time he got a ball like this was against Atletico Madrid from Florian Wirtz, but Mo hit the post.

"He's been a bit unlucky with the finishing when he's given his team-mates chances but, in general for a 22-year-old, it's quite normal that you have to adjust to going to another country let alone going to the Premier League."

Everton Women lost to Tottenham Hotspur in their first official match full-time at Goodison Park

Perhaps Everton Women should have moved into Anfield instead? Whereas the Blues’ female footballers have triumphed six times in a row against their Liverpool counterparts across Stanley Park with Ornella Vignola becoming the first player representing the club there to net a hat-trick since Dixie Dean in 1931, their inaugural competitive game at Goodison Park since they took up permanent residence ended up in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in a contest in which Brian Sorensen’s side always found themselves very much second best.

Indeed, in contrast to their away day successes against the Reds, following this reversal, Everton Women have now only won one of their last half dozen fixtures at the Grand Old Lady, and that was also against Liverpool. New owners The Friedkin Group of course come from the USA where women’s ‘soccer’ has got a rich pedigree and they have got big plans for the Blues’ female footballers. With the big four domestic team sports of American football, baseball, basketball and (ice) hockey commanding the attentions of many male athletes in that country, women’s football has been able to flourish without the prejudices and chauvinistic attitudes that have sometimes held it back on these shores where the men’s game is king and the Premier League is the most lucrative domestic division on the planet.

But after having to play catch-up with some other nations, women’s football is now very much on the up here with England having won back-to-back European Championships and curiously nine of the Lionesses were either former Everton players/and/or Merseysiders. The huge attendances that women’s club sides are enjoying in London and even to a lesser extent in Manchester, haven’t yet been matched in this footballing hotbed for the men’s game – but that hasn’t always been the case. As covered in this correspondent’s book Spirit of the Blues: Everton’s Most Memorable Matches & Goodison Park’s Greatest Games and also featured on the new timeline that adorns the exterior of the Main Stand, on Boxing Day 1920, a monster crowd of 53,000 watched Dick, Kerr Ladies defeat St Helens 4-0 in what remained a world record gate for a women’s club fixture for over 98 and perhaps more incredibly, a better turn out than either Everton or Liverpool attracted over that festive period. In contrast, there were 6,473 present for this historic occasion. But that’s still a big increase on what the Blues could get at Walton Hall Park and even with the Bullens Road Stand, Upper Gwladys Street and Top Balcony of the Main Stand closed off, along with some sections of the Park End, they’re going to have to get used to their much more spacious surroundings. In that respect, their adaptation might not be as straightforward as the men’s side who could play in front of the biggest regular crowds in their history this season and are already feeling at home at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The weather conditions were not kind and did not help. Septembers in this country often produce relatively balmy ‘Indian Summers’ but this was cold and damp. However, those who watched on from the Gwladys Street kept up the tradition of it being the end for Everton’s most vociferous supporters as they kept singing throughout with terrace chants featuring adapted lyrics: Grand Old Team (Everton girls are there) & Spirit of the Blues (The blue girls are on the rise). Like David Moyes’ side, there has been a significant beefing up of the squad with nine new signings but on this evidence there still needs significant gelling required if Everton have aspirations to be ‘best of the rest’ behind the established powers in the Women’s Super League. Under the leadership of a Liverpool-born manager and former Blues academy player, Martin Ho, Spurs bossed this contest from the start. Home keeper Courtney Brosnan had already had to deny Drew Spence from close range before a neat exchange of passes from Cathinka Tandberg and Olga Ahtinen saw the latter break the deadlock with a cool finish on 27 minutes. If that was too easy for the visitors, the clincher four minutes into the second half will have been even more disappointing. Tandberg spotted Brosnan way off her line in the Park End goal and left the Everton keeper red-faced as she chipped her from around 40 yards out with an opportunistic but devastatingly accurate finish. Despite being up against an opposition custodian named (Lize) Kop, the Blues didn’t even test the Spurs number one as they failed to register a single shot on target in a lacklustre display hardly fitting of the occasion.

Everton boss didn't even celebrate moment that summed up £120,000-per-week star's frustrations

Today marks the 33rd birthday for former Everton player Bernard

He is the smallest Everton player of modern times but when Bernard enjoyed his biggest moment in a royal blue jersey, there were no fans inside Goodison Park to enjoy his dramatic winner. And, while those around him celebrated wildly with the match-winner, manager Carlo Ancelotti just calmly blew on his cup of tea.

That was Everton’s 5-4 extra-time victory over Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup fifth-round tie, on February 10, 2021. But as Bernard prepares to blow the candles out on his cake this year, he must hope that his 33rd birthday elicits more of a celebration than we got from the Italian that night, who like the attacking midfielder is now based in Brazil as national team coach.

As pointed out by this correspondent in my book Spirit of the Blues: Everton’s Most Memorable Matches and Goodison Park’s Greatest Games, in normal circumstances, the Grand Old Lady would have been shaking to the rafters when Bernard volleyed in the decisive ninth goal of the night.

However, supporters were kept out due to the global coronavirus pandemic and in some ways, the low-key backdrop to the ding-dong action on the pitch summed up the frustrations of Bernard’s time on Merseyside.

He arrived from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer of 2018, a transfer window that also saw compatriot Richarlison snapped up from Watford for an initial £35million, Kurt Zouma brought in on loan from Chelsea, and Everton launching a triple raid on Barcelona for Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes.

Although out-of-contract Bernard came on a Bosman-style free transfer, this enabled him to command substantial wages, understood to be in the region of £120,000-a-week.

Despite his silky skills, the diminutive samba star would often struggle to impose himself among the physicality of the English game.

Blues had to wait until March 30 the following year to see Bernard’s first goal for the club as he met a low Seamus Coleman cross to net from close range at the back post and seal a 2-0 win at West Ham United with what proved to be his only Premier League strike of his maiden campaign.

Cutting inside from the left wing and beating Ben Foster with a low, right-foot shot at his near post just 10 minutes into Everton’s first home game of the following season against manager Marco Silva’s previous club Watford to earn a 1-0 success, hinted at better times ahead.

However, despite some intricate footwork in a tight space to open the scoring in a 2-0 victory over West Ham United a couple of months later – a fixture Silva had admitted was a “must win” for him after four straight losses – the manager who shared a native Portuguese tongue with Bernard had been sacked after a 5-2 thrashing to Liverpool at Anfield on December 4 left the Blues in the relegation zone.

With replacement Ancelotti bringing in James Rodriguez, who he had previously worked with at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as his main creative force the following season, Bernard mostly found himself on the bench and his winner against Spurs came after coming on as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining of normal time. Indeed, out of the 84 matches he would play in total for Everton in all competitions, scoring eight times, Bernard would only complete 90 minutes on 13 occasions.

Was the South American, who stands at just 164cm (approximately 5ft 4½in), a mere centimetre taller than the Premier League’s shortest player at the time, Bournemouth’s pocket-sized Aberdonian winger Ryan Fraser, just too tiny for English top flight football?

Adrian ‘Inchy’ Heath, who won a brace of League Championships and an FA Cup with Everton, plus Alan Ball, who is widely considered to be the Blues’ most-talented outfield player of the post-war era, were both 5ft 6in and there have been several ‘mighty atoms’ at the club who were even smaller than those two. In the Premier League era, 5ft 5in winger Aaron Lennon made 77 appearances for Everton and scored nine goals.

Goodison’s ‘Little General’ Bobby Collins arrived in September 1958, was just 5ft 4in and took just a dainty size 4 boot. But there was nothing delicate about the Glaswegian’s play and the ‘Pocket Napoleon’ was famed for his ferocious style against much larger opponents, playing 147 games and scoring 48 goals for the Blues.

Deceptively strong, inside left Alex Stevenson stood a mere 5ft 3in but was known as Goodison’s ‘Celtic Sorcerer’ either side of the Second World War, turning out 271 times for Everton, scoring 90 goals and winning the League Championship in 1939.

Mini marvel Alec Troup, a mere 5ft 5in, set up the most momentous goal in Goodison history, floating in the corner kick in 1928 that provided the prolific Dixie Dean with a record 60th league goal of the season.

It was just one of many occasions that the Scot, who played 260 times for Everton between 1923-1930 scoring 35 goals, produced the ammunition for Dean who said: “Out of those 60 goals I scored, I must have scored 40 from centres by Troup.”

‘Goal a game’ Fred Geary was Everton’s first big star at centre-forward in the pioneering Victorian era but unlike later Blues icons in the position, he was hardly a target man given his pint-sized 5ft 2in frame. Quite probably the smallest ever player to turn out in the club’s first team, Geary, who was snapped up from home town club Notts Rangers, netted 86 times for Everton in 98 outings, including 20 in their first title-winning season of 1890/91 before crossing Stanley Park to help Liverpool win the Second Division Championship in 1896, later returning to Goodison as a groundsman.

If Geary was an oddity as a vertically-challenged Everton centre-forward, Johnny Holt, who played centre-half for a decade between 1888-1898, was nicknamed ‘The Little Devil.’

Club stalwart Will Cuff remarked that Holt, who played 252 games for Everton and won a League Championship in 1891, was actually considerably smaller than his official ‘listed’ height of just 5ft 4in.

After post-Everton spells with United Arab Emirates club Sharjah and Greek side Panathinaikos, Bernard is now back in his home city of Belo Horizonte – where he won the last of his 14 caps for Brazil in the infamous 7-1 mauling to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final – for a second spell with Atletico Mineiro, his first top-flight club. Shortly after signing for the Blues in 2018, he outlined the challenges he had faced to succeed in light of his small stature.

Bernard said: “I was released on two occasions at Atletico Miniero. Obviously this caused me some concern but I did get another opportunity and once I started playing, I improved.

“I just had to show my qualities every day in training and in all games, because I knew this would be a problem I would face on a daily basis.

“I have always faced prejudice for my height and physique but it’s never been something that has worried me. I’ve always followed my dad’s advice to overcome the problems of height and physical-related issues I might come across.

“I can use my qualities to compensate for any of these physical issues so it’s not a worry for me. On the pitch, if you are quick with your feet and your mind, these small margins can make a small difference.”

One thing that isn’t short with Bernard though is the list of other former Everton players he shares a birthday with. Also born on September 8 were Gylfi Sigurdsson (1989), who teed him up for that winner against Spurs; Gary Speed (1969); Ray Atteveld (1966); Jackie Grant (1924) and George Wilson (1883).

Everton owners The Friedkin Group must learn from Daniel Levy's exit as executive chairman at Tottenham Hotspur if they are to make the most of the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium

Evertonians will have watched with interest as executive chairman Daniel Levy’s near 25 year-reign at Tottenham Hotspur came to an abrupt halt a mere 107 days after the club’s first major trophy in 17 years.

Success-starved Blues supporters, whose wait for major silverware now extends for a record-breaking three decades would have loved to have experienced a night like Spurs’ UEFA Europa League final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao on May 21.

Despite the on-field spectacle in the Basque country being suitably lacklustre given what was at stake, with a dog of a game reflecting the fact this was a contest between a couple of expensively assembled but chronically underachieving sides who would finish 15th and 17th respectively in the Premier League, it was a glorious and historic occasions for fans of the north London club and the 1-0 win courtesy of Brennan Johnson’s 42nd minute close range strike also gave them a backdoor entry into this season’s Champions League.

The success didn’t save Ange Postecoglou’s job though but with regular fan protests about his leadership, Levy, who subsequently appointed Brentford’s Thomas Frank as his 14th permanent manager, has now followed the Greek-born Aussie out of the exit door.

Here on Merseyside, there has often been a prevailing feeling that Spurs enjoy a much grander popular perception among the national media because of their geographical status within the capital.

Their brace of League Championships doesn’t even match Huddersfield Town’s total of three, is half the number won by Newcastle United and Sheffield Wednesday, a third of Sunderland’s six and is dwarfed by Everton’s nine, never mind Liverpool’s 20 that now matches Manchester United’s figure.

Yet because of their influential status, Spurs have provided 79 players for the England national team, the highest figure of any individual club.

If you’d had asked this correspondent around the millennium when Levy first came in, whether Everton were a bigger club than Spurs then I wouldn’t have had to think about it – of course – but now, despite all the criticism he faced among his own team’s supporters, I’m not so sure. The 63-year-old leaves a complex legacy that also serves as a warning to The Friedkin Group and indeed, all owners.

A contentious figure, he was often accused of putting finance ahead of football and one famous protest banner claimed: “Our game is about glory, Levy’s game is about greed.”

For better or for worse, the businessman who graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Economics and Land Economy at Cambridge University before heading investment trust ENIC International Ltd, turning it into a sports, entertainment and media company, earned a reputation as being one of the toughest negotiators in the game.

That’s something that the late Everton chairman Bill Kenwright – who would have turned 80 yesterday – found to his cost when the pair of them negotiated Richarlison’s transfer between the clubs across the dining table in the elegant surroundings of Scott’s in Mayfair in the summer of 2022.

The plush seafood restaurant sells caviar and boasts an elegant oyster and champagne bar, but Kenwright still left with a bad taste in his mouth as he felt that Levy had the Blues over a barrel as need to sell to satisfy PSR issues and ended up accepting an offer for the Brazilian for some £20million less than their valuation of the player.

To add insult to injury, Everton ultimately were still deemed to have breached that financial year and a subsequent brace of points deductions loomed for that and the following 12 months. Like the Blues though, Levy did deliver on the ground issue with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being built on the site of the old White Hart Lane with the team having to temporarily relocate to Wembley during the construction process.

At the time of its opening in 2019, the impressive arena, which with 62,850 seats, can accommodate 26,566 more than its predecessor at the time of demolition (for context, Everton have increased by 13,355 going from 39,414 at Goodison Park to 52,769 at Hill Dickinson Stadium) instantly became the best stadium this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Tellingly though, despite lucrative events such as NFL games being played there, for all Levy’s skills when it came to striking a deal, over six years on, there has still been no naming rights agreement.

While Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is in many ways football’s equivalent of a five-star hotel, architect Dan Meis always insisted that Everton’s new home would be a “simple building” that was “very functional,” as it has been built for performance rather than luxury and is “a Ferrari, not a Bentley.”

Also, rather than being tucked away on Tottenham High Road, the Blues now find themselves in an iconic location on the banks of the Mersey and part of Liverpool’s stunning maritime skyline.

But as Levy has learned to his cost, the most important aspect of any football club is delivering on the pitch, and it seems as though one night at the San Mames Stadium has failed to paper over the cracks in that respect.

Liverpool will look to resist any late attempts to lure Harvey Elliott away from Anfield before the September 1 transfer deadline

Liverpool will look to resist a late attempt to take Harvey Elliott before Monday's transfer deadline. Arne Slot is determined to retain the England Under-21 hero for the season ahead.

West Ham United were understood to have shown an interest earlier this summer and the Premier League champions have been in talks with RB Leipzig over a potential deal that is connected to Xavi Simons' future.

Dutch winger Simons is now on the cusp of a £51m move from Leipzig to Tottenham Hotspur. That is expected to lead to increased interest from the Bundesliga side as they try to recruit a replacement for the 22-year-old.

However, the ECHO understands Liverpool are planning for the campaign ahead with Elliott as part of their ranks and will only consider a sale that would represent an incredible profit on a player who joined for a minimal fee of around £4m from Fulham in 2019, via a tribunal hearing.

With players like Tyler Dibling (to Everton), Jacob Ramsey (to Newcastle United), Matheus Fernandes (to West Ham United) and Omari Hutchinson (to Nottingham Forest) all moving for figures of between £38m and £42m in recent days, Liverpool feel the true valuation for 22-year-old Elliott, who was integral to an England side who won the European Under-21 Championship in June, far exceeds the current market rate.

Liverpool's stance is perhaps backed up by Newcastle United's impending £65m deal for Nick Woltemade, the Germany Under-21 international who played against Elliott and his England colleagues in the Euros final back on June 30.

Stuttgart striker Woltemade finished as runner-up to Elliott as the Player of the Tournament in Bratislava and Reds head coach Slot wants to keep the versatile midfielder around beyond Monday night's September 1 deadline.

Speaking during the Hong Kong leg of the club's pre-season tour of Asia in July, Elliott said of his future: “If I had it my way I would be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that.

“I love everything about the club, but at the same time I kind of need to be selfish and see what's best for me. I have big ambitions. I want to get in the World Cup squad.

“I want to keep being successful as a player. It's something I still need to review. I need to have a talk with everyone and review the situation.

"We have many new players who have come in so whether it blocks the path for me I'm not sure. It's something I need to have a look at and decide.”

Former Everton forward Richarlison could leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer

Former Everton forward Richarlison could be set for a shock exit from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, as the Europa League winners are reportedly considering offering the Brazilian as part of a deal to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. The 28-year-old has spent the last three seasons in North London after joining Spurs from Everton in a deal worth £60m in June 2022.

The Brazilian, though, has been a bit-part player at Spurs under managers Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou. Richarlison, who has also been linked with a return to the Blues this summer, could leave Tottenham in a shock Premier League transfer. The Daily Mail reports that the former Everton frontman could be used as a makeweight in a deal to sign Eze from Crystal Palace this summer.

Frank's side reportedly opened negotiations with the Selhurst Park outfit over a deal for the England international last week.

Frank's side reportedly opened negotiations with the Selhurst Park outfit over a deal for the England international last week.

It has been claimed that Eze, who also has interest from Arsenal, told Palace officials of his desire to join the Europa League winners.

Eze, 27, played in Palace's Premier League opener against Chelsea on Sunday, and after the fixture Glasner admitted he expects the midfielder to feature in Thursday's Europa League Conference qualifier against Fredrikstad.

"There are a lot of rumours about Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, but they were 100% with this group... and they have proved that in a big way," said Glasner.

On Eze, he added: "He will come tomorrow to the Crystal Palace training ground, Tuesday off, we take Wednesday and I expect him to be back playing for us against Fredrikstad."

A pre-season injury might open one avenue for Harvey Elliott to complete a transfer away from Liverpool

On the eve of the new Premier League campaign, Liverpool's rivals Tottenham Hotspur have been struck by a potentially severe injury blow for James Maddison. This comes not long after fellow attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott was linked with making the switch to North London.

Spurs, facing Newcastle United in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday, witnessed their No.10 stretchered off in clear distress. Maddison did not appear to have made contact with an opponent before hopping on one foot and falling to the ground in clear pain, requiring medical treatment.

Awaiting the prognosis, it could end up a problem for manager Thomas Frank who will have ambition to challenge the reigning Premier League champions Liverpool in 2025/26.

If they are required to do so, Spurs will have little under one month to sign a replacement using the open transfer market. Coincidentally, GIVEMESPORT recently suggested the London club were one of several with eyes on Elliott after a failed attempt to sign Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White.

The 22-year-old claimed a Premier League winner's medal at the end of last season but with a reduced contribution under Arne Slot than he had been allowed under previous boss Jurgen Klopp. His campaign ended with 28 appearances but totalled just 822 minutes played.

This resulted in a reduced return of five goals and three assists in all competitions.

Across the summer his fortunes changed for the better playing for England at the Under-21 European Championships, which Lee Carsley's team won with the Liverpool talent named player of the tournament.

Meanwhile back on Merseyside, the Reds were busy beginning their summer haul of seven new signings so far. Amongst them was another player to provide competition for his position, Florian Wirtz, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for a British record £116m fee.

Elliott has been public about his personal scenario and the decision he must make to stay and fight for a place at Anfield or leave for a fresh challenge.

Speaking to The Anfield Wrap last week, he admitted: "If I had it my way I would be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that.

"I love everything about the club, but at the same time I kind of need to be selfish and see what's best for me. I have big ambitions. I want to get in the World Cup squad.

"I want to keep being successful as a player. It's something I still need to review. I need to have a talk with everyone and review the situation.

"We have many new players who have come in so whether it blocks the path for me I'm not sure. It's something I need to have a look at and decide."

Fabian Otte has joined one of Liverpool's Premier League rivals after his departure from the champions was confirmed earlier this month

One of the two goalkeeper coaches who recently left Liverpool has joined one of their Premier League rivals. It was announced earlier this month that Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel had departed the champions.

Otte spent just one season on Merseyside after taking over as head of first team goalkeeper coaching last summer following the departures of John Achterberg and Jack Robinson.

World Cup winner Taffarel, meanwhile, called time on his three-and-a-half-year stay at Liverpool after joining then manager Jurgen Klopp’s backroom team in November 2021 to work alongside the club's shot-stoppers, including first-choice Alisson Becker, who he had worked with for the Brazilian national team.

Taffarel's next step is unclear but it has now been announced that Otte has become Tottenham Hotspur's new first team goalkeeper coach.

Otte is one of a number of appointments at Spurs after Thomas Frank was named as their new head coach.

Further to the previously-announced arrivals of Justin Cochrane (first team assistant coach), Chris Haslam (head of performance & first team assistant coach), Andreas Georgson (first team assistant coach) and Joe Newton (first team coach analyst), Tottenham have confirmed that Matt Wells will remain on their coaching staff as first team assistant coach as well as welcoming Otte and Cameron Campbell as first team development coach.

Liverpool, who returned to pre-season today (July 8) following the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, have replaced Otte and Taffarel with the return of Xavi Valero.

The 52-year-old is back at Anfield after previously serving under Rafa Benitez, who he then followed to Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Real Madrid before spending the past seven years at West Ham United, where he won the Europa Conference League under now Everton bossDavid Moyes.

Liverpool also have a new assistant coach. Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been appointed to the role following the departure of John Heitinga to take over as Ajax head coach.

Van Bronckhorst was previously a manager. Starting out at Feyenoord in 2015, he led the club to the Eredivisie title in 2016/17 and also won two KNVB Cups and two Johan Cruyff Shields.

After a stint in China with Guangzhou R&F, the 50-year-old took over at Rangers in 2021 and won the Scottish Cup and led them to the Europa League final in his first season in charge.

Taking over as Besiktas manager last summer, he won the Turkish Super Cup with the club before departing in November.

Salah to miss Spurs and Arsenal...

Mohamed Salah could miss as many as six Premier League matches - including the trips to both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal!

He'll be on Africa Cup of Nations duty in December and January, and it clashes with some big matches!

Rivals watch

Never mind Liverpool's start to the season, I don't envy Arsenal's!

AUGUST

Sun 17 Manchester United (A)

Sat 23 Leeds United (H)

Sat 30 Liverpool (A)

SEPTEMBER

Sat 13 Nottingham Forest (H)

Sat 20 Manchester City (H)

Sat 27 Newcastle United (A)

That is a horrid opening six matches!

League Cup dates confirmed

The dates for the 2025/25 League Cup have also already been confirmed. Due to Liverpool's Champions League commitments, they will enter the competition at the third round stage - but you should already know that by now!

Preliminary Round: w/c 4 August 2025

Round One: w/c 11 August 2025

Round Two: w/c 25 August 2025

Round Three: w/c 15 September and w/c 22 September 2025*

Round Four: w/c 27 October 2025

Round Five: w/c 15 December 2025

Semi-Final First Leg: w/c 12 January 2026

Semi-Final Second Leg: w/c 2 February 2026

Final: Sunday 22 March 2026

*Round Three will take place on the same basis as 2024/25, with split weeks for those Clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

FA Cup dates confirmed

Away from the Premier League, the dates for the FA Cup have already been confirmed. Liverpool, of course, will enter the competition at the third round stage.

Extra Preliminary Round: Saturday 2 August 2025

Preliminary Round: Saturday 16 August 2025

First Round Qualifying: Saturday 30 August 2025

Second Round Qualifying: Saturday 13 September 2025

Third Round Qualifying: Saturday 27 September 2025

Fourth Round Qualifying: Saturday 11 October 2025

First Round Proper: Saturday 1 November 2025

Second Round Proper: Saturday 6 December 2025

Third Round Proper: Saturday 10 January 2026

Fourth Round Proper: Saturday 14 February 2026

Fifth Round Proper: Saturday 7 March 2026

Quarter Final: Saturday 4 April 2026

Semi-Final: Saturday 25 April 2026

The Final: Saturday 16 May 2026

What games will Salah miss?

Mohamed Salah will depart on Africa Cup of Nations duty this winter and is set to miss a number of Liverpool games as a result.

With the continental competition taking place in December and January, he's likely to be absent for the entire festive period.

But which - and how many - games will that entail? Not long to find out...

How are Premier League fixtures decided?

The Premier League website explains: “We start when we know the composition of each division, so after the last Football League playoff. We place each club in a pairing grid, which defines the dates they will be at home.

“For every date in the season, the fixture computer knows which clubs are at home and who are away and then it will mix them up randomly to determine the matches.

"In any five matches there should be a split of three home fixtures, two away or the other way around. A team will never have more than two home or away matches in a row, and, wherever possible, you will be home and away around FA Cup ties.

“A club will never start or finish the season with two home or two away matches because it would be unfair for a team to finish with two aways, Around the Christmas period, if you are at home on Boxing Day you will be away on New Year's Day or an equivalent date.

"We also try to maintain a Saturday home-away sequence throughout the season wherever possible. Most clubs will have a partner club with whom they cannot clash, such as Manchester United and Manchester City, or Liverpool and Everton. In London it gets a bit more complex and less obvious.”

Good morning!

Hello, good morning and welcome to our special liveblog for today's Premier League fixtures release. We'll have updates throughout the morning and you'll receive the fixtures live when they drop.

Our writers will then provide the best analysis and bring you all the key dates and more. Don't go away.