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A round-up of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Everton, Newcastle, Spurs and Hull.

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We’re inside the last few days of the summer transfer window and stories are flying thick and fast – so to help you stay up-to-date with all of the latest Premier League transfer rumours, we’re back with our regular morning round-up of some of the stories you might have missed over the past 24 hours, starting with a story for Everton and Newcastle fans.

According to Sky Sport Germany, the Toffees have joined Newcastle in the chase for Stuttgart attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, who recently emerged as a potential target for the Magpies should they fail to sign Matias Fernandez-Pardo from Lille.

Newcastle are interested but are “not yet in negotiations” – presumably because they’re making a last-ditch effort to land Fernandez-Pardo – and their hesitation has given Everton time to register their interest as well, along with two unnamed Saudi Arabian sides.

Stuttgart are reportedly “willing” to sell El Khannouss but the former Leicester man won’t come cheap, with the asking price said to be in the €50-60m range (up to £51m). The Moroccan international is under contract until 2030, so they can name their price.

The 3AM Verdict: A few sources have now agreed that Newcastle are keen on El Khannouss, but he appears to be a Plan B to Fernandez-Pardo – and similarly, we suspect that Everton would only make a move if they fail to sign Jack Grealish.

Tottenham ‘register interest’ in potential Spence replacement

Over to a story for the Tottenham Hotspur fans reading, now – according to Football Insider, they’re among “several” sides who are currently “monitoring” 24-year-old Real Sociedad full-back Jon Aramburu.

Spurs are said to be “in the market” for a replacement for Djed Spence, who signed for Inter Milan earlier this month. Despite that deal, Roberto De Zerbi supposedly wants to add competition for Pedro Porro and a player who can allow them to push Archie Gray forward into midfield.

There’s no suggestion that any negotiations have taken place, nor any word on how much Sociedad might demand were they to sell Aramburu, who first joined them two years ago – but it is mentioned that he has a £51m release clause in his contract.

The 3AM Verdict: We don’t view Football Insider as an especially reliable source and everything we’ve heard suggests that Spurs don’t view signing a new full-back as a priority – if a cheap deal became possible, then perhaps, but we’d be surprised if Aramburu was budget-friendly enough to be of great interest. But we’ve been wrong before…

Hull aiming to bring player back from Saudi Pro League

Let’s wrap up with a story involving newly-promoted Hull, who are apparently interested in bringing former Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill back to the Premier League, according to TEAMtalk.

Brownhill is currently in the Saudi Pro League playing for Al Shabab but could apparently leave following the arrival of Thomas Partey, a turn of events which is said to have “alerted” several English sides, including the aforementioned pair. A number of other teams are said to be intrigued, including West Ham, Coventry, Wolves, Southampton and Wrexham, who are “all keeping informed” as the situation unfolds.

Hull are said to have “made enquiries” already as they work to strengthen their squad further, with the implication being that they’ve made the first move while other potential suitors are keeping a watching brief for now.

The 3AM Verdict: A plausible enough story, albeit one which hadn’t been widely corroborated at the time of writing. One to keep an eye on over the closing days of the transfer window, perhaps.

A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Spurs, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Hull City and more.

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Every evening, we round up some of the biggest (and strangest) new Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the course of the day – and we’re kicking our latest digest off with a story involving both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

A new story from Sport Witness – based in part on a story from the latest print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy – suggests that Spurs and United are “vying” for the signature of Freiburg striker Igor Matanović, both of whom are among a number of clubs showing “growing interest” in the 23-year-old.

Croatia international Matanović – who you may recall as the player whose almost invisible flicked header caused a crucial goal to be disallowed against Portugal during the World Cup – is also said to be a target for Fiorentina. Apparent interest from the Premier League, however, will supposedly make their attempted purchase “difficult.”

There’s no mention of the kind of transfer fee which Freiburg might demand for a player who only signed for them last summer, nor any suggestion that he has formed any particular preferences about his potential destination.

The 3AM Verdict: Manchester United have been linked with Matanović before, so perhaps they are in the market for the Croatian – but with Spurs agreeing to sign Omar Marmoush, we have a hard time imagining that they’ll be looking for another centre-forward. It’s also worth noting that Fiorentina are believed to be in for Joshua Zirkzee, which casts further doubt on elements of the story.

Aston Villa making ‘major push’ to sign Serie A star

Over to a story from TEAMtalk now which has been echoed by a number of different media outlets – they claim that Aston Villa are making a “major push” to “hijack” Galatasaray’s bid for AC Milan winger Rafael Leão, who is expected to leave the San Siro in the coming days.

Galatasaray have agreed a deal worth €45m (£39m) and offered the Portuguese international a contract which would double his Milan salary, but Villa are attempting to muscle in on negotiations with Leão apparently “intrigued” by the prospect of a move to the Premier League.

Apparently discussions took place between Villa and the player’s representatives on Wednesday, but their offer includes a far smaller pay packet – it remains to be seen whether it will be sufficient to tempt him.

The 3AM Verdict: Enough reports corroborate this story at this point that we have no problem believing it, but there’s very little indication as to whether Leão will actually accept Aston Villa’s offer – the riches on offer in Turkey may end up proving quite persuasive.

Brentford hold firm amid Hull interest

We’ll wrap up with a story from Sky Sports which looks at Hull City’s alleged interest in Brentford attacking midfielder Fábio Carvalho – a player that the Tigers have supposedly been monitoring for some time following a successful loan spell at the MKM Stadium in 2023/24.

Brentford apparently “want to keep” the former Liverpool man following his return from an ACL injury, and are expected to hold firm on keeping him as he works his way back towards full match fitness.

There’s no word, however, on whether direct discussions have taken place between the clubs, nor on whether the player himself might be keen on the move – and no hint of the kind of transfer fee which might change Brentford’s mind.

The 3AM Verdict: Carvalho is still just 23 and has plenty of potential, so we’re not surprised that Brentford want to give him a chance to work his way back into first-team contention. He’s under contract for another three years – four if Brentford exercise an option clause – so this would not be easily affordable for Hull unless it were a loan deal or Brentford were actively looking to move on.

The latest Spurs injury news and expected return dates - with updates on Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Mohammed Kudus and more.

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A 3-0 defeat to Brentford on the opening day of the season may have burst Tottenham Hotspur’s bubble rather rapidly, but it was still a game in which Spurs were compelled to compete with an incomplete squad thanks to injuries – and they could have one or two key players back in the side for this week’s games against Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.

Spurs face an in-form Charlton side in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening before they welcome Newcastle to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League, and head coach Roberto De Zerbi will hope that he can eventually call upon the likes of Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven and Mohammed Kudus – and, perhaps, some new signings to fill the gaps that still exist upon their returns.

With the first two home games of the 2026/27 season fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Spurs injury news and selection updates below.

Will Van de Ven play vs Newcastle?

Among the players whose absence was keenly felt against Brentford were defenders Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven, both of whom could return to action by the end of the week.

Porro missed Saturday’s defeat due to a lack of match fitness, with the Spaniard given an extended summer break after his run to the World Cup final in the United States. He returned to full training last week and while he is unlikely to take part against Charlton, he could at least be ready for the bench when Newcastle come to the capital.

Van de Ven appears to be on a similar timeline. The new club captain suffered an unspecified muscular injury during the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, but was back in team training on Friday and should be back in the matchday squad by the weekend. De Zerbi described the Dutchman’s injury as “not a big problem” and he is not expected to be out for much longer, although he may not be risked in the EFL Cup.

Another doubt for the coming week’s matches is Pape Matar Sarr. The 23-year-old missed out against Brentford due to a “minor” hamstring problem, although it may not be coincidental that the Senegal international sustained the injury while attracting transfer interest. He could be involved against Newcastle if his future is resolved and his hamstring heals up.

Mohammed Kudus closing in on Spurs comeback

One important player who could be back in the near future is winger Mohammed Kudus, who is close to making a long-awaited comeback from the quadriceps injury which has sidelined him since January.

Ahead of the Brentford match, De Zerbi told the press that Kudus was “almost ready” to return and he is in the advanced stages of the rehabilitation process. This week’s games are expected to come too soon, but he could target the early September match against Nottingham Forest.

Spurs also hope that it won’t be long before they can call upon Dejan Kulusevski again. The Swede, who has been out for over a year due to a series of serious knee issues, was described as “fit and right” at the beginning of August, but Spurs are taking their time reintroducing him to full training. No target date has been set for what will be his first game since May 2025, but he should be back in the fold soon.

Two players who won’t be seen for a while are Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, both of whom are recovering from ACL injuries. Odobert is targeting a winter comeback, with Simons out until the early spring.

A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Spurs, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Leeds and more.

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Welcome to 3 Added Minutes’ regular morning round-up of the biggest (and wildest) Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the past 24 hours – starting today with a story involving Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.

According to Sport Witness, Galatasaray right-back Roland Sallai is “on the radar” of both top-flight teams in the run-up to deadline day, amid suggestions that the Turkish club “could offload” the 29-year-old.

It’s said that Roberto De Zerbi wants to add some experience at full-back following the departure of Djed Spence, and have “made an approach” to ascertain the terms of a possible deal. Forest, meanwhile, are said to be interested but there’s nothing here to imply that they’re doing anything about it.

Sunderland, Fulham, Liverpool and Hull are also mentioned as teams who have been linked with Sallai in recent weeks, although there’s no further updates to hint that any of that quartet are as keen as Spurs. No word on how much the Hungary international might cost if he does move.

The 3AM Verdict: There isn’t a ton of detail here, and really this is a story which feels like it’s throwing names into the mix rather freely – only Spurs are implied to have showed any real interest in Sallai. Galatasaray may need to sell overseas players, however, so we suspect that he could be available even though he’s been a regular starter for them.

Newcastle enter bidding for £34m winger

As Newcastle inch towards a deal for Manchester City midfielder Nico González – news of which broke yesterday – they are now “among the suitors” for another key target, according to L’Equipe: Lille and Belgium winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

Lille have been clear that they don’t wish to sell the 21-year-old, who is under contract until 2029, but the player himself very much “want to leave” his current club and is pushing to make that happen. Newcastle might not be his only option if he can force a move, however.

Atlético Madrid are also in the mix, but it’s suggested that Newcastle could outspend their Iberian rivals. The Magpies have apparently entered “formal negotiations” and have made an offer of €40m (£34m) plus add-ons. The report doesn’t say whether or not it might be accepted.

The 3AM Verdict: Newcastle have been linked with Fernandez-Pardo before, so we don’t have any difficulty believing that they’re keen. What’s far from clear is whether they’ll be able to sign the winger – Lille seem keen to play hardball and have a strong negotiating position. We’re not sure how likely a deal really is right now.

Leeds to miss out on key striker target

We’ll wrap up with some bad news for Leeds United fans from Football Insider now – they reckon that the Whites will miss out on a deal for Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirović, who was high on their shortlist heading into the final week of the transfer window.

The 28-year-old Bosnia & Herzegovina interest supposedly showed “no interest” in making a move to Elland Road despite Leeds’ “strong interest,” while his current club were reluctant to sell in any case. Apparently Galatasaray are sniffing around as well, but in any case it’s looking like the odds that he pitches up in Yorkshire are very low indeed.

Alternative targets on Leeds’ radar are said to include Burnley’s Zian Flemming, who was one of the few bright spots from an awful 2025/26 season for the Clarets, but there’s no suggestion that a bid has been made for the 28-year-old.

The 3AM Verdict: Demirović gave an interview a few weeks ago which made it seem fairly clear that he wanted to stay with Stuttgart, so we have no problem believing that he’s off Leeds’ menu right now. We’re not sure whether Leeds have sincere interest in Flemming – they’re one of a few clubs who have been tentatively linked with a bid, but there’s little hard evidence for the stories.

A round-up of the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Liverpool, Spurs, Everton and Crystal Palace.

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Every evening, we round up some of the biggest and strangest new Premier League transfer rumours which you might have missed over the course of the day – and we start tonight’s column off with a story which should interest any Liverpool fans reading.

According to TEAMtalk, head coach Andoni Iraola has “given the green light” to sign Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton as the Reds work to replace Curtis Jones, who has agreed to join Inter Milan.

It will apparently set Liverpool back around £78m if they want to get a deal for the 22-year-old over the line, but despite the price tag they are said to have “stepped up their efforts” to sign the former Blackburn Rovers midfielder.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid are all mentioned as teams who have expressed an interest in Wharton, but there’s no suggestion that any have made an offer – not that Liverpool seem to have done so yet either, with the signing of Bradley Barcola seemingly the first priority.

The 3AM Verdict: The report cites The Daily Mirror, who have a rather patchy track record with transfer rumours, as one of the sources for the story, which doesn’t lend it too much credence – but it’s hardly inconceivable that Liverpool might want to be the team that splashes out on a very talented player. We’ll remain sceptical for now, but someone will sign Wharton eventually.

Tottenham & Everton ‘battle it out’ over Turkey international

Over to a story from Sport Witness now, who report that Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are set to “battle it out” for Galatasaray and Turkey winger Baris Alper Yilmaz – and it’s suggested that Spurs could outbid their Premier League rivals.

Previous reports suggested that the Toffees had already had a bid of around €35m (£30m) rejected, and while it’s stated that they will come back with an improved bid it’s now suggested that Spurs are prepared to offer as much as €50m (£43m) in order to win the race.

There’s no word on whether Galatasaray will accept – previous reports suggest that they are reluctant to sell but also conscious of the fact that Yilmaz is entering the final two years of his contract – while the player himself is said to have not yet made his decision about where he wants to go next.

The 3AM Verdict: Everton’s interest in Yilmaz has been quite firmly established at this point, but we’re less certain on Spurs. We suspect that Yilmaz is a back-up option for them should they fail to land Cody Gakpo or Savinho, who appear to be their priority targets – but we’ll see.

Spurs ‘eye move’ for Palace star

Our final rumour of this evening’s round-up brings us back around to both Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace – Football Insider allege that Spurs are “eyeing a move” for Jean-Philippe Mateta amid concerns over the fitness of Dominic Solanke and the future of Richarlison.

Mateta has yet to sign a new contract at Selhurst Park and Spurs are said to be one of several sides monitoring his situation, having previously demonstrated interest back in the January transfer window. They are now “preparing to reignite that interest.”

Palace don’t want to sell Mateta on the cheap, it’s suggested, although there’s no mention of the kind of transfer fee which might twist their arm – nor any implication that any kind of discussions have taken place.

The 3AM Verdict: We don’t view Football Insider as an especially reliable source, and the story seems to be based largely on prior interest with no mention of any new developments. It’s certainly possible that Spurs make an offer at some stage, but we don’t believe that this article is strong evidence for it.

Spurs are closing in on a massive double transfer deal involving Manchester City - but the stats suggest that one player is much better than the other.

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After a hyperactive start to the transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur have been suspiciously quiet in recent weeks – but it now seems as though the next phase of their exceptionally expensive rebuild is about to get underway with a double deal involving Manchester City.

BBC Sport report that not only are Spurs deep into negotiations over a deal for winger Savinho – a transfer which has been expected for a while – but that they’re also in talks to sign Egypt international Omar Marmoush at the same time, 18 months after he moved to the Etihad in a deal worth a reported £59m.

With the midfield and defence already reinforced, the pair of potential transfers represent Spurs’ best efforts to upgrade an attack which has been ravaged by injuries. But will Savinho and Marmoush be enough to make the difference between another relegation battle and a serious push for the top four?

Why signing Savinho represents a major risk for Spurs

Spurs’ pursuit of Savinho has been extremely long and drawn-out. They first attempted to sign the Brazilian winger last summer, when Manchester City rejected bids worth up to £60m. A year on, however, and City are more willing to do business.

The 22-year-old endured a frustrating 2025/26 season, starting just seven Premier League matches and failing to find consistent form at any point during the campaign. That disappointment means that City have decided to cut their losses, and Spurs will almost certainly get their man at long last.

The question, of course, is whether the Savinho they will be signing is the player who struggled to make an impact last season, or the more promising wideman who enjoyed a largely impressive debut campaign in the North West the year before.

Earmarked for the same right wing role that he has largely played at City, he will be expected to compete for starting minutes with Mohammed Kudus, who is close to making his return from the thigh injury which has ruled him out since January. Key to Savinho’s success or failure in that role will be his creativity from wide areas.

The Brazilian provided eight assists in 29 Premier League appearances during the 2024/25 season, fuelled by a high volume of successful dribbles which allowed him to break defensive lines open and make use of the space that he created for himself as a result.

That dangerous dribbling went out of the window over the course of the last year, however. He went from averaging 1.8 successful carries per match to just 0.7, and while that’s partly a function of his reduced workload, his success rate also dropped from a strong 57% to a woeful 32%. Suddenly unable to trick his way past full-backs at will, Savinho became entirely unthreatening and lost his place in Manchester City’s starting side.

Getting back to his best form with the ball at his feet will be critical, because there is little evidence that he is a player who will score goals if he can’t provide them. He has just two top flight goals despite earning an xG of 7.34 over the last two years – the mark of a player utterly lacking a finishing touch.

Those struggles in front of goal are somewhat surprising considering that he was far more predatory in Spain – he managed nine La Liga goals from 6.06xG for Girona before moving to their City Group sister team. That at least provides some cause for optimism that there are some scoring instincts in there, but it’s the improvement in his ball-carrying that will make the difference between his being a success or a failure at Spurs. Given that the transfer fee paid for his services is likely to be significant, signing him represents a hefty gamble on a talented but inconsistent young player.

Why a deal for Marmoush makes plenty of sense for Spurs

The move for Omar Marmoush is slightly more surprising, although there had been widespread speculation which suggested that Spurs were in the market for a new striker – and that the Egyptian could leave the Etihad.

With Dominic Solanke enduring yet another ankle injury in pre-season and Richarlison a candidate for a transfer, Marmoush seems likely to be the new broom up front, although he can play in the number 10 role should Roberto De Zerbi decided to mix up his tactics. At present, his most advanced midfield tends to play far deeper than Marmoush has done when occupying a similar position, so it’s likely that he’s seen purely as a striker.

That means that he will be judged on his goalscoring, and while his return of 16 goals in 61 appearances for Manchester City is relatively modest there are some statistical markers which suggest that he could be a rather strong signing.

For starters, he has comfortably outshot his expected goals since signing for Manchester City 18 months ago – his 10 Premier League goals have come from 8.2xG’s worth of opportunities. His limited scoring record reflects his minutes and usage rather than his ability to take his chances.

That statement is further evidenced by his scoring record for previous club Eintracht Frankfurt. Marmoush scored 37 goals in 65 games for his former team, which was largely why City paid so much money to sign him in the first place.

The table above provides a comparison of Marmoush’s statistical output across the last two Premier League seasons with the numbers put up by both Solanke and Richarlison, the forwards currently on the books – and they make for some intriguing reading.

Marmoush is a far more efficient finisher than Solanke but, perhaps contrary to expectations, has been less lethal than Richarlison – although the Egyptian towers over both in the crucial creative stats. That could be key given that De Zerbi’s system will demand that his centre-forward can link up effectively with the wide attackers to create chances as well as put them away.

There are sample size issues due to injuries and benchings, and Marmoush’s numbers may be inflated by the fact that he was playing for a more successful side – but a reasonable conclusion is that while Marmoush probably won’t score so many more than Richarlison that it feels like a significant difference has been made, he does have a better all-round game than either of his potential rivals for a starting place.

The scale of the transfer fee will determine whether Marmoush is a worthwhile signing or not, but he does seem like a better fit for the system and his goalscoring numbers are impressive – any forward who manages around a goal every 180 minutes in the Premier League can be said to be doing a very fine job.

So a deal for Marmoush seems rather less risky than one for Savinho. As it turns out, however, both could well be on their way – and the progress of Spurs’ new attack will be interesting to watch.

Our resident FPL expert has made a few changes to his team ahead of Friday’s deadline - he explains all.

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Over the weekend, our resident Fantasy Premier League expert revealed his draft team for the coming campaign. But the decision-making process is never done – and he’s made some changes.

Players from Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Bournemouth have all got the chop, and Manchester United and Brentford stars have appeared in their place. So what’s changed? Over to our expert to explain his thought process and hopefully to give you some food for thought in the process…

Why our FPL expert has dropped Spurs & Sunderland stars

Before I get into the explanation for the tweaks I’ve made ahead of Friday’s deadline, the picture above shows where I’ve landed. As people who saw my original team will notice, there’s been a few changes.

The core of the side is much the same, and I haven’t changed my mind about that many players. The debate about Luke Shaw’s place remains the same, and I may move on if it looks likely that Manchester United will sign a new left-back in the immediate future. But there are a couple of significant changes.

The first is that I’ve dropped Pedro Porro. I named him as a potential must-buy player when the price list first came out, but it now looks as though there’s a very good chance that he won’t play in the opening match of the season having missed the entirety of pre-season following his World Cup run with Spain. I don’t want to invest £5.5m in a defender who ends up on the bench.

Porro won’t stay on the sidelines for long, of course, and I may very well bring him in when I make my first few transfers. That also gives us the chance to get some proof of concept on Tottenham Hotspur as a whole – let’s be honest, even with all the investment they’ve made in the team, it would scarcely be a complete shock if they were still struggling, and Roberto De Zerbi’s defences haven’t historically been watertight. I’m happy to leave him out for a little while.

Two other players have made way: Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fée and Bournemouth’s Rayan. Guess what? I named both of those players as must-buys too. But dropping them doesn’t mean that I believe that either have become bad assets.

Unless Sunderland really struggle this season – and there are some statistical red flags from last season which suggest that their form could be unsustainable – I still think that Le Fée is tremendous value as a £6.0m midfielder who could easily go past 150 points. I also still think that Rayan has every chance of going at 160-170 points or more, which is a ton for £6.5m. Both would make excellent set-and-forget signings.

So why get rid of them? Because after an awful lot of deliberation, I’ve decided that I just can’t live without Bryan Mbeumo – and that means that I’m contradicting myself yet again…

Why Bryan Mbeumo made our expert’s final FPL team

When the new FPL price lists were first revealed, I didn’t just look at some must-buys – I also looked at some players that I thought were likely to be traps. Mbeumo happened to be one of them.

I haven’t actually changed my mind about that. Over the course of the season, I don’t believe that Mbeumo (or any Manchester United assets beyond Bruno Fernandes) have high enough ceilings to justify their price tags, and Mbeumo didn’t perform well enough as a winger to be worth signing over other players who could be included. But I decided to pick him for the same reason that I still have Shaw despite the doubts about his future as a regular starter – United’s early fixtures are just a bit too good to pass up.

They have arguably the softest early run of games of any team in the Premier League, and while I don’t love Mbeumo’s numbers as a winger, he probably won’t be playing out wide at all.

Benjamin Šeško is expected to miss out for the first game or two thanks to the shin injury he suffered when he crashed into the advertising hoardings against Liverpool earlier this year. The Slovenian is back in training but isn’t expected to start against Hull City this weekend – and Mbeumo will very probably get a few games as the central striker. That temporarily increases his value quite significantly.

I don’t expect to keep Mbeumo for all that long. By the time that Šeško is back in the starting side, I’ll likely be looking to sell the Cameroonian – probably for Rayan to free up some money for the defence, but we’ll see – but you have to pick high-ceiling players when fixtures or their situation suggest a spike in production. I don’t want Mbeumo for the whole season, but I do want him for a few weeks.

To make room, I’ve ‘downgraded’ to playing both Ethan Ampadu and Mamadou Sangaré, who I think are both very fine signings at £5.5m in midfield, and I’ve switched Porro out for an extra £4.5m defender in the shape of Kristoffer Ajer. I don’t expect Ajer to start all season, but he’ll get the nod for now thanks to injuries, and while I’ll want to up my defensive spending eventually I think this team looks great for the first few weeks. After that, I can sell a more expensive midfielder and move the money to the back line.

The only change I might make between now and Friday is Shaw. If there’s any indication that his time as a starter is coming to a rapid end, I’ll switch him out. But I’m happy to carry Shaw and Mbeumo until Manchester United’s fixtures ease off a little, and I’m happy with this team. I just wish I still had room for Rayan…

Our resident FPL expert looks at whether two promising assets - Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke - will start this weekend against Brentford.

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The new Fantasy Premier League season is just two days away, and millions of managers around the globe are putting the finishing touches to their starting team – but their lives are being made more difficult by the fact that quite a few popular FPL players are at risk of missing matches early on, with Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke among them.

Porro is among the most widely-selected defenders in the game at this early stage, with 22.8% ownership, while Solanke is priced to move at just £6.0m up front. But will either start Tottenham Hotspur’s opening game of the season against Brentford this weekend?

Will Pedro Porro start against Brentford?

There are only two defenders who are currently in more Fantasy Premier League teams than Pedro Porro – Gabriel Magalhães and Riccardo Calafiori. An awful lot of players are keen to roll the dice on the World Cup winner.

There’s plenty of good reason for that. When I was scouring the price lists for must-buys shortly after the game released a few weeks ago, I picked out Porro as one of the best assets in the game. He enters the new season in tremendous form and Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi made very aggressive used of the Spaniard after taking charge back in April.

As it stands, however, he is a significant minutes risk. After a long (albeit successful) summer, Porro only returned to first-team training last week and wasn’t involved in either of Spurs’ back-to-back friendly games against Hoffenheim over the weekend.

Although the 26-year-old isn’t injured, several reporters who follow Spurs are of the opinion that it’s far more likely that Archie Gray starts at right-back against Brentford on Saturday, with Porro likely to be eased into the action over the first few weeks of the campaign.

From an FPL standpoint, it makes little sense to splash £5.5m on a defender who’s liable to spend a couple of games on the bench. He was in my first draft team, which I went through over the weekend, but now that it looks likely that he’ll play I’ve moved on. I recommend you do the same, although there’s a strong chance that he becomes an excellent purchase in the very near future.

Is Dominic Solanke injured – and should you pick him in the FPL?

When the price lists first came out, I named Dominic Solanke as my early pick for the best budget striker in the FPL. Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, he’s now wound up with another injury.

Solanke hasn’t played since a warm-up match against Chelsea a fortnight ago after feeling pain in his ankle, and is one of several Spurs players who are doubts for the game against Brentford.

So far, De Zerbi has kept his cards close to his chest when it comes to Solanke’s return date. The former Bournemouth forward could be in the squad on Saturday, but it would be a surprise if he starts, with Richarlison looking far more likely to play up front at the moment.

Perhaps we get some unexpectedly good news from the pre-match press conferences – and it’s possible that the same is true of Porro – but unless De Zerbi explicitly states that Solanke will start I suspect it’s best to leave him out of your teams for now. He still has a very high ceiling for his price point, but I’d earmark him as a player to bring in once he’s back to full fitness.

That also ensures that you don’t sign a player who could end up getting surpassed by a new signing. A striker doesn’t seem to be Spurs’ top priority in the transfer market but they have been linked with a handful of players who could usurp his spot. For now, I’d stick with a safer option like Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and look to bring Solanke in down the line.

The latest Spurs injury news - including updates on Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie.

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After a summer of lavish spending there’s a renewed sense of optimism surrounding Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the new Premier League season - but for all that’s changed, some familiar problems remain, and injury concerns continue to cloud their preparation for the curtain-raiser against Brentford.

Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are among the regular starters who are dealing with fitness issues, and in total Roberto De Zerbi could be missing as many as seven players for the big kick-off.

With Saturday’s match fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Tottenham injury news and updates below, along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.

Solanke & Van de Ven among key doubts as Spurs start new season

While the back-to-back warm-up games against Hoffenheim saw the return of a couple of players who had been nursing pre-season injuries – namely new signing Mateus Fernandes and James Maddison – several key starters were still absent from the squad and remain serious doubts for the game against Brentford.

Striker Dominic Solanke hasn’t featured since the friendly match against Chelsea at the start of the month due to another ankle injury. The severity of the problem has been kept under wraps, and there is no word as yet on whether he might be available for the weekend – as it stands, he remains a major doubt.

Micky van de Ven, meanwhile, hasn’t featured at all during pre-season. De Zerbi explained at the end of July that “fatigue” was the reason he had been left out of early games, but the Dutchman didn’t train during the tour of Australia and New Zealand and his status remains unclear. It seems unlikely that the defender, who signed a new long-term contract last week, will be ready to start against Brentford.

It’s a similar situation with left-back Destiny Udogie. He missed early pre-season games due to an unspecified injury which De Zerbi described as “not a big problem,” but reports suggest that he has not yet returned to full training. He is expected to miss out against Brentford as it stands, but his likely return date is unclear.

World Cup winner Pedro Porro has also not featured in pre-season, but that isn’t due to an injury concern – he has been rested to help him recover from a long summer. He is expected to be available to play against Brentford if required.

Kudus & Kulusevski among long-term absentees on comeback trail

Two of Spurs’ long-term injury victims are closing in on much-anticipated returns – including winger Mohammed Kudus, who hasn’t played since the 1-1 draw with Sunderland in early January.

It’s not clear whether Kudus will have recovered from his quadriceps injury in time to play some part against Brentford but he is believed to be back in training and building up match fitness. Saturday may come too soon, but his return is imminent.

There’s also good news for Dejan Kulusevski, who has been absent for 15 months thanks to a serious knee injury. The Swede has returned to training with De Zerbi describing him as “fit and right” earlier in August – but the head coach stated that Kulusevski won’t be rushed back into action, and he may not be match fit in time for the Brentford game. As is the case with Kudus, however, he should be back on the bench in the near future barring further setbacks.

Only two players are definitively ruled out for the opening weekend of the season – Xavi Simons, who ruptured his ACL back in April, is expected to be absent until February 2027, while winger Wilson Odobert, who suffered the same injury, will be targeting a December return, although neither date is set in stone at this stage in the rehabilitation process.

Counting down the worst kits of the new Premier League season - with Newcastle, Spurs and Sunderland among this year’s fashion crimes.

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A new Premier League season is upon us and while we can’t yet judge which teams might be good or bad, we can certainly judge them for their dress sense – nearly every kit for the 2026/27 campaign has been revealed by now, and it’s time to pick out the best and worst of the new looks.

We’ve already picked out the six finest new shirts, so now it’s time to dig out some of the less appealing new kits that some unfortunate players are going to be asked to wear over the course of the coming 10 months. Let’s hold our noses and dive in…

We’re not normally averse to shirts which take a few risks, and we’re fonder of bold and jazzy designs that most – but Spurs’ new away kit isn’t so much bold as it is baffling. It’s like a Magic Eye picture designed by someone who didn’t quite understand how they work.

The curious strobing effect that Nike have gone for might have just about worked had the pattern from the top half of the kit carried on all the way down the shirt, but instead we get this weird break followed by an even busier bottom half. A jersey which feels less like a fashion statement and more like an attempt to trigger seizures in opposing players with epilepsy.

Presumably, this is meant to be a throwback to the checkerboard kit that Fulham wore during the 1996/97 season, a shirt generally considered to be something of a classic, at least by the standards of a team who don’t usually have the snazziest strips. Had they kept it simple, this might have been rather good. Instead, Adidas tried to be original.

The blotchy effect makes it look like the colours ran in the wash, or perhaps like military camouflage for some extremely specific and as yet undiscovered terrain. The clean white trim arguably saves it from being a complete disaster, but this is too busy, too messy, and doesn’t look right with the accompanying red shorts. They should have been black, and this kit should have been better.

There is a very good reason that few kit manufacturers ever reach for the beige part of the colour palette when they’re putting new designs together – and this kit is a very good reason for Ipswich to see if they can find someone other than Umbro to make their shirts in the future.

The murky shade is made even less appealing by the pinstripes, and the fact that they stop dead before the sleeves makes the whole shirt look a bit cheap. The overall effect is almost as icky as letting Nigel Farage do a photoshoot at Portman Road. Perhaps they can get Count Binface in to do next year’s jerseys.

We’re not opposed to pink shirts on principle, and we’re not inherently averse to the admittedly bizarre idea of making the away kit a collaboration with the Elvis Presley estate. But we are less keen on shirts that make the average fan wearing them look like a darts player.

Apparently the pink and black is an homage to one of Elvis’ most famous stage outfits, although as non-devotees we’re struggling to fathom why Hummel wouldn’t reach for the leather jacket or the Vegas jumpsuit instead of something Michael van Gerwen might wear at Alexandra Palace. The concept is fun. The execution is deeply dubious.

We spent a little while agonising over how to rank our top (or rather bottom) two, but ultimately decided to give Bournemouth the slightest benefit of the doubt because this would be a perfectly nice kit if it weren’t for the sponsor’s logo. But that sponsor doesn’t half do a lot of damage.

The decision to build the entire design around it was a colossal clanger. It makes the players look like a button they aren’t meant to press – the ‘submit’ button that Hummel’s designer pressed after coming up with this, for instance. The change strips don’t benefit from the sponsor, either, but they aren’t as bad as this. We’re going to start calling the stadium Dean Court again out of sheer spite.

What a terrible summer it’s been up at St. James’ Park. They’ve lost their manager, several of their best players, and now they’ve got to wear this monstrosity for the better part of a year too.

You’d think, by now, that designers like Adidas would have learned that you just can’t get clever with striped kits. This would be all over the place even if it didn’t look like you’d accidentally ring up a tube of Pringles if you walked past a self-service checkout at the supermarket. The bright blue stripes over the shoulders are awful. The sponsor’s logo is ugly. Somehow, Newcastle have come up with a kit which makes us yearn for Saudi green. Godawful.