Football news LIVE: West Ham eye shock Potter replacement, Mourinho agrees Benfica return, another late Liverpool winner
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I look at Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero."I don't really look at Manchester City's centre halves and think there's enough in there to win the Premier League and it's the same with Chelsea.
"They've spent £220million on defenders and their best defender is a player that came through the academy in Levi Colwill who's injured and they miss him.
"They spent £35m on Benoit Badiashile and it's not worked out with a seven-year deal.
"Axel Disasi is in the bomb squad and they spent £40m on with a six-year deal and now they can't get rid of him.
"Wesley Fofana - they paid £70m and he's injury prone and even when fit he's not been at the elite level.
"Most of this season it's been Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo, but they're only decent centre halves."
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Today, 08:18By Connor Andrews
Despite needing another late goal to win, Arne Slot is happy with his side's progress against Atletico Madrid.
The Reds gave up a 2-0 lead in their Champions League opener, but captain Virgil van Dijk won the game with a stoppage time header.
It was Liverpool's fifth winning goal after the 80th minute already this season, but Slot saw this one as different to the others.
"Maybe I am even disappointed we scored in the last minute," he said.
"I would have liked it more if we scored earlier when Florian (Wirtz) and Alex (Isak) combined and it almost led to Jeremie (Frimpong) scoring.
"Everyone will talk about the late goal, which I understand, but for me it is a different game to the ones we played before.
"We had numerous moments to score the third one and that is different to Burnley or Newcastle or Arsenal.
"It is not the first time we give away a 2-0 lead as well, which is not what we were known for last season."
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17th Sept 2025, 17:54By Jake Lambourne
Jose Mourinho is weighing up whether to go for the Portugal job after the 2026 World Cup, talkSPORT understands.
Final negotiations are taking place with Benfica and the Special One.
Mourinho has asked for a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.
The legendary Portuguese manager could take Benfica training as early as Thursday.
If all goes to plan, Mourinho's first match back at Benfica, who he managed in 2000, will be away at AVS Futebol SAD.
And his first Champions League match will be away at former club Chelsea on September 30.
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17th Sept 2025, 17:43By Jake Lambourne
Matt Hobbs has now started work as Crystal Palace's sporting director, talkSPORT understands.
Hobbs had worked in the same role for the Eagles' Premier League rivals Wolves.
He has spent ten years at Molineux, where he also worked as the club's chief scout and head of recruitment.
But he has now linked up at Selhurst Park having replaced Dougie Freedman.
Freedman departed south London in March to become the sporting director of Saudi second-tier side Al–Diriyah.
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17th Sept 2025, 17:17By Jake Lambourne
Yoane Wissa will have to wait until after the October international break to make his debut for Newcastle.
The Magpies completed a deadline day transfer with Brentford worth £55million as they saw Alexander Isak join Liverpool.
Wissa missed their 1-0 Premier League win against Wolves due to a knee injury, with fellow new signing Jacob Ramsey also absent.
Howe recently admitted that the 29-year-old could see a specialist after going off with a knee knock during the international break.
And speaking before their Champions League clash against Barcelona, live on talkSPORT, he said Wissa won't play until next month.
He said: “Yoane will - we hope - be back after the next international break, so that's the plan.
“That can always change, it's always flexible.
But I think that's what I've been told.”
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17th Sept 2025, 16:45By Jake Lambourne
Robbie Savage and Forest Green Rovers made use of a loophole in the National League Cup on Tuesday night.
Savage's Forest Green had just kicked off against Wolves U21s in their cup tie before he made a strange decision.
The non-league side made four substitutions after just one minute of the game in which they went on to win 3-2.
Savage took off Tom Knowles, Kyle MacAllister, Neil Kengni Kuemo and Abraham Kanu just seconds after the first kick.
It was Yahya Bamba, James Balagizi, William Merrett and Akai Bonnick who took their place.
But as bizarre as this seemed at the time, the Forest Green boss had a perfectly good reason to make the changes.
He was taking advantage of a loophole to avoid breaking the National League Cup rules.
Rules state that each team in the competition must field a team that includes at least four players who started their last league game.
Knowles, MacAllister, Kuemo and Kanu did just that - and it appears they were chosen to start just to fulfil that requirement.
But then as soon as the game started, Savage opted to save their legs for a future fixture, replacing them with others from the squad who have had fewer minutes this season.
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17th Sept 2025, 16:15By Jake Lambourne
Gianluigi Donnarumma has stressed he only had eyes on joining Manchester City amid rumours linking him with Manchester United in the summer.
The goalkeeper linked up at the Etihad from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day for £26million.
And he has quickly endeared himself to the Citizens faithful after keeping a clean sheet on his debut in the 3-0 win over rivals United last time out.
Speaking ahead of City's Champions League opener with Napoli, Donnarumma said of his transfer: "Before the summer I knew that City were very interested in me.
"And then the relationship strengthened after the Club World Cup and I knew the coach was pushing for my arrival here, everyone wanted me here.
"That really spurred me on.
I hope to do it for many more years to come."
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17th Sept 2025, 15:44By Jake Lambourne
Crystal Palace have been fined £8,693 by UEFA following a banner they displayed last month.
During their first leg Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park, Palace supporters aimed a stinging jibe at Europe's governing body.
Showcasing UEFA logo's, the words inside the crest read 'UEFA Mafia'.
The middle of the logo contained a Euro symbol as they hit out at UEFA's decision to demote them from the Europa League.
Similar banners were also seen during their Community Shield win over Liverpool, and in their Premier League opener away at Chelsea.
And Palace have now been dished punishment for bringing the governing body into disrepute and transmitting a message that is not fit for a sports event under articles 16(2)(e) and 11(2)(d) of UEFA regulations.
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17th Sept 2025, 15:16By Jake Lambourne
Manchester United have released their financial results for the year ending June 30, 2025.
Despite suffering their worst-ever Premier League season, the club achieved record revenues in a boost for Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The Red Devils ended last season in 15th as they missed out on European football for the first time in 11 years.
Meanwhile, their points tally of 42 was their lowest in a top-flight campaign since suffering relegation in 1974.
However, those on-field woes did not prevent United from achieving £666.5million in revenue.
It is the highest annual revenue in the club's 147-year history despite not competing in the Champions League last term.
Responding to the financial results, chief executive Omar Berrada explained: "To have generated record revenues during such a challenging year for the club demonstrates the resilience which is a hallmark of Manchester United.
"As we settle into the 2025-26 season, we are working hard to improve the club in all areas."
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17th Sept 2025, 14:47By Jake Lambourne
Phil Jones has received a Diploma in Sport Directorship after graduating from the PFA Business School.
The former Manchester United defender was presented with his diploma at a ceremony on Tuesday.
Jones was a member of the latest graduating class after completing a course with the Professional Footballers' Association.
He was amongst the current and former players to be recognised at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
Newcastle's Yoane Wissa and five-time Premier League winner Ilkay Gundogan were also amongst the graduating class.
Jones, who retired aged 32 last year, is looking ahead to putting his Diploma to use in the future.
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17th Sept 2025, 14:15By Jake Lambourne
Wolves are in talks with boss Vitor Pereira to tie him down to a new deal, talkSPORT understands.
The 57-year-old took charge at Molineux in December with the Midlands outfit sitting 19th in the table.
He guided the club to safety, with Wolves eventually finishing 16th in the Premier League table.
His current deal expires in 2026, with Wolves chiefs looking to extend his stay.
And given he is a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes, who has a big influence in the boardroom at Molineux, negotiations are expected to be relatively straightforward.
Wolves currently sit at the bottom of the table having failed to take a single point from their opening four games.
But Pereira has plenty of credit in the bank with the club’s hierarchy.
And if things go smoothly, Pereira could seal new three-year deal before the weekend.
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17th Sept 2025, 13:49By Jake Lambourne
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola hasn't taken kindly to his side not being considered to be one of the favourites to lift the Champions League.
The 2023 winners get their campaign underway on Thursday night against Napoli at the Etihad.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola appeared to make a slight dig at those already writing the Citizens off.
He said: "Apparently we are not [contenders].
"Just enjoy the moment, we are happy to be here after the path we have been [on] so we are just focusing on tomorrow and the game we have to play and starting well in this competition.
"We have more games than the previous seasons.
but if you start with a bad result it can be difficult.
"Last season we drew the first game against Inter [Milan] and hopefully we can do better."
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17th Sept 2025, 13:18By Jake Lambourne
The opening night of the 2025/26 Champions League season saw Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur beat Spanish opposition.
We saw Trent Alexander-Arnold limp off just five minutes for Real Madrid with a hamstring injury, while Juventus and Borussia Dortmund produced a stunning 4-4 draw.
Attention now turns to another massive night.
At Anfield, we will see Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid, where Alexander Isak is expected to play some part.
It is a repeat of one of the final games before COVID, where Atletico knocked the Reds out of the Champions League.
And in Bavaria, Chelsea are taking on Harry Kane and co.
It should be an absolute cracker, and both will be on the talkSPORT network.
Elsewhere, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain start their campaign.
17:45: Olympiacos vs Pafos17:45: Slavia Prague vs Bodo/Glimt20:00: Ajax vs Inter Milan20:00: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea – talkSPORT 220:00: Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid – talkSPORT20:00: PSG vs AtalantaCopied
17th Sept 2025, 12:51By Joe Brophy
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has claimed that he is not surprised by Scott McTominay's form at Napoli.
"No [I'm not surprised]," Guardiola stressed.
"He has really good conditions [in Naples].
Definitely humble and happy to be in my position."
Uniquely, Weah's Ballon d'Or-winning father, George Weah, has also netted at the Bernabeu.
In 1994, the ex-President of Liberia scored the only goal when Paris Saint-Germain beat Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu in the UEFA Cup.
Tim Weah's USMNT teammate, Christian Pulisic, has also scored away at Madrid in the Champions League - doing so for Chelsea in 2021.
However, that didn't come at the Bernabeu, which was undergoing renovations at the time.
Instead, Pulisic scored behind closed doors at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, which is used by Real Madrid women's and academy teams.
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17th Sept 2025, 11:12By Joe Brophy
Mikel Arteta has been criticised for his decision to substitute Viktor Gyokeres whilst Arsenal were chasing a goal against Athletic Bilbao.
The striker made his Champions League debut for the Gunners, who eventually won 2-0 away to the LaLiga outfit on Tuesday night.
Speaking on commentary for talkSPORT when Gyokeres was withdrawn after an hour, Arsenal legend Perry Groves said: "That's a strange decision, actually, from Arteta.
"If you were Gyokeres, you wouldn't want to be coming off because Arsenal are just starting to exert a little bit of pressure.
"So, that threat in behind has gone now, you probably might find that Merino will go up front with Trossard just dropping into that midfield position."
Groves later added: "It's just strange, I don't know, Mikel Arteta has obviously got his reasons.
"But you've got your centre-forward on the pitch who has been a threat in behind all game.
"He's holding the ball up, Arsenal are starting to exert a little bit of pressure
"If you're a centre-forward, if you're Gyokeres, you'd be devastated coming off.
"Because you'd be thinking, 'My team's actually exerted a bit of pressure, we're bound to create a few more chances from now until the end of the game.'
"And Gyokeres is the one that you'd want on the end of them."
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17th Sept 2025, 10:43By Joe Brophy
Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him at Southwark Crown Court.
The former Arsenal midfielder appeared in court on Wednesday morning on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Partey is charged with five counts of rape against two women and a charge of sexual assault against a third woman.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2021 and 2022.
He was previously granted conditional bail at a court appearance on August 5, having been charged by the Crown Prosecution Service on July 4.
Partey subsequently joined Spanish side Villarreal following his release from Arsenal at the end of June.
The 32-year-old featured for Villarreal as a second half substitute in their Champions League defeat to Tottenham on Tuesday.
He played the final 12 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after replacing Santi Comesana in the 78th minute.
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17th Sept 2025, 10:17By Joe Brophy
Mikel Arteta has claimed that he could see in Gabriel Martinelli’s eyes that he was ready to fire Arsenal to victory.
The Brazilian struck 36 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 victory away in Villarreal.
“I know how much these players want to play this competition and what it means to them, and every time you name the line-up, you are disappointing a lot of players,” said Arteta.
“They know how I feel about them, so they know that when I have to leave a player on the bench or out of the squad, it hurts me.
“But to have that experience, I looked on the bench, I looked at him (Martinelli), and in his eyes I could see that he was ready, Leo as well.
“I was sure that he (Martinelli) was going to react like that.