Harvey Elliott blow for Liverpool as the Premier League returns: football news – live | Premier League

Gabi Nunes is a Villain!

The forward with 22 caps for Brazil has just been nabbed by Aston Villa for a club record fee of £250,000.

Nunes was part of the Brazil side that won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.

She joins on a two-year deal from Levante with the option for a further year.

She joins seven other new players at Villa with the club investing heavily in a new-look squad after the recent arrival of manager Robert de Pauw.

Speaking to the club’s official website, de Pauw said, “Gabi is a player who knows how to play in tight areas as well as arriving into the box and getting on the end of crosses.

“She can play in several attacking positions and will contribute towards our continued development.

“We are very pleased to welcome her to our team.”

Pedant alert! Sound the klaxon we’ve got a pedant alert!

You know what, fair enough. Richard Hirst has called me out and I’m man enough to admit that he’s right. That’s all changed now thanks to this:

“Hi Daniel. It’s never too early in the day for a bit of pedantry. Surely ‘ties’ is reserved for cup encounters; league encounters are either games or matches. So no cracking ties this weekend, thank you.”

Cristiano Ronaldo said a thing!

Yawn.

Forgive my cynicism but why is everything that walking bag of ego and hair gel given so much airtime? I mean, I know he’s arguably the greatest player of all time, but still.

Anyway, Erik ten Hag was asked about some recent comments from CR7 concerning Manchester United’s ambitions and prospects and the Red Decils boss “hit back”. Ouch!

It’s transfer deadline line at the WSL and there could be a major move before the clock runs out.

As told in an exclusive report by Tom Garry, Brighton are in advanced talks with Manchester United to sign England forward Nikita Parris.

Parris was previously linked with Newcastle but Brighton have taken the lead on what would be a major coup for a club with great ambitions.

Despite Newcastle’s flying start – they’ve won two and drawn one for a points-tally of seven, placing them fifth on the table – there is no getting away from the noise surrounding their manager.

Louise Taylor delves into the “war” between Eddie Howe and the club’s sporting director, Paul Mitchell:

Eddie Howe is up next.

The Newcastle manager has been heavily linked with the England job and there have been rumours of discontent emanating from the north east.

Will he stay or will he go?

Well, he’s staying for now at least and this is what he had to say ahead of a tricky game away to Wolves on Sunday:

On the international break:

It [the international break] has been productive for us, some good training, I have been pleased. We gave the lads a rest and then started our preparation towards Wolves.

On Newcastle’s start to the season, which has been pretty handy all things considered. They’ve got seven points and are undefeated from three games:

Very good results, really pleased with the start we have made in what is a difficult league. Performance wise, we haven’t hit top gear. We have done well in different passages of play but not consistently throughout the game. We are going into a spell where we have difficult games away from home now so we will look to improve.

On Lewis Hall’s involvement with the England u21s as well as Sandro Tonali’s return to the Italy squad (the headline is that he was pleased with both):

I am really pleased with [Hall’s] development since he has been with us, he is growing in confidence all the time. Very happy that he has gone away and had his first start for England Under-21s. Lewis is building in confidence all the time, you can see that from his early displays this season. He is playing with that confidence.

I was pleased to see [Tonali] play, he has performed well, those games would have done him the world of good. It is still the first few steps for him, but we are delighted he is available for us. Sandro has that flair and ability to make the difference, he is a player we absolutely love.

It is Sven-Goran Eriksson’s funeral today, taking place in his native Sweden.

The former England manager, who was the first non-British person to lead the team, died at the age of 76 on 26 August.

He led the Three Lions to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and 2004 Euros.

Former captain David Beckham, as well as former manager Roy Hodgson, are among the mourners at the side the Fryksande church in the Swedish town of Torsby.

We’ll have more updates on proceedings throughout the day.

Arne Slot is the first manager at the top table this morning and had some bad news to share ahead of his team’s game against Nottingham Forrest tomorrow at 3pm.

Our man Will Unwin was there to hear him:

Arne Slot has expressed his disappointment after Harvey Elliott suffered a fractured foot while away on England under-21s duty. The midfielder is expected to be out for a sustained period.

“Harvey is of course a big disappointment for him but also for us,” Slot said. “He didn’t play that much in the first three games but played in pre-season and showed himself really well. If he had stayed fit he would have had a lot of playing time so now it gives a chance to someone else. A blow for him but also for us. He will work as hard as always to come back.”

There is better news regarding new signing Federico Chiesa who could make his debut against Nottingham Forest tomorrow. “Federico has trained with the team three or four times so we will see today and then we have a decision as we have more than 20 players.”

Meanwhile, Slot was pleased to see the ambition of backup goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who said he might have to leave Liverpool to fulfil his ambition to be a No 1.

“I will be really worried if a player comes out and says I don’t care about playing first team football, I like it so much on the bench I want to stay there the rest of my life but it is also normal a club like this that wants to compete for trophies has more than 11 players that can play,” Slot said. “Caioimhin has shown many times that he is every time ready when we need him. It is a good thing he wants to play and who knows maybe he plays for us in the future. At this moment, it is quite clear Alisson is the No 1.”

Apart from Elliot’s injury, Slot was pleased with the way several of his players performed over the international break while getting much-needed minutes in their legs.

“In some situations, I was really happy with the fact they played 90: Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas. Cody played a lot of minutes. We were just discussing that in the first three games I played mostly the same players. Conor Bradley played two times 90 so it was – for now – a present I got from most of the national team coaches. Maybe in the future I will sometimes love it to be a bit different but it is a positive thing that we are in such a good place we have 10 players that can play every minute for their national teams. It says a lot about the quality we have.”

Speaking of Max Rushden, him and Barry Glendenning, along with John Brewin and Jonatha Fadugba, preview the North London derby on Sunday in the latest episode.

Do take a listen:

I know I said we’d be focussing on the Premier League – and we will – but let’s get this out of the way first.

I don’t like the new Champions League format. There, I said it. Hardly a hot take or a moment of unwavering bravery on my part. I know a few people don’t fancy it themselves. But are we being too hasty?

Yes, says Max Rushden, who is appealing to us all to open our minds and not judge the hodgepodge 36-team tournament too harshly.

I’m personally not sold, but I always enjoy Max’s writing and I think you will too. Maybe you’ll even change your mind.

To get things going on this sunny Friday morning (at least in north London), take a dive into these talking points as chosen by our writers.

The weekend’s fixtures are as follows:

Saturday:

• Southampton v Man United (12:30)

• Man City v Brentford (15:00)

• Liverpool v Nott Forrest (15:00)

• Crystal Palace v Leicester (15:00)

• Fulham v West Ham (15:00)

• Brighton v Ipswich (15:00)

• Aston Villa v Everton (17:30)

• Bournemouth v Chelsea (20:00)

Sunday:

Preamble

Daniel Gallan

The international break is over and the Premier League is back! My apologies to anyone who just loves the high octane thrill of the Nations League, but I’m chuffed to bits that English domestic footy is back.

We’ve got some cracking games and plenty to chat about so let’s get stuck in.

If you’ve got anything you’d like to share with the group, or want to pick up on anything that’s discussed here, don’t be shy and drop me a mail.

Happy Friday ya’ll and merry Premier League return for all those who celebrate!