'A season of consolidation and transition ahead?'
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Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tottenham 'open talks for Man City star admired by Thomas Frank' as Spurs look to raid Premier League rivals amid muted transfer window
Tottenham are believed to have began discussions with Manchester City over the recruitment of Savinho as the north London club plot their next move in the transfer window, according to reports. The Europa League champions were quick to change their manager in the aftermath of a decidedly mixed season that saw them win European honours but finish 17th in the Premier League, trading Ange Postecoglou for Brentford head coach Thomas Frank. But their transfer business has given some fans pause, with only a handful of deals done over the summer so far after securing standout forward target Mohammed Kudus from West Ham. Spurs were thwarted in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest 's Morgan Gibbs-White, with the Tricky Trees threatening to report their rivals for an allegedly 'illegal' approach after Tottenham activated the attacking midfielder's £60million release clause. Frank's side have also lost a number of key figures, with talismanic captain Son Heung-min moving to LAFC, and James Maddison suffering an ACL injury which will keep him out for much of the season. But with just under a month left of the window, Tottenham appear to be primed to restart their bid to bolster their attacking ranks. As per Fabrizio Romano, the two Premier League clubs are believed to be in negotiations over the winger, who arrived at the Etihad just one season ago. Frank is thought to see Savinho as an ideal player for his vision for his new club, and the Brazil star is believed to be open to a move south should the opportunity arise. The 21-year-old has been part of the City Football Group eco-system for over three years, with the attacked bought from Atletico Mineiro by City's sister club Troyes in 2022. Savinho then cut his teeth at PSV Eindhoven before a formative loan move to fellow City Football Group club Girona, where he played a key role in their title-chasing 2023-24 season. The player's move to jewel in the organisation's crown came amid a hail of fanfare last July, and Savinho ended the season having made 48 appearances under Pep Guardiola throughout the club's challenging 2024-25 season. Before Tottenham's move for the star, there were few suggestions Man City were keen to offload Savinho, with the player featuring in their Club World Cup campaign - and scoring a goal and registering an additional assist in the United States. In the wake of Maddison's ACL injury, Tottenham have also been keeping tabs on Como star Nico Paz. Mail Sport reported last week while Spurs have not yet made a move for the £52m midfielder, the Argentina international is among their targets as the squad looks for reinforcements centrally.
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Liverpool council hears concerns over bar bids near Everton stadium
Concerns have been raised about the number of licensed premises opening or planned in the shadow of Everton's new stadium. Liverpool Waterfront North councillor Dave Hanratty said the stadium was meant to bring investment but that "the only investment we're getting at the moment is alcohol-licenced premises".He spoke at a licensing meeting where a bid to open a bar named in honour of former Everton manager Howard Kendall was put on hold until a planning dispute could be resolved.A building control officer told the meeting the impact of the wider stadium development would not be known until the ground was in regular use. The plans for the Howard Kendall Suite at Collingwood Dock were discussed at a meeting ahead of Everton's 1-0 defeat to Roma in a pre-season friendly at the 52,000-seater ground on Saturday. A bid by another operator, Mersey View Leisure Ltd, to open another venue in nearby Fulton Street, is set to be heard by licensing chiefs bids have been brought by companies independent of the football club. The Howard Kendall Suite plan was brought by firm Intersky, and would include a bar and restaurant made from shipping containers. According to its website, the business is aiming to provide a "unique and VIP hospitality pre and post-match" for about 170 Douglas, representing the developer, said work that had already begun on site was allowed under "permitted development rights" and did not require council building control officer Peter Jones said that was not correct and the operators had "ignored" the council's advice, prompting enforcement action, the Local Democracy Reporting Service Douglas described Mr Jones' comments as "really unfair". Mr Jones said the Labour-led council might be able to support such ventures in "12 months or a season's time". 'Right balance' Ward councillor Hanratty, Labour, questioned whether the matchday hospitality venue - which would not allow walk-in custom - was right for the decades, the area close to the recently built stadium had been largely made up of industrial sites and warehousing, but in recent years a number of bars and cafes have sprung up, alongside hotel and residential conversions of previously derelict said: "The principal thing is, is this right for the area? The reason for the number of objections is the amount of people living in the Tobacco Warehouse."We have to make sure we have the right balance." He warned how if the area was not managed it could become a "free-for-all", adding: "It's a nice area and we want it to grow." Mr Douglas said the planning issue would be sorted out, and that the applicants knew it was a case of "no planning, no trade".In his objection to the plans for a venue at the former industrial unit in Fulton Street, on the other side of Regent Road, Hanratty said the midnight closing time could be a problem for people living in the area."This is an up-and-coming area and we need to ensure we protect the quality of life for those residents, who could be detrimentally affected."The council needs to have a consistent approach and not have an over-saturation of late-night premises."Licensing chiefs are due to consider the plan later. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
All three promoted clubs to go down? The stats around relegation
There's a pattern emerging in the Premier the past two seasons the three teams that have come up from the Championship have gone straight back newly-promoted Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland buck the trend this term?BBC Sport looks into the stats surrounding relegation and rates each of the new boys' chances. How bad were the last six promoted teams, really? Points-wise, very bad. Since 1996-97, when three promoted sides started playing in a 38-game Premier League season they have averaged 113 points between 2023-24, Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United set a record-low tally when they stumbled to a collective 66 last season, promoted sides Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton were even worse, taking a measly 59 points. Two years ago, fans could have confidently predicted that at least one of the trio of newly-promoted teams would avoid relegation the following the past two campaigns, the only other Premier League season where all three promoted clubs went straight back down was in 1997-98, when Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace all faced the then, Bolton managed 40 points and only went down on goal there have been four occasions where all three promoted teams survived. The last time was just three years ago, when Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest all beat the drop. How many points do you need to avoid relegation in the Premier League? For as long as there's been relegation, supporters have been trying to predict the minimum number of points needed to avoid what should Burnley, Leeds, Sunderland and others be aiming for? Traditionally, 40 points are said to be enough for Premier League survival. That's because only three teams have ever reached the 40-point mark in a 38-game season and gone are: West Ham with 42 in 2002-03, Sunderland with 40 points in 1996-97 and Bolton with 40 points the following given all three of those seasons were well over 20 years ago, is it time to set a lower benchmark?Over the past 10 seasons, the average points collected by the team in 18th - a total you'd need to better in order to stay up - has been exactly finished 17th last term with 38 points but, because of the weaknesses of the promoted trio, they would still have beaten the drop with just season before, 17th-placed Nottingham Forest managed 32 points - a tally which included a four points deduction - but actually only needed 27 to stay up. What's clear is that those coming up to the Premier League are finding it harder to be competitive, meaning those already in the division can do less to avoid the drop. Over the past two seasons the best newly-promoted side has averaged 25.5 points while the worst non-promoted club has averaged in stark contrast to the two seasons prior where the best newly-promoted side averaged 49 points while the worst non-promoted club averaged only 30. Does Championship performance matter? Leeds and Burnley are two of the strongest sides ever promoted to the Premier League, and before the past two seasons history would have suggested they were almost guaranteed to stay Championship dominance doesn't ensure five teams have ever gone straight back down after being promoted with 95 points or more - yet four of those five have done so in the past four years. Meanwhile, Sunderland collected 76 points last term, finishing fourth and gaining promotion through the of the past 11 teams promoted via the play-offs have gone straight back down the following that stretch, only Brentford in 2021-22 have collected more than 40 points in their season after going up (46). A fast start is crucial How each promoted side starts the season is one of the best indicators when it comes to survival promoted side over the past 10 seasons with 11 points or more after 10 games has survived, while taking fewer than that has meant an almost guaranteed return to the be worth bookmarking this article and returning to it on 1 November. That's when all three promoted teams should have played 10 matches - although fixture dates can still be the two survivors - despite poor starts - were Bournemouth in 2015-16 (eight points after 10 games) and Nottingham Forest in 2022-23 (five points after 10 games). Is Premier League relegation all down to money? Why are newly-promoted clubs finding it so hard to compete in the Premier League? Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says money is "certainly a contributory factor"."The clubs coming up do have a disadvantage," he told BBC Sport. "Under the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), if you've been in the Premier League for the past three seasons you can lose up to £105m over a three-year cycle. "But, most newly-promoted clubs can only lose up to £61m over three years. It works out to £13m per season in the Championship season and £35m per season in the top flight."That £44m gap in budgets has created a new middle class in the Premier League of clubs not strong enough to compete for Europe, but also incredibly unlikely to be dragged into a relegation battle."And turkeys aren't going to vote for Christmas. Those middle-class clubs aren't going to vote for any changes in the financial rules that would increases their chances of being relegated." 'Leeds look to data' - how promoted clubs are trying to buck relegation trend Jonathan Buchan, BBC Radio Leeds Sports Editor Leeds have their own theory when it comes to avoiding relegation. Physicality. That has been the word of the summer so far at the club, who have a strong internal belief that the difference between staying up and going straight back down is height, strength and an ability to win aerial battles in both first seven signings of the summer have an average height of 6ft 2in, which gives you a sense of that thought they need the majority of these signings to hit the ground running to have any hope of survival, and their early recruitment will certainly help that. However, they also need the other promoted clubs' new faces to falter and an established Premier League side, or two, to have difficult data may breed confidence in avoiding relegation, but football is played on grass, not spreadsheets. 'Burnley better prepared this time around' Scott Read, BBC Radio LancashireThe last time Burnley prepared for a Premier League season they'd just won the Championship title, and were comfortably the strongest side in the second tier. They then spent around £100m in the summer transfer window and were still relegated. However, despite relatively modest spending so far and losing key players from last season - James Trafford, CJ Egan-Riley and Josh Brownhill - I think most supporters will feel they probably have a better chance at bucking the trend this time around. The likelihood is they'll probably go down, but under Scott Parker I think they'll give themselves the best possible chance to avoid it. They won't be distracted about an idea of playing a 'brand of football' and a 'certain way' because that's how you need to be seen to be doing it. The promotion last season - and the record clean sheets - was built entirely on a selfless attitude, and a pride in defending and being hard to beat. It's that approach that their season will be built on. 'Renewed optimism in Sunderland' Nick Barnes, Sunderland commentator for BBC Radio NewcastleEight years in the wilderness and Sunderland are now about to embark on their latest Premier League campaign, with the landscape of the league having changed dramatically in that relatively short gulf between the Championship and Premier League is at its widestNow Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton are the shining examples of clubs who have bucked the trend of yo-yoing between the Premier League and Championship, with recruitment models the envy of many Sunderland has its own model of sustainability with a heavy emphasis on youth and academy-grown talent, they have bitten the bullet and spent over £100m in the transfer market in a bid to stay up. Sunderland is being reshaped and the owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has to be applauded in his ambition. The financial decisions this summer won't have been taken lightly nor is a renewed optimism and Sunderland fans will hope his vision and the incredible journey - the seeds of which were sown with a return to the Championship in 2022 - can continue in the Premier League.
