Offer being prepared for Liverpool's James Milner regen
The squad is well and truly stacked right now. Before the summer ends, the club's net-spend will fall significantly as Arne Slot begins to outline his plans for the upcoming campaign. It's an exciting time.
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Pre-season has been a good indicator to assess whether any of Liverpool's promising stars are ready for a more regular first-team involvement and others have shot up the club's pecking order.
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But we're now nearing the start of the season and a number of judgement calls will need to be made.
Some will be loan moves and others might be moved on permanently. There are plenty of options.
Stephenson considered for move
One of the main youngsters Liverpool have been developing recently has been Luca Stephenson, a 21-year-old English player capable of performing in a number of different positions around the pitch.
By trade, he is a midfielder, but his time spent in the first-team has seen him become a makeshift right-back and centre-back. In some ways, he's our new James Milner, playing all over the place.
He's been a key asset in the pre-season tour of Asia, playing in defensive positions and his ability to play makeshift roles has become incredibly important, while Liverpool's squad planning continues.
But if the Reds do sign a centre-back, then it is highly likely that Stephenson will be pushed out of the squad, since we have two right-backs and the midfield pack is almost impenitrable right now.
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Panthers joint practice observations: Tetairoa McMillan bounces back, Bryce Young praised
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Panthers coach Dave Canales saw McMillan's drop as a learning opportunity: It came on a play when Young stopped him on a corner route by throwing behind the defender rather than leading McMillan to the pylon. 'I think that was a new one for T-Mac because he was like, 'Oh, shoot. This is a good spot for it,'' Canales said. 'Bryce kinda saw it. I was excited about that. Bryce turned around to me, we're both smiling. We would love him to catch the ball. He will.' And he did moments later when Young zipped the ball to McMillan on a slant route. McMillan arrived at his first camp with a built-in chemistry with Young after the two threw together before the draft. Young targeted McMillan a lot Wednesday, but chalked that up to the coverages the Browns' secondary was playing. TMac tuddy — Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 6, 2025 'He probably got a few more targets. There's been practices where it's been him, it's been Adam (Thielen), X (Xavier Legette), all the way down. So that's how it went today,' Young said. 'We want to make sure we do whatever's best for the team, take advantage of what the defense gave us.' Other observations from the Browns-Panthers practice: The last time the Browns were in Charlotte, Matt Rhule was still the Panthers' coach and Baker Mayfield was facing his former team after Cleveland traded him to Carolina in the offseason. Defensive end Myles Garrett had two of the Browns' sacks on Mayfield in Cleveland's 26-24 win in the 2022 season opener. Advertisement Garrett had never faced Young before Wednesday. But the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year clearly was familiar with Young, who returned from a five-week benching last season to play well down the stretch. Garrett said Young looks a lot more comfortable in the pocket than early in his career. 'I think they really rallied around him and they're seeing that he can lead this team and do well,' Garrett said. 'The playmaking and game-changing ability hasn't changed. I think it's just him finding his own confidence, being comfortable in the role and then allowing him to lead and standing behind him, I think that was big for him. And he's only going to continue to settle in and become a bigger and bigger playmaker.' Bryce Young says playing 1st preseason game is a great opportunity to get his feet wet. — Joe Person (@josephperson) August 6, 2025 Young had a good day. The protection was mostly strong and Chuba Hubbard ran the ball well. And Canales thought the offense played with physicality. What he didn't like was a lapse during the second team period, when officials called three delay-of-game and two false-start penalties (but didn't stop the play) on the Panthers. 'It got sloppy,' Canales said. 'We can't have that. We're gonna put ourselves in really bad spots when we're putting ourselves in first-and-15. Or if it's a third-and-6 and we have a false start. All of a sudden it's third-and-11, makes it really hard.' 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At the urging of Canales and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, veterans from both teams met before practice to discuss what Canales called the 'rules of engagement' — no cheap shots, no diving at legs, etc. The cooler-than-normal temperatures and absence of fans also might have helped keep the peace. Advertisement And while tempers flared a few times, teammates would intervene and prevent things from escalating. 'I saw two groups come in there not to throw haymakers and blindside shots, but to pull the guys apart,' Canales said. 'They were kind of jawing at each other in a playful way, big smiles and a lot of juice. I can't dream of a better situation.' • Canales plans to play Young and the other starters 8 to 12 plays on Friday, saying ideally that would be one drive for the offense. That was the extent of Young's preseason action last year, although that one drive didn't come until the third game against Buffalo. But Young didn't blame his slow start in the regular season on his lack of preseason work. 'I think it will be great for us. A lot of familiar faces, but obviously some new pieces. And every year we're a new team,' Young said. 'I think it will be a great thing for myself, all of us to kind of get our feet wet a little bit in the preseason.' • Panthers linebacker Claudin Cherelus left practice early with a groin injury, which would be a blow to the special teams units if it turns out to be serious. Cherelus, who played in 13 games last year, had a nice pass breakup before getting injured. • Diontae Johnson has changed teams a few times since the Panthers traded him to Baltimore last October. Johnson joined the Browns on a one-year deal in May, and has been part of Cleveland's receiving rotation in camp. But Johnson didn't appear to make any splash plays Wednesday (it was tough to see parts of practice from where the media was stationed) and ended the day with a clean uniform. (Photo of Tetairoa McMillan: Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
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Bradley Barcola transfer would throw up crucial Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi question for Liverpool
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Ekitike and Mamardashvili moments spotted in Liverpool tunnel cam vs Athletic Bilbao
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