Brighton & Hove Albion

It's a new era at Brighton with 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler now in the hot seat after the depearture of Roberto de Zerbi at the end of last season.

Pascal Gross has left for Borussia Dortmund but the Seagulls have gone under the radar in the transfer window and have made some signings to improve the squad while eyeing more.

They have brought in Ibrahim Osman, Brajan Gruda, Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh as they look to improve on last season's 11th-placed finish.

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton & Hove Albion

Asked about Brighton triggering the £40m release clause for Leeds forward Georginio Rutter, the Seagulls' boss Fabian Hurzeler said: "First of all, I'm very happy with the squad we already have. It's also our job to search for any player who fits our style of play. If there is a fit then we'll see what happens. I will never say anything."

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on whether his squad is thinner than last season: "I wouldn't say thinner. I would say I'm really happy with the squad we have here.

"The players who played here before, we have two who we lost but that's football. We'll build on the foundations we have here. The mix is very good. We will see what happens."

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler speaking in his first pre-match Premier League news conference.

On new signing Brajan Gruda: "I wouldn't say he's a typical German. He's like a boy from the street, he likes the ball at his feet. He can do special things like all our offensive players.

"He needs time, he's come from Germany and he's very young. The Premier League is the best league in the world and we'll try to integrate him and make him ready for the Premier League."

Image source, Getty Images

What do you think about that news Ipswich fans? A great signing or is it a strange one, given Kalvin Phillips is a similar type of player to captain Sam Morsy?

And how about you Manchester City fans? Would you rather the club just cashed in on Phillips and accepted a cut-price fee?

And does the injury to Oscar Bobb mean City must now sign an attacking player having already sold Julian Alvarez? If so, who?

Let us know your thoughts on X by adding #bbcfootball, on WhatsApp by messaging 03301231826 or by texting 81111

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is set to join newly-promoted Ipswich on a season-long loan.

The 28-year-old has failed to break into the City team since his £45m move from Leeds two years ago.

He joined West Ham on loan for the second half of last season in an effort to save his England place but a combination of poor form and injury wrecked Phillips’ chances of making Gareth Southgate’s squad.

A number of clubs, including Fulham, were interested in signing Phillips but Ipswich appear to have won the chase, with the deal expected to be completed in the next 24 hours. It does not include the option to make the move permanent.

We're set to hear from Brighton's new boss Fabian Hurzeler in the first of today's news conferences, and the 31-year-old German is sure to be asked about Brajan Gruda and Georginio Rutter.

Brighton & Hove Albion

One deal already done for Brighton is the signing of highly-rated Germany Under-21 midfielder Brajan Gruda from Mainz in a deal worth £25m.

The 20-year-old broke through at Mainz last season and made 28 appearances as the club retained their Bundesliga status.

Gruda was training with Germany's senior squad prior to Euro 2024 before being forced to pull out through injury.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

You may have noticed there that Leeds now have Red Bull as their front-of-shirt sponsor. The deal was announced in May, with the energy drink brand also taking a minority ownership stake in the Championship side.

The name and logo of the club will remain unchanged, unlike some of the other teams in the Red Bull group.

They include Red Bull Salzburg, who have agreed a £10m fee with Liverpool to sign 19-year-old midfielder Bobby Clark.

Liverpool have also inserted a 17.5% sell-on clause in the deal with the Austrian club, who are now managed by former Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

Georginio Rutter played for Leeds during their Carabao Cup defeat by Middlesbrough and it could be his last appearance for the club as it has emerged that Brighton have triggered his £40m release clause.

The Seagulls previously had bids rejected for the French forward but decided to trigger the clause, leaving the decision now in the 22-year-old's hands.

Brighton are understood to be the only club to have activated the clause prior to a deadline of 00:00 BST on Thursday.

After already allowing Archie Gray to leave for Tottenham and Crysencio Summerville to West Ham this summer, Leeds are trying to persuade Rutter to remain at Elland Road.

Image source, Getty Images

Four-time winners Nottingham Forest have been drawn at home to Newcastle in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

The match at the City Ground is one of two all-Premier League ties with West Ham United also facing top-flight opposition in the shape of Bournemouth.

There are four ties which will see teams from the fourth tier pitted against Premier League sides.

Ipswich Town have been drawn away to AFC Wimbledon, Colchester are at home to Brentford while Doncaster and Tranmere have been handed trips to Everton and Leicester respectively.

League Two Fleetwood Town's reward for knocking out Championship West Brom is a home tie with third tier Rotherham United.

Second-round ties will take place the week commencing 26 August.

The seven Premier League teams involved in European competition, including holders Liverpool, enter the competition in the third round.

• Click here to see the draw in full

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport at Home Park

Wayne Rooney said watching the television programme First Dates - where hopeful singletons find love over dinner in a smart restaurant - helped him wind down after an awful start to his time in charge at Plymouth Argyle.

The former England captain says he watched it after his side's 4-0 thumping by Sheffield Wednesday to give him time away from football.

Rooney revealed his enjoyment of the Channel Four show after guiding his side to a 3-0 win over League Two side Cheltenham Town in the Carabao Cup - his first victory since taking over at Home Park.

"There's always pressure, of course there is, that's part of the game," Rooney told BBC Sport.

"After the game on Sunday I turned my phone off and I watched an episode of First Dates.

"It's important you can switch off, you can get away from it and then I revisited it early Monday morning and watched the game back.

"You can have a bad game, that happens, it's important that they are able to switch off because sometimes then you can think too much about it and that does affect you mentally."

Image source, PA Media

Uefa Super Cup

• Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta

EFL Cup

• Hull City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
• Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Cheltenham Town
• Leeds United 0-3 Middlesbrough

Premier League

Premier League chief football officer Tony Scholes said an independent survey commissioned by the Premier League, with 1,300 respondents, showed "four out of five want to keep VAR".

He added: "That says one in five would get rid of it and that’s a big minority. And most of the four out of five say we need to improve it."

The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) challenged this claim, saying it made the Premier League "appear to be in denial".

The FSA said its own research on VAR "has shown it is deeply, deeply unpopular with match-going fans".

Premier League sources told BBC Sport it is willing to share details of the survey with the FSA, that it is not complacent about the results, and is focused on the one in five fans who want to get rid of VAR.

BBC Sport understands only one in 10 of the match-going attendees said they would keep VAR in its current form.

Image source, Getty Images

The 2023-24 Premier League season ended with Wolves triggering a vote to scrap the use of video assistant referees after a season of acrimony around the standard of refereeing and impact of technology on football.

Wolves lost the vote 19-1 but the Premier League promised to improve VAR.

As VAR enters its sixth season in the top flight, the Premier League says fans can expect quicker decisions, fewer interventions, more emphasis on backing the referee's judgement - plus "near-live" explanations of VAR calls on social media platform X.

Here, BBC Sport outlines the key talking points and changes, following briefings with the Premier League and referees' chief Howard Webb this week. But to summarise, they are:

• VAR explanations on social media
• 'Referee's Call': Will we see less VAR this season?
• The stats: 105 correct VAR calls & 35 incorrect VAR uses
• What about the speed of decisions?
• When will semi-automated offsides be introduced?
• VAR blame game to be addressed

The Daily Telegraph

As well as Premier League boss Richard Masters speaking to the media this week, there has been updates on how the video assistant referee (VAR) system will work this season.

The Telegraph reports, external that Premier League managers told referees' boss Howard Webb in a private meeting last month that they did not want the new-season innovation of referees announcing VAR decisions live on-mic to crowds in stadiums and the proposal has been dropped.

Image source, Daily Telegraph

Premier League

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters also said that football will reach saturation point if matches keep being added to the calendar.

The Premier League is part of a legal challenge against Fifa alongside other domestic competitions in Europe and player unions over the sport’s calendar.

They argue the game’s global governing body has not consulted with them in any meaningful way over scheduling.

Fifa has previously rejected claims that Fifpro and the World Leagues Association were not consulted over plans to host a 32-team Club World Cup.

Risks to player welfare have been highlighted at length by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) but Masters also believes too much football risks turning people off.

"It’s a really difficult thing to predict when saturation takes hold," he said. "Obviously, we have lots of football.

"The Premier League is part of it. It’s part of the picture, our clubs participate in multiple competitions, and we’re adding to that calendar, so it should be a concern. I think that we will reach a point of saturation."

Daily Mirror

The Mirror mentions Oscar Bobb's injury and the Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney transfer stories, as well as a story on the comments from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

It says that Premier League clubs have been given the green light to continue using creative accounting methods, external to balance the books.

The swapping of homegrown players in order to comply with profit and sustainability rules was a feature of the early stages of the summer transfer window, involving the likes of Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Everton.

Image source, Daily Mirror

Dan Roan
BBC sports editor

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says it is "self-evident" the case around Manchester City's 115 charges needs to be resolved for the good of the league.

An independent disciplinary commission is set to hear the case against City - who deny all charges - for allegedly breaching the Premier League's financial rules, with some dating back to 2009.

In an interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Masters said he thinks "it is time now for the case to resolve itself".

When asked whether the case casts a shadow over the league, he said: "It's been going on for a number of years and I think it's self-evident that the case needs to be heard and answered."

Masters said he "could not confirm" the specific date of City's hearing. City were charged in February 2023.

However, BBC Sport understands the hearing is set to start next month, with the result possibly known early next year, as first reported by the Times., external

Masters added: "When the case has been heard there will be a decision published and all the questions you would like me to answer will be answered as part of that process."

The I

Manchester United completed the double signing of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich earlier this week, and the i has rates every signing linked to their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.

It also has the latest from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters after he spoke to the media before the new season kicks off.

Image source, the i