> Tom Heaton has signed a 12-month extension to stay as back-up to Onana, but a move to Luton cannot be ruled out after Utd spoke to Urawa Reds about £5m-rated keeper Zion Suzuki

>Opening proposal already submitted — rejected by Man United, transfer fee was below expectations > Fred will leave United this summer as Saudi clubs, Fulham and more PL clubs are already working on it.

And then there were two...

Bonucci will be made available on the market with immediate effect.

And another potentially away to Saudi Arabia.

What a crazy transfer window.

Liverpool's midfield is vanishing into thin air. Milner, Kieta, Ox all away with the potential of Henderson and Fabinho too.

They have obviously signed two but losing five in one window is challenging.

...Deal will 100% also include add-ons.

Negotiations continue to find a solution as soon as possible.

The USL is set for a milestone vote on the adoption of a promotion and relegation system in its lower-division men’s soccer structure, sources briefed on the plans tell The Athletic. The sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the vote before it takes place, are optimistic the vote will be passed, but it is not considered a certainty.

Owners will vote on whether to proceed toward the new competitive structure at the USL’s board of governors meetings, set to take place Aug. 9-10 in Colorado Springs, Colo. If enacted, the USL would be the first open professional league system in modern U.S. soccer history.

The vote will not be on a specific and finalized framework for promotion and relegation, the sources said. Rather, the topic up for a vote will confirm whether ownership at the leagues’ clubs has enough collective interest to merit further work toward implementing an open system among the USL’s professional competitions.

A USL spokesperson declined to comment when reached by The Athletic.

The upcoming vote culminates work that publicly began in earnest at the USL’s 2021 mid-year meetings, when the organization formally proposed working toward incorporating promotion and relegation between its second-division Championship and third-division League One.

https://twitter.com/jacobsben/status/1678533599543320576

Is it ok to paste full the athletic articles? Its not like I'm bypassing any login. You can just ctrl-A, ctrl-C. The names above the teams are the journalists who wrote the info for that specific club, not the player to keep an eye on.

> As cliched footballing language dictates, the pre-season is often billed as “an opportunity”. > > While for managers, these preparation matches can be as much about rebuilding their team’s fitness levels after a two-month break as establishing patterns of play, for fans, there is little that beats watching a previously unfancied squad member produce statement performances or a hyped star of the future strut their stuff with your club’s big boys. > > With the Premier League’s sides about to play their first warm-up games of the summer ahead of the season starting on the second weekend in August, The Athletic’s writers have picked out one player to watch for all 20 clubs. > > Some may be familiar faces already, but others are largely-mythical young talents who might just make the most of the opportunity to impress they are about to be given. > > Arsenal > > Arsenal’s pre-season last year was a key factor in their strong start to the season proper, as they settled on a starting XI and then hit the ground running. The speed of their incoming business 12 months on may suggest a similar plan, but that should not deter their young, in-house talent. > > Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are two of the most exciting prospects coming through at the club. Both have signed on as first-year scholars and trained with both the under-21s and the first team this week. Nwaneri’s varied skill set has given him an interesting development path over the past year while Lewis-Skelly has also honed his unique attributes. With this pair still just 16 years old, however, patience is needed. Maybe they will be in next July’s version of this piece. > > Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters, as they are both 18, could be more realistic candidates to feature for Mikel Arteta during this pre-season. Sousa (a left-back and an England Under-18s international) received a Portugal call-up for the ongoing Under-19 European Championship but decided to stay at Arsenal to train with the first team ahead of their trip to Germany next week. > > Walters, who played during last year’s pre-season, has also been involved in first-team training and was dependable when called upon in multiple defensive roles. > > Arsenal’s first-choice back four (Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko) are all back in training so, like last summer, minutes may be sparse for the youngsters. That is not necessarily a bad thing, however. > > Sousa did not play but was part of the travelling squad to Germany last July, where he ended up at a dinner table with Arteta, his assistant Albert Stuivenberg, and first-team duo Mohamed Elneny and Rob Holding, which gave him a chance to familiarise himself with senior figures in a social setting. > > Art de Roché > Aston Villa > > Aston Villa’s thriving loan programme has opened up several opportunities for youngsters returning to HQ this summer, with England Under-21 striker Cameron Archer primed to make a first-team push. > > Archer was prolific in the Championship with Middlesbrough last season and has ticked every box so far in his journey of development up through the ranks. > > This summer is a big one for Archer. If he does enough during the pre-season schedule to convince head coach Unai Emery that he is worthy of a place in the first-team squad, he might finally get a chance to perform regularly in the Premier League. > > Archer is the most exciting academy graduate at the club so far, but Villa also have other players returning from loans in the Championship. Tim Iroegbunam, Jaden Philogene and Aaron Ramsey all performed well last season, and will also be pushing for involvement in the weeks ahead. > > Watch out for left midfielder Travis Patterson, too. He’s only 17 but did enough to get into the matchday squad for the 3-0 win over Newcastle in April when others were out with injuries. > > Gregg Evans > Bournemouth > > Illia Zabarnyi’s decision to move to Bournemouth brought a great source of satisfaction among senior club figures. > > Only 20 but already a full international for Ukraine, defender Zabarnyi had suitors of more distinguished stature than Bournemouth. Yet his signing, in essence, marked the first shift in how the club are being viewed under new owner Bill Foley. > > Zabarnyi joined in January but his first couple of months on the south coast were disrupted by an ankle injury picked up in his final training session with former side Dynamo Kyiv — costing him a period of adaptation in England. > > He did manage to start the final three games of the season and if his ceiling is as high as Bournemouth believe it to be, he should capture broader attention during these upcoming friendlies. > > Jacob Tanswell > Brentford > > Keane Lewis-Potter joined Brentford from Hull City 12 months ago for a then club-record fee of £16million ($20.5m at current exchange rates). There was huge excitement within the Brentford fanbase over a skilful winger who had shone in the Championship, one division down from the Premier League. However, he was plagued by injury issues during his debut season at the club. > > Lewis-Potter was present for the first day of pre-season last Tuesday and there will be renewed optimism he can become one of coach Thomas Frank’s star players. The three-match tour in the U.S. will give him the perfect opportunity to build up his fitness and impress. > go-deeper > > GO DEEPER > > What Keane Lewis-Potter will bring to Brentford > > Ryan Trevitt is not a new name to Brentford supporters, either — he made his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup last season but after being officially promoted from the B team into the seniors this summer, pre-season should be his time to shine. > > Keep an eye out for Michael Olakigbe, too — the 19-year-old winger oozes class. > > Jay Harris > Brighton & Hove Albion > > Steven Alzate has an opportunity to re-establish himself at Brighton as a midfield option for Roberto De Zerbi. > > Brighton’s head coach has not yet seen Alzate first-hand, as the 24-year-old was sent to Standard Liege on a season’s loan before his appointment last September. Alzate did well for a side who finished sixth in the Belgian top flight, scoring three goals and providing five assists in 29 appearances. > > He also shrugged aside the unsettling experience of an intended loan move to West Bromwich of the Championship falling through late in last summer’s transfer window because the paperwork wasn’t completed in time. > > Brighton’s then-coach Graham Potter took an immediate liking to Alzate after succeeding Chris Hughton for the 2019-20 season. London-born Alzate, signed from Leyton Orient’s academy, made 19 Premier League appearances, broke into the Colombia senior squad, and has now represented the homeland of his parents seven times. > > His career has stalled since then, partly due to injuries, but Alzate’s composed, passing game could be well-suited to De Zerbi’s style. He’s likely to seek a permanent move, however, if it becomes apparent that he’s not going to feature in the Italian’s plans. > > Andy Naylor > Burnley > > Vincent Kompany is building a team full of young talent and while the Premier League will soon be introduced to the likes of Anass Zaroury and Ameen Al-Dakhil following last season’s Championship title win, they are already established as first-team players at Turf Moor. > > Last January deadline-day addition of 18-year-old Enock Agyei went under the radar. The winger was immediately sent on loan to Belgium’s KV Mechelen, managed by former Burnley midfielder Steven Defour, where he made nine appearances, mostly from the bench. > > The Belgian youngster is an Anderlecht academy graduate and countryman Kompany played a key role in convincing him to join the Lancashire side. He is a raw prospect who combines speed with creativity, and Burnley believe his potential is high. > > Agyei joined up with the first-team squad for their “pre” pre-season trip to Portugal and he will be hoping to impress the coaching staff while Burnley’s work in the transfer market to add wide players, such as targets Nathan Tella and Jack Clarke, continues. > > Andrew Jones > Chelsea > > This summer’s midfield exodus has opened up an intriguing window of opportunity for Brazil Under-20s captain Andrey Santos, even if Chelsea are successful in their attempts to prise Moises Caicedo out of Brighton. > > Santos has finally obtained a UK work permit after being required to spend the remainder of the 2022-23 season on loan back at former club Vasco da Gama following his January transfer, and is regarded as being capable of staking a claim for an immediate first-team role, despite only turning 19 in May. > go-deeper > > GO DEEPER > > What Chelsea can expect from Andrey Santos, their exciting new Brazilian midfielder > > Key to Santos’ appeal to incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino could be his positional versatility: he has played as a No 6, a No 8 and even as a No 10 in Brazil and, while he still needs to refine most aspects of his game, he does appear to have the physical profile to hold his own in English football from day one. > > Expect to see him on the pitch during Chelsea’s five-game tour of the United States, and do not be shocked if he catches the eye. > > Liam Twomey > Crystal Palace > > Michael Olise’s recent hamstring tear at the Under-21 Euros will cause him to miss the start of Palace’s season, and it is Jesurun Rak-Sakyi who will benefit most from the Frenchman’s misfortune. > > The 20-year-old right winger starred on loan for Charlton Athletic last season, winning the League One club’s player of the year award after scoring 15 goals and claiming nine assists. He is currently Palace’s only fit natural right-winger and is therefore likely to be afforded significant playing time this pre-season, where he will hope to stake a claim to make the jump from the third tier of English football to the Premier League. > > Matt Woosnam > Everton > > If last season taught us anything, it is that Everton are not blessed with goals. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury woes persisted, while Neal Maupay failed to make any impression following his summer move from Brighton. In January, they recalled Ellis Simms from a successful loan at Championship side Sunderland, only for the youngster to spend most of the next few months on the bench. > > With Simms, 22, expected to move back to the Championship and Everton weighing up another loan spell for 20-year-old fellow front man Tom Cannon, it would be no big surprise if Francis Okoronkwo is given a chance to impress in pre-season — at least early on until additions are made. > > When Okoronkwo was signed for around £1million from Sunderland in his native north east in 2021, Everton believed they had secured one of the best prospects in the country in his age group. Now 18, he is still highly regarded internally, blending pace, a towering physique and the technical ability to both link play and score a variety of different kinds of goals, and he was part of the travelling group for the draw at Crystal Palace in April. > > The expectation currently is that Okoronkwo will spend the coming season leading the line and refining his game for Everton’s under-21 side. Until then, and with first-team striking options in short supply, these warm-up games may well give supporters an early glimpse of a player earmarked for a bright future in the blue shirt. > > Patrick Boyland > Fulham > > Last summer, Fulham’s pre-season tour to Portugal offered an excellent opportunity for some of their youngsters to impress coach Marco Silva, and something similar could happen again in the coming weeks. > > Fulham have a few holes in their squad that need addressing and until they are, it’s a chance for the likes of Jay Stansfield and Luke Harris to make an impression. Both have made their Premier League debuts and will be hoping for expanded roles in the coming season, with pre-season the perfect opportunity to make their case. > > Joining that group on the cusp of more involvement could be Matt Dibley-Dias, a midfielder eligible for New Zealand and Brazil, and whose grandfather was former Corinthians and Flamengo player Manoel Jose Dias, known as Manoelzinho. Also in contention could be Stefan Parkes, a left-back who has been around the Fulham first-team setup and has just signed a new deal, as well as Kristian Sekularac, an attacking midfielder recruited from Juventus last summer. > > As always with Fulham, there is an exciting generation waiting in the wings, so it would not be a surprise to see a wildcard talent come into the picture. > > Standouts in their under-18s last year included Bradley de Jesus, Lemar Gordon and Aaron Loupalo-Bi. It would not be a surprise if one of those youngsters step up in the coming weeks. > > Peter Rutzler > Liverpool > > Ben Doak arrived at Liverpool from Celtic a year ago and quickly became one to watch. > > His performances on the right-wing were impossible to miss. When Doak is on the pitch, you soon know about it. It wasn’t long after his move south that the Scotland Under-21 international started to take the academy by storm — and he continues to look unfazed by each step up. > > Doak began his time at Liverpool playing for the under-18s but was soon promoted to the under-21s; a step up simplified due to the absence of Kaide Gordon, who is set to return to full training later this month after 17 months out. > go-deeper > > GO DEEPER > > 'He was like a wee rocket': The rise of Liverpool youngster Ben Doak > > A fancy yet neat worker of the ball, the marauding Doak has a slight build but is mighty in possession. Fearlessness was a word used a lot to describe him last season, and his attitude and application at the academy have helped him find a way into manager Jurgen Klopp’s thinking, too. > > When Doak made his senior debut for Liverpool at Anfield two days before he turned 17 last November, fans watching him against Derby County in that Carabao Cup tie wanted to see more of the young Scot. Four cameos followed and no matter how few his minutes on the pitch were, Doak’s quality and intensity shone every time. Expect to see more of him. > > Caoimhe O’Neill > Luton Town > > As Luton prepare for their first-ever season in the Premier League, one young player who should get a chance to prove himself in pre-season is Joe Taylor. > > The 20-year-old forward was signed from Peterborough United of League One in January and made just five league appearances for the club before May’s Championship play-off final. > > That day at Wembley, he came on and scored what he thought was the winner in extra time to secure Luton’s place in the top flight, but VAR disallowed it for a handball. Undeterred, Taylor scored Luton’s second penalty in the shootout as they beat Coventry 6-5. > > Luton’s goalscoring hopes in the coming season will rest mainly on lead striker Carlton Morris, as well as Elijah Adebayo and Cauley Woodrow, but Taylor should get the chance in pre-season to make a case for being an impact substitute. > > Elsewhere, defender Joe Johnson, who was part of an under-18s squad that reached the FA Youth Cup’s round of 16 last term while also making two senior appearances, could feature. > > Alex Brodie > Manchester City > > Rico Lewis’ rise last summer, where he impressed Pep Guardiola so much during pre-season that he shot up the pecking order, means it is easier to believe that somebody else could follow in those footsteps — although, for once, City will take a full squad on their tour to Japan and South Korea, due to the lack of major men’s international tournaments this summer. > > There are two things to know about City’s academy graduates: one is that they are very good players and the other is that even if they are very highly rated by the manager and his staff, the reality is that Guardiola almost always likes his players to have plenty of top-level, international experience. > > That may explain why winger Oscar Bobb, a 19-year-old who has bags of talent, was not called upon towards the end of last season. Guardiola is very particular about his wingers at the moment — he needs them to keep hold of the ball in tight areas rather than want to run into space — but the good news for Bobb is that he is that type. He is very tidy in small spaces, yet can still carry the ball at high speeds, and has a good eye for a pass and weights them very well. > > He has been named City’s “Elite Development Squad” player of the year for the second year in a row, having scored six goals and made 17 assists. > > There is a lot of buzz around the Norway Under-21 international, who played in that age group’s ongoing Euros, and a good pre-season — and probably some first-team players leaving without being replaced — could push him closer to a breakthrough at City. Maybe. > > Sam Lee > Manchester United > > Manchester United’s tour of the United States has four matches in 10 days, so there should be ample opportunity for academy kids to get some minutes. > > Indeed, the game against Wrexham in San Diego will feature a squad made up of young players, and one of those whose face is being used on the promotional materials for that friendly on July 25 is Kobbie Mainoo. > > Mainoo got 87 minutes across three matches last season, making his Premier League debut as a substitute against Leicester City in February. He only turned 18 in April and is regarded as having a genuine chance of forging a career with United, having helped them win the FA Youth Cup as a first-year scholar in 2022. > go-deeper > > GO DEEPER > > Kobbie Mainoo, the technically gifted youngster making great strides at United > > Mainoo is a midfielder with excellent technique and mature decision-making, and his presence around the first team last season tells a story about manager Erik ten Hag’s opinion of him. Pre-season will dictate whether a loan is the next step in his development. > > Alvaro Fernandez should also feature in United’s warm-up games. The 20-year-old full-back may stay at United rather than go on another loan, after a successful temporary spell at Preston North End in the Championship last season. > > Laurie Whitwell > Newcastle United > > Talk about a cliffhanger. Near the end of the final match of last season, Lewis Miley, who had turned 17 just weeks earlier, made his debut for Newcastle. He played 14 minutes, during which he almost won that match against Chelsea when his shot from the edge of the box clipped the crossbar. > > Born in Stanley, just south of the city, the attacking midfielder joined Newcastle’s academy at age seven and was 16 when he played his first matches for the first team in friendlies against Al Hilal and Rayo Vallecano during the World Cup break last December. He turned 17 in May and signed his first professional contract with Newcastle that same month, following in the footsteps of older brother Jamie. > > Having been capped for the England Under-17s, he was pulled from the squad from that age group’s European Championship in May by the club, after which he was an unused substitute for two Premier League games before that debut against Chelsea. > > To loan or not to loan is the question for the coming season. Head coach Eddie Howe has hinted he wants Miley around and, although he is much younger, that policy has worked with Elliot Anderson, and certainly, fans are eager to see what comes next after that cameo at Stamford Bridge. > > Andrew Hankinson > Nottingham Forest > > When Nottingham Forest paid £16million to sign Danilo from Palmeiras of Brazil in January, it was an investment for the future. While there was immediately a lot of excitement about the midfielder, Steve Cooper was determined to be both cautious and patient as the 22-year-old acclimatised in a new country amid the demanding surroundings of the Premier League. > > When he arrived, Danilo could only speak a little English, but it says much about his rapid development that not only will he be a key figure for Forest in the coming season — but the more pertinent question is already over how long they might be able to hold onto him. > > Three goals and two assists — including vital strikes in wins over Brighton and Southampton in the final weeks — amid 12 Premier League starts and one substitute appearance were integral to Forest’s survival. And while Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson will continue to generate headlines, and interest from other clubs, Danilo is another young man with considerable potential. > > Forest will hope that pre-season will only help him to further find his feet. > > Paul Taylor > Sheffield United > > Pre-season is likely to be an important time for several Sheffield United’s youngsters, not least Daniel Jebbison who, despite holding the record as the youngest player to score in their first start in the Premier League, will still be a teenager when the new campaign kicks off next month. > > But another of the club’s academy graduates worth keeping an eye on is Andre Brooks. Supporters haven’t seen a lot of the 19-year-old, with his appearances last season limited to a brief debut from the bench against Burnley in the Championship and a start against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fifth round. > > Brooks, though, is rated highly by the coaching staff and spent much of last season around the first-team squad. Displaying excellent balance, the midfielder always looks comfortable in possession and is capable of going either way when getting past an opponent. > > With promoted United’s midfield signings this summer likely to be late-window additions on loan, Brooks has an opportunity in pre-season to display his talents. > > Richard Sutcliffe > Tottenham Hotspur > > With new coach Ange Postecoglou looking to re-shape Tottenham’s defence by shipping out some old faces and bringing in fresh ones, there could be a chance for a youngster to exploit the transition period by plugging gaps during pre-season. > > A boyhood Spurs fan, 18-year-old Alfie Dorrington was born in Enfield — a stone’s throw from Tottenham’s training ground — and has been at the club since the age of 13. The centre-back is very highly regarded at Hotspur Way, and last month signed a contract running to 2026. > Alfie Dorrington (Photo: Alex Morton/Getty Images) > > Dorrington set tongues wagging on “Spurs Twitter” in May with an incredible assist in the Under-18 Premier League Cup final against Aston Villa, intercepting the ball in his penalty area, running with it the length of the pitch and slipping in Jamie Donley to score the second in a 3-1 win at Villa Park. > > He featured regularly as Tottenham won both Under-17 and Under-18 Premier League Cups in 2022-23, also stepping up to play a dozen times for the under-21s, and could be a good bet to get some first-team minutes in pre-season. > > James Maw > West Ham United > > With Michail Antonio representing Jamaica at the ongoing CONCACAF Gold Cup and Gianluca Scamacca’s long-term future unclear, Divin Mubama will be aiming to impress in pre-season. > > The 18-year-old forward had a memorable 2022-23 season, making his first-team debut against Romanian side FSCB, scoring his first senior goal against AEK Larnaca (both during West Ham’s triumphant Europa Conference League run) and winning the FA Youth Cup with the club’s under-18s. > > Mubama, who has represented England at under-19 level, has already made three league appearances for West Ham and they have been reluctant to let him go out on loan. Highly regarded by coaches at the club’s Rush Green training ground, Mubama will hope to impress manager David Moyes over the forthcoming weeks. > > Roshane Thomas > Wolverhampton Wanderers > > There is no young player currently banging on the door to get into Wolves’ first team, with the best of their under-21s, including Joe Hodge, Luke Cundle, Dexter Lembikisa and Chem Campbell, all expected to be sent out on loan before the end of this transfer window to further their footballing educations. > > But somebody to watch in pre-season might well be Nathan Fraser, who is one of several up-and-coming players to have travelled to Portugal for a pre-season training camp. > > The 18-year-old, who was raised locally, in Tettenhall, near the club’s training ground, but plays his international youth football for the Republic of Ireland, is strong, tall and powerful, but also has intelligent movement. He is the kind of striker who have become rare in the game — and that’s one of the reasons why Wolves are excited by his potential.

Chelsea will unveil their new kit on Monday without a front-of-shirt sponsor.

The west London side had been in talks with gambling firm Stake, who also have deals with Everton and Watford, but fans were vocal in their opposition to that potential deal and nothing was agreed upon.

Previously, Chelsea had agreed a deal with U.S. streaming service Paramount Plus. That, though, was rejected by the Premier League due to concerns it could cause problems with the league’s broadcast partners.

Chelsea had hoped to complete a deal with Paramount Plus, but this was judged to not be permitted under the Deed of License – the contract between clubs and the Premier League, which covers matters including broadcasting and commercial deals.

Sky Sports, BT Sport (soon to be TNT Sports) and Amazon Prime are the Premier League’s current broadcast partners in the UK, and the league has a TV deal with NBC Sports in the U.S.

Talks with other potential partners are ongoing but the launch will go ahead without a front-of-shirt sponsor, as reported by the Daily Mail. There has not yet been any news of Chelsea’s sleeve sponsor after previous partners Whalefin pulled out of its agreement with the Premier League side.

The Creative Artists Agency is leading the process to secure Chelsea a new sponsor, with the club expecting a deal to be done before the start of the season on August 13.

Chelsea have been seeking a new front-of-shirt sponsor after their three-year deal with telecommunications network 3 UK expired at the end of last season. Before that, Japanese firm Yokohama Tires had sponsored the west London club.

Chelsea are one of five Premier League teams not to release a kit ahead of the new season. None of the newly-promoted trio of Luton Town, Sheffield United and Burnley have, as well as Nottingham Forest and West Ham United. Forest’s launch, though, is planned for next week

Absolutely brutal about Nyck lol.