Good morning and welcome to the start of the Premier League as Arsenal and Leicester get things going later tonight! It's been a long two months but we've emerged relatively unscathed and a few million pounds lighter.
The PL may be cranking into gear but the transfer window remains very much alive and kicking. As such, we'll be bringing you all the latest deals and gossip from today so make sure to stay tuned!
Reports are claiming that Jose Mourinho is 'privately confident' over a deal for Real Madrid's Gareth Bale - this is in spite of the United's manager admission that is "Game over" in their pursuit of the Welsh superstar.
Nonetheless, the Sun alleges that Mourinho privately feels an agreement can still be reached with Bale whose future looks far from certain given the recent form of Spain's Isco.
Good luck to Jose - he's going to need it on this one, especially given what Bale said below.
After landing the shock transfer of the summer, Paris Saint-Germain are looking to do it all again as they chase down Monaco's Kylian Mbappe.
The Daily Mirror reports that PSG are closing in on a £163m deal for the youngster in what would be another major coup for the French club.
Such a transfer would bring the club's spending up to £362m as they attempt to carve out a new world order in football.
The Mirror claims PSG are poised to hand Mbappe a £10m-a-year deal to prise him away from the Stade Louis II, though Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has made clear his club's position over the youngster: “Mbappe will make the right decision. He has never expressed a wish to leave us. The player needs to move for the sake of sporting reasons.”
Talking of transfers, here's one recent Arsenal signing that Arsene Wenger has challenged to score a goal a game as he did in France. No pressure, Alexandre...
Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal have never been close to signing Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.
The Gunners have been linked to the Algerian after he made it clear that he wanted to leave the King Power in search of more silverware.
But Wenger has dismissed such speculation, insisting he already has "similar types" of players at Arsenal.
“We were never close,” he added when asked about Arsenal moving for Mahrez.
“I rate him as a player but we have similar types with Alex Iwobi, Jack Wilshere back, Mesut Ozil ... we have plenty of the same type of players.”
Wenger also revealed that Arsenal remain open for business in the summer transfer market.
“We are still open,” he said. “But of course at the moment I have currently 33 players and it is very difficult to manage on a daily basis such a high number.”
Liverpool have been linked to Gremio forward Luan, with reports from Brazlian outlet Globo Esporte claiming that the Reds have been keeping tabs on the 24-year-old this summer.
The Anfield club also reportedly sent a scout to watch Luan in action during Gremio's 2-1 win against Godoy Cruz in their Copa Libertadores clash on Wednesday night.
Luan has scored six goals and has made six assists in 25 appearances in all competitions in the current campaign so far, and is now into the final 12 months of his contract.
Luan has been imaginatively dubbed the “next Ronaldinho” but the forward has only made one appearance for Brazil in his career so far.
Juventus are set to put in a £23m bid for Liverpool midfielder Emre Can as they attempt to prise the German away from Anfield, according to reports.
Liverpool's efforts to tie down the German on a new contract have so far proved fruitless, with the player's situation subsequently drawing attention from Italy.
Can has less than a year remaining on his current contract and negotiations between player and club have made no progress over the summer.
In light of such developments, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Serie A champions Juventus are to make a £23m offer for the midfielder.
Liverpool have released a statement reaffirming their stance that Philippe Coutinho won't be sold this summer.
The Reds’ statement read: “We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho.
“The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.”
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with moves to Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, following Neymar’s sensational £198m move to France.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies