🚨 Man Utd midfielder BID, Arteta's surprise U-turn, Liverpool's Konate ultimatum, CR7 to miss start of World Cup, and more!
Today's round-up, featuring the latest transfer news and news clips from the latest World Cup qualifiers.
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
International round-up
England beat Serbia with two quality goals
England continued their fine form under Thomas Tuchel as they picked up a deserved 2-0 win over Serbia at Wembley last night.
Both goals came from Arsenal players, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze, and they were also both absolutely superb finishes.
Saka showed great technique to steer home the opener, while Eze also got a lovely connection with the ball after being expertly set up by Phil Foden.
FT England 2-0 Serbia [Pictures from ITV Sport]
Cristiano Ronaldo sent off in Ireland win over Portugal
Republic of Ireland gave their World Cup hopes a major boost with a win over Portugal.
Troy Parrott opened the scoring from a well-worked set-piece routine, sending the home fans wild.
Cristiano Ronaldo was later shown a straight red card and will now miss Portugal’s opening group game at the 2026 World Cup.
FT Republic of Ireland 2-0 Portugal [Pictures from RTE]
World Cup qualification scores in full
England 2-0 Serbia
Ireland 2-0 Portugal
France 4-0 Ukraine
Azerbaijan 0-2 Iceland
Norway 4-1 Estonia
Moldova 0-2 Italy
Andorra 0-1 Albania
Armenia 0-1 Hungary
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Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus now looks set to stay at Arsenal despite Premier League clubs enquiring about signing him on loan in January, with Mikel Arteta giving the Brazilian assurances about his role in the squad. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Gabriel Jesus on returning to Palmeiras: “When I feel it’s time to return to Palmeiras, I’ll decide that with Arsenal, but we’re talking about a player who’s been out for nine months and is now fighting to get back into the team, and there are journalists who are talking without any basis whatsoever. Coming back from such a complex surgery, it doesn’t make sense for me to leave Arsenal now.” (Somos Fanaticos)
Barcelona
Lionel Messi will get a statue at Barcelona, club president Joan Laporta has confirmed. (Sport)
Bayern Munich
Despite links with Barcelona and a possible return to the Premier League, Harry Kane has reportedly now decided that he wants to stay at Bayern Munich beyond this season. (Fichajes)
Chelsea
Chelsea remain prime candidates to sign Mike Maignan once he becomes a free agent, with the Blues having previously come very close to landing the AC Milan goalkeeper this summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Chelsea are ready to launch a club-record transfer bid for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior amid ongoing doubts over his long-term future under new manager Xabi Alonso. (Fichajes)
Former Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has described his decision to join the Blues as a “f***ing big mistake” - full story here!
Juventus
Worry for Juventus as Kenan Yildiz’s contract talks with the club have reportedly stalled, putting big names from around Europe on alert. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Liverpool
Liverpool have given Ibrahima Konate an ultimatum - sign a new contract now, or leave and be replaced by Marc Guehi in the January transfer window. (Indy Kaila, CaughtOffside)
Liverpool could be up against Tottenham for the transfer of Antoine Semenyo, whose asking price is expected to be as high as £70m this January. (TEAMtalk)
Ecuadorian teenager Deinner Ordonez is on Liverpool’s radar after earning the reputation for being one of the most exciting young talents in South America. (Daily Mail)
Manchester City
Nico O’Reilly was buzzing after making his England debut, with the Manchester City youngster discussing his link-up with Marcus Rashford and his hopes of making the 2026 World Cup next summer.
Rodrygo Goes remains a Manchester City target for January after they showed the strongest interest in him while his Real Madrid future also looked uncertain during the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Manchester United
Manchester United want to “move fast” to win the race for Antoine Semenyo, who is also wanted by Liverpool ahead of the January transfer window. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Manchester United are also eyeing alternatives out wide and have reportedly made an enquiry over Karim Adeyemi as he’s yet to agree a new contract at Borussia Dortmund. (Florian Plettenberg)
Manchester United could be prepared to pay over market value for Angelo Stiller, who is emerging as one of their top priorities in midfield. (Fichajes)
Nottingham Forest
Elliot Anderson’s remarkable rise continued with another strong England display, but he insists he’s not taking a World Cup place for granted, while he also responded to Thomas Tuchel praising him as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Real Madrid
Dayot Upamecano to Real Madrid now looks the most likely signing in defence for Los Blancos next summer as Marc Guehi’s wage demands would be too high. (Cadena SER)
Chelsea are ready to launch a club-record transfer bid for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior amid ongoing doubts over his long-term future under new manager Xabi Alonso. (Fichajes)
Tottenham
Tottenham have cooled their interest in signing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, who was expected to still be a target for them after they first looked at him during the summer. (TEAMtalk)