GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, September. 2 - the British transfer record has been broken, the Leagues Cup final sees drama, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
British Transfer Record Broken
Liverpool have signed Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a British record transfer fee of £125m, eclipsing Florian Wirtz's £116m move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen. The deal takes Liverpool’s spending to around £451m this summer before add-ons—the highest total in Premier League history. See his first interview as a Liverpool player here.
On a global scale, Isak’s move is the third-highest in history based on initial fees, behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Paris Saint-Germain spent £200m in bringing in Neymar from Barcelona in 2017. Mbappe joined in the same year, initially on loan, in what became a £165.7m permanent deal.
Isak has scored 62 goals (49 non-pen goals) in 109 (95 starts) in all competitions for Newcastle. Only Erling Haaland (49) and Mohamed Salah (47) scored more Premier League goals across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons than Isak (44), with the Swede playing six games fewer than his new Liverpool teammate. Read more on Isak’s stats here.
In related news, Liverpool’s move to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace fell through despite undergoing a medical. Palace reportedly refused to sanction the transfer after failing to sort out a replacement, and some reports (unverified) claim manager Oliver Glasner threatened to leave his position if they let go of the defender.
Leagues Cup Final Drama
Inter Miami striker Luis Suarez appeared to spit at a member of the Seattle Sounders’ coaching staff following his side’s 3-0 Leagues Cup final defeat. The incident can be viewed here. In the past, MLS has handed down multi-game suspensions for spitting on players or match officials, including Hector Herrera’s three-match ban last season and Jasper Loffelsend’s two-match suspension in 2023.
Following the final whistle, a brawl broke out between the players. Suarez grabbed Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas around the neck before team-mate Sergio Busquets struck the Mexico international on the chin.
The Sounders won their first-ever Leagues Cup title, becoming the only MLS team to capture every major North American trophy. They will qualify directly for the round of 16 in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, while Miami qualify for the earlier stage of the tournament by virtue of reaching the final. The trophy is Seattle’s ninth major honour since joining MLS in 2009.
Watch the match highlights here.
Ten Hag Sacked
Bayer Leverkusen have sacked head coach Erik ten Hag after just two league games in his tenure, making it the fastest dismissal in Bundesliga history. The former Manchester United manager signed a two-year contract upon replacing Xabi Alonso, who was appointed as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor at Real Madrid. Ten Hag becomes the third former Manchester United manager to be sacked in the space of a week, after Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Besiktas and Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce.
Ten Hag’s first match saw Leverkusen win 4-0 over fourth-tier side Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the DFB Pokal, though the opponents were reduced to nine players. In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen lost their opener 2-1 to Hoffenheim and drew 3-3 with Werder Bremen, conceding twice late on, including a 94th-minute equaliser.
Leverkusen’s managing director, Simon Rolfes, said: “This decision was not an easy one for us. Nobody wanted to take this step. However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this setup is not feasible.” Ten Hag has since released his own statement—read here.
POLL
Does Mikel Arteta have to win a trophy with Arsenal this season in order to keep his job?
ON THE BALL
Europe
See every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues (More)
> Barcelona are reportedly going to play their next match at their revamped stadium following its reconstruction after the 2022–23 campaign (More)
> Newcastle have agreed a deal worth up to £55m to sign Brentford forward Yoane Wissa (More) | Tottenham have agreed a season-long loan deal for PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani (More) | Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp on a five-year contract for £18.1m (More)
> Bayern Munich have signed a £70.5m deal to sign Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson on loan with an obligation to buy (More)
> Dele Alli has terminated his contract with Serie A side Como and he will now be available on a free transfer (More)
Americas
> Neymar has contradicted Carlo Ancelotti's claim that an injury was the reason for the forward's omission from the Brazil squad for this week's Conmebol World Cup qualifiers; speaking after Santos’ 0-0 draw with Fluminense (More)
> Liga MX leaders Monterrey won their sixth league game in a row with a 4-2 win over Puebla to maintain their position, though Club America and Cruz Azul are just one point behind (More)
Rest of the World
> Karim Benzema netted a hat-trick in Al Ittihad’s opening day 5-2 win over Al Okhdood (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Has VAR had a negative impact on your viewing experience since the start of the new season?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📉 Negative (64%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Not negative (35%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (1%)
Your punditry takes:
📉 D.W: “VAR was first introduced to create parity for both teams during match time and to also safeguard the refereeing decisions, but it has done neither. Here we are, seven seasons in and the same fundamental, basic glaring mistakes are being made on a regular basis. The VAR teams are incompetent to the extent that it is worryingly questionable, and the referees are scared to take ownership, as they should on the field of play.”
📉 G.R: “When a 90-minute game gets extended by 10–15 minutes, it impacts my enjoyment of the game. There is too much stopping and starting in the game, and it impacts on the flow of play for the players too. When the players are forced to wait five minutes for a VAR decision, muscles can cool down, and the players can have injuries like we never experienced prior to VAR being introduced.”
✍️ W.D.B: “VAR itself is not negative, it is the uneven application that is. There is still no consistency in calls between games, and worse yet, they still get calls wrong at times and even introduce more mistakes into the officiating than if it didn’t exist.”
EXTRA TIME
How would Liverpool fit Ekitike and Isak in the same team?
A timeline of Mourinho’s controversies in Turkey.
How the World Cup became the World Cup. (video)
BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
Neymar and Thiago Silva winding each other up.
Best goals scored by teenagers in the Premier League.
GAME FACE ON
Question: James Milner became the second-oldest goalscorer in Premier League history with his penalty kick against Manchester City on Sunday. Can you name the rest of the top five oldest goal scorers?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
English National League
See all fixtures here (kick-offs at 19:45)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Teddy Sheringham (40 years, 268 days old), Dean Windass (39 years, 235 days old), Thiago Silva (39 years, 198 days old), Ashley Young (39 years, 148 days old). See the full list here.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I beat Messi in a final. It’s a dream come true.
