Cagliari's Trepy in intensive care after reported pool incident

Cagliari striker Yael Trepy is in intensive care in hospital after he reportedly lost consciousness in a swimming pool in Sardinia.

On Monday, Cagliari released a statement to say the 20-year-old is being treated at Santissima Annunziata Civil Hospital in Sassari.

Sardinian newspaper Unione Sarda reported that Trepy was airlifted to hospital after the incident at a villa on Sunday afternoon.

“The club is in constant contact with the healthcare facility and the player’s family and is closely monitoring the progress of his condition,” said Cagliari.

“At this time, Cagliari Calcio’s thoughts are with Yael and his family. The club also requests the utmost respect for their privacy and will provide any updates when available.”

Cagliari players had the weekend off after they beat Arezzo 1-0 in the Coppa Italia on Friday, in which Trepy played 54 minutes.

Trepy scored once in eight Serie A appearances last season after being a Cagliari youth player.

He joined the club’s academy in 2022, having started his youth career with Parisian side US Creteil-Lusitanos.

BBC Sport has contacted Cagliari for comment.

From Chelsea bomb squad to new chapter at Como for Chalobah

Trevoh Chalobah ended his near 20-year association with Chelsea by joining Como 1907 this summer, but his journey through his boyhood club taught him one thing above all - resilience.

You only need to look at the England defender’s career to see how the 27-year-old managed to fulfill his dream of playing for Chelsea while also overcoming plenty of setbacks.

He went from crying in the car because he did not feel good enough while playing alongside Mason Mount and Declan Rice during his childhood at the Cobham academy, to being left out of first-team training as a member of the so-called “bomb squad” under former boss Enzo Maresca in 2024, before being made available for transfer and sent out on loan.

Each time, Chalobah bounced back to become a regular starter for Chelsea.

He was recalled from a loan spell at Crystal Palace in January 2025 and ultimately made 151 appearances for the Blues before completing a £31m move to Italy to join Serie A side Como under manager Cesc Fabregas last week.

Chalobah was brought in to provide leadership and demonstrate what he believes is his footballing superpower - being “very, very resilient”.

“That’s one of my attributes and one of my skills that I have, bouncing back from things and not allowing anything to get to me,” Chalobah reflects from Como’s pre-season camp in Teddington in south west London.

“Not just in football, in life, things are going to happen which are sometimes out of your hands and out of your control.”

It was the change in ownership in 2022 from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital which saw almost every player sold and new ones signed in a chaotic first two years.

There is no sense of bitterness or regret as Chalobah achieved his highest total of appearances for Chelsea in a single season last term with 47 before leaving his boyhood club.

“I always wanted to play for Chelsea no matter what the circumstances were, I always believed that I could do it,” Chalobah continued.

“I’m grateful for every setback, every challenge, every trophy I’ve won. I’ve won a few things there and it’s a club where I’ve improved and I’ve learned a lot.”

“Stepping in as a young boy and then leaving as a man, I’m really happy with my career there. I will always keep the blue flag flying. I’ll be supporting them, I’ll be watching them this season and they’ll always be in my heart.”

This is not Chalobah’s first spell with a club overseas, having spent part of the 2020-21 campaign on loan with Lorient in the French top flight.

It was there that he emulated his older brother Nathaniel, who played for Napoli, by taking the less-trodden path of moving to Europe as an English player, a route that has since become more commonplace.

The younger Chalobah says it was “not a coincidence” that Tuchel, whom he had faced while at Lorient after the German joined Paris St-Germain, picked him out and gave him his Chelsea debut.

Five years later, Tuchel promised him that if a defender dropped out of England’s World Cup squad, Chalobah would be first in line for a call-up.

While on holiday in New York, Chalobah received the call to join Tuchel’s squad at his first World Cup in place of the injured Tino Livramento.

“The story’s already written before I was born,” Chalobah said.

“He’s the one that gave me my debut for Chelsea and he’s the same manager that called me up for the World Cup last minute.”

“I think certain things are meant to happen and I’m grateful for that. Obviously all thanks to him and I’m really happy.”

The tournament ended in a semi-final defeat by Argentina before the team secured the bronze medal with a 6-4 victory over France in their final match.

“No one wants to come third. You’re just one step away from the final,” he said.

“It was definitely hard for the players. It did hit us for a couple of days. You know how hard the boys worked, how they believed that we could win it.”

“And yeah, we were so close. But we learn from this and be proud of what we’ve done and achieved.”

It is now another manager with whom Chalobah’s destiny intertwines.

Fabregas was one of Chelsea’s stars when Chalobah was in the academy and taking part in training sessions with the first-team squad.

“I remember how demanding he was with the younger players. So yeah, I know him really well,” Chalobah explained, recalling those early sessions.

Fabregas has overseen Como’s remarkable rise from Serie B to the Champions League in just two seasons and convinced Chalobah to join amid interest from Inter Milan.

“He was a massive part,” Chalobah added. “He explained what he wanted, the way he sees the club and how he sees me fitting into this club and how I can help - having a lot of experience, physicality as well, the leadership.”

“It wasn’t an overnight thing, it was a very thoughtful and hard decision. But I thought, as I said, the trajectory of this club and the direction it’s going in, and speaking to the manager, and wanting to be part of this story.”

“I’m really excited for this new chapter in my beautiful story that I’ve had so far.”

Man City in advanced talks for £85m Bouaddi, 18

Ayyoub Bouaddi started five of Morocco’s six games at the World Cup

Manchester City are in advanced talks with Lille over a move for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

The Premier League side want to conclude the transfer this week after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona.

It is understood Lille value the 18-year-old at 100 million euros (£85.6m).

Bouaddi impressed at this summer’s World Cup - starting five of Morocco’s six matches in their run to the quarter-finals - after a starring role in Lille’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid in 2024 announced him on the big stage.

He functions as a deep-lying conductor and would complement summer signing Elliot Anderson, who is comfortable as a box-to-box midfielder as well as the number six role he plays for England.

Bouaddi has played 88 times for Lille since making his debut in October 2023, three days after his 16th birthday, and helped them finish third in Ligue 1 last season.

Spain captain Rodri is set to complete a £65m move to Barcelona in the coming days on a four-year contract.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has made 298 appearances across seven trophy-laden seasons at City after joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a then club record £62.8m.

The 30-year-old missed much of the 2024-25 campaign with a serious knee injury, and parts of last season were disrupted by a hamstring issue.

However, he was back to his best at the World Cup in the summer, leading Spain to their second global title and being named player of the tournament.

It remains to be seen if a successful move for Bouaddi would impact City’s interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, but well-placed sources maintain that manager Enzo Maresca retains a strong interest in the Argentina midfielder.

Signings impress but squad issues remain - learnings from Man Utd's summer

Michael Carrick was confirmed as Manchester United’s permanent head coach on 22 May

Calm is the word most used about Michael Carrick by people at Manchester United.

Outwardly at least, nothing knocks him out of his stride.

Take Thursday for instance. During extended chats with the UK media, one journalist asked, pointedly and with persistence, about realistic targets for the season ahead and questioned the club’s willingness to spend enough to achieve them.

What Carrick privately thought about the questions, or the manner they were asked, is unclear. But seeing him navigate them was fascinating.

There was no sign of discomfort or irritation as he sat and spoke. Carrick remained relaxed and polite but, without hesitation, answers reduced from their previously expanded form to single sentences, questions were asked in response to questions. Points already outlined were restated.

Then, as the chat switched to other topics, unflustered, Carrick switched back to the in-depth answers from before.

It was almost like Carrick as a player. Take the ball in tight spaces, be aware of the danger, keep composed and move out of trouble.

New signing Andrey Santos impressed across Manchester United’s pre-season campaign

There are a lot of positives for Carrick to take from a pre-season of five weeks and six games.

Two wins, two draws and two defeats might look average, but the benefits are clear.

There is huge potential in midfielder Andrey Santos for a start. One of three players - Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven were the others - to start every game, the 22-year-old, £48m summer arrival from Chelsea impressed with his ability to rotate the ball, his positional discipline and communication.

Like Carrick himself, there is an assurance about Manchester United’s other major signing, Youri Tielemans, that should spread through the team. There are already signs his link-up with skipper Bruno Fernandes could prove productive.

It was the energised and impactful version of Bryan Mbeumo from the first half of last season that has been on view, rather than the tired one that returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Heaven impressed in defence, Leny Yoro also, particularly at right-back. Amad Diallo did well in flashes when he returned from World Cup duty. The same is true of Shea Lacey, the 19-year-old academy star who clearly needs to be eased in gradually, but of whom so much is expected.

But there are issues.

Neither striker Benjamin Sesko, nor new goalkeeper Karl Darlow featured. Mason Mount, arguably the best player across the first three matches, was not involved again after being taken off as a ‘precaution’ following a blow to his foot early in the game against Paris St-Germain on 8 August.

Some players in Carrick’s squad in Poland this weekend are surplus to requirements.

Midfielder Toby Collyer filled in for Mount, but his future lies elsewhere. Club officials feel interest in him should be high.

Full-back Harry Amass was back-up to Luke Shaw, but the intention for him is also to leave, with sources feeling a loan is more likely than a permanent exit.

Of the more experienced members of Carrick’s squad, Joshua Zirkzee is hugely popular and has ability. However, he lacks consistency, or an obvious position in the squad, and Lacey was used ahead of him in the number 10 role at times.

If interest from Italy stacks up financially, it would seem to make sense for the former Bologna man to return to Serie A.

The Marcus Rashford situation needs clarity.

Sources have said the expectation is Rashford will stay at Old Trafford.

However, there remains a chance he will not, which is why Carrick and team-mates who have been asked about the England forward avoid offering a definitive judgement.

Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw started all 38 Premier League games last season

The lack of sales affects United’s next move in the transfer market.

At the beginning of the month, as supporters began to get edgy at the lack of further deals following Tielemans’ arrival on 14 July, a senior club source said their business should be judged at the end of the window.

Carrick’s “we want more, we need more” assessment of the situation last week was an accurate reflection of the situation.

Competition for the left-back position is required as a matter of urgency. Shaw has a year left on his contract and his ability to repeatedly play three games in a week is unclear. In three weeks, Carrick will have a trip to Everton and a home game with Manchester City to prepare for; in between them is a Champions League game. He must have an alternative option he would feel confident of starting in those games.

Admiration for Newcastle’s Lewis Hall is well known. But the club prides itself on its data team coming up with other choices. Surely they are getting to the point where they need to act?

Central midfield is also an area of debate. Can Mount really be the ‘third’ midfielder spoken about so often in the summer, with the potential signing of Leicester teenager Louis Page as back-up?

Then there are qualified risks. Senne Lammens was excellent in his debut campaign but has just two seasons as a first-choice senior goalkeeper behind him and his unhappy World Cup experience proved he can make major mistakes.

“We’ve got to be realistic, not get carried away and think everything is going to be rosy,” said Carrick last week. “It never is, never was, never will be.”

Hull and Ipswich offer a kind start to his first full season in charge, but also the kind of banana skin United have found it so difficult to navigate at points in the past when they had seemed well placed to kick on.

In conversation a year ago with former team-mate Rio Ferdinand, who he welcomed to United’s training camp in Dublin last week, Carrick said he sometimes felt he was above the match he was playing in, which gave him a clear picture of what was happening.

That clarity of vision may be valuable in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

Championship excellent place to discover talent - Espanyol's Monchi

Espanyol sporting director Monchi believes Spanish clubs should be paying closer attention to England’s Championship, describing it as one of football’s “least understood” competitions and an increasingly attractive source of talent.

The former goalkeeper has returned to his native Spain after two years as president of football operations at Aston Villa, having previously held sporting director roles at Sevilla and Roma.

Barcelona-based Espanyol, who finished 11th in La Liga last season, are one of the oldest clubs in Spain, having been founded in 1900.

Monchi says seeking out talent in the English second tier is part of a broader strategy to tap into markets where Espanyol can compete, despite the financial restrictions imposed on Spanish clubs.

Espanyol have a connection to the Championship - as the club’s ownership group, led by Alan Pace, also owns Burnley.

“I think the Championship is one of the least understood competitions,” Monchi told BBC Sport.

“Having lived in England for two years and worked with Aston Villa, and now continuing to follow the competition because of Burnley, I can say that there are some very good players there.”

The 57-year-old Spaniard points to Morgan Rogers as one example of the talent who came through the Championship.

Rogers joined Aston Villa from Middlesbrough in 2024 after a spell in the second tier and went on to become an England international before completing a £117m move to Chelsea this summer.

“That is just one example, but I could give many more,” Monchi said.

“I think it is a competition with an extremely high level of competitiveness, very good coaches and intense demands. It is an excellent place to discover talent.”

Tyrhys Dolan joined Espanyol from Blackburn Rovers in July 2025 after five seasons in the Championship, while the Spanish club have now signed Netherlands international Quilindschy Hartman on loan from Burnley.

For Espanyol, the Championship represents more than simply a scouting opportunity.

Spanish clubs operate under La Liga’s squad-cost limits, while Premier League clubs have considerably greater financial resources.

Monchi therefore believes clubs such as Espanyol have to identify markets where intelligent recruitment can compensate for a spending disadvantage.

“We cannot do everything we would like to do, but we do what we can,” he said.

“It is true that we are at a disadvantage compared with some Spanish clubs, and particularly compared with clubs in England, Italy or Germany.”

“However, we have to be imaginative, work hard and look for alternatives.”

The link between Espanyol and Burnley gives Monchi a close connection to the English game.

“I cannot avoid keeping an eye on the UK,” he said.

Monchi’s two years at Aston Villa also changed his perspective on how a modern football club should operate.

He particularly admired Villa’s clear separation between the sporting and business sides, while maintaining strong relationships between ownership, staff and supporters.

“There was a very clear distinction between the business side and the sporting side,” he said.

“There was very good synergy throughout the club, a strong relationship with the ownership and a close connection with the fans.”

“That does not mean applying everything in exactly the same way [at Espanyol], but they are valuable experiences.”

His most memorable moment in England came during his first season at Villa in 2023-24, when they qualified for the Champions League.

“After 40 or so years without playing in the Champions League, securing qualification was a beautiful moment,” he said.

Villa also reached the semi-finals of the Conference League during his first season, before reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and Champions League quarter-finals in his second campaign.

Monchi’s approach to identifying players has evolved considerably since he began working as a sporting director more than 25 years ago.

The biggest change, he says, has been the arrival of data and artificial intelligence.

“We no longer rely solely on scouting reports and subjective assessments, but also on the support provided by big data, artificial intelligence and data analysis in general,” he said.

“All clubs have done, and what I have done personally, is adapt to new technologies.”

For Espanyol, that means combining data-driven recruitment with the kind of market knowledge Monchi developed during his career in Spain, Italy and England.

The objective is not simply to find cheap players, but to identify players who can increase the club’s competitiveness and eventually help close the financial gap with wealthier rivals.

Monchi is equally clear that Espanyol should not measure their progress by how they compare to Barcelona, despite the two clubs sharing the same city.

“Espanyol have to focus on themselves,” he said.

“Barcelona are a major club and an important team, but I do not think Espanyol’s growth should be measured against Barcelona. Espanyol’s reference point has to be Espanyol itself.”

His ambition is to restore Espanyol to the status their history suggests they should occupy.

“Espanyol have enough history and enough of a past for us to look back at what the club has been and try to become that Espanyol again,” he said.

“An Espanyol that was one of the most important clubs in Spain. That is where we have to aim to return.”

The immediate target is more modest: improve on last season’s league position and consolidate the project.

But beneath that cautious short-term approach is a clear belief that Espanyol can eventually compete much higher up La Liga.

“The ambition is to improve on last season’s league position and continue progressing, moving forward one step at a time and consolidating the project,” Monchi said.

And if the Championship continues to provide the sort of players he believes Spanish clubs are overlooking, it could become an important part of the route back.