Liverpool reject £21.7m Inter Milan offer for Curtis Jones

Liverpool have rejected a verbal offer of 25m euros (£21.7m) from Inter Milan for Curtis Jones.

The offer is well short of the £35m which Liverpool value Jones at and they are unwilling to sanction a cut-price exit for the midfielder.

Jones, 25, only has one year left on his current deal at Anfield and this is the second time Inter have come in for him this year.

The Italian club were interested in his availability in January and proposed a loan with a view to a transfer but that was also turned down by Liverpool.

This month, Piero Ausilio, Inter’s sporting director, said: “Curtis Jones - we are paying attention to him. We didn’t hide. We understand what the developments will be.”

Federico Chiesa went as far as telling Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that Jones asked him what it is like to live in Italy.

Homegrown talent Jones joined Liverpool’s academy aged nine before signing his first professional contract with the Reds in 2018.

Spurs' Bergvall exploring options away from club

Sweden’s Lucas Bergvall is facing an uncertain future at Tottenham with the midfielder keen for a new challenge.

The 20-year-old is exploring his options after playing limited minutes at the end of last season under Roberto de Zerbi, often not in his preferred position as a ‘number six’.

Spurs are also understood to be targeting an additional midfielder and have made an offer of about £80m for Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, which was rejected.

Bergvall’s representatives are believed to have held talks with Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.

However, Chelsea are no longer interested after briefly exploring a move in January.

Bergvall is at the World Cup and featured in Sweden’s 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands in Houston on Saturday.

He played 33 games for Spurs last season but missed two months after having ankle surgery.

Carlisle sign keeper Mair on permanent deal

Carlisle United have signed goalkeeper Archie Mair on a permanent deal.

Mair, 25, joined the Cumbrians on loan from Morecambe in January but made just one National League appearance, against Brackley in April.

He recently left Morecambe at the end of his contract and has signed for Carlisle on a one-year deal with the option of an additional year.

The Scot began his career at Aberdeen and later had a spell at Norwich City, although he did not make a first-team appearance for either club.

He previously played under Carlisle boss Rob Elliot during a spell on loan at Gateshead.

Mair has also spent time on loan at Lincoln, Notts County and Motherwell.

“I’m looking forward to kicking on,” he told Carlisle’s website.

“Hopefully the fans will see more of me going forward. I’m confident in myself, I’m calm, I like being on the ball, and I enjoy being in possession.”

Elliot said: “I’ve worked with Archie before at Gateshead and know what he can bring.

“He is a goalkeeper with good presence, confidence, and the ability to play with the ball at his feet.”

Newcastle reject Spurs bid of about £80m for Tonali

Newcastle United have rejected a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for midfielder Sandro Tonali.

It is understood an offer worth about £80m was turned down earlier this week.

BBC Sport previously reported Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi was a long-time admirer of Tonali and that the club were exploring the finances of a deal for the 26-year-old Italian.

However, their opening proposal was declined by Newcastle, who are in a strong position to command a greater fee closer to £100m as Manchester City and Arsenal monitor developments.

Newcastle have already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, but the club’s chief executive, David Hopkinson, has previously made it clear they will only trade players on “our terms”.

Tonali is effectively contracted until 2030 after he signed a new deal during his 10-month betting ban to repay the faith the club showed in him.

The current market might also work in Newcastle’s favour, if a bidding war ensues, given the valuations of midfielders elsewhere.

Manchester City had a second bid worth about £120m rejected by Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson, while relegated West Ham want up to £80m for Mateus Fernandes.

There may have been scenes of celebration at full-time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after De Zerbi’s side avoided relegation on the final day of the season.

But there was a recognition internally that the club must never find themselves in such a dire position again.

Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham vowed “change is happening” in an interview with BBC Sport in May, and there has certainly been a shift in approach.

Spurs have already spent £52m on defender Jan Paul van Hecke, which would have been unimaginable once upon a time, given he had just one year left on his contract at Brighton.

They have also looked to capitalise on their revenue by adapting their wage structure, and signed Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers before the window even officially opened.

Although Spurs’ opening gambit was unsuccessful, this approach for Tonali also marks a shift for a club who have never spent more than the £65m deal for Dominic Solanke.

However, it was rather telling that the bid was swiftly rejected by Newcastle.

In a week when Newcastle lost out to Liverpool in the race to sign Spain winger Victor Munoz, it would have been damning if Spurs succeeded with their opening bid for Tonali.

It is clearly going to take a great deal more to tempt Newcastle to cash in.

Coventry play champions Arsenal in Premier League opener

Newly promoted Coventry City will travel to champions Arsenal in the first match of the 2026-27 Premier League season.

The season’s curtain raiser on Friday, 21 August sees the Sky Blues play their first top-flight match in 25 years against the Gunners, who were led to their first Premier League title since 2004 by Mikel Arteta.

Hull City, who went up via the play-offs, host Manchester United on Saturday, 22 August while fellow promoted side Ipswich are at home to Sunderland on the same day.

Manchester City begin life without Pep Guardiola at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, 23 August, who also start the campaign with a new manager in Marco Rose.

Liverpool’s first match under Andoni Iraola, who replaced the sacked Arne Slot after leaving the Cherries, is away at Newcastle on the same day.

Chelsea start life under Xabi Alonso away at Fulham on Monday, 24 August, with the Cottagers also still to appoint a new manager after Marco Silva’s departure.

Arsenal v Coventry (20:00) Hull City v Manchester United (12:30) Everton v Crystal Palace (15:00) Ipswich v Sunderland (15:00) Nottingham Forest v Leeds (15:00) Brentford v Tottenham (17:30) Brighton v Aston Villa (14:00) Manchester City v Bournemouth (14:00) Newcastle v Liverpool (16:30) Fulham v Chelsea (20:00)

The new campaign will start on Friday, 21 August - 34 days after the World Cup final in the United States.

The Premier League season will end on Sunday, 30 May 2027, with the Champions League final six days later.

Both the start and end dates of the 2026-27 season are later than usual as a result of the World Cup.

There will be 33 rounds of weekend fixtures next term, with the remaining five taking place midweek.

The Premier League has said the schedule will be designed to “avoid domestic competition clashes with Uefa competition dates, wherever possible”.

A joint-record nine Premier League teams have qualified for European competition next season.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool will play in the Champions League.

Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace will feature in the Europa League, with Brighton qualifying for the Conference League.

During the Christmas and New Year period, no two rounds of matches will take place within 60 hours of each other in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address congested schedules.

Last season, Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Newcastle was the only Premier League game to take place on Boxing Day but a full round of fixtures will return on Saturday, 26 December.

Rather than the traditional three two-week international breaks during the opening months of the season, there will now be two.

September and October’s international breaks will merge into a new three-week break beginning after the weekend of September 19/20, while November’s two-week international break will remain.

There will be a change in the way Premier League referees judge hair-pulling next season after three players were sent off for the offence in 2025-26.

All three red cards for hair-pulling came through a video assistant referee review, but from next season, not every time a player is seen to pull an opponent’s hair will they be dismissed.

Instead, greater emphasis will be placed on both the level of force and the intention.

Referees will be told to look for a “clear and deliberate action” which has “excessive force and/or brutality”.

The change is intended to give more latitude to players who may accidentally hold on to an opponent’s hair.

In addition, officials will be asked to place a greater emphasis on grappling and holding inside the area after it became commonplace on corners and set-pieces.

Referees will be told to pay much more attention to “holding actions that have clear material impact”.

This includes players who are “clearly only focused on opponents and making a holding action”.

A solution to stop goalkeeper “tactical timeouts” is also set to be introduced.

The tactic is used by managers to get new instructions to their players or to impact the momentum of the opposition.

The goalkeeper sits on the turf and signals for the physio and the other players rush to the technical area for a team talk.

The Premier League is discussing a solution before the new season while a new law to tackle general time-wasting by goalkeepers will be introduced.

If keepers delay a restart on a goal-kick, a referee can start a five-second countdown. If time runs out, the opposition will be given a corner.

The measures were agreed at the Premier League AGM earlier this month.