Spurs in talks to sign Man City's Savinho and Marmoush

Tottenham are in talks with Manchester City over a double deal for forwards Savinho and Omar Marmoush.

Sources have told BBC Sport that negotiations between the clubs are progressing, although an agreement has yet to be reached.

Spurs’ interest in Brazilian winger Savinho dates back to 2025, when the 22-year-old opted to remain at Etihad Stadium.

But he was limited to just seven starts in the Premier League last season, and is now minded to leave the club after joining for a £30m fee in 2024 from French club Troyes.

Marmoush, a £59m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2025, fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola in 2025-26 and the 27-year-old managed eight goals in 36 appearances in all competitions.

City’s valuation for the pair is unclear, but the club would expect to make a significant profit on both.

Tottenham head coach Roberto de Zerbi has revamped his midfield this summer, signing Mateus Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for a combined £185m.

But the Italian has stressed the need to strengthen his attack following the side’s 17th-placed finish in the Premier League last term, scoring just 48 goals in 38 games.

Spurs remain interested in Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, but it is unclear whether the club could finance a deal for the Netherlands international as well as moves for Marmoush and Savinho.

City have already sold a host of players this summer, including Rodri, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and second-choice goalkeeper James Trafford.

Spurs kick off their Premier League campaign away at Brentford on Saturday (17:30 BST), while City host Bournemouth on Sunday (14:00 BST).

How will your club fare? Phil McNulty's Premier League predictions

Can Arsenal retain the Premier League title they won for the first time in 22 years last season?

Time to dust off the crystal ball once more and have a crack at predicting where the 20 Premier League teams will finish this season.

Having confidently announced the Premier League title was Liverpool’s to lose last season, they then lost it quite spectacularly, resulting in manager Arne Slot’s dismissal.

This season there are nine new managers in the top flight, making this season arguably the toughest set of predictions I’ve made.

Last season: Champions.

Having finally crossed the line to their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal are in perfect shape to retain the crown - and I believe they will.

Mikel Arteta’s side have quality everywhere and will have the confidence of being champions. Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis showed they are additions of the highest quality as Arsenal dismantled Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The easiest prediction of them all.

It is the start of a new era, with Enzo Maresca following arguably the greatest manager of the modern era, Pep Guardiola.

Huge players and personalities have gone in the shape of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and John Stones, so there is a real sense of transition at Etihad Stadium.

The Community Shield loss to Arsenal may have spooked some, but great players still remain - with the probability of more high-class signings before the season starts. £116m Elliot Anderson has already arrived and Morocco’s brilliant teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi is expected to join from Lille.

Most significantly of all, any side with the phenomenal Erling Haaland as its striker can never be ruled out of anything. There will be silverware.

Andoni Iraola has arrived from Bournemouth to restore some order after a dismal title defence last season.

The start of the post-Mohamed Salah era will not be easy and Iraola’s all-out, intense style may take time to bed in, but there is still lots of quality in Liverpool’s squad and players such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak now know what life at Anfield is all about.

If Bradley Barcola arrives from Paris St-Germain and Rio Ngumoha’s rapid progress continues, Liverpool can have a good season.

Young central defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are also potential stars. Spain winger Victor Munoz will provide thrust and pace.

Definitely a top-four place and in contention for trophies.

I can see the raised eyebrows from here, but Xabi Alonso is smart - and enjoyed Bundesliga title success at Bayer Leverkusen. He is not alone in having then been chewed up and spat out at Real Madrid.

He must shape a squad that resembles a small commune and deal with a disaffected Enzo Fernandez - if indeed he remains at Chelsea - but there is real quality if he can fashion it into shape.

Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix are outstanding additions while the surprise signings of veterans Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are clearly designed to police the dressing room and set the tone.

It’s a bit of a punt but, without any distractions in Europe, Chelsea could do very well in the Premier League.

This is the first full season under Michael Carrick, who did so well to guide Manchester United back into the Champions League last season following the sacking of Ruben Amorim.

A Champions League place and a trophy must be the aim for this season and I fully expect United to meet that challenge.

Youri Tielemans is a smart, streetwise signing from Aston Villa while Andrey Santos is a player of promise from Chelsea - but United and Carrick still need more if their ultimate ambitions are to be fulfilled.

There is no chance of a title challenge, but I expect United to be in the upper reaches of the Premier League.

Unai Emery’s outstanding work at Aston Villa continued when they won the Europa League and he took them back into the Champions League.

This brilliant strategist can never be under-estimated, but Villa’s financial balancing act has led to the departures of key players Tielemans and Rogers.

Heavy responsibility will lie with loan signing Alejandro Garnacho, whose career has stagnated, while hopes are high for Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes, who was signed from Wolves for £38m.

Villa pulled off a real coup when they pipped Newcastle to Freiburg’s 20-year-old midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was a stand-out performer for Switzerland at the World Cup.

Villa look set to bring in Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma as a long-term first-choice, with Emiliano Martinez’s future in doubt.

So, it is a time of churn at Villa Park, but there is no reason to believe Emery cannot work more of his magic - while teenage striker Brian Madjo could be a breakout star.

New-ish manager. New ambition. The purse strings have been loosened at Spurs this summer, so there are no excuses for a repeat of last season’s shambles, when Roberto de Zerbi - their third manager of the season after Thomas Frank and, briefly, Igor Tudor - kept them up on the final day.

De Zerbi’s fierce ambition has been backed big time, so optimism is running high.

Andrew Robertson is a smart signing on and off the pitch, while Marcos Senesi is another good deal on a free transfer from Bournemouth.

The big money has been spent in midfield, with Sandro Tonali in for £100m from Newcastle United and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United for £85m.

Jan Paul van Hecke cost £52m from Brighton to offset the loss of captain Cristian Romero - will he really be missed? - from central defence. Djed Spence has also left for Inter Milan.

Micky van de Ven has committed his future, so it all looks good for Spurs.

At least it does right now.

How did a squad with Nottingham Forest’s obvious quality end up fighting relegation last season?

Easy - have four managers.

After Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira comes the ambitious appointment of Oliver Glasner.

Glasner is demanding and will have an even more demanding owner in Evangelos Marinakis, but Forest will surely use the £116m from the sale of Anderson to back their new manager.

Expect plenty of activity before the deadline, with Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande already in for £34m from Sporting.

Morgan Gibbs-White has stayed and will be a key figure again.

The Glasner era - like all other managerial eras at Forest - will not be dull.

There is European football back at Brighton this season in the Conference League, and that will put added workload on Fabian Hurzeler’s squad - but it will be relished at this well-run club.

Welbeck’s goals and experience will be a loss, along with the retired James Milner and Tottenham recruit Van Hecke, but Brighton feel they have pulled off a special deal by signing young defender Luka Vuskovic from Spurs for £46m.

Pascal Struijk’s arrival from Leeds adds defensive experience, and with plenty of quality elsewhere, Amex Stadium will again be an entertaining place to be this season.

Keith Andrews did a superb job in succession to Frank last season, with Brentford only just missing out on a place in Europe.

Bees fans will expect more of the same this season and an indication of their continued ambition was demonstrated with the club-record signing of Mali midfielder Mamadou Sangare from Lens.

Callum Wilson, if fit, will provide proven Premier League experience up front, while Jaidon Anthony has shown what he can do at Burnley.

Igor Thiago is an outstanding spearhead, so it is easy to see why Andrews expects improvement this season.

Lacroix is a big loss in central defence, while the manager who inspired their FA Cup and Conference League wins, Glasner, has also gone.

In his place comes the highly regarded Pierre Sage, whose performance at Lens - where he became Ligue 1’s manager of the year - was good enough to attract attention from Liverpool.

Palace may be without Lacroix, but this is still a squad with class in all areas, from goalkeeper Dean Henderson through to Adam Wharton in midfield and Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr in attack.

If they can fight off any late advances for their top players, a good season lies in store - and, perhaps, another cup challenge.

There has been trauma on Tyneside this summer. Some of their best players - sold. The manager who brought the first domestic trophy for 70 years - gone.

So, a challenging job awaits for new man Matthias Jaissle.

The momentum has gone out of the Saudi Arabian project with the departures of Eddie Howe, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes from St James’ Park. Uncertainty and instability reign.

Newcastle failed to land many of their top transfer targets, although Lukas Hornicek has arrived from Braga to address the goalkeeping problem, while midfielder Aladji Bamba is rich in promise after arriving from Monaco.

The same applies to Dutch midfielder Sean Steur, the 18-year-old signed from Ajax, and 20-year-old Bazoumana Toure, the Ivory Coast winger who has joined from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.

Defender Amar Dedic has arrived from Benfica, having worked with Jaissle when winning the Austrian title with Red Bull Salzburg in 2023.

An experienced midfielder is key, with Tonali and Guimaraes gone, and Joao Palhinha has been mentioned after a deal for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg failed to materialise.

Jaissle needs a good start - and more players - to settle the Toon Army’s nerves.

David Moyes has been silent for most of pre-season - but when he did speak he was hardly talking up Everton’s chances when he said “we’re far off from where we want to be” and that he would like to do “a lot more business”.

Everton have actually done a couple of pieces of smart business in signing last season’s Championship player of the year Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough and experienced Denmark midfielder Christian Norgaard from Arsenal.

And they still have the rare talent of Iliman Ndiaye, while Tyler Dibling has had a good pre-season after struggling following his £40m move from Southampton last summer.

However, doubts remain over the right-back position and also whether Beto and Thierno Barry are good enough to be Premier League spearheads.

The early weeks of the season are crucial for Moyes and Everton to appease discontent supporters who felt last season’s late collapse wasted an opportunity for European football.

How will Bournemouth cope without Iraola? How will his successor Marco Rose settle? And how will they handle the extra burden of Europa League football?

These are the reasons I am predicting a Premier League drop-off for the Cherries - but would not be surprised to see this one defied.

The foot injury that rules Eli Junior Kroupi out for up to four months is a real blow, but there is plenty of talent elsewhere as Bournemouth stand firm against any advances for the outstanding Alex Scott.

New faces follow a familiar pattern with 22-year-old Portugal defender Antonio Silva arriving from Benfica, along with young forward Alvaro Rodriguez from Elche.

Juanlu Sanchez, a £11m signing from Sevilla, has Champions League experience and could prove yet another clever Cherries purchase.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke wanted a show of ambition from the club. He has got it - so now it is up to him.

James Trafford will hope to press his claims to succeed Jordan Pickford as England’s next goalkeeper after a club-record £45m move from Manchester City, while the capture of Harry Wilson from Fulham was a real coup.

Tarik Muharemovic, the 23-year-old Bosnia-Herzegovina centre-back signed from Serie A side Sassuolo for £34m, will add defensive solidity.

As last season, I expect the hothouse Elland Road atmosphere to be a crucial factor.

Fulham are another club under new management after the departure of Marco Silva to Benfica, with Alvaro Arbeloa now in charge after a spell at Real Madrid.

The appointment, as with so many, is a gamble - but Fulham have established themselves in the Premier League, so will want another season of stability.

Shea Charles showed real touches of class with Southampton so plenty will be expected of him, while Arbeloa has gone with what he knows by signing Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios from Real Madrid.

Stability will be satisfactory.

What Sunderland and Regis le Bris achieved last season was close to miraculous, as they went from pretty much unanimous relegation tips to Europa League qualification.

Can they produce a repeat performance?

I’m not so sure, although keeping Granit Xhaka from the clutches of Chelsea was huge, in what has been a quiet summer so far in terms of incoming transfers.

Brian Brobbey showed what a threat he is with the Netherlands at the World Cup but this campaign may just be a reality check for the Black Cats after the dreamland of last term.

It’s going to be very tough for the three promoted teams this season, but Coventry City’s renaissance under the vibrant leadership of Doug King is a real feel-good story - mirroring Frank Lampard’s own renaissance as a manager.

The Sky Blues have shown real ambition in the summer and will, along with other newcomers Ipswich Town and Hull City, relish making a nonsense of naysayer predictions such as this one.

Taiwo Awoniyi will provide a spearhead, while Gus Hamer has returned from Sheffield United and goalkeeper Carl Rushworth has signed permanently following his successful loan from Brighton last season.

Winger Loum Tchaouna has joined from Burnley, defender Aurele Amenda arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt and Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi signed from Nordsjaelland.

No-one can say King and Coventry are not having a go.

Kieran McKenna’s decision to step down as manager was a shock after taking back into the top flight, so now it is up to Gary O’Neil to pick up the reins.

The Tractor Boys went down with a whimper last time they were in the Premier League, so they will be hoping it is different this time - and they have also shown ambition in the transfer market.

Since securing promotion, Ipswich have spent £150m with the acquisitions of Abdoul Ouattara and Julio Enciso, who worked with O’Neil at Strasbourg, taking them up to 12 major signings.

Daizen Maeda will be hoping to transfer the form which helped Celtic win the Scottish title last season to the Premier League, while the exciting Abdul Fatawu from Leicester City will also hope to make an impact.

If Ipswich Town do not survive, it will not be through lack of trying or lack of ambition.

The Tigers are back in the top tier after nine years away and have embarked on some hefty squad renewal to help manager Sergej Jakirovic.

Will it be enough? It will certainly defy the odds and expectations, but I feel it might be just a very entertaining ride as Hull City try.

They have completed 11 new signings so far and have broken their own transfer record twice in the process by bringing in Greece goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis from Olympiacos and Senegal defender Nobel Mendy from Rayo Vallecano.

Once again, no-one can accuse Hull City of accepting what many regard as inevitable.

Inter agree £30m deal for Liverpool's Jones

Curtis Jones came through Liverpool’s academy and made his first-team debut at 17

Curtis Jones is set to join Inter Milan after the Italian side agreed a deal worth 35m euros (£30m) with Liverpool.

The Reds have accepted an offer worth €30m euros (£25.7m) plus €5m euros (£4.3m) in add-ons for the midfielder.

Jones, 25, will travel to Italy on Thursday to complete a medical. The transfer agreement includes a 10% sell-on clause for Liverpool.

In June, Liverpool rejected a verbal offer of 25m euros (£21.7m) from the Serie A champions, with the Premier League side valuing the 25-year-old, who had one year left on his contract, at about £35m.

More recently, Liverpool suggested that something in line with the £30m package that Inter paid Tottenham for Djed Spence would probably mean a deal being struck.

Inter were interested in Jones in January and proposed a loan with a view to a transfer, but that was turned down by Liverpool.

Jones has made 228 appearances for Liverpool since making his debut under Jurgen Klopp in 2019.

Last season, he played 49 times in all competitions but only made 18 starts in the Premier League and struggled to secure a regular starting spot in midfield under Arne Slot.

Jones, who joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of nine, is understood to be keen on pursuing a new challenge and would become the third English player to join Inter this summer, after John Stones and Spence.

Jones wanted to explore a new opportunity in Italy and Liverpool did not want to stand in his way.

Last summer, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who left his boyhood club for Real Madrid and this summer, Jones who has done the same, although his destination is Italy and Milan.

From Liverpool’s perspective, a £30m package represents good value as Jones only had one year left on his current deal.

Selling Jones also generates immediate pure profit on a home-grown asset. It was either now, sell him for less in January, or he leaves for free next summer.

On the pitch, Jones was versatile enough to play in a number of positions but he struggled to make one role his own. Off the pitch, Jones has always been honest and someone willing to take responsibility.

He played 95 games for Liverpool in two seasons under former boss Slot so his presence as a solid squad option will be missed under the Dutchman’s replacement Andoni Iraola, but it will give an opportunity for 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, who impressed in pre-season, to step up.

“I rate Curtis very highly,” Iraola said in his first news conference after taking charge of the Reds, adding he wanted Jones to stay and “continue performing the way he has been performing”.

He also highlighted that the player is a local lad - “he’s Scouse, he’s from here” - but with Jones now on his way it means Liverpool will have no Scousers in their first-team squad. The effect of that remains to be seen.

Mourinho told Vinicius Jr 'not worth' leaving Real

Jose Mourinho told Vinicius Jr it was “not worth” leaving Real Madrid as he successfully persuaded the Brazilian to remain at the club.

The 26-year-old had entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Bernabeu, meaning he would have been able to leave Real for free next summer.

Premier League champions Arsenal were alerted to the possibility of landing one of the world’s top wingers as contract talks wore on but Vinicius Jr eventually committed his future to Real earlier this month by signing a six-year contract.

And Mourinho, 63, whose return to Real for a second stint in charge was confirmed in June, spoke of his part in keeping the Brazil international in the Spanish capital.

Mourinho said on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito: “Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid.

“The only thing I told him was: ‘Vini, where do you want to go? You’ve only been in Brazil and you only know Real Madrid. You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave that’s when you realise what Real Madrid is. Don’t leave. It’s not worth it.’

“I think what he has felt in terms of the group’s growth, the way we’ve been working and developing, has given him a very important feeling.”

Mourinho came up against Real three times in the Champions League last season, when he was manager of Benfica.

During their second meeting - the first leg of their knockout phase play-off - Real players alleged that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius, resulting in the match stopping for around eight minutes.

Prestianni denied the claims and Mourinho defended his player.

Uefa later banned Prestianni for three matches, with a further three suspended, for homophobic conduct.

Mourinho addressed the incident and said Vinicius can “rely on me to be on his side”.

“Prestianni was my player. That’s it. There’s no debate. If Prestianni is my player, 20 players can come at me and I’m still with Prestianni. End of story,” he said.

“I think Vini now knows what side I am now on and knows he can look me in the eye and rely on me to be on his side.”

After a rare two years without major silverware, Real are looking for a way back to the top and Spain captain Rodri was tipped to help with that.

With Rodri entering the final year of his Manchester City contract and having previously expressed a desire to return to Spain during his career, Real and Barcelona swooped.

Rodri chose to make the move to La Liga champions Barcelona in a deal worth £65m and Mourinho has explained the “doubts” he felt over his side’s pursuit of the midfielder.

“We talked a couple of times and Real Madrid made him a good offer. Rodri had doubts and his doubts made me doubtful,” Mourinho said.

“He is a remarkable player and he behaved correctly at all times with us but the scale of Real Madrid is that you can’t have players here who think twice about coming.

“I wish him well. Not too well, obviously. But I wish him well.”

In his previous spell in charge of Real between 2010 and 2013, Mourinho won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

Now 13 years older and having had spells at Manchester United, Tottenham and Inter Milan, the Portuguese believes he returns to Madrid a “more controlled, less emotional” manager - but insisted that does not come at the cost of reduced entertainment.

Mourinho said: “Obviously, I can’t hide or try to be something I’m not. I’m much more mature, less emotional and more controlled.

“As always, I learn from mistakes. But I don’t regret this or that, because I don’t think regretting something that has happened helps anything in life.

“Learning from experiences does. In this job as a coach, I think the more experience you have, the more deja vu you have, the better you become.

“That’s not to say I’m more boring. I have the same DNA.”

To the well and back - how Malaga returned to La Liga

An estimated 185,000 people attended Malaga’s promotion parade in June

For Spanish football enthusiasts, the returns of Deportivo La Coruna, Racing Santander and Malaga to La Liga are a welcome sight.

All three have featured strongly in Spain’s top flight in the past 30 years, before various factors meant they dropped out of professional football.

Of the trio, Malaga seemed the least likely to recover.

Ten years after stunning Europe’s elite in the Champions League, the Andalusians had no owner, no money, and seemingly no future.

Yet thanks to a hungry group of youngsters, an unconventional teacher and a fanbase that refused to let their club die, ‘los boquerones’ are back.

This is how they did it.

On 9 April 2013, Malaga were minutes away from reaching the Champions League semi-finals.

The competition debutants led 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund, but were dumped out in heartbreaking fashion after two stoppage-time goals from Jurgen Klopp’s fearsome side.

Regardless, Malaga looked set to achieve what countless others had tried and failed to - consistently challenge Spanish football’s ‘big three’ of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

In 2010, Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani bought what was traditionally a second-tier club and began transforming them into a European contender.

Manuel Pellegrini was installed as manager and provided with quality players including Santi Cazorla, Jeremy Toulalan, Ruud van Nistelrooy and promising youngster Isco.

But Pellegrini joined Manchester City and Isco signed for Real Madrid in summer 2013 - and hopes of a golden era at Estadio La Rosaleda morphed into a decade of decline.

The following season Malaga were banned from the Europa League for breaching Uefa’s financial fair play (FFP) rules regarding overdue payments.

Mounting debts necessitated player sales, and relegation from La Liga followed in 2018. Two years later a regional court ordered Al-Thani’s removal because of alleged misappropriation of funds.

European and international arrest warrants have been issued against the Sheikh and his three sons, with prosecutors seeking prison sentences totalling 14 and a half years for alleged misappropriation, unfair administration and abusive corporate decisions.

Court-appointed administrator Jose Maria Munoz has overseen operations since 2020.

Fire sales and years of relying on free agents and loan signings helped steady Malaga’s financial position, but in 2023 a threadbare squad slipped into the regionalised third division.

“I was at the last game in the second division against Ibiza. Both teams were already relegated and it was like a funeral,” said podcaster and Malaga season-ticket holder Matt Harrison.

Spain’s third tier is known as ‘el pozo’ - the well - because it is notoriously difficult to climb out of. Fearing the worst, a group of local businessmen discussed plans to form a phoenix club in the event Malaga faded into obscurity.

Fortunately, a hungry squad of youth-team players and local lads secured promotion at the first attempt.

After finishing third in the south division of the third tier, Malaga faced a two-legged play-off final against Gimnastic Tarragona.

With the Catalans on top in the dying moments of extra time in the second leg, Antonio Cordero bundled the ball home to send the travelling fans wild and Malaga back to the second tier.

“The city exploded with promotion back to the second division,” said Harrison. That season in el pozo seemed to reignite the city’s love for its football team.

“Disgracefully, in Malaga there have always been lots of Real Madrid and Barcelona fans,” said Malaga supporter and journalist Jose Luis Sabatel.

“But when Malaga flew lower, an enormous quantity of ‘Malaguenos’ [residents] became ‘Malaguistas’ [supporters].”

Sergio Pellicer - in his second spell as manager - followed promotion with a 16th-place finish in the second division, but began the next season with just four wins in 14 games.

He was replaced by reserve-team boss Juan Francisco Funes, who had never played or coached in professional football.

A few weeks earlier the former teacher had considered returning to the classroom with his side bottom of their fourth division group.

Chupe (middle) was promoted from the reserve team in January 2025 and went on to score 25 goals in 2025-26

After beginning the Funes era with one win and two draws, the gamble began to pay off as Malaga won their next six games and surged to third in the table.

Not only did the results improve, but what had been a restrained side started playing some entertaining, attacking football.

“That style of football combined with local players made a perfect cocktail that energised the fans,” says Harrison.

Those players included academy graduates like striker Chupe - scorer of 25 goals - winger David Larrubia, and defender Diego Murillo, as well as others who grew up in the stands at La Rosaleda.

Knowing many of his younger players from the academy certainly helped Funes turn things around.

“He already knew their strengths, weaknesses and personalities from the outset. There was virtually no adaptation period, so they hit the ground running,” says Radio Marca journalist Juanje Fernandez.

Funes drew on his teaching experience, using historical quotes and films to motivate and convey ideas to a young group.

He is likely not the only coach to draw inspiration from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but he might be the first to use Kung Fu Panda to aid a promotion push.

“The players bought into Funes’ ideas from day one,” adds Fernandez.

“Footballers tend to perform at their best when they genuinely believe in what they’re being asked to do, rather than simply following instructions.”

Funes speaks about his players like they are his children, once affectionately describing them in an interview as ‘los bichos’. The colloquial term used to describe talented people soon became the team’s nickname.

‘Funesbuque’ is another name that stuck - ‘the good ship Funes’.

Since 2020 all but one of Malaga’s permanent signings have been free

After finishing fourth, the 2025-26 season boiled down to a play-off final against Almeria.

Malaga had one of the smallest budgets in the division and had spent just £325,000 on permanent transfers since 2020. Almeria spent more than £10m that season alone.

After a goalless home draw in the first leg, hundreds of fans lined motorway bridges heading out of the city to wave the team on their way to Almeria.

It was a sight symptomatic of the strong bond forged between the team and its fanbase in recent years. It became a common occurrence for fans to welcome the team bus to the stadium with flags and pyrotechnics.

A song adopted by the club’s Fondo Sur ultras, borrowed from the ultras scene in Morocco, became the soundtrack of the season. ‘Es la Vida Loca’ - the crazy life.

Malaga’s average attendance last season was the 11th-highest in the country, but only a few hundred tickets were available for the game in Almeria.

Yet when Chupe steered Malaga in front before Larrubia curled in a stunning second, the whole fanbase did too - kit supplier Hummel incorporated the names of all 26,550 season-ticket holders into a special one-off strip.

The 2-1 victory sparked mass celebrations in Malaga. After partying all weekend, an estimated 185,000 fans lined the streets to give the team a triumphant welcome.

“It was a once-in-a-generation moment. Many young fans had never seen Malaga play in La Liga,” says Fernandez.

“An entire generation had grown up after the club’s Champions League years knowing little more than financial turmoil, sporting disappointment and uncertainty surrounding the club they loved.”

After a second night of partying, several players took to social media to challenge fans to meet them at 07:00 on Monday at a roundabout in a western suburb. Hundreds answered the call.

“That connection between the squad and the fans was one of the defining features of the campaign,” adds Fernandez.

“It helped create a sense that everyone, from the dressing room to the streets of the city, was pulling in the same direction.”

Given their financial constraints, Malaga’s preparations for the top flight have been low-key.

Several important players have renewed their contracts, while sporting director Loren Juarros has made some astute loan signings.

Promotion winner Carlos Dotor returned on loan from Celta Vigo, while £256,000 was spent on loaning winger Juan Cruz from Leganes.

Malaga fans know their club are favourites for relegation.

They open the season with daunting trips to Atletico Madrid (Wednesday, 20:00 BST kick-off) and Real Madrid, but after what they have been through that should not faze them.

“Malaga’s story is beautifully convoluted, with plenty of plot twists and the most enchanting ending,” says Sabatel.

“From now on, we can only enjoy.”