Manchester Utd midfielder Devaney joins Hibs on loan

Manchester United teenager Jacob Devaney is returning the Scottish Premiership after agreeing a loan to Hibernian, with the Edinburgh club holding an option to make the move permanent.

The 19-year-old midfielder was captain of United’s Premier League 2 side for the first half of last season, before moving to St Mirren where he made 18 appearances.

Deployed as a deep-lying playmaker, the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international scored once and provided one assist for the Paisley club.

Devaney featured for United in July pre-season games against Wrexham and Rosenborg, scoring in the latter.

“He’s a technically talented young international footballer who is keen to learn and develop,” said Hibs head coach David Gray.

“To have him join before the end of the window is really positive and we’ll look to get him settled in as quickly as possible.”

Easter Road sporting director Malky Mackay told club media that there had been a lot of rival interest in Devaney, adding: “He’s a young player with an excellent background and, importantly, he already has experience of playing in the Scottish Premiership.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for Jacob and for the club, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what he can bring to Hibs.”

Meanwhile, Hibs have agreed a deal to sign United States youth international Colton Swan, who will join the Leith club in December.

The 19-year-old is signing from Charleston Battery and will remain with his current side until the end of the 2026 USL Championship season.

The forward has scored 11 goals and provided three assists in the second tier of US football this season.

Mourinho urges Vinicius Jr to control emotions

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho says Vinicius Jr needs “great emotional control” after claiming the winger is being bullied on the pitch.

The 63-year-old’s comments come after the Brazilian picked up an avoidable yellow card in a 2-1 La Liga opening win over Espanyol for an argument with midfielder Cala in the first half.

Vinicius Jr has been the target of regular abuse during his eight years at Real Madrid, including the night Mourinho was in the Benfica dugout when Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racially abusing the Brazilian - a claim the Argentine denied.

“I run the risk of you going back months and pulling out my words when I was an opponent of Vini Jr,” said Mourinho.

“Now Vini Jr is mine. Vini Jr is not a saint, but what they do to him is too much.”

Mourinho claims his star winger is being targeted by players to seek a reaction “from the first minute” and is “repeated” by all teams the Brazilian comes up against.

“It’s frustrating for him. He needs to have great emotional control,” he said.

After receiving the yellow card in Mourinho’s first competitive match of his second Real Madrid spell, the Portuguese told Vinicius Jr to consider how his actions on the pitch can ignite reactions in the stands.

“I spoke to him at half-time, and I even told him in detail: ‘If you score a goal, be careful how you celebrate it so I can keep you on the field.’ It’s tough,” he said.

“We’re in a social era of anti-bullying. With Vini Jr, we’re still in the bullying era, whether it’s from opponents or the crowd.

“We need to educate him as much as possible and prepare him as much as possible. And that’s it.”

What does Savinho's £75m move reveal about Man City's multi-club model?

For the City Football Group (CFG), the soon-to-be-completed sale of Savinho to Tottenham will mark a milestone moment.

The fee of £75m plus £10m in add-ons agreed represents a record sale for Manchester City, the most prominent club in CFG’s stable.

Savinho’s time with City’s ownership group has not been without scrutiny.

He was a record signing for CFG-owned French club Troyes from Atletico Mineiro in 2022. But left two years later having never played for the club.

At 18, he was sent on loan to Dutch side PSV for the 2022-23 season, and then to fellow CFG-owned Spanish club Girona for 23-24, where he built his reputation.

He featured in 37 league matches as Girona secured Champions League qualification for the first time, registering nine goals and eight assists.

City immediately bought him from Troyes for £30.8m in 2024, which raised questions at the time whether that fee was fair market value, after an impressive spell in Spain.

Savinho scored just twice and contributed 12 assists during his two seasons in the Premier League so, although it could be argued he was not a sporting success in Manchester, he has been a financial one.

The fee attached to Savinho - which has caught many by surprise - has represented a huge win for CFG, which has links to 12 clubs worldwide.

In an industry where player trading has become such a vital component of how modern day football is run, the enormous profit generated from the 22-year-old’s sale - at almost £70m if all the bonuses linked to his move to north London are met - is significant.

City would argue signing an 18-year-old from South America and selling that player for £75m four years later does also represent sporting success and Tottenham will be encouraged by his loan spell in La Liga which saw Savinho named in the La Liga team of the year.

“Our intention from the moment that we reached the Champions League was to try to get him to stay for another year,” Quique Carcel, director of football at Girona, told BBC Sport.

“But logically after making such a big impact, City, Pep and Txiki [Begiristain] were already considering having him in their first-team squad.

“But there was a moment when they were deciding between the two options, because they also knew that Savio having another year at Girona playing in the Champions League was also a very good option.

“But as soon as there was an interest from Pep and Txiki in him being a player that would be able to play in the [City] first team squad, then of course the player didn’t have any doubts.”

In his first season with City, during which he made 48 appearances under Pep Guardiola, Savinho made 16 goal contributions in all competitions and his eight Premier League assists during that campaign was the highest at the club.

“It’s a success story for the group,” CFG’s managing director of global football Brian Marwood told BBC Sport.

“The idea is always ‘can we get them to the pinnacle in our group’, which is Manchester City. There might be some along the way that might be good assets for the group.

“And Savinho has clearly been a fantastic asset - because not only has he played for Manchester City but now he is leaving for a considerable amount of money.

“We have created a pathway for the boy but credit to him because he is playing in one of the best leagues in the world.”

Nevertheless, there are those who will maintain Tottenham have overpaid for Savinho but what he does on the pitch will answer those questions.

Those at CFG will look on with interest at how Savinho fares away from their nest.

In January, BBC Sport highlighted how Manchester City, as a separate entity, has turned selling players nurtured in their academy into big business.

Morgan Rogers, Douglas Luiz, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Oscar Bobb are among the players developed by City to have been sold on and are now playing, or have played, for rival Premier League sides.

City have recouped more than £250m from selling young players over the past five years alone.

“To find a balance between recruiting players for sporting success and ones that could become more of an asset in the future is difficult,” explained Marwood.

“One of the hardest bits about signing young players is that you don’t know an awful lot about them but some will come in, adapt, work hard, have ambition and aspiration and go on and have fantastic careers.

“Oleksandr Zinchenko is a prime example. Taty Castellanos is another. So is Jack Harrison.”

Invariably, CFG is not always on point with its talent identification of young talent. Some will make it, some will not. That’s the nature of the player recruitment beast.

The success of Rogers and Palmer, with Aston Villa and Chelsea, has shown that City have sometimes have sold too soon.

Former Aston Villa forward Rogers was sold by Manchester City to Middlesborough in February 2024 for an initial fee of £8m. Last month Chelsea paid £117m for him.

Palmer - sold by City for £40m in 2023 - would demand a similar fee if he were to leave Stamford Bridge.

But as Savinho takes the next step in his career, City are turning their attentions to the future.

There are high hopes for Ryan McAidoo, an 18-year-old at City who has already made his senior debut for the club.

Japan’s Shin Miidera, a 16-year-old attacker playing for partner club Yokohama F. Marinos, is another CFG are monitoring very closely.

Then there is 16-year-old American midfielder Cavan Sullivan, who currently plays for MLS club Philadelphia Union, but will join Manchester City when he turns 18.

Vitor Reiss - who spent last season on loan to Girona from City - is tipped to make the grade.

“In an ideal world you would love for them to stay with you from the beginning right through to the very end - but the reality is it’s probably not going to happen,” added Marwood.

“The challenge is can we produce the next one? OK - Savinho’s gone - but where is the next one? That’s the fascination of this business, you have to look three and four years ahead.

“It’s important we grow this hub of young talent and hopefully find them pathways and produce a conveyor belt of talent and use our network of clubs to aid there development.”

The measure of their success will be judged on the pitch and on the books.

Chelsea defender Badiashile joins Napoli on loan

Napoli have completed a loan deal for Chelsea centre-back Benoit Badiashile for the 2026-27 season.

The 25-year-old joined the Blues in January 2023 for a fee worth £35m and has made 71 appearances in all competitions for the west London club.

Badiashile endured an injury-stricken 2025-26 campaign and only featured in 16 games for Chelsea.

As reported by BBC Sport earlier this month, the Serie A club will have the option to buy the France international for £23.1m next summer.

The ex-Blackburn winger facing Mourinho and Madrid

Dolan played 38 games for Espanyol last season across La Liga and the Copa del Rey

Tyrhys Dolan, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years before joining Espanyol last summer, says he is ready to take on one of the biggest tests of his career when Real Madrid visit the RCDE Stadium on Saturday (20:30 BST).

The Manchester-born winger began his second season in Spain in impressive fashion, scoring in Espanyol’s 3-0 victory over Levante on the opening weekend.

Now he faces a very different challenge, with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid arriving in Barcelona for their first match of the season.

Dolan, 24, insists Espanyol will not allow the occasion to change their approach.

“These are the games you want to be playing in,” he said. “They’re the games the supporters want to watch and all eyes will be on it.

“Jose Mourinho has legendary status as a manager. He’s got that mentality that he wants to win every single game.

“They’re not going to come out and treat it as an easy game against us. They’re going to bring their best.”

Dolan also knows he could share the pitch with fellow English players Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold, but there will be little room for catching up before kick-off.

“When it’s business, it’s business,” he said.

“It’s nice to be playing against top talents and other English players. It’s great to see. We’ll catch up after the game but all focus will be on getting three points.”

But despite the glamour surrounding Real Madrid, Dolan believes the key is to avoid making the occasion bigger than it needs to be.

“You don’t want to try and build a game up too much because then, when you get there, all the emotions can kind of eat you up,” he said.

Instead, he plans to stick to the routine that has served him successfully since moving to Spain.

“You focus on yourself as best as you can and make sure that you’re prepared as well as you can,” he said. “I like to stay within the same routine and headspace.”

That approach reflects how much Dolan has changed since leaving the English Championship for Espanyol.

The winger admits his first season in Spain was as much a personal challenge as a footballing one. Moving away from family and friends, adapting to a new culture and learning a new language forced him to become more self-reliant.

“It’s definitely matured me so much, off the pitch and on it too,” he said.

On the field, Dolan believes the standard of La Liga has accelerated his development. He says his decision-making has improved significantly, while his crossing and ability to provide different types of assists have also progressed.

“I’ve learned and added so many tools to my trade since making the move to Espanyol,” he said.

Having made more than 30 appearances last season, Dolan now feels the weight of expectation has changed.

“I feel much more responsibility within the team this year,” he said. “I feel like I am one of the players who is going to get it done.”

“When you join, everything is new to you and you don’t really know how to handle it. You just kind of roll with it.

“But now I know exactly what I’m doing heading into this season. I’ve got my home here, I’ve got my solid fanbase, I’ve got team-mates that are now friends for me. It’s not just strangers that you’re playing with at the start.”

That confidence was evident against Levante, when Dolan’s goal helped Espanyol to an opening-weekend win.

The victory has given the squad belief for Real’s visit, but Dolan knows the level required will rise sharply.

“We can’t afford to make as many mistakes because Real Madrid will capitalise on it,” he said.

For Espanyol, however, the game represents more than simply an opportunity to face one of Europe’s biggest clubs - as they have their own ambitions.

“I think we can really be in those top-six positions,” Dolan said. “We want to aim as high as we can.”

And there is a personal edge to Saturday’s occasion with many of Dolan’s family and friends in the stands.

“I’m trying to keep the numbers to a respectable amount and not taking too many tickets off of the [other] players,” he said. “But all my family and friends are buzzing.

“We’re really looking forward to it and we’re ready for the challenge.”