Serie A will look into the practicalities of staging an All-Star game, says league president Lorenzo Casini.

New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly raised it as a possibility for the English Premier League when speaking at the SALT conference this week.

Boehly said an All-Star fixture could pit players from the league's northern clubs against those from the south, with the additional revenue used to fund the wider football pyramid.

The idea was given short shrift by the likes of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and former Manchester United player Gary Neville.

However, Casini believes it is a notion that "deserves attention", and insisted Serie A will consider it in future, citing the Europe against the Rest of the World charity game played in the United States in 1982 that included the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Zico, Socrates and Michel Platini.

Casini was quoted by ANSA as saying: "The idea of an All-Star Game in Serie A deserves attention.

"We will study the project and the clubs in the assembly will evaluate all the pros and cons.

"I recall the excitement of the Europe v Rest of the World match in August 1982 that included Dino Zoff, Marco Tardelli, Paolo Rossi and Giancarlo Antognoni, who played better than Michel Platini and Zico.

"We need to rediscover that spirit, involving clubs, presidents, directors and coaches, as well as the media and fans."

Manchester United are reportedly ready for a major change, with Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak said to be a priority target.

Both Oblak, 29, and current United number one David de Gea, 31, are in the last season of their respective contracts. While a January move may be possible, it appears more likely United will try to bring in Oblak on an end-of-season free transfer, as Atletico will also want to hold onto their world-class keeper for as long as possible.

De Gea has publicly declared his desire to remain at Old Trafford, but if Erik ten Hag decides his time as the number one is coming to an end, then he will likely have to leave unless United want the most expensive backup keeper in the world.


TOP STORY – UNITED TARGET JAN OBLAK AS LONG-TERM GOALKEEPER REPLACEMENT

According to a report from French publication Jeunes Footeux, United are looking for a goalkeeper of international calibre and are willing to pay up for the man with 359 appearances for Atletico since 2014.

It claims United are willing to make an offer of €18million per season – almost double the current salary of the 29-year-old Slovenian – to convince him to make the jump to the Premier League.

The report includes a nugget of information about Paris Saint-Germain also being interested in securing Oblak's services, as questions continue to be asked about Gianluigi Donnarumma.

ROUND-UP

– GiveMeSport is reporting Arsenal are "very close" to securing a contract extension for 21-year-old Bukayo Saka.

– According to Calciomercato.com, Manchester City are joining Chelsea in the chase for Milan's Rafael Leao as he bides his time on signing a new contract.

– Calciomercato is also reporting Milan are looking for forward reinforcements after recent injuries to Divock Origi and Ante Rebic, with Club Brugge winger Noa Lang named as a possible future target. Lille's Jonathan David and Salzburg's Noah Okafor have also been linked.

Brighton are offering new deals to Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard in an effort to fend off transfer offers, according to Ekrem Konur with Fichajes.

– After being one of the most in-demand centre-backs in the world this past transfer window, Inter's Milan Skriniar is expected to be awarded with a new and improved contract, according to Foot Mercato.

Graham Potter opted for Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of recent arrivals Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana as Chelsea switched to 4-3-3 in their new head coach's first game.

The Blues operated in a 3-4-3 system for most of Thomas Tuchel's tenure, but the German was dismissed after an underwhelming start to the season.

Potter was convinced to leave Brighton and Hove Albion for Stamford Bridge and made three changes ahead of his first game at home to Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Thiago Silva returned to the starting line-up, with club captain Azpilicueta partnering the centre-back as Potter decided to leave out Koulibaly and Fofana, who were recruited from Napoli and Leicester City respectively.

Jorginho came in to the midfield trio, along with Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount, while former Brighton defender Marc Cucurella replaced Ben Chilwell at left-back.

Chelsea continued with the same front three, though – Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top, the latter making his home debut for the Blues.

The Blues lost 1-0 at Dinamo Zagreb in their Group E opener, which was Tuchel's 100th game in charge, and also his last.

Gary Neville has labelled investment from the United States a "clear and present danger" to English football following Todd Boehly's call for the Premier League to learn from American sports.

Chelsea chairman Boehly made several controversial suggestions when discussing the future of the English game on Tuesday, making the case for the introduction of an annual all-star game and relegation play-offs. 

Boehly said any future all-star match could pit players from the Premier League's northern clubs against those from the south, with the additional revenue used to fund the wider football pyramid.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on that idea after the Reds' Champions League win over Ajax, declaring: "I'm not sure people want to see that".

Former Manchester United defender Neville, an outspoken critic of the Red Devils' US-based owners the Glazer family, has advocated for English football to introduce an independent regulator since the botched launch of the European Super League in April 2021.

Neville has doubled down on that call in response to Boehly's suggestions, tweeting: "I keep saying it but the quicker we get the regulator in the better. 

"US investment into English football is a clear and present danger to the pyramid and fabric of the game. 

"They just don't get it and think differently. They also don't stop till they get what they want!"

A fan-led review of English football was launched in response to the failed establishment of the Super League last year, with the UK Government subsequently backing plans to introduce an independent regulator.

The Premier League, however, claimed such a change was unnecessary in a statement released in April, though the league said it accepted the need for reforms.

This weekend's Premier League fixtures will be preceded by a minute's silence and a rendition of the UK's national anthem following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The passing of the UK's longest-reigning sovereign caused the Premier League to postpone a full fixture programme last weekend as a "mark of respect".

While English top-flight football is to resume on Friday, two matches have been postponed due to policing concerns on the weekend of the Queen's funeral; Manchester United's clash with Leeds United and Liverpool's trip to Chelsea, while Brighton's clash with Crystal Palace was already postponed earlier this month.

The Premier League has now confirmed plans for tributes to take place across each of this weekend's seven fixtures, with fans also invited to join a moment's applause after seventy minutes to mark the Queen's 70-year reign.

A statement on the league's website read: "All Premier League matches between Friday 16 and Sunday 18 September will provide an opportunity for the league, clubs and fans to come together to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation and world.

"Fans will be asked to join a minute's silence, which will be followed by the national anthem, God Save The King.

"Big screens and LED perimeter boards will display tribute images to Her Majesty and flags at the grounds will be flying at half-mast. 

"When the clock turns to 70 minutes, fans will be invited to applaud The Queen's 70-year reign."

Manchester City will no longer face Arsenal on October 19, after the Premier League game was postponed to enable the Gunners to fulfil a Europa League fixture.

Arsenal were set to face PSV in their second Europa League group stage game on Thursday, only for that match to be called off in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Thursday's game was postponed due to "severe limitations on police resources and organisational issues related to the ongoing events surrounding the national mourning" of the United Kingdom's late monarch.

UEFA has now confirmed the match at Emirates Stadium will take place on October 20, with Arsenal's home match against City – which was set to take place a day earlier – postponed by the Premier League.

In a statement, European football's governing body said: "UEFA would like to thank the Premier League and the clubs concerned for their flexibility and cooperation in the rescheduling of the UEFA Europa League match which had been postponed due to the impossibility for local police forces to guarantee its secure staging."

Bayern Munich have been left with a hole after Robert Lewandowski's exit for Barcelona.

Sadio Mane moved to Munich from Liverpool in the close season but he is not a like-for-like replacement.

Bayern have started the new Bundesliga campaign in indifferent form, following up three wins with as many draws.

TOP STORY – NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY BETWEEN KANE AND BAYERN

Harry Kane is increasingly open to the idea of making the move to join German champions Bayern Munich, claims Sky Sports.

Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg reports that negotiations have already been held by Bayern and Kane's brother Charlie, who represents him.

Bayern have made the Tottenham striker their number one target and can offer him the likelihood of silverware, in comparison to Spurs.

ROUND-UP

– Fabrizio Romano reports that Lionel Messi will not make a decision on his future until after the World Cup, but Paris Saint-Germain are planning to offer him a new deal, while Barcelona are interested in re-signing him. Messi is contracted until 2023 but there is the option of another year in Paris.

Jude Bellingham's list of suitors is growing with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all keen on Borussia Dortmund's English talent according to AS.

– New Chelsea boss Graham Potter has approved the club's pursuit of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, with the club to try to sign him again in June 2023 reports Fichajes.

– Germany international forward Max Kruse's contract with Wolfsburg is set to be mutually terminated during the Bundesliga break, claims Sport.

– The Guardian reports that Lens head coach Franck Haise is under consideration for the vacant Brighton and Hove Albion managerial post, along with Bodo/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen and ex-Shakhtar Donetsk boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Pep Guardiola does not like predicting the future.

Before a ball had been kicked this season, Manchester City's manager refused to solidify his team and Liverpool as favourites to push for the Premier League title again.

Based on Liverpool's underwhelming start to the campaign, perhaps Guardiola was right to hold off, and the City boss kept to the same tactic on Tuesday when asked if Erling Haaland – who has scored 12 goals in eight games in all competitions this season – could be the difference when it comes to the Citizens finally ending their wait for Champions League glory.

"I'm not able to know it," Guardiola said bluntly ahead of City's meeting with Haaland's former club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. "The team is playing well, so is he. But right now I don't know."

Where his manager had remained on the fence, Ilkay Gundogan – another former Dortmund star – was a little more forthcoming.

"We hope for it," City's captain told reporters when asked the same question. "Obviously having a proper number nine, proper striker, physically strong, determined is going to help us a lot, but we will see.

"Winning the Champions League is something incredible to achieve, a very tough competition; it's never easy and little details can decide the outcome. We'll try as hard as we can to go as far as possible."

Haaland's start to life in the Premier League has been nothing short of outrageous. He has netted 10 goals in six appearances, the joint-fastest player in the history of the competition to reach that tally, alongside Micky Quinn back in 1992. 

The 22-year-old wasted little time in transferring his domestic form to the European stage, too, scoring a double in City's 4-0 victory over Sevilla last week, and it is in the Champions League, not the Premier League, where City really need him to make the difference.

Only 36 players in Champions League history have scored more goals in the competition than Haaland, who has 25 from his 20 appearances in UEFA's flagship club tournament.

He is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club and the fourth player in the competition's history to score in his first appearance for three different teams (Salzburg, Dortmund and City), after Fernando Morientes, Javier Saviola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Haaland's tally is the most by any player from their first 20 Champions League games, and should he score against Dortmund, he will be the second player to net in the competition both for and against the Bundesliga giants, after Ciro Immobile.

It was this kind of form that attracted City, who missed out on signing Harry Kane in 2021. 

With Sergio Aguero's availability becoming more limited as his time at City drew to a close, Guardiola enjoyed success without having to rely on a traditional striker. 

Although he enthused about Gabriel Jesus, who has made a blistering start at Arsenal, the Brazil international was often used out wide in the previous two campaigns, with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling (now at Chelsea) and even Jack Grealish all filling in, at times, as a 'false nine' in Guardiola's fluid attack.

City won the league last season and the one before that. Indeed, four of the last five English titles have gone the way of Guardiola's side, and with or without Haaland, you'd have been brave to bet against them retaining the trophy this season.

Yet they have repeatedly fallen short in Europe. Having lost 1-0 to Chelsea – a team also utilising a false nine system – in the 2020-21 final, City last season had a plethora of chances to put their semi-final tie with Real Madrid to bed, only to lose after a remarkable comeback from Los Blancos in the second leg.

In Haaland, they have a player who should right those wrongs.

With De Bruyne, Silva, Foden and Co. providing the opportunities, Haaland was always bound to score, but his finishing has already exceeded expectations.

His 12 goals have come from shots with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 9.4. Essentially, he has scored close to three more goals than he would have been expected to, given the quality of chances he has been presented with.

Not that those opportunities have been particularly difficult ones, of course.

All of Haaland's 12 goals have come from 'big chances' – defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would be expected to score. 

No other player in Europe's top five leagues has had as many 'big chances' as Haaland, who has had 20 come his way including the Community Shield match against Liverpool in July. Neymar, who is flying high at Paris Saint-Germain, ranks second with 14. More evidence, perhaps, that he is the final piece of the puzzle in this incredibly creative City side. The player to see them over the line when push comes to shove.

City's top scorer in Europe last season was Gabriel Jesus, with four goals from six appearances. Haaland managed three in three, with injury limiting his minutes. Since he made his Champions League debut, for Salzburg in September 2019, only Robert Lewandowski (33) and Karim Benzema (26) have scored more goals in the competition. Both of those players have won the trophy in that time.

Guardiola might rightly refuse to predict the future, but one thing is for certain – with Haaland, City's chances of finally ending their wait for European glory look better than ever.

That is just what they bought him for.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has poured cold water on the idea of a Premier League all-star match after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly proposed the idea.

The new Blues owner floated the idea during his appearance in a conference in the United States, where he expressed his desire for English football to follow in the sporting footsteps of America.

Boehly specifically spoke about the potential of a relegation play-off as well as the introduction of an all-star match, where the top flight would be split into two halves, north and south, for an annual match.

Klopp, however, is not a fan of the proposal, highlighting that teams are already stretched by a packed schedule and the end of season period is not as extensive as those in America.

"He doesn't hesitate, he doesn't wait long! Great. When he finds a date for that he can call me," he said after the Champions League victory over Ajax.

"He forgets that in the big sports in America, these sports have four-month breaks, so they're quite happy they can do a little bit of sport in these breaks. It’s completely different in football.

"Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well and let them play a football team? I'm surprised by the question, so please don't judge my answers too much, but maybe he can explain it to me at one point."

Klopp was not convinced supporters would be keen on the idea, nor that rival clubs would be willing to compete together.

"I'm not sure people want to see that. Imagine that, [Manchester] United, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle players all on one team that's not the national team, just a north team. Interesting game," he added.

"All the London guys together. Arsenal, Tottenham. Great. Did he really say it? Interesting."

Bayern Munich supporters protested against football fans being impacted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II during their Champions League fixture against Barcelona, unfurling a banner that called for authorities to "respect fans".

The Premier League postponed a full fixture programme last weekend following the passing of the UK's longest-reigning monarch, with the English Football League doing likewise.

While English top-flight football will resume on Friday, Manchester United's match against Leeds United, as well as Liverpool's trip to Chelsea, will not take place due to policing concerns on the weekend of the Queen's funeral.

The situation has also impacted European football; Arsenal's Europa League clash with PSV has been called off, while Rangers' Champions League meeting with Napoli was pushed back by one day.

Policing issues also mean Napoli are unable to take any supporters to Scotland for that match, which coach Luciano Spalletti described as a "real penalty" on Tuesday.

Against this backdrop, Bayern's fans displayed a message in the 26th minute of their match against Barcelona, which read: "Last-minute match delays and bans because of a royal's death? Respect fans!"  

Second-half goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane helped Bayern to a 2-0 win over the Blaugrana, maintaining their perfect start to the Champions League campaign.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly hopes English football can learn from the model of American sports, suggesting a relegation tournament and an all-star game.

Since taking charge of the Blues after completing a takeover in May, ending Roman Abramovich's long association with the club, Boehly has not shied away from making a quick impact.

A significant spending spree was financed in the transfer window, with big-name additions as well as recruits for the future, while manager Thomas Tuchel was swiftly axed following a disappointing start to the season.

Boehly's long-term vision is not just limited to Chelsea, however, as he hopes that English football as a whole can grow, learning from the American sports model.

Unlike the NBA, MLB and NFL, relegation is a huge part of football and, while Boehly is supportive, he believes the Premier League is missing a trick by not having a play-off tournament at the end of the season.

"It obviously prohibits tanking because, of course, the economics of going into the first league is materially different," he told the SALT Conference when asked about relegation.

"I think the Premier League distributes its media money, and every club gets north of £200m or so from the media contract.

"When you go into the next league down in the Championship, those numbers fall off a cliff, right?

"So, there's no one who's thinking about tanking and those relegation games are some of the highest broadcast games.

"Ultimately, I hope that the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure out why wouldn't we do a tournament with the bottom four teams?

"Why isn't there an all-star game? The MLB did their all-star game in LA this year, we made 200 million dollars from Monday and Tuesday.

"You could do a North versus South, all-star game for Premier League and fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily."

Football infamously looked to take a leaf from the American model with the push for a European Super League, which included Chelsea as a founder club, before a fan backlash led to the concept being scrapped.

Boehly did not completely rule out the prospect of a similar idea in the future, though he remains committed to the Champions League structure.

"I think the Champions League has a big component of that [a European Super League] already," he added.

"You have the best clubs throughout Europe playing in the best competition.

"We believe very much that the Champions League has a lot of that and there's a reason that if you win the Champions League you make over 100 million euros."

Pressed that a Super League would see Chelsea play the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich more frequently, he replied: "I think you can do that in the summer and there are other ways to do that.

"I think that the passion that the fans have for the sport and for the sport as it is, is so strong, that it's hard to envision change.

"I never say hard nos. I like to keep options alive. But, obviously, it's not something that we're talking about at all."

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has explained the reasoning behind the decision to sack Thomas Tuchel, which stemmed from the lack of a "shared vision".

The Blues caused a stir last week with the dismissal of their Champions League winning coach, which followed defeats to Dinamo Zagreb, Southampton and Leeds United.

Tuchel's exit was particularly surprising given the plethora of transfer activity in the transfer window, which saw the likes of Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brought to Stamford Bridge.

Just a week after the close of the window, however, Tuchel was gone and swiftly replaced by Graham Potter, who has impressed in his time with Brighton and Hove Albion.

While the decision to sack Tuchel just a month into the season may be considered to have been rash, Boehly has made it clear it was a decision with the long-term picture in mind.

"When you take over any business, you just have to make sure that you’re aligned with the people who are operating the business," he told the SALT Conference.

"Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success at Chelsea.

"Our vision for the club was finding a manager who really wanted to collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate.

"I think there are a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before the first team, for example, in the academy they didn't really share data. They didn't share information about where the top players were coming from.

"So, our goal is to really bring the team together with the academy, with the first team, when we want to acquire and develop; all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine.

"The reality of our decision was that we just weren't sure that Thomas saw it the same way we saw it, and no one's right or wrong. We didn't have a shared vision for the future.

"It wasn't about Zagreb, it was really about a decision for what we wanted Chelsea Football Club to look like and it wasn't a decision as a result of a single win or loss.

"It was a decision made about what we thought was the right vision for the club."

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has detailed his plan to install a "multi-club" model with Chelsea, highlighting the success that Red Bull and Manchester City have had with the formula.

The Blues boss financed a significant spending spree in the transfer window after taking over from Roman Abramovich, then making a big call last week to axe Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Boehly's rebuild is not done yet, though, with reports indicating the club are looking to bring in Luis Campos as their sporting director, which would see the highly-rated transfer guru snatched from his advisor role with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. 

In the long-term, more clubs could join the Chelsea family as Boehly has made it clear he wants to establish a network of clubs and will seek to follow the model of Red Bull and Premier League rivals City.

"We know people, we know human capital. I think we understand game plans and strategies. We're not expecting to be the football experts, to find the best talent, we're going to put those people in place," he told the SALT Conference in New York.

"It's not different from running any human capital business, it's all about getting the right resources, making them collaborate, getting them organised, thinking about how you have a global business at a local level.

"We're going to be continually adding resources. We've talked about having a multi-club model. I would love to continue to build out the footprint. There are different countries where there are advantages to having a club.

"Red Bull does a really good job. They've got Leipzig and they've got Salzburg, both of which are playing in the Champions League, so they've figured out how to make that work. You have Man City, which has a very big network of clubs."

Boehly is keen to use such a network to develop the young players in the squad, having shown a commitment to the future amongst the club's vast spending spree to bring in Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei.

"The challenge that Chelsea have now, one of them, is when you have 18, 19-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to other clubs but you put their development into someone else's hands," he explained.

"Our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch, while getting them real game time. For me, the way to do that is with another club in a really competitive league in Europe."

Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of one count of rape on the direction of the judge in his ongoing trial at Chester Crown Court.

Mendy, 28, was cleared of the rape of a 19-year-old woman at his home in Cheshire on July 24 last year.

Mendy's co-accused Louis Saha Matturie, 41, was cleared of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault against the same woman.

Judge Stephen Everett ordered the jury to clear the two defendants of those counts after the prosecution offered no further evidence.

Mendy and Matturie remain on trial for a number of other alleged sexual offences, which they both deny.

Mendy was suspended by City on August 26, 2021 and has not played for them since.

Graham Potter admitted the chance to manage Chelsea was too good to turn down.

Potter left Brighton and Hove Albion to take over as head coach at Stamford Bridge last week after Thomas Tuchel had been sacked by the London club.

Speaking at his first press conference as Chelsea boss ahead of the Champions League group stage clash against Salzburg, Potter said he was grateful for the trust the club's new owners put in him and is looking forward to getting started.

"You have to look at the football club here, the tradition, the quality, the size, the ambition of the club, to compete in the Champions League, to compete at the top of the Premier League," he said when asked why he left Brighton for this opportunity.

"It's a completely different challenge to the ones I've had.

"I'm very thankful for the ownership here, putting their trust in me and believing in me, to work with an exciting group of players, to be competitive, and to put a team on the pitch that supporters are really proud of.

"I'm very excited, as you can imagine, and looking forward to getting going."

The 47-year-old, who has also managed Swedish side Ostersund and Swansea City, admitted it has been a quick transition from one job to another, speaking just nine days after his former Brighton team had impressed with a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester City.

"It feels like nine weeks, or nine months!" he exclaimed.

"The beauty of football is you never know what's round the corner. Things happen quickly.

"It's been a whirlwind in terms of getting to know people, leaving Brighton, learning about the players, getting to know them, but so far it's been really positive, my first impressions have been really good. I'm looking forward to starting."

Potter is widely admired in the game for his style of football. Since the start of last season, only Liverpool (11.4) and Manchester City (9.9) have averaged more high turnovers per game than Brighton (9.8) in the Premier League.

He insisted he wants a team at Chelsea that plays his desired way, but also plays to win.

"The team that I'd like to see is one that is balanced in terms of attack and defence, a humble team, a respectful team that runs hard and fights," he added. 

"We want to entertain, of course we do, but we also want to win. I'm respectful of the Premier League, I'm respectful of our opponents, there's a lot of teams that want to do the same thing.

"We want to create our own team, our own identity so it's recognisable, and supporters understand what we're trying to do, can see what we're trying to do, and we'll fight every day for it."

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