Ivan Toney believes he was made an example of as a high-profile Premier League player.

The Brentford striker was banned for eight months in May after admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.

Speaking to Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Toney claimed that his punishment was disproportionate compared to what previous, lower-level players had been given for similar offences.

“I feel so, yeah,” he said when asked if the FA had looked to make an example of him.

“I don’t think it’s right, no. We actually did look at some cases that were somewhat similar or worse and their punishment wasn’t how mine is. The fact that I’m playing in the Premier League doing well, sniffing round England, it’s kind of like, ‘Right, this is our chance to punish him’.”

Toney also felt the timing of the allegations being made public was linked to him being left out of the England squad for last year’s World Cup.

He said: “I guess it comes down to the allegations but personally I feel it was a bit of a questionable time when they decided to bring it all out and then when they actually dealt with the situation come the end of the season.

“The biggest punishment for me was missing out on playing at the World Cup. I felt more hurt and down around that time, like somebody’s out to get me to stop me from playing for England. That was the lowest point.”

Toney admitted he initially denied betting on football when confronted by the FA before co-operating with the investigation, although he insisted he does not remember placing bets on his own team to lose.

“In the 232 breaches there were some bets I don’t recall making but I was willing to take responsibility just to get the process all over and done with because having that hovering over me and trying to concentrate on my career is far from the best feeling,” he said.

The 27-year-old also claimed that using someone else to place bets for him was to hide how he was spending his money from his parents rather than from the authorities.

Toney’s suspension was shorter than it could have been, with the FA taking into account his diagnosis as a gambling addict.

“You never think of the negatives,” he said. “Being on the money I was on, it was like, ‘It’s fine, I’ll get it back at the back end of the month’. It was just waiting for pay day.

“My stubbornness comes into play and it was kind of like, ‘No, I’m fine, I can stop when I want to stop’. You don’t allow yourself to believe it. I feel like it’s 50-50. You could have stopped but the thrill is what keeps you going.”

Toney, who has three young children, insisted he has now stopped gambling, saying: “I think it’s being in the public eye. If I was going into these places (betting shops), I think it’s more the embarrassment. I wouldn’t allow myself.

“You take a back seat and look at all the money you’ve lost and what it could have gone on, and especially now having people to provide for. I see that as being naive.”

Toney is banned until January 16 and he is not allowed to train with his team-mates or spend time at Brentford until September 17.

“I feel like the hard part is now because right now I’d be playing football matches and I can’t even be around the players and at the football ground,” he said.

“If I wasn’t as strong as I was in my head, that would break some people. We talk about mental health, what’s that doing to a player that’s not allowed in the environment? How is that going to help them?”

Toney thanked Brentford boss Thomas Frank and England manager Gareth Southgate for their support and vowed to come back stronger.

He added: “Not that I need to prove anybody wrong but there’s a lot of haters and doubters out there thinking, ‘He ain’t going to be the same when he comes back’.

“Actually they’re right, I’m going to be a different man, I’m going to be even better than that guy that scored those goals before. I’m built different, my mentality’s different.

“I want to be playing for England and scoring goals. I want to be the main man wherever I go. I know we’ve got Harry Kane, who is probably one of the best strikers in the world if not the best, and that’s what I’m up against, so I need to get to that level.”

Julian Alvarez fired Manchester City to a hard-fought victory over Newcastle as the treble winners maintained their perfect start to the new Premier League season.

The World Cup-winner curled a shot into the top corner after 31 minutes of a tight encounter at the Etihad Stadium to secure a 1-0 win and three more points.

Eddie Howe’s men had travelled in hope after last weekend’s opening 5-1 drubbing of Aston Villa, but left empty-handed after the hosts summoned up commendable stamina in the wake of their midweek UEFA Super Cup triumph in Athens on Wednesday.

Ange Postecoglou oversaw a thrilling first win as Tottenham manager as Pape Sarr’s strike and a Lisandro Martinez own goal settled a pulsating clash with Manchester United.

Spurs, whose struggles in the second half of last season have been compounded by home-grown star Harry Kane’s recent switch to Bayern Munich, proved too good for a sub-par United on the day.

Former Celtic boss Postecoglou’s influence has borne early fruit and his new-look side sealed a fine 2-0 win thanks to Sarr’s effort and a late Martinez own goal.

Liverpool survived Mo Salah’s penalty miss and Alexis Mac Allister’s red card to surge to a 3-1 Premier League victory over Bournemouth.

The Cherries took a third-minute lead through Antoine Semenyo, but Luis Diaz levelled before Salah converted the rebound after Neto had repelled his spot-kick.

Summer signing Mac Allister’s untimely departure had little impact as Diogo Jota secured the points.

Solly March’s double helped Brighton climb to the top of the table after the 3pm kick-offs following a fine 4-1 win at Wolves.

Goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan put the Seagulls in charge, and March struck twice before substitute Hwang Hee-chan pulled one back for the home side, who had Matheus Nunes sent off for a second bookable offence at the death.

Bryan Mbeumo also scored twice to help Brentford to an impressive 3-0 victory at Brentford.

Yoane Wissa opened the scoring and after defender Tim Ream had been dismissed for two yellow card offences, Mbeumo converted the resulting penalty before adding a second in stoppage time.

Marco Silva has confirmed Aleksandar Mitrovic will be leaving Fulham after a deal was agreed with Al Hilal following the 3-0 home loss to Brentford in the Premier League.

The Serbian striker was absent from the squad ahead of his move to the Saudi Pro League and was replaced by summer signing Raul Jimenez, who drew a second straight blank when leading the line.

Silva mentioned Mitrovic forced his way out of the club after it was reported in July the 28-year-old said he would never play for the west London side again if an agreement was not found.

“He is on the way to leave the club,” Silva said.

“I got information from the club after the match, both clubs have got an agreement and now it’s the moment where it is the finish of Mitrovic in our club.

“As you know he forced everything to leave the club, he wanted to leave the club and until the moment that the the board found a financial agreement we kept him at our football club but at the end they reached an agreement and now for us we keep playing without him.

“Football players are human as well, the situation with the market – sometimes they are thinking about other stuff because it was not just Mitrovic in our club (who had interest from other teams) during the last three or four weeks.

“I will talk to him tomorrow and in two days’ time because our relationship is there forever.”

Yoane Wissa’s first-half strike and a Bryan Mbeumo double sealed all three points for Thomas Frank’s men in a dominant display away from home, with Fulham skipper Tim Ream shown a red card.

The Bees boss lauded the strike partnership who have scored five times between them in their opening two games despite the absence of star man Ivan Toney.

Frank said: “I think they are two good players no doubt about that. Bryan has been so good in the four or five years he has been here with us.

“Wissa we knew is a goalscorer and I think he can play winger or nine, he could arguably of got one or two more today.

“It means a lot that in the last two games our strikers have scored five goals and that gives us even more confidence.

“There’s a good understanding between Bryan and Wissa and I think Kevin (Schade) and Keane (Lewis-Potter) are also adding to it.”

Today’s win extended Brentford’s unbeaten run in London derbies to 11 Premier League games and Frank credited the role of their vocal supporters which galvanized his team.

He added: “The supporters were fantastic.

“I am so pleased for them that they got this derby win and this was 100 per cent for the supporters and I hope they have a wonderful evening down the Thames in the pubs.”

Liverpool survived Mohamed Salah’s penalty miss and Alexis Mac Allister’s red card to surge to a 3-1 Premier League victory over Bournemouth.

The Cherries took a third-minute lead through Antoine Semenyo, but Luis Diaz levelled before Salah converted the rebound after Neto had repelled his spot-kick.

Summer signing Mac Allister’s dismissal had little impact as Diogo Jota secured the points.

Solly March’s double helped Brighton climb to the top of the table after the 3pm kick-offs following a convincing 4-1 win at Wolves.

Goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan put the Seagulls in charge, and March struck twice before substitute Hwang Hee-chan pulled one back for the home side.

Bryan Mbeumo also scored twice to help Brentford to an impressive 3-0 victory at Brentford.

Yoane Wissa opened the scoring and after defender Tim Ream had been sent off for a second bookable offence, Mbeumo converted the resulting penalty before adding a second in stoppage time.

Brentford claimed west London bragging rights over 10-man Fulham with a deserved 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.

Yoane Wissa’s first-half strike coupled with a Bryan Mbeumo double was enough for Thomas Frank’s men, who extended their unbeaten record in London derbies to 11.

The Bees continue to adjust to life without Ivan Toney but did not look back after an impressive display from their frontmen who sealed a deserved three points away from home.

Both sets of supporters set the tone as Fulham’s new striker Raul Jimenez enjoyed defending Mathias Jensen’s attacking throw-ins before the Mexican nearly caught goalkeeper Mark Flekken napping with the ball at feet.

Marco Silva had discussed the striker’s plethora of attributes on Friday and his compliments seemed justified as the £5.5million man had multiple touches of the ball in dangerous areas as the hosts pushed to capitalise on a chaotic start from both sides.

Frank’s change of shape from a back five during their 2-2 draw to Spurs to a back four here failed to resolve his side’s possession problems in the first half but a loose ball in midfield saw the pacey Wissa test Bernd Leno after 25 minutes.

After Ethan Pinnock directed a Fulham corner onto his own crossbar, Mbeumo delivered a golden opportunity to Wissa after 38 minutes but the Congo attacker scuffed his effort wide from a position you would back the suspended Toney to convert from.

But just before half-time Wissa did not have to be asked again as he gave his side the lead.

Kenny Tete’s back pass to Issa Diop saw the Frenchman fumble his touch before the Brentford attacker pounced on the loose ball and run through on goal where he dispatched his effort calmy past a helpless Leno.

Fulham responded well after the break as Tete marauded forward before his cut back found Bobby De Cordova-Reid, whose first-time effort cannoned off the crossbar as the Jamaican was denied his second of the season after his winner at Goodison Park last week.

Typical of a derby, Brentford immediately went down the other end in numbers and Jensen’s 54th-minute half-volley was hit into the ground and forced Leno to make an acrobatic save.

But in the 64th minute Wissa wreaked further havoc on the Fulham backline and forced a clumsy challenge from skipper Tim Ream, who gave away a penalty and was shown a second yellow by referee Darren Bond.

Mbeumo scored a penalty for the second week in a row after his composed effort rooted Leno to the spot as the ball clipped the inside of the left post and nestled in the bottom corner to give Brentford a 2-0 advantage.

Fulham hunted for a way back during nine minutes of added time through cameos from Willian and new signing Adama Traore but the extra man paid dividends for the visitors and Kristoffer Ajer’s well-timed cross found the potent Mbeumo who rounded off victory for Brentford.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier remains “part of this team” despite his absence from Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford.

Dier was one of several senior players left out of the Spurs squad along with Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele.

Postecoglou has been honest about the need for Tottenham to offload players during the final weeks of the transfer window, but he suggested nothing should be read into Dier’s absence.

Reports on Sunday which linked Dier with a move to Saudi Arabia were later shut down and he trained at Hotspur Way earlier that day, but he may have to assess his playing options now he seems to be fifth choice at centre-back.

“Eric is part of this team. We left a few out,” Postecoglou said.

“We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players.

“Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection.

“My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.”

Dier was a regular under Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte and made 42 appearances last season.

 

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The summer arrival of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg has pushed Dier down the pecking order and despite featuring in pre-season, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez appear to have also moved ahead of him.

Dier joined Spurs in 2014 but was snubbed for the captaincy roles with Son Heung-min named skipper and James Maddison and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero listed as vice-captains.

Romero was part of a new-look defence at Brentford with debuts handed to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Van de Ven and left-back Destiny Udogie.

Postecoglou added: “Obviously we had Micky, Destiny and Vic, three of our back five, making their debut for the clubs and anyone will tell you when it comes to the defensive side of the game, the more understanding you have, the better you are.

“We obviously took a bit of a gamble throwing them all in but I thought all three handled themselves really well. It is not an easy place to come, you get put under pressure with balls coming into the box and I thought they all handled themselves really well.

“Micky has only had three sessions with us so I could have waited to put him in there, but my feeling is he will be a very good footballer for us and the quicker we introduce him to Premier League football the better he will be.”

Sunday marked the start of the post-Harry Kane era for Tottenham, but his departure to Bayern Munich on Saturday night did not alter the plans of Brentford too much.

Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “No, that is the short answer. Of course he is a different type to Richarlison. He is the England number nine compared to the Brazilian number nine.

“That we know and the only tweak would have been that if Kane drops down deep, we would have needed to be aware of his fantastic passing skills and get closer to him.

“Richarlison is more about the runs but our game plan is our game plan with the things we believe in.”

Thomas Frank embraced Brentford “again making history” after their Premier League opener at home to Tottenham was delayed due to a sanitation issue inside the stadium.

A six-minute delay occurred to the scheduled 2pm kick-off following an issue with the water supply at the Brentford Community Stadium.

It meant toilets could not be used and while the problem remained until half-time, Frank laughed off the Bees providing another Premier League first after a drone saw a clash with Wolves delayed at the start of 2022.

Frank said: “I actually don’t know (if anyone had a shower yet), but it is the most crazy reason for delaying a Premier League game I ever heard.

“I know we normally hit the headlines for a lot of good things. Probably is not the worst thing to hit the headlines with, but yeah quite crazy.

“It reminded me a little bit about the drone game two years ago against Wolves. Probably also the first time in the Premier League wasn’t it? Again, making history. First time drone and second time no water.”

A Brentford statement at the time said: “Please be aware that we are currently dealing with an issue in relation to the water supply into the stadium which is affecting all related facilities.”

Meanwhile, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou laughed off the fact his Premier League bow was momentarily delayed.

Postecoglou added: “Twenty-seven years of managing mate and that’s the beauty of it, there’s always something new. So just another little line in my autobiography.”

Ange Postecoglou promised Tottenham would improve and praised the resilience of his squad for not allowing Harry Kane’s departure to distract them after they battled to a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford.

Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London.

Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes before quick-fire efforts from Bees forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this season opener, but James Maddison – wearing the 10 shirt in Kane’s absence – set up Emerson Royal to level matters on the stroke of half-time.

It stayed 2-2 despite the visitors having 69 per cent possession and 18 shots, which pleased Postecoglou to an extent but the Australian was also aware they must get better in the final third, especially following the £100million sale of their record goal-scorer.

“Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou reflected when asked if he had discussed Kane’s departure with the squad.

“I haven’t needed to address it, I haven’t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for and they knew that.

“I think that was the important thing for us. If it felt like we were distracted, I was distracted or anyone else, I think you would have seen evidence of it today, particularly after that first half and the way it went.

“We showed a real resilience that we’re going to need because it’s going to be a challenging year for sure.

“It was a good starting point for us today, but we need to improve and we have to improve and we will.

“I think that 2-1 down, having conceded a penalty and an own goal, it would have been very easy for us to drop our heads but I never sensed that in the group.”

After Romero had combined with fellow vice-captain Maddison to open the scoring, he was forced off following an earlier clash of heads with Mbeumo.

The Argentina international wanted to stay on, but Postecoglou had no doubt over the substitution, although was critical over how a pedantic minor error by Spurs’ backroom staff penalised them when it came to further substitutes.

Postecoglou added: “They were pretty sure we needed – for his own benefit – to get him off and obviously what we know about head injuries, for me it is not even an issue. We will always err on the side of caution.

“Disappointed that we apparently filled out the wrong slip and it was not a concussion sub.

“In this day and age, where what we know about head injuries, if we are going to worry about what form we fill out, I thought it was pretty clear what happened – but hopefully he’ll be OK.”

Despite no longer having Kane to call on and with other experienced members of the squad in Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier not involved, Postecoglou was happy to give the away fans reasons for optimism.

“I thought our supporters were outstanding today,” he said.

“It is fair to say we have put them through a fair bit this pre-season and all we can try and do is give them some hope and belief.

“Hopefully they leave the ground, maybe disappointed we weren’t able to get the win, but at least seeing the players are fully committed to us trying to be a football team that makes an impact.”

While a lot of the pre-match focus centred on Tottenham being without Kane, Brentford are missing last season’s top goal-scorer Ivan Toney until January due to his ban for repeated betting breaches.

Bees boss Thomas Frank maintained there was no need for them to sign a new forward and was pleased to be validated in their opening fixture with Mbeumo and Wissa on target.

He said: “There have been quite a few questions from you guys at the end of last season and the start of this about ‘will we buy a striker?’ And I’ve said no, no, no, no and no because we believe the forward players we have will provide enough goals.

“Bryan and Wissa showed it last season and I am so glad they showed it again today.

“Do I want Ivan in the team? Yes, but I know he is not there before January so I am not focused too much on that, only on the players we have now.”

James Maddison provided two assists to help fill the creative void left by Harry Kane’s departure, but Tottenham could only start the Ange Postecoglou era with a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford.

Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London.

New vice-captain Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes, but quick-fire efforts from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this Premier League opener for the Bees.

Emerson Royal was able to level on the stroke of half-time after another assist by Maddison, who was wearing the number 10 shirt, and despite both teams fashioning further chances in the second half, the spoils were shared.

It had been a whirlwind period for everyone involved at Tottenham with Kane beginning his journey to Germany on Friday and making his debut for Bayern on Saturday night. By that point, his former club had moved on.

Son Heung-min was confirmed as Spurs’ new captain, with Hugo Lloris still expected to depart before September 1, and Postecoglou handed out several debuts during his own Premier League bow.

A slight delay occurred to kick-off at Brentford due to a sanitation issue inside the stadium, but it took only 11 minutes for Tottenham to score the first goal of this new era.

Maddison curled in a free-kick for fellow vice-captain Romero to head home but that would prove the World Cup winner’s last involvement.

Romero had clashed heads with Mbeumo after five minutes and despite insisting he could carry on, Davinson Sanchez was introduced.

Brentford started to grow into proceedings and Tottenham’s new number one Guglielmo Vicario saved well from Mbeumo before Son started his captaincy duties with a low point.

The Spurs forward caught Mathias Jensen inside the area and – while it looked innocuous at first glance – VAR told referee Robert Jones to review the incident with the pitchside monitor and he pointed to the penalty spot.

With Brentford without the banned Ivan Toney due to repeated betting breaches, Mbeumo took on the spot-kick responsibility and slotted the ball home after 26 minutes in a similar fashion to his fellow strike partner.

Nine minutes later, Thomas Frank’s side were ahead when Rico Henry got in behind Emerson too easily on the right and cut back, where Wissa’s shot was deflected beyond Vicario by fellow debutant Micky Van De Ven.

A booking for Oliver Skipp on the stroke of half-time made it five yellows handed out to the visitors, which included coach Ryan Mason and those minor delays contributed towards 11 minutes being added on at the end of the first half.

It proved enough time for Tottenham to go in level after Emerson rifled home from 22 yards following Maddison’s pass to continue his resurgence after he was booed onto the pitch against Aston Villa at the start of 2023.

Brentford substitute Mikkel Damsgaard should have made it 3-2 after 58 minutes, but he scuffed his effort straight at Vicario from 12 yards after the Italian had punched away Vitaly Janelt’s cross.

Spurs improved afterwards with Son testing Mark Flekken, who produced a strong display after replacing Arsenal-bound David Raya.

Flekken was equal to Richarlison’s 64th-minute effort when Maddison had slipped through the Brazil forward before a host of changes were made by both managers.

Van De Ven breathed a sigh of relief after VAR decided to not intervene when he caught Bees substitute Kevin Schade inside the area with 12 minutes left.

And it proved the final noteworthy moment of an entertaining opener, which showed both sides there was life without talismans Kane and Toney.

The new Premier League season kicks off this weekend with clubs still finalising their squads for the challenge ahead.

Champions Manchester City and last season’s runners-up Arsenal will resume battle with the Gunners’ having struck an early blow in the Community Shield, while newcomers Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton begin the task of ensuring their stay among the big boys is not fleeting.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the opening fixtures.

Auf wiedersehen, Harry?

Harry Kane’s “will he, won’t he?” summer saga finally approached its conclusion on the eve of the new campaign as he headed for Germany with a view to tying up a £95million switch from Tottenham to Bayern Munich. The England skipper’s impending departure is likely to dismay fans of a club which drastically under-achieved in finishing eighth last season. Spurs open their campaign at Brentford on Sunday with the travelling supporters contemplating what life after Harry may represent.

Big six backlash?

If last season’s top three had a familiar look about it with Manchester United following their neighbours and Arsenal across the finishing line, there was a measure of turbulence below them as Newcastle disturbed the established order to push Liverpool out of the top four and Brighton claimed sixth spot with Aston Villa hot on their heels. Despite losing Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino to the Saudi Arabian exodus, the Reds have added World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to their ranks with Moises Caicedo also seemingly on his way to Anfield, while James Maddison is perhaps the most eye-catching of Tottenham’s summer arrivals and Chelsea’s spending spree shows no signs of abating as the wounded prepare to fight back.

Baptism of fire

If Gary O’Neil felt hard done by when he was relieved of his duties at Bournemouth in June having steered the club to Premier League safety, it did not blunt his readiness to take on a challenge. The former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough midfielder was parachuted into the hotseat vacated by dissatisfied Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui after the Spaniard and the club decided to go their separate ways as a result of disagreements over recruitment. O’Neil stepped into the void with just days to prepare for Wolves’ opening fixture – a daunting trip to a rejuvenated Manchester United on Monday evening.

Welcome to the jungle

Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton will set foot in the top flight knowing the first and overwhelming priority is survival. Last season was the first since 2017-18 when the three promoted clubs all stayed up, with at least one having made an immediate return to the top flight at the end of each of the previous four. The Hatters last played in England’s top division in 1992, but having worked their way back from the non-league ranks in the last decade, they know all about fighting tooth and nail.

In it for the long haul

Unpopular as it may be with some, referees’ chief Howard Webb has insisted moves to eradicate time-wasting are here to stay, and that means there could be some lengthy matches this season. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane are among those to have questioned moves to tackle the game’s “dark arts”, as well as behaviour on and off the pitch, but their concerns have fallen on deaf ears. How will they feel after the weekend?

Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.

The PA news agency understands a fee of £30million has been agreed for the 27-year-old Spaniard, who is reported to be signing a five-year contract.

Raya will provide competition for established number one Aaron Ramsdale and the England international welcomes it.

“Bring it on. Nothing comes easy in football. At the same time you need to move along and adapt as well,” Ramsdale told ITV Sport.

“I’ve done it to other people when I’ve moved clubs so I’m not going to be thinking that it’s never going to happen to me.

“If it happens, it happens and then we’ll fight and we’ll make each other the best version of ourselves because that’s what the manager is telling us as well.

“And I’m sure whoever plays, me or whoever comes in, the goalkeeping union – people laugh at it but it’s a real thing – (means) your individual disappointment will go away.

“You will put the team first and you’ll put that goalkeeper first as well.”

Raya’s arrival will also signal the departure of United States goalkeeper Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest in a deal which could be worth up to £10m.

Chelsea gave the most playing time of any Premier League club to players developed in their own academy last season, research from the PA news agency has revealed.

Despite the focus on their extraordinary spending in both the summer and winter transfer windows under new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the Blues fielded seven players developed in-house for a combined 9,473 minutes.

That was one more player and nearly 2,000 minutes more than any other Premier League academy and here, PA looks at the figures in detail.

Cobham producing the goods

Five Chelsea academy products have been a regular feature of the club’s line-up in recent years and played over 1,000 minutes apiece last season, with Conor Gallagher leading the way at 1,812, narrowly ahead of Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

While the latter pair have left the club this summer, Reece James’ playing time is likely to increase from the 1,381 minutes he managed in an injury-hit season. Lewis Hall played 700 minutes and Armando Broja also featured before a long-term injury of his own.

Levi Colwill could also return from his loan at Brighton to help keep up the club’s homegrown quota, after starring for England’s Under-21 European champions.

Chelsea’s targets for their academy under their ‘Vision 2030’ banner include having Cobham graduates make up 25 per cent of their first-team squad and 15 per cent of playing time, and to have more in the professional game than any other academy.

Seven of last season’s 32 players were developed in-house and accounted for almost 23 per cent of their playing time, while leading the field for Premier League players indicates they are on track for the latter aim as well.

Three other clubs – Tottenham, Southampton and Liverpool – used six each of their own graduates but the closest club to Chelsea in terms of playing time were Nottingham Forest, with 7,619 minutes from four players.

Brennan Johnson played over 3,000 minutes, captain Joe Worrall almost 2,500 and Ryan Yates just short of 2,000, while Alex Mighten made one brief appearance before going out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday.

Crystal Palace were just 38 minutes behind in third, with Leicester and Brighton completing the top five ahead of Spurs.

Bees no-show

At the other end of the scale, Brentford were the only Premier League club not to give any playing time to graduates of their own academy.

The Bees have benefitted from their innovative link-up with Danish club Midtjylland, importing a number of talented players from Scandinavia and finishing 13th and ninth in their two seasons since promotion to the top flight.

They have barely developed any homegrown talent, though, with Ryan Trevitt and Nathan Young-Coombes making matchday squads but yet to take to the pitch in the Premier League.

Leeds fared little better last season in terms of player development, their 73 minutes coming in a solitary early-season appearance for Cody Drameh before his successful loan at Luton.

Fulham managed just 339 minutes, mostly from Marek Rodak and Jay Stansfield, while Hugo Bueno accounted for the vast majority of Wolves’ 1,742 minutes.

One extreme or the other

There were 83 players in last season’s top flight tagged as academy graduates of the same club they played for.

While those included several club captains such as James Ward-Prowse, Declan Rice and Lewis Dunk and stalwart players like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, many others were on the periphery.

Thirty played less than 90 minutes while 23 made just one appearance each, ranging from one minute and 40 seconds for West Ham midfielder Conor Coventry against Manchester City to a full 90 minutes plus nine of stoppage time for Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in the 4-4 draw with Southampton.

Nine players cleared the 3,000-minute mark and a further eight played over 2,000 minutes, with 34 in all playing 1,000 minutes or more for the club that developed them.

Brentford have completed the signing of Republic of Ireland defender Nathan Collins from Wolves for a club-record fee on a six-year deal.

The 22-year-old arrives in west London after spending just one season at Molineux, having previously played for Stoke and Burnley, and has 45 Premier League appearances to his name.

Bees head coach Thomas Frank likes what he has seen from Collins and feels he will prove to be “a perfect Brentford player”.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve managed to sign Nathan,” Frank told the club’s website.

“He’s a very talented centre-back and still young. He has a lot of very good abilities that we value a lot. He’s a composed and calm defender.

“His heading in both boxes is a big thing, both in open play and from set-pieces, which is massive in the Premier League.

“His character is really good, and we know that character is everything. He will fit into our culture, I have no doubt about that.

“I see leadership potential in Nathan. He’s a perfect Brentford player – hungry and ambitious with a desire to learn.”

Collins, who cost Brentford a reported £23million, is now aiming to help the club build on their highest-ever league finish after they ended the 2022-23 term in ninth place.

“I talked with the manager and a few of the backroom staff about the project here,” he said.

“It’s a club on the rise and I can see where they want to go. It’s exciting to be here.

“I like to play football. I want to dribble, play and create. It starts at the back. I can play long balls and short balls. But, at the end of the day, I’m a defender and I have to head the ball, win it and win my challenges.”

The arrival of Collins comes on the back of Brentford signing goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Freiburg, with Kevin Schade’s loan from the Bundesliga side also made permanent this summer.

Brentford B have announced the signing of Romeo Beckham from Inter Miami on a one-year deal following an impressive loan spell.

The 20-year-old son of David Beckham – who is co-owner of Inter Miami – spent the second half of last season on loan with Brentford’s B side but has now put pen to paper on a permanent contract, with the option of a further year.

Beckham helped the Bees lift the Premier League Cup last season and featured 15 times, scoring a late goal against National League side Wealdstone in the Middlesex Senior Cup.

Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane will be hoping the youngster can continue where he left off in west London.

He told the club website: “We added Romeo to our squad in January and he’s been fantastic for the group.

“He’s had a terrific end to the season in terms of his recent match against Manchester City where he showed what he’s learned during his loan with us.

“We’ve continued to develop him in and out of possession and we look forward to him coming back in good spirits to continue working with him next season.”

Brentford have completed the permanent signing of German forward Kevin Schade for a club-record fee believed to be around £20million.

Schade, 21, initially joined the Bees on loan from Freiburg in January and has now signed a five-year contract.

Brentford director of football Phil Giles told the club’s official website: “When Kevin joined us on loan in January, we agreed with Freiburg that the move would become permanent this summer if certain conditions were met, which included Brentford remaining a Premier League team for next season.

“We have all been pleased with Kevin’s contribution so far, both on the pitch and his professionalism off it, so to have him with us now until 2028 is fantastic for the club.

“We all hope both Kevin and Brentford can make further progress from here and look forward to the challenge.”

Schade made 19 appearances for the Bees over the second half of last season.

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