Chelsea have completed the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for an initial £100million, possibly rising to £115m after add-ons.

A deal for the midfielder was finally agreed late on Sunday night after a lengthy saga that saw Brighton knock back three bids for the 21-year-old.

He underwent a medical and agreed personal terms on Monday and has signed an eight-year contract with the club.

Caicedo said: “I am so happy to join Chelsea! I am so excited to be here at this big club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club.

“It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.”

The PA news agency also understands Chelsea have won the race to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton after the midfielder picked Stamford Bridge over a move to Liverpool

Though a fee is yet to be agreed, the 19-year-old has indicated his desire to join Mauricio Pochettino’s side and negotiations will now take place over personal terms, with the deal likely to be worth in excess of £50million.

It is the second time in less than 24 hours that the club have beaten Liverpool to a key transfer target following Caicedo’s capture.

Belgium international Lavia has played just 29 Premier League games since joining Southampton from Manchester City last summer but was a standout performer last season despite Saints’ relegation to the Championship.

Liverpool had reportedly agreed a deal worth £60m to sign Lavia as Klopp looks to reinforce his midfield following a clutch of departures, but look set to miss out again in an echo of their failure to lure Caicedo, for whom a £111m fee had been agreed before Chelsea stepped in.

Moises Caicedo has joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth a possible £115million.

The Blues look set to eclipse their own British transfer record having agreed to pay £100m up front for Caicedo, plus a further £15m in potential add-ons.

Here, the PA news agency compares the transfer with previous big-money signings.

Highest transfer fees paid by British clubs

The Caicedo deal is the fourth nine-figure transfer in Premier League history.

The record remains at £106.8m – the amount that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January – but Caicedo’s move could eventually surpass it should he meet add-on criteria totalling £15m.

The Fernandez fee appears to have set a new precedent for central midfielders, with Declan Rice also having moved from West Ham to Arsenal for £100m plus add-ons earlier this summer.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish was the first Premier League player to break the £100m barrier, with the former Aston Villa captain having signed for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2021.

Most expensive under-21s

Caicedo is the third player aged 21 and under to command an initial fee of £100m or more.

The Ecuadorian follows in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe and Joao Felix, who moved to Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid for £165.7m and £113m respectively.

Mbappe was 19 when PSG secured his permanent transfer from Monaco in 2018, while Felix was the same age upon moving from Benfica to Atletico 12 months later.

Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham’s £88.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid continued the German club’s impressive record of signing young players and selling them for a large profit.

Ousmane Dembele – who joined Barcelona from Dortmund as a 20-year-old in 2017 – also ranks in the five most expensive players aged 21 and under (£96.8m).

Highest fees received by British clubs

Brighton are the fifth British club to receive a nine-figure sum for an individual player.

The Seagulls are fast proving themselves as adept as Dortmund when it comes to developing young talent, with Caicedo having joined for an estimated £4.4m from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in 2021.

His sale is the third this summer to breach the £100m mark, after Tottenham and West Ham cashed in on their club captains Harry Kane and Rice respectively.

Liverpool – who Caicedo turned down in favour of Chelsea – have held on to top spot in terms of most expensive sales in Premier League history.

The Reds sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for an initial £105m in January 2018, with a further £37m received in subsequent add-ons.

Spain take on Sweden and England face co-hosts Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the tournament statistics can tell us about the games ahead.

Spain v Sweden

The two top-scoring semi-finalists meet in Auckland on Tuesday, with Spain having scored 15 goals – matching eliminated Japan for the tournament high – and Sweden 11.

The Scandinavians have actually had the fewest attempts on goal of any of the last four, just 62, but have the best conversion rate, having scored with 18 per cent of their shots.

Four-goal defender Amanda Ilestedt is also the unlikely leading challenger to current Golden Boot leader Hinata Miyazawa, whose Japan side Sweden knocked out in the quarter-finals.

Ilestedt aside, the statistics heavily favour Sweden. Among the semi-finalists, they rank first and Spain fourth for total shots and shots on target, ball progressions both attempted and completed, line breaks attempted and take-ons completed.

Some hope for Sweden comes from Spain’s defensive record – their six goals conceded is at least twice as many as any of the other remaining teams. Japan scored four of those, and Miyazawa two, in a surprisingly one-sided final game in Group C – but having beaten the Nadeshiko, Sweden will be confident.

They will also know they can respond if, as the statistics point to, they fall behind – Spain have scored nine goals in the first half of games but seven of Sweden’s 11 have come after the break.

The two teams have each used 22 of their 23 available players, with only their respective third-choice goalkeepers Enith Salon and Tove Enblom yet to play a single minute in the tournament.

Australia v England

England and Australia, by contrast, have used only 17 players apiece and fatigue could be a factor in the second semi-final in Sydney.

England’s 553 minutes played is the most in the tournament, closely followed by their opponents with almost 548 minutes. Five Australians and three England players have played every one of those minutes, with Australia naming nine of the same 11 starters in every game – goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and the back four of Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy and Steph Catley, plus Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord – and England six.

Working in England’s favour in that regard could be the distance the respective teams have covered. Their 562.3km is 2.5km lower than any other semi-finalist, with Australia once more ranking second in that regard, and England also have the lowest proportion of that spent sprinting or “high-speed running” at 27 per cent, according to FIFA’s official statistics, and the highest proportion of walking at 39 per cent.

England have scored 10 goals to Australia’s nine and are the most accurate shooters of the remaining teams, with 44 per cent of their efforts on target, while Australia are least accurate at 30 per cent. The co-hosts have had more total shots, 76 to England’s 68, but have allowed 64 at the other end compared to just 52 on Mary Earps’ goal.

Expect England to have the bulk of the possession – they have attempted and completed over 1,000 more passes than Australia, 2,691 of 3,100 compared to 1,584 of 2,061.

Australia are only the second country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup as host nation, following the United States who won the 1999 final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and were also semi-finalists in 2003.

Newcastle new boy Sandro Tonali announced himself in the Premier League with a stunning debut in Saturday’s 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa.

However, the £52million former AC Milan midfielder is not the first Italian to make an early impact, for better or for worse, in England’s top flight.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how he and some of his predecessors fared in their first appearances.

Sandro Tonali

Newcastle invested heavily in 23-year-old Italy international Tonali this summer and he wasted little time in starting to pay off his fee. He scored six minutes into his competitive debut at St James’ Park and went on to produce a fine individual display to inspire the Magpies to a victory which suggested they picked up where they left off at the end of the previous campaign.

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Former Juventus frontman Ravanelli made perhaps the most eye-catching debut of all the Premier League’s Italian stars after swapping Turin for Middlesbrough in a £7million move. The man known as “The White Feather” plundered a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at the Riverside Stadium on the opening day of the 1996-97 season, in the process unveiling his trademark shirt-over-head celebration to a new audience.

Attilio Lombardo

Promoted Crystal Palace raised eyebrows with the £1.6million swoop for Lombardo, who had played a key role in Juventus’ Serie A title win the previous season, during the summer of 1997. Dubbed “The Bald Eagle” by Palace supporters, he made his Premier League bow on August 9 in a 2-1 victory at Everton in which he scored the opening goal and swiftly endeared himself to the Eagles faithful with an inspirational display.

Massimo Taibi

Goalkeeper Taibi’s arrival at Manchester United came amid an injury crisis following the departure of treble-winning Peter Schmeichel with Mark Bosnich and Raimond Van Der Gouw both unavailable. The £4.5m signing from Venezia endured mixed fortunes on his debut at Liverpool in September 1999, his error allowing Sami Hyypia to drag the home side back into the game before he made late saves to deny Vladimir Smicer and Robbie Fowler and secure a 3-2 victory in which Jamie Carragher scored two own goals.

Bernardo Corradi

Former Inter Milan, Lazio and Valencia striker Corradi arrived at Manchester City during the summer of 2006, but his career in England got off to a bad start and went downhill from there. He made his debut in a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea in which he was sent off for two bookable offences – and took 13 games to score the first of just three goals for the club before eventually being released with a year of his contract remaining.

England midfielder Keira Walsh insists the Lionesses are not thinking about the Australian hearts they would break if they eliminate the World Cup co-hosts in Wednesday’s Sydney semi-final.

Australia reached the final four for the first time after beating France in a thrilling penalty shootout, while this will be England’s third crack at advancing to the final of the global showpiece – a feat they have yet to accomplish.

The fervour with which Australians have embraced their side has grown at a frenetic pace, culminating with thousands gathering in fan parks across the country to watch the quarter-final and millions more breaking viewing records on TV.

Walsh said: “Whatever game I play, I want to win. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against. For us, I wouldn’t say we are thinking about spoiling the party.

“I think it is just another game and a massive game at that. We are just fully focused on trying to reach a World Cup final, regardless of who we are playing. I think obviously with the support from Australia it is going to be a little bit different for them in that sense.

“I think we have seen that the (England) girls are ready to fight.

“Obviously, when the whistle ends it is a different story, but I think in the game the girls are very aware of what the game is going to be like, what the stadium is going to be like. I think, for us, we are more than ready for it.”

Sydney’s Stadium Australia, where England beat Colombia in the last eight, seats over 75,000 fans, the majority of whom are expected to support the hosts.

In that sense, the Lionesses’ 2-1 comeback victory over Colombia to reach this stage served as an excellent dress rehearsal, their fans another sea of raucous yellow who equally viewed England as public enemy number one.

Walsh, who in just over a year has secured both the Euro 2022 trophy with England and the Champions League title with Barcelona, said dampening the mood with a goal or two could help the Lionesses take control of the narrative.

She said: “(The crowd) was massive for us at the Euros, especially in the final. There are those moments where the opposition could score and it shifts momentum sometimes when you’re playing, it gives you an extra push when you know the crowd is behind you.

“But also when you can quieten the crowd it is a very nice feeling. I think for us trying to take the momentum out of the game is going to be important. There are positives and negatives for both. We have experienced both.”

Walsh missed England’s third group-stage encounter against China after sustaining a knee injury in the first half of their 1-0 victory over Denmark.

At the time it was feared the issue could be tournament-ending, like the anterior cruciate ligament injuries that prevented Euro 2022 captain Leah Williamson and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead from joining Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup squad.

It turned out not to be as serious as initially suspected, and the 26-year-old returned to play 120 minutes of England’s last-16 victory over Nigeria, which the Lionesses ultimately won 4-2 on penalties.

Williamson has now made the trip to Australia and was in the stands for the Lionesses’ Colombia victory.

“It’s a massive boost for the team,” Walsh added. “To see her supporting us on the opposite side of the world, it’s not an easy flight.

“I think it kind of shows what she feels about this team. The first time I saw her she was actually standing outside my hotel room waving.

“She didn’t want to distract us on game day, so she kind of just stood outside and waved from there.

“To get the win and celebrate with her afterwards, I mean I imagine it’s not easy for her to watch those games because she would want to be playing in them, so I think for us we really appreciate her support.

“I think it shows what a good character and what type of person she is that she’s able to do that for us.”

Justin Kluivert believes the "winning mentality" of Bayern Munich and Manchester City is what makes those clubs so hard to overcome in title races.

Last season saw City claim a historic treble, winning both the Champions League and FA Cup while lifting their fifth Premier League title in six campaigns, though they were run very close by Mikel Arteta's Arsenal who led for much of the way.

Bayern, meanwhile, secured their 11th straight Bundesliga crown thanks to Borussia Dortmund's collapse on the final weekend of the season in which they failed to beat mid-table Mainz at home, meaning Jamal Musiala's 89th-minute winner in a 2-1 win over Koln handed the title to Thomas Tuchel's men.

Kluivert, who was part of the RB Leipzig team that finished second to Bayern while on loan in the 2020-21 campaign, feels it was the lack of winning mindset from Arsenal and Dortmund compared to City and Bayern that meant they missed out on lifting their respective league titles.

"I think that's something you saw with Manchester City or also with Bayern Munich and Dortmund," Kluivert told Stats Perform.

"It's the winning mentality that maybe not even the players, but the club has. They know how to go with that feeling.

"You know, like City were champions. We thought maybe Arsenal or somebody else will be champions, but they [City] have the feeling they know how to win stuff.

"And I think Bayern Munich also has that. Dortmund had it in their hands and they just gave it away, to be honest. But that's the beauty of football. You don't know until the last game."

Having already faced Bayern in a league fixture, Kluivert will get the chance to play against City this season after joining Bournemouth from Roma for an undisclosed fee in June, looking to emulate his father, legendary striker Patrick Kluivert, who played in the Premier League for Newcastle United between 2004 and 2005. 

Justin feels his time at Leipzig playing under Julian Nagelsmann will stand him in good stead to make an impact at the Cherries, saying: "It was a strange season because it was the season with the coronavirus with no fans, so there was something we had to adapt [to].

"But I've learned a lot, played with great players such as [Christopher] Nkunku who's now going to Chelsea and I can name a bunch more. 

"And a great coach in [Julian] Nagelsmann. I think the philosophy the coach here [Andoni Iraola] has is a bit like him with the press, high press, play. So that's why I'm happy to be here and I've learned a lot."

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Spain international, who joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, is contracted at the Bernabeu until June next year.

Real needed a new keeper after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.

A statement on Real’s official website said: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed on the loan of the player Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is linked to the club this season, until June 30, 2024.

“In his five seasons at Chelsea, he has won one Champions League, one Club World Cup, one European Super Cup and one Europa League.

“This year, he has received the award for the best save in the Premier League for the 2022-2023 season.

“Kepa is an international with the Spanish team, with which he has been proclaimed champion of the 2023 Nations League. With Spain, he also won the U19 European Championship in 2012.”

Kepa will be formally presented as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday afternoon.

His return to Spain follows the arrival of 25-year-old compatriot Robert Sanchez at Stamford Bridge.

Sanchez made a £25million switch from Brighton earlier this month and started Sunday’s 1-1 home draw with Liverpool as youngster Lucas Bergstrom provided the back-up on the bench.

Kepa has 163 Chelsea appearances under his belt and was handed the captaincy last season.

However, he has become surplus to requirements under new boss Mauricio Pochettino and will now work for a season under former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to LaLiga side Real Madrid.

“The club wish him well for the season ahead in Madrid, where he will work with former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.”

Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings is facing a long spell on the sidelines as he is set to undergo an operation on a “significant knee injury”.

Mings was carried off on a stretcher in some distress in the first half of Villa’s season-opening 5-1 defeat at Newcastle after a seemingly innocuous tangle of legs with striker Alexander Isak.

Villa have not put a timescale on Mings’ recovery but expect a “lengthy rehabilitation”, with his setback coming days after the club lost Emiliano Buendia to a knee ligament injury for up to eight months.

The club said in a statement on Monday: “Aston Villa can confirm that Tyrone Mings has sustained a significant knee injury.

“The England international was stretchered off from the field after damaging his knee during the first half of Villa’s match at Newcastle United on Saturday.

“The defender has undergone scans and will unfortunately require surgery ahead of a lengthy rehabilitation process.”

Newcastle posted on Twitter in response to Villa’s update: “Wishing you a speedy recovery,
@TyroneMings”.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe signed Mings for Bournemouth in 2015 only to lose the centre-back for 15 months when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament on his Cherries debut.

Howe said at the weekend: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience.

“We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.”

Celtic captain Callum McGregor was delighted to see the resilience of his new team-mates after they came through a difficult early test at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen put Celtic under pressure in the first half especially but the cinch Premiership champions came out 3-1 victors to make it two wins from two.

McGregor said: “It’s always a tough game, they’ll get the crowd involved while the pitch was sticky as well. It’s obviously something they’ve looked at, trying to slow the game down. And slow our quality.

“When you have a new season and a new start, five or six players have joined you, it starts to have a new group feeling. And at the start of every season you start with zero points.

“So to come here, it’s a massive win and it’s one you tick off.

“It builds resilience, it builds confidence and the football does get slicker. There were still some really good moments in that game and, make no mistake, we battled well.”

Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki came through his first away game in Scottish football while fellow summer signing Odin Thiago Holm and Yang Hyun-jun made positive contributions off the bench, the latter setting up Matt O’Riley’s late goal.

Kyogo Furuhashi had earlier given Celtic a half-time lead after Dons striker Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

McGregor said: “I thought Rocki was outstanding in the game and then the other boys coming on, they were excellent as well.

“It’s always tough here, 20-25 minutes to go and you’ve got to come on and be part of the team, be part of the group and show your personality, show your mentality. And I thought it was excellent from the three of them.

“When you cross the line, you have to be together, especially in a Celtic team. Everyone is trying to beat you and you have to have that sort of siege mentality. To see that two games into the season is outstanding.

“But that is something that will progress and we will get better at as the season goes on.

“There is a lot of football to be played, there is a lot of tough away games to be played, that type of character and resilience and togetherness should hopefully stand us in good stead.”

Neymar’s move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal is set to be completed in the next 48 hours, the PA news agency understands.

Sources close to Paris St Germain say the club are set to receive up to 100 million euros (£86.3m) from Al Hilal for the 31-year-old Brazilian as they rebuild their squad around younger, up-and-coming players.

The deal has been sanctioned by PSG because Spanish coach Luis Enrique was open to letting Neymar leave. Selling Neymar would also shift his 25m euro annual wage off the club’s books, with his existing contract due to run until the summer of 2025.

News of Neymar’s imminent exit comes less than 24 hours after the club confirmed striker Kylian Mbappe had been reinstated to first-team training.

Mbappe is understood to have indicated his commitment to the club, who have offered him a contract with a “guaranteed sale” clause in it allowing him to seal a move to Real Madrid next summer for a fee.

The club had been convinced Mbappe was preparing to let his current deal run out, which would have allowed him to leave Paris and join Real on a free transfer next year.

The club acted by omitting the player from the pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea and forcing him to train away from the main first-team group, until the thaw in relations confirmed on Sunday.

They had also granted Mbappe permission to talk to Al Hilal after receiving a world record £259m bid for the player in July, but it was reported the 24-year-old refused to even meet with a delegation from the Saudi club.

The imminent exit for big money of Neymar and the news on Mbappe marks a major and positive turnaround for PSG.

The French champions are consciously moving away from what their president Nasser Al Khelaifi has called their “bling bling” era, with Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi also exiting the club earlier this summer.

Neymar’s signing for a world record £200m fee in 2017 arguably marked the start of that era, but the club’s incomings this summer indicate a difference in approach, with the likes of 22-year-old Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos changing the profile of the team.

James Ward-Prowse’s move to West Ham gives him a fresh chance to match a Premier League record set by David Beckham.

The former Southampton captain has scored 17 goals directly from free-kicks in the competition, just one behind the competition’s highest tally set by former England skipper Beckham in his Manchester United days.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Ward-Prowse’s dead-ball record.

World-class

Former Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has called the England midfielder “for sure one of the best in the world in this part of the game” and Ward-Prowse has the free-kick numbers to back up that assessment.

Since his first Premier League season, the only player to score more free-kick goals in Europe’s “big five” leagues is a certain Lionel Messi – albeit with a distant 35 – and Ward-Prowse has accelerated in recent seasons.

Beckham’s record Premier League tally also includes a single season high of five in 2000-01 – matched the following season by Newcastle’s Laurent Robert – and though Ward-Prowse has yet to match that mark he has twice finished within one.

He was not an immediate set-piece contributor, scoring two free-kicks in his first four Premier League seasons – both against West Brom, at home in January 2016 and at the Hawthorns in February 2018.

He scored two a week apart in March 2019, at Old Trafford and then at home to Tottenham, to signal the start of his emergence and then netted home and away against Watford in the 2019-20 season.

His first run at Beckham and Robert’s season record came in 2020-21, sparked by two free-kick goals in the same game away to Aston Villa on November 1. He scored similar goals against both Beckham and Robert’s former clubs, home to Manchester United later in November and at St James’ Park in February, but was unable to find another to match their record.

The following season brought another near miss as he scored at Crystal Palace in December, Wolves in January and Leeds and Brighton in April.

Fulham, Everton and Chelsea were on the receiving end of his trademark strikes last term and the Hammers have given him the chance to add the one he still needs to match Beckham.

On the road

The widespread perception in football may be that home teams are more likely to benefit from referees’ decisions but Ward-Prowse, like Beckham before him, has scored the majority of his free-kicks away from home.

Indeed, just four came at St Mary’s – only one more free-kick than Beckham scored at Southampton in his Premier League career, though two of his three came at their former home the Dell.

Beckham also scored two against each of Leicester, West Ham and Everton, while Ward-Prowse has made West Brom, Watford, Villa and Manchester United repeat victims.

Ward-Prowse has 49 Premier League goals in total from 343 appearances, also including 13 penalties, with the remaining 19 coming from open play.

Beckham’s overall Premier League record was 62 goals in 265 games, with just two spot-kicks along the way.

Beckham and Ward-Prowse are well clear of their nearest competition, with the third-placed total of 12 shared by Gianfranco Zola, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The other players to reach double figures for Premier League free-kick goals are Robert and Sebastian Larsson, with 11 each, and Ian Harte and Morten Gamst Pedersen with 10.

West Ham have announced the signing of midfielder James Ward-Prowse from Southampton.

The 28-year-old made 410 appearances for Saints and was captain as they were relegated from the Premier League last season.

He has made a swift return to the top flight after joining the Hammers for an undisclosed fee – reported to be in the region of £30million – signing a four-year contract at the London Stadium.

Ward-Prowse told the club’s official website: “I’m buzzing to be here at West Ham United. It’s great to be here and I’m looking forward to getting going.

“From the outside looking in, this is a club that has been on the rise for a number of years now and coming off the success in the UEFA Europa Conference League last year, you can feel there is real momentum around this club. It’s great to be a part of it and I can’t wait to play my role in the games to come.

“When I think about my game, it is based on hard work, graft, and giving 100 per cent. West Ham United has always been a club that epitomises that. You can feel that from the fans and you can see it in the players who are here and the lads that have come through the academy too.

“I feel as though I will fit straight in and I can promise I will give my all for this football club in my time here.”

Ward-Prowse spent two decades on the south coast having joined Southampton’s academy at the age of eight.

During his time at St Mary’s, he earned 11 senior England caps and scored two goals for his country.

Ward-Prowse scored 17 Premier League free-kicks for Southampton and needs just one more to draw level with the record, held by David Beckham.

He becomes West Ham’s second major signing of the summer following the recent acquisition of fellow midfielder Edson Alvarez from Ajax.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire could be the next player in at West Ham as manager David Moyes looks to improve a team that finished 14th last season but went on to lift the Europa Conference League.

They opened their season with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday and lost former captain Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105million in July.

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.”

What the papers say

Manchester United are reportedly considering a move for Everton midfielder Amadou Onana, according to the Daily Mail. Juventus are also said to be monitoring the 21-year-old Belgium international, who caught international attention during the Qatar World Cup.

The Nottingham Post reports Nottingham Forest have had a bid for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Ibrahim Sangare rejected. The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time, but citing ESPN Netherlands, the paper says Forest’s approach was below PSV’s expectations, with Sangare believed to be valued at £32m.

The Daily Mail, via Sky Germany, says Bayern Munich have turned down an initial bid from Manchester United for defender Benjamin Pavard.

The Daily Mail also reports that Everton are close to signing Leeds winger Jack Harrison on a season-long loan.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Neymar: The Paris St Germain forward has agreed a two-year deal with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, according to L’Equipe.

Folarin Balogun: Tottenham are considering a move for the Arsenal forward to replace Harry Kane, reports Gazzetta Dello Sport.

Raphinha and head coach Xavi both saw red as Barcelona got their LaLiga title defence under way with a goalless draw at Getafe in a tempestuous affair that saw both sides finish with 10 players.

Raphinha came close to breaking the deadlock when his shot was saved by David Soria before rebounding off Stefan Mitrovic and on to a post, but the Barcelona winger was given his marching orders soon after.

Having been booked for dissent moments earlier, the Brazilian was given a straight red after appearing to use his forearm in an off-the-ball clash with Gaston Alvarez, prompting uproar from Getafe’s bench.

The incident on the stroke of half-time left Barcelona a man down with more than half the game to go but the sides were evened up just before the hour when Jaime Mata received a second yellow card.

Robert Lewandowski saw a looping header cleared off the line by Alvarez before, with 20 minutes left, Xavi was given his marching orders for arguing with the officials.

Barcelona dominated possession and had 14 shots to their opponents’ five on a steamy night in the Spanish capital but ultimately drew a blank in a clash that produced eight yellows and the three red cards.

They thought they should have had a penalty in the 12th minute of added-on time, with referee Cesar Soto Grado checking the monitors following potential fouls on Gavi and Ronald Araujo.

But the official saw no transgression by the Getafe defence and the hosts held on to secure a point.

Goals from Ayoze Perez and Willian Jose – in the 90th minute – secured a 2-1 victory for Real Betis at Villarreal, who had equalised through Jorge Cuenca, while Ruben Garcia and Moi Gomez were on target as Osasuna won 2-0 at Celta Vigo.

In Ligue 1, Lens squandered a two-goal lead as last season’s runners-up started their campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Brest.

Florian Sotoca and Deiver Machado put Lens two goals ahead inside 22 minutes but Romain Del Castillo’s spot-kick on the stroke of half-time gave the home side a foothold in the game.

Kenny Lala equalised just before the hour mark and after substitute Adrien Thomasson was sent off just a quarter of an hour after coming on, Del Castillo scored his second penalty to give Brest the points.

Wissam Ben Yedder bagged a brace as Monaco won 4-2 at Clermont, while Ibrahim Salah also scored twice as Rennes dished out a 5-1 beating to promoted Metz.

Le Havre, back in the top flight after a 14-year absence, had substitute Samuel Grandsir to thank for a last-gasp strike that rescued a 2-2 draw at Montpellier, while Toulouse came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Nantes and Strasbourg beat Lyon by the same score.

In Germany, Dani Olmo’s hat-trick saw RB Leipzig spoil Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich debut with a 3-0 win in the DFL-Supercup.