Summary
Build-up to EFL - starts on Friday
Latest transfers news as City's Alvarez set to move to Atletico Madrid
Reaction to Champions League qualifying with Rangers' late 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv
Pre-season latest: Chelsea lose 2-1 in final US friendly with Real Madrid
Maresca says Chelsea concede too many goals - 12 in five pre-season games
Arsenal & Aston Villa in pre-season action later
Get Involved: #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)
Live Reporting
Ben Collins, Tasnim Chowdhury & Martin Dougan
Bye for nowpublished at 15:14 British Summer Time 7 August
15:14 BST 7 August
That's all for today then. Do join us again on Thursday for all the latest transfer news and build-up to the start of the new EFL season, while Manchester City prepare to face Manchester United in the Community Shield.
We'll also have updates on the latest pre-season games, with Arsenal set to host Bayer Leverkusen later while Aston Villa face Athletic Bilbao at Walsall. Until then, click on the summary points above or below for more on today's top stories and best features:
Where has Lee Carsley managed before?published at 15:11 British Summer Time 7 August
15:11 BST 7 August
One of the arguments that could be put forward against Lee Carsley as the permanent manager is his relative lack of senior team experience, although he has coached men's senior teams before.
As a player, he has a lot of experience of senior football and in a career spanning over 500 games, he played 282 of those in the Premier League.
The 50-year-old has been caretaker manager for Coventry City in 2012 and 2013, caretaker of Birmingham City in 2017. He also had a 10-game stint as interim head coach in the Championship before Dean Smith was appointed permanently at Brentford.
During his time as the Bees' interim manager he won five of his 10 games in charge and was named Championship Manager of the Month in October 2015.
Carsley had been in discussions with Brentford owner Matthew Benham about taking the job at the club permanently during that time but he said he was focused on development football.
Benham said to Carsley he could develop the players in the first team at the club and Carsley has since admitted he wouldn't be “caught out” by making that mistake again if offered a senior job.
When speaking to the BBC in 2023, he said he played the best football of his playing career between the ages of 28 and 33 years-old, using the example that players can always develop at any stage.
As auditions go, a debut fixture against the country he represented at international level, would be quite the introduction.
Carsley is an 'unbelievable manager'published at 15:07 British Summer Time 7 August
15:07 BST 7 August
Alex Howell
BBC football news reporterWhenever England play there’s a debate about how they fit in all of their best players. Looking at how Lee Carsley set up his U21 side, could he be the coach to fit together Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Reece James - England’s glut of exceptional right backs - and players such as Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham into one team?
On the way to lifting the trophy in Georgia, when his side came up against Germany in the group stage, Carsley played Palmer in a number eight position in centre midfield and played the majority of the tournament with Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon – named player of the tournament - as his main striker.
Gordon called Carsley the “best man-manager” he has had in his career and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliot said Carsley is an “unbelievable manager” during the Reds pre-season tour this summer.
Of course there are players such as John Stones, Declan Rice and captain Harry Kane that Carsley has not worked with before but, since the U21s lifted the trophy in Georgia, a large number of them have made the step up into the senior squad.
What is Carsley's style of play?published at 15:05 British Summer Time 7 August
15:05 BST 7 August
Alex Howell
BBC football news reporterOne of the main criticisms of Gareth Southgate’s tenure was that he did not make enough of the attacking players he had at his disposal. It was the most hotly-debated issue of England’s run to Euro 2024, with plenty of debate about Phil Foden’s perfect position, Cole Palmer only being used from the bench and Anthony Gordon barely featuring.
When the England U21 side won the European Championship last summer, social media was rife with montages of the team’s attractive football dubbed ‘Cars-ball’.
Those homemade edits resurfaced in the days after Southgate stood down and Birmingham-born Carsley’s name was among the contenders to replace him.
In contrast with the picture of former Everton and Derby midfielder Carsley’s playing career as a central destroyer, he encourages his side to build up with the ball and to express themselves.
At the tournament in Georgia his side was packed with technical players such as Liverpool duo Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, and Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White.
He had a right-footed left-back in Bournemouth's Max Aarons; Everton's James Garner, a central midfielder, playing at right-back; and Jones, a number 10, as one of his two pivots in midfield.
Jones played alongside Angel Gomes - now at Lille - who had already transitioned from a number 10 to a deep midfielder. Carsley resisted the temptation to put a traditional centre midfielder next to him.
Moves often started with Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford passing out and players encouraged to express themselves and trust in their decision-making.
There was one occasion when Chelsea defender Levi Colwill stood still on the ball for more than 30 seconds as he waited for the opposition to press him so he could draw in pressure and then initiate the attack - something the team had worked on in training.
Image source, Getty ImagesPrepare for 'Carsball': What to expect from Carsley's Englandpublished at 15:00 British Summer Time 7 August
15:00 BST 7 August
Alex Howell
BBC football news reporterImage source, Getty ImagesSome of the biggest managerial names in world football have been linked to the England job since Gareth Southgate resigned after Euro 2024.
But, for now at least, it is Lee Carsley who is the most likely option as England's interim manager for Nations League games against Ireland and Finland in September.
And could the England Under-21 manager be a contender for the permanent role, following the pathway of his predecessor Southgate?
BBC Sport’s Alex Howell followed Carsley’s England U21 side in Georgia last summer as they won the trophy for the first time in almost 40 years playing a brand of fluid, attacking, high-risk football – while also becoming the first team to record six successive clean sheets in the tournament's history.
Carsley even guided England to victory over Spain in that final – a feat that appears impossible at senior level, with the Spanish men’s national team and La Liga sides winning all 27 major finals the two countries have been involved in dating back to 2002.
A former Republic of Ireland international, Carsley is one of several highly-rated coaches who has progressed through the St. George’s Park system since he joined the FA set-up in 2015.
See AlsoThe Transfer DealSheet: Liverpool No 6 interest and Man Utd Berge talksRice set for position change in new-look Arsenal side with two signings eyed upHow much has Arsenal's Declan Rice improved since leaving West Ham? - Just Arsenal NewsLiverpool transfer news RECAP as Valencia make Mamardashvili decisionLiverpool look at move for midfielder Zubimendipublished at 14:58 British Summer Time 7 August
14:58 BST 7 August
Mandeep Sanghera
BBC SportLiverpool are exploring a move for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi as they look to make their first signing under new manager Arne Slot.
Zubimendi was part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024 and came on as a second-half substitute for Manchester City's Rodri when his country beat England 2-1 in the final.
The 25-year-old has been at Sociedad since 2011 and is reported to have a release clause worth 60m euros (£51.5m).
Zubimendi helped Sociedad finish sixth in La Liga last season, scoring four times in 31 league appearances. The Spanish club also reached the last 16 of the Champions League in 2023-24 before they were beaten by Paris St-Germain.
Zubimendi would be the first arrival under Slot, who took over at the Anfield club following the departure of Jurgen Klopp.
Image source, Getty ImagesWhat can fans expect from new Premier League bosses?published at 14:56 British Summer Time 7 August
14:56 BST 7 August
A quarter of the managers in the Premier League will be taking charge of an English top-flight game for the first time on the opening weekend of the season.
They are Arne Slot at Liverpool, Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, Russell Martin at Southampton, Kieran McKenna at Ipswich and Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton.
Slot and Hurzeler have come from abroad, while Martin, McKenna and Maresca - albeit with Leicester - all won promotion from the Championship last season.
Here, BBC Sport looks at what the Premier League can expect from the new quintet.
Image source, ReutersIs the pressure on Leeds?published at 14:53 British Summer Time 7 August
14:53 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesLeeds appear to be the clear favourites to top the Championship this time around.
Last term they came agonisingly close to returning to the Premier League after dropping out of the automatic promotion places and losing to Southampton in the play-off final.
Daniel Farke guided United to a third-placed finish in the league and it was perhaps their poor start and end to the season that proved to be costly.
Despite losing young talent Archie Gray and the league’s player of the season Crysencio Summerville, they've made some decent additions and are expected to be right up there once again.
Will coming so close last season spur them on to go one better this year? I suspect so.
They welcome Portsmouth to Elland Road for the first game of the season.
How will the Hatters fare?published at 14:51 British Summer Time 7 August
14:51 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter a spirited stint in the top flight, Luton Town have been tipped to bounce back after retaining the core of their squad.
Ross Barkley, who joined Aston Villa this summer, might prove a significant loss but Rob Edwards has managed to keep together a good core of players who helped the Hatters mount a decent effort at staying up last season.
Last season the Hatters were a little fish in the big pond with the pressure off. This season that will be flipped - something Edwards will have to manage.
Up first, Burnley on Monday.
Can Burnley bounce back?published at 14:49 British Summer Time 7 August
14:49 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter finishing 19th in the Premier League last season, Burnley will play Championship football again but will they be able to replicate the heroics of 2023 when the Clarets secured promotion to the top flight with seven games to go? It's unlikely.
Vincent Kompany swapped Burnley for Bayern Munich and Scott Parker is now at the helm in this corner of east Lancashire.
Parker has twice won promotion to the Premier League. His Bournemouth side went up automatically in 2022 and he guided Fulham to promotion via the playoffs two years earlier.
He is a man still with questions to answer after being out of work since last March when he was sacked by Club Bruges. He won just two games at the Belgian club.
Despite an apprehensiveness from some over the man in the dugout, Parker will still have plenty of talent at his disposal with the likes of Sander Berge and Josh Brownhill in the middle.
They start their Championship campaign against Luton on Monday. How significant could that one prove to be by the end of the season?
The Championship returns...published at 14:47 British Summer Time 7 August
14:47 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesDubbed the ‘most exciting league in the world’ by some, the Championship is back this week, along with the rest of the EFL.
It all kicks off on Friday night when Preston North End take on newly-relegated Sheffield United and Derby, who are back in the second tier, take on Blackburn Rovers.
Let’s have a look at who the promotion challengers are expected to be.
1) Derby County: 2007-08 (11 points)published at 14:45 British Summer Time 7 August
14:45 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesWhat happened next?
The Rams kept faith with Paul Jewell, who had led Bradford and Wigan to promotion from the second tier, despite his minimal impact having taken over from Davies the previous November.
After a slow start to the season, three wins and a draw from five league games in October were enough for Jewell to be nominated for the Championship manager of the month award, but that was as good as it got for both team and boss that season.
Jewell resigned on 28 December after a 1-0 home defeat by Ipswich left them five points above the second-tier relegation zone.
Nigel Clough, son of legendary Derby and Nottingham Forest boss Brian, took over the following month and steered them to survival with an 18th-placed finish.
Oddly, despite their league struggles, they made the semi-finals of the League Cup and victories over Stoke and Manchester United (who they lost to over two legs in the semis) meant they actually beat more Premier League teams that season than they had in the previous campaign when they had been a top-flight side.
Football, hey?
2) Sunderland: 2005-06 (15 points)published at 14:42 British Summer Time 7 August
14:42 BST 7 August
What happened next?
Ex-Black Cats striker Niall Quinn found himself as both chairman and manager when the season began after a summer takeover.
He made no secret of the fact it was not a position he wanted to be in and his six games in charge brought five defeats and one win.
Enter Roy Keane.
The legendary Manchester United midfielder had just retired from playing after a brief stint at Celtic and took over at the Stadium of Light with the team down at the wrong end of the table.
He made a decent start to get them going in the right direction but kicked things into top gear in January thanks to some clever additions like former United team-mate Dwight Yorke.
A 17-match unbeaten league run between 1 January and 14 April catapulted them to the top of the table as the yo-yo club again won the Championship title.
=3) Huddersfield: 2018-19 (16 points)published at 14:39 British Summer Time 7 August
14:39 BST 7 August
What happened next?
Town stuck with Siewert for pre-season but he was sacked after a 1-0 home defeat by League One Lincoln in the Carabao Cup in just the third game of the season.
Imps boss Danny Cowley was then appointed his successor a few weeks later off the back of leading Lincoln to two promotions in three seasons from the National League to League One.
Town eventually claimed their first victory since February on 1 October but it was a season of struggle for the West Yorkshire side.
In a campaign broken up by the Covid-19 pandemic, they finally secured their second-tier survival after a win over promotion-chasing West Brom in the penultimate game of the season on 17 July.
4) Aston Villa: 2015-16 (17 points)published at 14:35 British Summer Time 7 August
14:35 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty ImagesWhat happened next?
Chinese businessman Tony Xia took over in the summer and said he wanted the club to win the Champions League within 10 years.
However, despite spending big on players like James Chester, Jonathan Kodjia and Ross McCormack, boss Roberto Di Matteo won just one of his 11 matches and was sacked in October.
Championship promotion expert Steve Bruce came in but could only guide them to 13th, as they finished 18 points off the play-offs and 31 off the top two.
Despite his bold promises, Xia was in danger of running the club out of business before billionaires Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris took over in July 2018 and Villa fan Dean Smith ultimately took them back up thanks to a play-off final victory over Derby.
Of course, now Unai Emery has them in the Champions League, maybe Xia could yet be proven right...
=5) Sunderland: 2002-03 (19 points)*published at 14:31 British Summer Time 7 August
14:31 BST 7 August
Image source, Getty Images*Portsmouth ended the season with 19 points in 2009-10 but that was after being deducted nine points for entering administration
What happened next?
Sunderland fans probably feared the worst when they lost their first two matches back in the Football League but a run of four straight wins after that got their season going.
They never really threatened the top two of Norwich and West Brom but a third-placed finish was an impressive showing given the disarray of the previous campaign.
Sunderland's promotion bid ended at the play-off semi-final stage, though, as sixth-placed Crystal Palace claimed a 5-4 win on penalties after a last-minute goal by Eagles midfielder Darren Powellin the second leghad made it 4-4 on aggregate.
Driven on by that near miss, McCarthy led them to the title the following season with 94 points. Although success wasn't particularly lasting - more on that later...
How Premier League's worst teams got on after droppublished at 14:26 British Summer Time 7 August
14:26 BST 7 August
Ian Woodco*ck
BBC SportImage source, Rex Features/Getty ImagesFew teams were as glad to see the back of the 2023-24 season as Sheffield United.
The Blades suffered a dismal campaign, as they won just three times and set an unwanted Premier League record for goals conceded with a whopping 104.
Their final tally of 16 points from 38 games was the joint-third lowest ever amassed in the top flight since the Premier League's inception in 1992.
As Chris Wilder's side prepare for life back in the Championship, BBC Sport takes a look at how the other clubs in the bottom five for Premier League points tallies have got on in their first campaign after going down.
EFL's opening fixturespublished at 14:19 British Summer Time 7 August
14:19 BST 7 August
All kick-off times 20:00 BST
The EFL season begins with four games on Friday:
Championship
League One
League Two
get involved Get Involvedpublished at 14:15 British Summer Time 7 August
14:15 BST 7 August
#bbcfootball, WhatsApp 03301231826, text 81111 (UK only, standard rates apply)
Maresca says he tried everything; inverting the right-back and inverting the left-back. Well, everything apart from letting fullbacks be fullbacks. He's just copied and pasted Pep's methods, which, for me, isn't a mark of a good coach. Pep's approach to management only works if the coach has the power to change an entire team to suit his method, which Pep did at City, not adapting to players available; with Ancelotti the master at that. Combining Pep's school of management with the workings at a club like Chelsea, where there are many power players, is a recipe for disaster. It's going to be a long season ahead for us, Chelsea fans, again.
Ovie, Nigeria
'Man Utd could make offer for Burnley's Berge'published at 14:13 British Summer Time 7 August
14:13 BST 7 August
Today's gossip
Manchester United's search for a midfielder could see them make an offer for Burnley's Norway international Sander Berge, 26, reported by The Athletic, external (subscription required).
According to the Sun,, external Championship side Burnley will demand up to £30m for the midfielder.
However, the Telegraph, external has reported that United boss Erik ten Hag has not discounted the idea of signing Fiorentina's Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, 27, who spent last season on loan at Old Trafford.
Click here to read more from today's gossip column.
Image source, Getty Images
