Liverpool are determined to rebuff further approaches from Al-Ittihad for Mohamed Salah but the next few days are likely to prove every bit of the challenge manager Jurgen Klopp predicted.

Mike Gordon, president of owners Fenway Sports Group, politely but firmly rejected the Saudi Pro League’s offer of a £150million deal for the Egypt international and declared the matter closed as far as the club were concerned.

However, with the Pro League’s transfer window open until Thursday, there is the very real prospect Al-Ittihad will return with an improved bid which will have even more of a destabilising effect.

Which is why Klopp again expressed his concern about the discrepancy as “nobody (in Europe) can react any more”.

When Saudi interest in the 31-year-old first reared its head last month, the Egyptian’s agent Ramy Abbas wrote on Twitter on August 7: “If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC.”

Abbas has not been as forthcoming this time around and although the Salah bid has undoubtedly loomed large over preparations for Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa, Klopp said he had seen “absolutely nothing” to worry about and that Salah was “super-committed”.

However, this week’s developments look like the start of a long goodbye for Salah, who will be 32 next summer and in the final year of his £350,000-a-week contract – which easily makes him the highest-paid player in the club’s history – with Liverpool more likely to be amenable to a sale at that point.

While the focus of Salah, who has scored scored 138 goals in 221 Premier League appearances, has never been in doubt, Klopp also believes fellow forward Darwin Nunez has a renewed drive following his match-winning two-goal appearance off the bench at Newcastle last week.

“Massive, massive, that’s clear. That’s what he wants, what we want,” Klopp said of the effect it would have on the Uruguay international, who started the season as fifth-choice forward.

“It’s exactly how it should have been – being a massive threat. You could, of course, see it the next day. But everybody could feel it.”

Villa have impressed under Unai Emery this season as, after an opening-day defeat at Newcastle, they have won four successive matches in all competitions.

“Aston Villa is a machine – counter-attack, good organised, everyone committed 100 per cent. When they defend deep then they defend with their all and from there they go,” said Klopp.

“It’s a massive game, no doubt about it. Yeah, we have to play a top game to get something out of it.

“After that it is the international break, so we could make a good start (and) turn it into a really good start to the season result-wise.

“But there are a massive 115 minutes in between now and then.”

Rangers and Celtic meet for the first time this season when they clash at Ibrox in the cinch Premiership on Sunday.

Both sides have already dropped points in the cinch Premiership title race.

Here are some major talking points ahead of the noon kick-off.

Form has already gone out the window

The cliche claims that recent results do not matter when these teams meet, although that is not always backed up by facts. However, this time round both sides come into the game looking for a lift. Celtic crashed out of the Viaplay Cup at Kilmarnock and were then held to a goalless league draw by bottom club St Johnstone at Parkhead. It was the first time since May 2018 they had failed to score in consecutive domestic games. Rangers lost their Premiership opener at Kilmarnock and host their rivals on the back of a 5-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven which crushed their Champions League ambitions. Victory for either side would change the narrative quickly, while the losers would be left facing serious scrutiny.

The master against the apprentice

Brendan Rodgers faced his former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in his most recent meetings with Rangers in his first spell as Celtic boss and he faces another familiar foe this time in Michael Beale. The pair were both on the coaching staff at Chelsea at the same time and Beale worked in the Liverpool academy while Rodgers was Anfield boss.

Rivalry on but not off the park

There will be no Celtic fans present at Ibrox after the visiting club decided against taking a small allocation for safety reasons. Celtic are believed to be keen to restore the traditional allocations of about 7,500 tickets for visiting fans, which helped make the game such a spectacle. Rangers abandoned that formula ahead of the 2018-19 season and cut the away allocation to around 10 per cent of that figure, with Celtic following suit, before both clubs decided against taking the allocation last term, although the Light Blues are believed to want tickets for their next trip to Celtic Park. Some Celtic fans last week accused Rangers of “killing the derby” and the issue looks unlikely to be resolved soon.

Debuts galore

Rangers will field some of their nine summer signings, while Celtic are set to have a new-look central defence with four of their centre-backs out injured. Nat Phillips arrived on loan from Liverpool in midweek and could find himself facing a baptism of fire given he has big-game experience under his belt. Honduras winger Luis Palma and Portugal Under-21 midfielder Paulo Bernardo will also be assessed after arriving at Celtic in recent days and both could feature on the bench at least.

Jonny Bairstow admits there is no substitute for international cricket as he looks to get his game in shape for England’s World Cup defence.

Bairstow looked in fine touch as he hit an unbeaten 86 from 60 balls to lay the platform for an emphatic 95-run win over New Zealand in the second Vitality International T20 clash at Old Trafford on Friday.

The World Cup begins in India in just over a month’s time and, having played only four matches in the Hundred since the Ashes ended in July prior to this series, Bairstow is pleased to be back in action.

“I just wanted to play, to be quite honest with you,” said the 33-year-old. “I wanted to be back out playing white-ball cricket because I think that the natural rhythms of the games, whether it’s T20 or 50-over cricket, is something that, especially when you’re playing internationally, is something that’s very hard to replicate.

“You can play the Hundred, you can play for Yorkshire, but the different bowlers, the pressures, the crowds, the pitches – everything that comes with playing international cricket – is very difficult to replicate.

“So I was very keen to play these T20s leading into the ODIs and then, naturally, leading into the World Cup in a few weeks’ time.”

Bairstow combined in a thrilling 131-run partnership with Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook from just 65 balls.

Brook, who was controversially omitted from England’s provisional World Cup squad, hit five sixes in a blistering 36-ball 67.

Debutant Gus Atkinson then took an impressive four for 20 as New Zealand slumped to 103 all out in reply.

They now head to Edgbaston for the third encounter of the four-match series on Sunday with a 2-0 lead after an equally-comfortable win in Durham on Wednesday.

The sides will also play four one-day internationals this month and Bairstow expects the Kiwis – coincidentally England’s first World Cup opponents in Ahmedabad on October 5 – to bite back.

“They’re a blooming good team, New Zealand,” Bairstow said. “They’ve been an exceptional team for a long period of time and we know how dangerous they can be.

“We can’t take for granted how good these two performances have been. We’ve also got to look at how good they actually are as well, but we’ve played some exceptional cricket these last two games.

“And if we can keep doing that – and keep doing that over a longer period of time – then that can only be a good thing.

“It builds confidence, it builds an environment within the dressing room that enhances people’s performances when they go out in the middle.

“They feel like they can hit the ball for six, they feel like they can take a wicket each ball. They feel confident enough to take a risk.”

New Zealand seamer Adam Milne accepts his team need to pick themselves up for the games to come.

He said: “I think we’ll have to just regroup, but we like to keep things pretty calm in our changing room – not get too high, not too low.

“I think we’ll have a bit of a review of the game and just try and find those little bits of improvements in our games and hopefully come out at Edgbaston and throw some shots from our end.”

Novak Djokovic maintained his bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title but he had to do it the hard way as he came back from two sets down to beat fellow Serb Laslo Djere.

The three-time US Open champion recovered from losing the opening two sets 4-6 4-6 to break his opponent’s serve in the first game of the third and that provided the catalyst for him to put together a run of which saw him win 6-1 6-1 6-3 to progress to the fourth round.

It was the eighth time in his career the three-time champion Djokovic, who is aiming to match Australian Margaret Court’s tally of major wins, had successfully recovered from such a deficit.

He took a break after losing the second set and after his victory, said: “I did a pep talk in the mirror. It worked.

“I laughed at myself because I was so agitated and annoyed with the game. I had to force myself to lift my spirits.”

Djokovic will next play Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo, the world number 105.

Czech qualifier Jakub Mensik did not hit many happy returns at the US Open as he was crushed by Taylor Fritz on his 18th birthday.

American hope Fritz, the ninth seed, played the ultimate party pooper and gave Mensik just three games in a 6-1 6-2 6-0 victory.

“I felt good. I kind of had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him,” said Fritz, 25.

“I returned well. I was moving really well. Yep, I just played a solid match.”

Incredibly, Fritz has dropped just 13 games in his three matches in New York so far. He will face 21-year-old Swiss sensation Dominic Stricker in round four.

The USA are waiting for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick 20 years ago, but they already have four in the last 16 with Michael Mmoh potentially a fifth.

They will definitely have at least one quarter-finalist as Tommy Paul beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-0 3-6 6-3, and he will face Ben Shelton, who got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0.

Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, came from a set down to beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to set up a clash with Rinky Hijikata of Australia.

“When any of us see the others having good results, it’s motivating,” added Fritz. “I think they’d all say the same thing.

“But it’s motivating. Because if one of us does something, the others not only want to do it too, they now believe that they can also do it because we think we’re as good as each other. If he did this here, then why can’t I?”

He continued: “I think it’s kind of this progression that we’ve had for a while now, why we’re at where we’re at.

“Someone achieves something big, then someone else comes and wants to match him or one-up him, and it’s the cycle that keeps going.

“We’re all such good friends, it’s motivating, for sure.”

Novak Djokovic avoided a huge shock, Caroline Wozniacki continued on the comeback trail and Iga Swiatek upset her best mate.

There were also big wins for American men to raise hopes of a first home champion for 20 years.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day five at the US Open.

Djokovic maintained his bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title but he had to do it the hard way as he came back from two sets down to beat fellow Serb Laslo Djere.

It was the eighth time in his career the three-time champion Djokovic, who is aiming to match Australian Margaret Court’s tally of major wins, had successfully recovered from such a deficit.

He took a break after losing the second set and after his victory, said: “I did a pep talk in the mirror. It worked.”

Wozniacki’s fairytale comeback continued as she came from behind to beat American Jennifer Brady.

The 33-year-old Dane, who retired more than three years ago and has had two children, won 4-6 6-3 6-1 and is through to the second week in only her third tournament since returning to tennis.

“As a competitor and an athlete you always want to win and you have to believe in yourself, but playing here on Arthur Ashe again is a dream come true,” she said.

“When I retired three years ago and having had two kids, I thought I’d just be here watching. What an honour this is.”

The USA are waiting for a first home champion since Andy Roddick in 2003 and they will definitely have at least one quarter-finalist.

Tommy Paul is through to round four after beating Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-0 3-6 6-3 and he will face fellow American Ben Shelton, who got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0.

Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, came from a set down to beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

A fourth American, Taylor Fritz, dropped just three games while pulverising Jakub Mensik 6-1 6-2 6-0 – on the Czech qualifier’s 18th birthday!

Neal Skupski and partner Wesley Koolhof are through to the third round of the doubles but Jamie Murray, alongside Michael Venus, bowed out as did Heather Watson with Anna Dalanina.

Men: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21), Adrian Mannarino (22).
Women: Elise Mertens (32).

The British legion are back in action with Dan Evans taking centre stage, first up on Arthur Ashe against the defending champion and current world number one Carlos Alcaraz. Jack Draper and Katie Boulter will play their third-round matches, against Americans Michael Mmoh and Peyton Stearns, inside the imposing Grandstand Stadium and Cameron Norrie takes on Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

Aaron Judge became the fastest in major league history to reach 250 home runs and Jasson Dominguez homered in his first career at-bat to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday.

After DJ LeMahieu sent Justin Verlander’s second pitch of the game into the right-field seats for a leadoff home run, Giancarlo Stanton drew a two-out walk.

Dominguez, called up from the minors earlier in the day, connected for an opposite-field shot to become the first Yankees player to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Judge on Aug. 13, 2016.

At 20 years, 206 days old, Dominguez became the youngest player to appear in a game for the Yankees since 19-year-old pitcher Jose Rijo in July 1984.

Judge’s solo blast off Verlander in the fifth extended New York’s lead to 6-2.

It came in his 810th career game, surpassing Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who hit his 250th home run in his 855th game in 2010.

Verlander allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings. The four homers he surrendered were a season high.

Jose Abreu homered for Houston, which had a five-game winning streak snapped but remained just a percentage point behind Seattle for the AL West lead.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left after the first inning due to a bruised left leg.

Red-hot Braves hit 3 homers to defeat Dodgers

Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud homered to back Max Fried’s stellar outing as the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight, 6-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fried limited the Dodgers to three hits over seven scoreless innings with two walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts to win his third consecutive decision.

D’Arnaud’s home run in the second inning off Julio Urias opened the scoring and Acuna took him deep in the third for his second homer in two days and 31st of the season.

Ozuna led off the fourth inning with his 32nd home run and he singled home a run in the fifth to extend Atlanta’s lead to 5-0.

The Braves lead the Dodgers by six games for the majors’ best record and potential home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Kolten Wong hit a three-run home run in the eighth in his Dodgers debut.

Bohm’s key error helps Brewers beat Phillies

Alec Bohm’s error in the eighth inning allowed three runs to score and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

With two outs, the bases loaded and the Brewers trailing 5-4, Owen Miller hit a grounder to third that Bohm failed to backhand. The ball rolled down the left-field line and all three runners scored.

The four-run bottom of the eighth came after the Phillies scored four in the top half, with Trea Turner’s two-run homer capping the outburst.

Milwaukee extended its NL Central lead to 3 ½ games over the Cubs, who split a doubleheader with Cincinnati.

Czech qualifier Jakub Mensik did not hit many happy returns at the US Open as he was crushed by Taylor Fritz on his 18th birthday.

American hope Fritz, the ninth seed, played the ultimate party pooper and gave Mensik just three games in a 6-1 6-2 6-0 victory.

“I felt good. I kind of had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him,” said Fritz, 25.

“I returned well. I was moving really well. Yep, I just played a solid match.”

Incredibly, Fritz has dropped just 13 games in his three matches in New York so far. He will face 21-year-old Swiss sensation Dominic Stricker in round four.

The USA are waiting for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick 20 years ago, but they already have four in the last 16 with Michael Mmoh potentially a fifth.

They will definitely have at least one quarter-finalist as Tommy Paul beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-0 3-6 6-3, and he will face Ben Shelton, who got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0.

Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, came from a set down to beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to set up a clash with Rinky Hijikata of Australia.

“When any of us see the others having good results, it’s motivating,” added Fritz. “I think they’d all say the same thing.

“But it’s motivating. Because if one of us does something, the others not only want to do it too, they now believe that they can also do it because we think we’re as good as each other. If he did this here, then why can’t I?”

He continued: “I think it’s kind of this progression that we’ve had for a while now, why we’re at where we’re at. Someone achieves something big, then someone else comes and wants to match him or one-up him, and it’s the cycle that keeps going.

“We’re all such good friends, it’s motivating, for sure.”

Czech qualifier Jakub Mensik did not hit many happy returns at the US Open as he was crushed by Taylor Fritz on his 18th birthday.

American hope Fritz, the ninth seed, played the ultimate party pooper and gave Mensik just three games in a 6-1 6-2 6-0 victory.

“I felt good. I kind of had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him,” said Fritz, 25.

“I returned well. I was moving really well. Yep, I just played a solid match.”

Incredibly, Fritz has dropped just 13 games in his three matches in New York so far. He will face 21-year-old Swiss sensation Dominic Stricker in round four.

The USA are waiting for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick 20 years ago, but they already have four in the last 16 with Michael Mmoh potentially a fifth.

They will definitely have at least one quarter-finalist as Tommy Paul beat Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-0 3-6 6-3, and he will face Ben Shelton, who got past Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-0.

Frances Tiafoe, the 10th seed, came from a set down to beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to set up a clash with Rinky Hijikata of Australia.

“When any of us see the others having good results, it’s motivating,” added Fritz. “I think they’d all say the same thing.

“But it’s motivating. Because if one of us does something, the others not only want to do it too, they now believe that they can also do it because we think we’re as good as each other. If he did this here, then why can’t I?”

He continued: “I think it’s kind of this progression that we’ve had for a while now, why we’re at where we’re at.

“Someone achieves something big, then someone else comes and wants to match him or one-up him, and it’s the cycle that keeps going.

“We’re all such good friends, it’s motivating, for sure.”

Andy Farrell believes Ireland must remain calm and “roll with the punches” to realise their potential at the Rugby World Cup.

Former dual code international Farrell is preparing for his first global tournament as head coach having previously been involved as a player and an assistant coach.

Six Nations champions Ireland have topped the world rankings for more than a year and arrived in France on Thursday among the favourites to go all the way.

Englishman Farrell has welcomed setbacks during his tenure to challenge his players and prevent them becoming fazed on the biggest stage.

“The key learnings are the scenarios that we’ve tried to put ourselves through in the last few years,” the 48-year-old said of his previous World Cup experiences in both rugby union and rugby league.

“You hear me say constantly ‘best laid plans and all that’, it’s 100 per cent that at a World Cup.

“The ones that get flustered with all that because they’re not ready for all different types of permutations are the ones that lose the plot.

“The key to progressing in a competition like this is staying calm, keeping your feet under you and making sure that you just roll with the punches and be the best version of yourself no matter what happens and have no-excuse mentality.

“We’ve tried to put ourselves in those type of positions before and we know what’s coming through.”

Ireland have been placed in the tougher half of the draw and begin their campaign next Saturday against Romania in Bordeaux.

Farrell’s men then face Tonga, reigning champions South Africa and Scotland in Pool B, with hosts France or New Zealand likely opponents should they progress to the quarter-finals.

Asked if this is the most competitive and open World Cup, Farrell said: “I think everyone loves to say that anyway.

“Everyone wants it to be like that because there’s so many good teams that can beat each other on any given day.

“The pressures of the competition within itself, the history of all that shows that it is going to be a wide-open competition. So one step at a time. Let’s see if we can build some momentum.”

Farrell assisted Joe Schmidt at the 2019 World Cup before stepping up to become Ireland boss following a quarter-final exit against the All Blacks.

The opening year of his reign, amid the coronavirus pandemic, brought mixed results but his side have won 25 of 27 Tests dating back to round three of the 2021 Six Nations.

“I’m not surprised,” Farrell said of the progress. “If you’re talking four years ago then we probably didn’t know the total plan as in what we’ve been through and what we’re going through.

“The process has always been for the here and now, and the medium term, and the long term.

“A lot tend to go from cycle to cycle and chop a few and carry on.

“I think the right way, for me anyway, is to grow and develop competition as we go and then when we get to something like this (World Cup) watch and learn and let’s pick accordingly on what’s right on the team.”

Celtic’s loan move for Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo was the highest-profile signing of a relatively quiet transfer deadline day in Scotland.

Celtic have an option to buy the 21-year-old, who follows Honduras winger Luis Palma and on-loan Liverpool defender Nat Phillips in arriving at Parkhead this week.

Midfielder Sead Haksabanovic joined Stoke from Celtic on a season-long loan, just days after expressing frustration over a lack of game time.

“I feel like a new experience and challenge will be good for me at this stage of my career,” the 24-year-old told Stoke’s website.

Ismaila Soro earlier left Celtic for Beitar Jerusalem – 19 months after his final appearance for the club – and another out-of-favour player, Albian Ajeti, was set to seal a move to Turkish football although there was no confirmation of his exit come the deadline.

Rangers manager Michael Beale lowered expectations of fans in the afternoon when he declared himself happy with his squad following nine summer signings.

A quiet evening ensued, although reports later claimed the club had rejected Stoke’s bid for centre-back Ben Davies.

“We don’t have any injuries so the squad is looking healthy, the squad size has come down in size and average age so we are good to go,” Beale said.

“Naturally every manager is going to sit here and say they would like one more but if we don’t then I am happy with the squad we have got moving forward.”

Aberdeen signed versatile 26-year-old right-sided Danish defender Stefan Gartenmann from Midtjylland on a season-long loan to make it 13 incoming transfers this summer. Out-of-favour defender Anthony Stewart rejoined MK Dons on a season-long loan.

Dundee had confirmed the first incoming signing of the cinch Premiership on deadline day by bringing in Burnley winger Marcel Lewis on loan until January. The 21-year-old was previously on Chelsea’s books and has played for Union St Gilloise and Accrington.

St Johnstone signed two players – 28-year-old Austrian midfielder Sven Sprangler following a trial period and 25-year-old Charlton winger Diallang Jaiyesimi on a season-long loan.

Motherwell signed 19-year-old left-back Georgie Gent from Blackburn on loan until the end of the season,

Kilmarnock left it late to seal a season-long loan deal for former Rangers youth striker Andy Dallas from Barnsley.

The 24-year-old only joined Barnsley from Solihull Moors in July and netted on
his debut for the Tykes. Dallas has scored more than 60 career goals with the likes of Stenhousemuir, Cambridge, Weymouth, Solihull and Chesterfield.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson warned that none of his players would be sold on the cheap after Aberdeen made an approach for Australia midfielder Keanu Baccus.

“There hasn’t been a formal bid, there have been conversations between the two clubs,” said Robinson, who had finished his business ahead of deadline day.

“We are not in a position where we were last year when we had to take offers for players that were below market value. We have steadied the ship and got our finances right.” .”

Ross County signed Scotland Under-21 international midfielder Scott High on loan from Huddersfield.

Manager Malky Mackay told County’s website: “I am delighted Scott has decided to join Ross County. At 22, he is a great age to join the club, and has experience playing in over 60 English Championship games.”

Chairman Roy MacGregor was no doubt delighted at a deal involving English Championship clubs as Ross Stewart’s move from Sunderland to Southampton earned County a seven-figure sell-on fee.

It was a quiet day in the east although Livingston  loaned defender Morgan Boyes to Inverness for the season and Hearts loaned Connor Smith to Scunthorpe and Harry Stone to Queen of the South.

Paris St Germain have signed Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt on a five-year contract.

The deal has reportedly cost PSG 90 million euros to bring the 24-year-old France forward back to his native Paris.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “We are delighted to welcome Randal Kolo Muani — a proud Parisien and Frenchman – to Paris Saint-Germain; to his city and his home.

“We have worked incredibly hard to get this transfer over the line.

“Randal is a fantastic French international player and is committed to PSG and our project. I’m so excited to see Randal in a PSG jersey, giving everything for the club.”

Kolo Muani began his career at Nantes before moving to Eintracht, where he scored 26 goals in 50 appearances last season.

Mason Greenwood has joined Spanish club Getafe on loan in a move that Manchester United say will allow the player to rebuild his career away from Old Trafford.

Greenwood was suspended by United on January 30, 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.

The 21-year-old faced charges including attempted rape and assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February that the case had been discontinued.

Reports that United were planning to retain him following an internal investigation were met by public outcry and the club announced last week that it had been mutually agreed for him to leave.

Clubs in Italy, Germany and Turkey were among those to express interest, but Greenwood has now joined LaLiga side Getafe on a season-long loan, subject to international clearance.

A United club statement read: “The move enables Greenwood to begin to rebuild his career away from Manchester United. The club will continue to offer its support to Mason and his family during this period of transition.”

The PA news agency understands Getafe are making a small contribution to Greenwood’s wages as United focused on finding him somewhere he could resume his career.

Academy graduate Greenwood scored 35 goals in 129 matches for United, with his last appearance coming against West Ham on January 22, 2022.

Tottenham spent big in the closing minutes of the transfer window by signing Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest in a deal worth £47.5million.

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou made the Wales international his number one target following the departure of Harry Kane last month and Johnson has signed a deal at Tottenham until the summer of 2029.

Johnson’s arrival was Tottenham’s only incoming on transfer deadline day after proposed moves for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and Lloyd Kelly of Bournemouth collapsed.

Spurs had to trim their squad before they could sanction any more incomings and even though defenders Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon left on loan to join Augsburg and Manchester United respectively, Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez were unable to secure transfers away.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also turned down an approach from Fulham and further talks with Atletico Madrid collapsed, while Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil remained at Tottenham.

Forest were the busiest club on deadline day as they wasted no time investing the Johnson cash.

Defender Nuno Tavares arrived on loan from Arsenal, Argentina midfielder Nicolas Domínguez joined from Bologna with Remo Freuler going the other way, while winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos were signed from Chelsea and Benfica respectively.

Liverpool – who have rejected a £150m offer for Mohamed Salah from Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad – and Manchester United both added to their midfield departments, with Netherlands international Ryan Gravenberch sealing a £35m move to Anfield from Bayern Munich.

United signed Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina until June 2024, subject to international clearance and registration requirements.

The PA news agency understands United have paid a 10million euros (£8.6m) loan fee for Amrabat, with the season-long deal including the option to trigger a permanent move.

If that option is taken, Fiorentina will receive a 20m euros (£17.1m) transfer fee and up to 5m euros (£4.3m) in potential add-ons.

Morocco midfielder Amrabat said: “It is a huge honour to become a Manchester United player. I’ve had to be patient for this moment but I’m someone who always listens to my heart and now I am representing the club of my dreams.

“I am a passionate player; I want to bring that energy to the squad, and I will put everything into every action I take for the team.”

Earlier on Friday, United confirmed the arrival of Turkey international goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce, left-back Reguilon on loan from Tottenham until June 2024 and former Reds’ central defender Jonny Evans on a one-year deal.

Manchester City completed the signing of Matheus Nunes from Wolves for £53m – a club-record sale for the Midlands outfit – while selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea for an initial £40m with an additional £2.5m in possible add-ons.

Wolves spent some of the Nunes money on midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who joined on a five-year deal from Strasbourg.

Crystal Palace bolstered their defence with the addition of Arsenal’s Rob Holding and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga also left the Gunners to make a season-long switch to Luton.

Brighton signed Ansu Fati on a season-long loan from Barcelona, with Belgium midfielder Mike Tresor making a similar move from Genk to Burnley.

West Ham boss David Moyes likes the sound of his Hammers side being at the top of the Premier League table as they returned to the summit with a 2-1 win at Luton.

Goals from Jarrod Bowen and Kurt Zouma were enough for the visitors to claim all three points, with Mads Andersen’s stoppage-time header a consolation at Kenilworth Road.

Moyes said: “It’s Luton at home, the first game back in the Premier League and once we got into it, we did well enough.

“For a little while (we’re top), but it’s nice for people to say that – it’s good, I like the sound of it and long may it continue.

“It was a really good ball from (Lucas) Paqueta and a finish from Jarrod, so really pleased.

“It’s not easy to come here in the first Premier League game of the season, so overall we did well.

“Kurt’s goal took the game away from them, we were the better team and we probably should have been further in front.

“Two or three counter-attacking moments where we have been so slick with it recently.

“Our away form had been poor, but our away form is brilliant now.

“Today was a bit of the same, we played better, had to defend really as well as their style of play will cause a lot of teams problems and I thought our defenders did really well.”

A quiet first half saw Ross Barkley drag two chances wide for Luton, with Said Benrahma off target for the Hammers, who went ahead after 37 minutes when Paqueta’s cross was powered home by Bowen.

Elijah Adebayo and Tahith Chong fired wide for Luton after the break before Emerson’s effort was ruled offside by VAR at the other end.

With four minutes left, Zouma’s downward header doubled West Ham’s lead before Andersen pulled one back in stoppage time.

Luton might have had a chance to equalise but a possible James Ward-Prowse handball from a corner in the dying seconds was not awarded.

Luton boss Rob Edwards said of the late drama: “A lot of people are telling me that (it’s handball).

“I’ve only seen a still, a freeze frame at the moment; I’ve not had a chance to see it back.

“If it was, I’m disappointed, if it’s gone against us as those are the moments you need to go our way especially at this level to get results.

“But I’m not going to complain about that now, or blame that, we’ve got to look at ourselves.

“Me, myself as well, how we can keep getting better, I don’t want to keep saying the same things after the game.

“Fine moments, basics, one cross into the box we didn’t deal with it well enough in the first half and a set-piece.

“I will say that corner came from a corner that probably should have been our corner before that and then we conceded from it.

“But I saw a team that was a lot more compact than in the last two games and I saw a team that was still aggressive and created chances.”

After the game Luton announced the signing of Albert Sambi Lokonga on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal.

The 23-year-old made 15 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last season and was in attendance at Kenilworth Road.