Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is “excited” to get back in front of the home fans as his side look to make it four consecutive wins when Getafe visit the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Ancelotti’s side have picked up maximum points from their opening three matches, which have all been away from home while renovations were carried out at the Bernabeu.

Madrid are the only team in LaLiga to have picked up three wins from three but will face a challenge from Getafe, who have already taken a point off Barcelona this season.

Ancelotti told a press conference: “We’re really excited to be back at the Bernabeu, it looks quite different now.

“It’s important to get back to our stadium in front of our fans after some good performances in the opening three games. We can’t wait to return and pick up the three points.”

“I’m not in the mind of the fans. I am very excited about the season.

“Every single one of us, when the season starts, we are hungry to have an incredible campaign.

“It’s happened many times in the past and could very well happen again this year.”

Madrid will be without their playmaker Vinicius Jr for the clash after he was brought off in the 18th minute of their 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo with a hamstring injury.

The 23-year-old is likely to be missing for several weeks and Ancelotti understands he will be a big miss.

He continued: “Being without Vini Jr means we lose a hugely decisive player for the next few games.

“Our approach won’t change but we’ll replace him with a player who has different attributes, so we’ll try to adapt our attacking movement.”

“We can replace Vinicius with Joselu and Brahim (Diaz). We don’t have to play with three forwards but I might well play with someone coming inside.

Despite losing Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad and Marco Asensio to PSG, Real have reinforced their squad with other options, including Jude Bellingham, who has made a fast start to life in Spain.

The 20-year-old has scored four goals in his opening three matches, becoming the first person to do that in Real Madrid colours since Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Ancelotti thinks the fans will be happy to see Bellingham play in front of the home crowd for the first time.

He added: “The fans will be delighted to see Bellingham play live at our ground. He’s got such a strong personality, he’ll love playing at the Bernabeu.

“I’m very happy with the squad. As I said before, we did all the work we had to do early on and when the season got underway, we were all sorted.

“It’s a competitive squad because we have a mix of quality, strength, energy and experience.

“We’re in good shape, despite having some real problems, which is always the way over the course of the season.

“It’s a good squad and we can replace our injured guys without many issues.”

The Premier League’s first £2billion transfer window demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.

The milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline as Chelsea and Arsenal both made £100million midfield signings, with deadline-day moves such as Manchester City’s £53m capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes driving the total still higher.

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn – from when the transfer window system was introduced in January 2003 – and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”

Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group has continued with the £100m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton, £63m for forward Christopher Nkunku and Friday’s £40m capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City as they seek to bounce back from last season’s 12th-placed finish.

With Newcastle beating the Blues, Tottenham and Liverpool to a place in this season’s Champions League and Brighton – who pulled off a deadline-day coup with a loan deal for Barcelona star Ansu Fati – also challenging, there are as many as eight teams with realistic top-four ambitions.

Ross said: “You’ve got that intensity of competition across the league. Whether that’s competing for the title, competing for European places or just simply staying in the league, that’s driving spending.

“There are 10 clubs that have spent more than £100m so it’s not all those top clubs.”

England’s top flight continues to dominate the picture, spending almost as much as the other members of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – LaLiga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga – combined this summer.

But a new challenge has emerged with the Saudi Pro League attracting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s January move to Al Nassr.

The fees and wages on offer in Saudi Arabia are eye-watering, with Liverpool rejecting a £150m deadline-day bid from Al-Ittihad for attacking talisman Mohamed Salah, but with the extra competition comes additional funding for English clubs.

“There’s been quite a significant change in the global transfer market with the Saudi Pro League becoming one of the highest spenders globally,” said Ross.

“That would be the first time since the summer window of 2016 that one of the big five leagues, LaLiga, doesn’t appear in the top-five spenders globally. The Saudi Pro League’s replaced them, I think they’re the second highest at the moment with over 850million euros.

“Also it’s another source of funding though – I think almost half of the transfer fees received by Premier League clubs came from the Saudi Pro League.

“So that illustrates that having that extra funding that they’re able to capitalise on from Saudi Pro League clubs and other overseas markets is then providing them with additional funds to redistribute to their transfer targets.”

The Saudi window remains open until next Thursday and while clubs could be reluctant to sell with no opportunity to replace departed talent, Ross said: “There is still a chance over the next week or so that we will see further outgoings.

“Being able to operate in a financially-sustainable manner, as well as complying with the relevant financial regulations, is a key part of their activity.

“It’s balancing that need for financial sustainability and profitability with the desire for on-pitch success.”

Napoli manager Rudi Garcia highlighted Lazio’s quality despite the Biancocelesti losing their opening two Serie A matches ahead of their meeting on Saturday.

Maurizio Sarri’s side, who were beaten 2-1 at Lecce before a 1-0 home defeat to Genoa, find themselves in 18th place and travel to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in search of their first points of the season.

Garcia will look to extend Napoli’s flawless start despite failing to predict how Sarri’s side will set up when the two face off.

“They’re a quality side that need points having lost their first two games,” Garcia said.

“I don’t know what we should expect in tactical terms – maybe they’ll keep it tight.

“I always try to manage games by looking at my team. In this regard, we aren’t at 100 per cent yet in terms of fitness because some of the players started preparing for the season later than others.

“This is a match between two teams, Napoli and Lazio, rather than a match between coaches.

“Tomorrow is a match that we want to win. Our aim is to keep up our 100 per cent record as that would allow us to take points off Lazio, who are a direct rival of ours.”

Garcia, who replaced Luciano Spalletti in June, credited his side’s start which included a 3-1 victory over Frosinone and a 2-0 win over Sassuolo.

The French manager encouraged his team to be more clinical in front of goal and provided an injury update for 2022/23 Serie A player of the year Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who returned to action last week.

“We did well to give very little away against Frosinone and Sassuolo,” Garcia added.

“The win over Frosinone took on greater significance after they beat Atalanta. We stood our ground for the first hour against Sassuolo when it was still 11 against 11.

“We certainly need to improve in terms of finishing.

“We’re carving out plenty of chances but we’re not making the most of them. What matters to me giving little away because we need to get the balance right in order to achieve our target.

“He’s doing well (Kvaratskhelia). He’s had a busy week of training and we’ll see if he plays tomorrow.”

Garcia admitted he is pleased to face Real Madrid in Group C of the Champions League – with Napoli also due to face Braga and Union Berlin.

“The draw could’ve been better and it also could’ve been worse,” he said.

“I’m really pleased to be playing against Real Madrid, first of all because they’re a great side and it’s also a fitting return for me as when Roma qualified for the last 16 in 2016, I was supposed to face Real Madrid but I wasn’t allowed to.”

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi feels an overwhelming duty to help Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati realise his potential of becoming a “great” player.

Spain international Fati has joined Albion on a deal until the end of the season, having been linked with Premier League rivals Tottenham.

De Zerbi, who recently lost Julio Enciso to a long-term knee issue, says he “can’t make mistakes” as he bids to develop the exciting 20-year-old forward during his temporary stay at the Amex Stadium.

“I’m very pleased, it’s a big player,” the Italian coach said of Fati. “We lost Enciso and we needed one big player.

“We are lucky because we have a lot of young players, potential top players and it will be one responsibility more.

“If you work with this talent, you have much responsibility because it’s our football heritage and we can’t make mistakes with these players because football needs this talent and you have to manage it in different ways.

“I’ve always thought like this. Especially for the big, big talent, I feel the responsibility to help this talent to become great players.

“Sometimes the coaches think only of the result, only of their career but football needs to have great players. It’s a big responsibility and I feel it.

“I think our style is very close with his characteristics, with his qualities.”

Fati, who has nine Spain caps and travelled to last year’s World Cup in Qatar, will not be involved when Brighton host Newcastle in the top flight on Saturday evening.

His arrival came on a landmark day for Albion after they were drawn to face European giants Ajax and Marseille in the group stage of their maiden Europa League campaign.

Greek champions AEK Athens complete Group B, with the first round of fixtures scheduled for Thursday, September 21.

“Ajax, Marseille and AEK are all good teams but we are a good team too,” said De Zerbi.

“It will be a very tough group but we have the enthusiasm of the first time Brighton play in the Europa League and you can imagine what will be our attitude, behaviour and passion to make points and to qualify for the next step.

“You can (only) be proud for two or three minutes – not too much – and then you have to think, Newcastle first of all because tomorrow we don’t play in the Europa League, we play in the Premier League.”

Forward Danny Welbeck will miss out against the Magpies due to a muscular injury.

Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba – bought from French side Lille on Tuesday for a reported £23million – will join Fati in having to wait until after the upcoming international break for a debut.

In a positive week for the Seagulls, Pascal Gross received his first call-up from Germany, while captain Lewis Dunk was included in England’s squad.

“Both were incredible news for us,” said De Zerbi. “We are a small club, we are not used to this news and for us it’s like winning a trophy.

“They deserve it, I think and I am working to help my players to reach this target.”

Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel insists his side head to bogey-side Borussia Monchengladbach for Sunday’s Bundesliga clash as favourites.

Tuchel’s side sit joint top after winning their opening two league games – 4-0 at Werder Bremen and 3-1 at home last week against Augsburg.

But Bayern have failed to beat historic rivals Gladbach in their five previous meetings, which included a 5-0 thrashing in the DFB-Pokal in 2021.

Tuchel joked at a press conference: “As soon as a streak goes against us, we don’t believe in streaks.

“We need a good performance. We have to build on the things we did well against Werder Bremen and in the second half against Augsburg.

“(Winning) our duels, being active, working hard out of possession and creating chances – we have to stick to them.

“We go to Gladbach as favourites and with the demand to win there. That’s absolutely our goal.”

Bayern’s rivalry with Gladbach stems from the mid-60s when both clubs won promotion to the top flight and they shared nine successive Bundesliga titles in the 70s.

“We know what’s coming, Tuchel added. “It’s emotional, a special game, a lot of history – and that’s what you’re up against.

“We have to play to our principles and know that we aren’t alone, are doing this as a team and that our own game is the focus. I’m confident there.

“Obviously you always need some luck in games, but it’s in our own hands.”

Gladbach, who have won three and drawn two of their previous five encounters with Bayern, are bidding for their first league win of the season.

They drew 4-4 at Augsburg on the opening day before losing 3-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen last week.

Swiss head coach Gerardo Seoane, who replaced Daniel Farke in June, said: “We have to be brave, defend from the front, so the gaps are smaller.

“If we manage to squeeze the field, we have the chance to contest more physical challenges than we managed against Leverkusen. We have to improve in that area.”

Former Leverkusen and Young Boys boss Seoane said his side will have to pay particular attention to new Bayern fans’ favourite Harry Kane.

The England captain has scored three goals in his first two league appearances since completing his £86.4million move from Tottenham.

Seoane added: “He’s a centre-forward who’s extremely good at finishing. He doesn’t need many chances to score. That doesn’t make defending against him any easier.”

The Premier League’s first £2billion transfer window demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.

The milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline as Chelsea and Arsenal both made £100million midfield signings, with deadline-day moves such as Manchester City’s £53m capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes driving the total still higher.

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn – from when the transfer window system was introduced in January 2003 – and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”

Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group has continued with the £100m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton, £63m for forward Christopher Nkunku and Friday’s £40m capture of Cole Palmer from Manchester City as they seek to bounce back from last season’s 12th-placed finish.

With Newcastle beating the Blues, Tottenham and Liverpool to a place in this season’s Champions League and Brighton – who pulled off a deadline-day coup with a loan deal for Barcelona star Ansu Fati – also challenging, there are as many as eight teams with realistic top-four ambitions.

Ross said: “You’ve got that intensity of competition across the league. Whether that’s competing for the title, competing for European places or just simply staying in the league, that’s driving spending.

“There are 10 clubs that have spent more than £100m so it’s not all those top clubs.”

England’s top flight continues to dominate the picture, spending almost as much as the other members of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – LaLiga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga – combined this summer.

But a new challenge has emerged with the Saudi Pro League attracting the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s January move to Al Nassr.

The fees and wages on offer in Saudi Arabia are eye-watering, with Liverpool rejecting a £150m deadline-day bid from Al-Ittihad for attacking talisman Mohamed Salah, but with the extra competition comes additional funding for English clubs.

“There’s been quite a significant change in the global transfer market with the Saudi Pro League becoming one of the highest spenders globally,” said Ross.

“That would be the first time since the summer window of 2016 that one of the big five leagues, LaLiga, doesn’t appear in the top-five spenders globally. The Saudi Pro League’s replaced them, I think they’re the second highest at the moment with over 850million euros.

“Also it’s another source of funding though – I think almost half of the transfer fees received by Premier League clubs came from the Saudi Pro League.

“So that illustrates that having that extra funding that they’re able to capitalise on from Saudi Pro League clubs and other overseas markets is then providing them with additional funds to redistribute to their transfer targets.”

The Saudi window remains open until next Thursday and while clubs could be reluctant to sell with no opportunity to replace departed talent, Ross said: “There is still a chance over the next week or so that we will see further outgoings.

“Being able to operate in a financially-sustainable manner, as well as complying with the relevant financial regulations, is a key part of their activity.

“It’s balancing that need for financial sustainability and profitability with the desire for on-pitch success.”

Chelsea will give Cole Palmer time to get comfortable in his new environment after completing his £40million move from Manchester City, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The 21-year-old signed a seven-year deal on Friday to swap the club he joined aged seven for Pochettino’s new-look Stamford Bridge outfit.

The City academy graduate played 14 league games during the club’s Premier League title-winning season last term and was an unused substitute as they beat Inter Milan to win the Champions League in June.

Despite his increased involvement in the champions’ first team – which included scoring in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup this season – his new manager hinted a chance to play a more significant role in west London may have been a factor in persuading him to move.

He becomes the club’s 12th signing of the current transfer window, taking spending during the first 16 months of ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium over £1billion, but Pochettino said it is likely to be the last of the club’s business before Friday night’s deadline.

With so much player turnover and with the youngest average squad age in the league, he has stated repeatedly in the early weeks of the season that too much cannot be expected too soon and applied the same argument to Palmer’s arrival.

“I think he’s a fit for the project,” said the manager. “He’s a young, talented player. He decided to come because he expects to play maybe more and be important here.

“But that’s not the most important thing. The most important is that he sees Chelsea as a project for him, and to improve his game, and to be more involved every single game.

“The quality is there, there is great potential. Now he needs to settle here and prove and show that he’s better than his team-mates, and that he deserves to play. He has to fight for his place.

“He’s from Manchester and he’s going to move to London. London is different, the club is different, the culture and everything. First of all, before he starts to perform, he needs to settle in his space and feel comfortable.

“We’re not going to put pressure on him to perform (straight away). The most important thing now is to be happy and to find his space in the team.

“I think so (that is the end of transfer business). I think there’s no time. If something is going on, I don’t know. I didn’t talk to my sporting directors since 11 o’clock (Friday morning). If something is going to happen they will communicate with me.

“We are happy with the squad. I don’t believe that something will happen in the next few hours in terms of players in.”

The manager would not rule out the departure of Conor Gallagher, who has been the subject of a reported £40m bid from Tottenham.

The midfielder has started every game under Pochettino and captained the side in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win against AFC Wimbledon.

“I think all the players that are involved in the squad are in our plan,” said Pochettino. “After, it’s a decision between the club and the player.

“Always from our side, Conor was a player that is consistent and can perform in different positions. We are so happy with him.

“He was captain against Wimbledon, he’s an important player for us. What’s going to happen in the future, I  don’t know, I cannot tell you this. It’s like a player asks me ‘how do you see myself in the future?’ I don’t know, I cannot know. It’s up to you.”

The manager added that he had been under no illusion that Romelu Lukaku would play a role with the first team this season.

The striker finally departed on Thursday on a season-long loan to Roma, having not trained with the squad since returning from a stay at Inter nor been given a squad number.

“I’m not disappointed because it was so clear the situation,” said Pochettino. “I didn’t create any expectation in my mind. The club was clear in the situation.

“What I heard from the club was the that the player wanted to leave. It was clear he was not going to be here this season.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers does not anticipate “many more” signings as the Scottish champions prepare to announce a loan deal for Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo.

The Hoops signed Honduras winger Luis Palma and on-loan Liverpool defender Nat Phillips earlier this week.

When asked if there could be some late deals, Rodgers said: “I’m not so sure. I don’t think there will be many more coming in.”

On the imminent signing of 21-year-old Bernardo, Rodgers said: “Again a young player that’s coming in with potential and that will hopefully be confirmed.

“He comes in with the opportunity to see him and give us more strength in depth in that midfield area and we will see how he develops.”

Rodgers expects Sead Haksabanovic to depart after the attacking midfielder appeared to express frustration over a lack of game time on social media.

Rodgers said: “Haksa is one of those that will look for game time and want to be a starter. So I would expect him to be moved on.”

Rodgers was not impressed with the intervention on Instagram where the Montenegro international stated: “If they don’t see your value maybe you’re not at the right place.”

“I did speak to him on it,” the Celtic boss said. “I was a bit surprised to be honest. Certainly from when I came in, he has been offered nothing but respect by everyone and certainly by myself in terms of the communication and conversations.

“But this is a new generation and a new wave of player. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes is still looking for a striker.

“Nobody will be going out,” McInnes said. “We are still trying to bring someone in. Everyone is working flat out to do that.

“We have one in particular and two or three other plates spinning but we are trying to lean on everything possible to get this done. I’m optimistic and you have to be without being overly-confident.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell hopes to make one more signing with no movement in the pipeline the other way.

“I am hoping to bring in one more player,” he said. “With the couple of outgoings that maybe gave us the opportunity to bring in one more so I am relatively far along the way of making that happen.

“I would anticipate that will probably be confirmed at some point today.”

On potential outgoings, Kettlewell said: “As it stands, there is no interest in anybody, whether you are looking to move players out or get them some more game time. There is nothing else we can anticipate.”

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,” Robinson said. “No club has met our valuation on any player, including Keanu at this stage and I don’t expect them to.

“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.

“We don’t need to sell players unless it meets the valuation of the board.”

Robinson added: “I don’t intend doing any business in. We have put our squad together, we have got the players in we wanted and we are happy with that.

“We have strengthened the squad from last year and if the window closed now, I would be very happy.”

Rangers got most of their business done ahead of the season, but the departure of Glen Kamara to Leeds on Thursday could prompt more activity.

The Ibrox men have been linked with a loan move for Leicester centre-back Harry Souttar.

Hibernian caretaker manager David Gray would not rule out any late moves from his club and Hearts could also strengthen.

Ross County could be in line for a seven-figure sell-on windfall amid reports Sunderland have accepted a bid worth up to £10million from Southampton for former Staggies striker Ross Stewart.

St Johnstone and Dundee could potentially add but Livingston are not anticipating any late business.

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou remained tight-lipped on potential transfers before their trip to Burnley but did pay tribute to Hugo Lloris ahead of his anticipated departure on Friday.

Spurs are set for a busy end to the summer transfer window with frantic negotiations taking place on a number of incoming and outgoings.

Ex-captain Lloris made clear back in June his desire for a new challenge after 11 years at the Premier League club, and there is a growing expectation he will leave Tottenham before the 11pm deadline, the PA news agency understands.

Talks have taken place with Lazio this summer and there has been interest from the Saudi Pro League, while Roma have been speculated as a possible destination this week.

Lloris only has one year left on his contract and if no suitor can be found before the English transfer window closes on Friday night, PA understands the Frenchman may depart Tottenham by mutual consent with the final 12 months of his deal likely to be terminated.

When asked about the 36-year-old, Postecoglou said: “I have only been here a couple of months but Hugo has been excellent throughout the whole process.

“There is no doubt he has had an outstanding career and contribution to this football club. He has been the captain for quite a long time and been very professional, obviously working with (Rob) Burchy and the other goalkeepers.

“He has been helping the others, Vic (Guglielmo Vicario) being the new goalkeeper, so I have nothing negative to say about him and I wouldn’t.

“There has been nothing other than him being very, very professional about everything.”

Lloris is one of several players set to leave before 11pm, with Sergio Reguilon joining Manchester United on a season-long loan, which includes a break clause in January.

Centre-back Japhet Tanganga has agreed to sign for Bundesliga new boys Augsburg on loan, with an obligation to make the switch permanent for £6million euros if they stay in the German top flight or the defender makes a certain number of appearances.

Talks have taken place with Fulham over Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s departure while Tottenham will listen to offers for Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil.

Meanwhile, an agreement has now been reached with Nottingham Forest for the signing of attacker Brennan Johnson, who has been given permission to travel for a medical, PA understands.

Johnson will sign in a £45m deal but Postecoglou stayed tight-lipped on any activity, adding: “I’m in a position where other people are in control of incomings and outgoings.

“I’m not really in the loop until things are concluded. For me to talk about potential players, where that’s ins or outs, when it may or may not happen is not my place.

“The countdown clock says nine or 10 hours. We’ll find everything out in the next short period and we’ll go from there.”

While Spurs are eager to trim their bloated squad by 11pm, some will fail to secure moves and may find themselves left out of the club’s 25-man list, which will need to be submitted to the Premier League on September 25.

Postecoglou was adamant the door is not closed on anyone, saying: “No one’s not been integrated, no one hasn’t been training with the team. I’m not isolating anyone at the moment.

“Players have got their own reasons for making these decisions but ultimately, come the deadline, we’re going to have to name a 25-man list and we’ve got more than that at the moment, so some people are going to miss out.

“It’s up to them to decide the next step. From my perspective, we haven’t excluded anyone from training.”

Tottenham have agreed a fee in excess of £45million for Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson.

Spurs had made the Wales international their number one target following the sale of Harry Kane and looked to have got their man after agreeing a price with Forest, the PA news agency understands.

Johnson will now undergo a medical, with there expected to be no complications in the deal going through before the 11pm deadline.

The 22-year-old was a key player in Forest’s Premier League survival last season, scoring eight goals and notching three assists in a struggling side.

Forest, who turned down two bids from Brentford for their homegrown player, will be able to satisfy Financial Fair Play requirements with the sale, due to Johnson’s development at the club.

His pace and ability to stretch defences will appeal to Spurs, who have been keen on him for some time.

Forest are trying to push through a permanent deal for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as a potential replacement, while also hoping to sign Argentina international Nicolas Dominguez.

Pep Guardiola is recovering well from his recent back operation, Manchester City assistant boss Juanma Lillo has said.

The City manager is currently out of action after undergoing surgery last week but is expected to return after the upcoming international break.

Lillo took charge of the side for the treble winners’ Premier League trip to Sheffield United last week and remains at the helm for Saturday’s visit of Fulham.

“I speak very regularly with him, not just in footballing terms but professional terms,” Lillo said at a press conference on Friday.

“He’s much better and things are taking place in the way that they should do. All of us are delighted and are really looking forward to him getting back.”

Lillo was in contact with Guardiola throughout City’s victory at Bramall Lane last Sunday and during preparations for this weekend’s encounter.

“It’s the same as the previous game,” said Lillo. “With Pep there would be more energy but we’re in contact with him all the time.

“We share our responsibilities well, we have our roles very well defined by him and we will continue on the right path but he obviously continues to have input.

“We’re not quite finished in our preparation for the game.”

Defender John Stones is nearing a return to action after a thigh injury.

The England international was expected to be sidelined until after the international break but Lillo has delivered a positive update on his condition.

Phil Foden and Manuel Akanji have recovered from illness but Kevin De Bruyne is a long-term absentee.

Lillo said: “Phil is completely recovered from his illness, Manu’s problem was more for prevention rather than anything serious. He’s more or less there and John is more or less there as well.”

Rasmus Hojlund is fit to make his debut this weekend and Erik ten Hag says Sergio Reguilon could feature at Arsenal having trained with Manchester United ahead of his loan move.

Denmark international Hojlund joined United at the start of August for a fee rising up to £74million from Atalanta, but the 20-year-old has yet to feature, due to a back complaint.

But Ten Hag says the striker is fit to feature at Arsenal, when new goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and left-back Reguilon will also be available for selection.

United have agreed a loan deal with Tottenham for the left-back, and the Dutchman revealed he had trained with his new team-mates ahead of the announcement of the move.

“Yes (Hojlund will be available),” Ten Hag said.

“He had a good training week so tomorrow we have the final training. But he is doing well, responding well, so, yeah, he will be available for Sunday’s game.

“(Bayindir) will be in the squad as well, Altay, so happy. Now we have the keeper group fully there. We covered every position so I think we have a very good keeper group with the arrival of Altay.”

Asked if Reguilon could be involved at the Emirates Stadium, the United boss said: “He is here, he trained. Yes (he will also be available for Sunday).”

Reguilon comes in after United went from too many options at left-back to too few when Luke Shaw’s muscle injury compounded the absence of Tyrell Malacia and recent exits. The Spain international was linked with a move to Old Trafford three years ago and spent last season on loan at Atletico Madrid.

“He’s a very experienced player, played for big clubs, played already a lot of games in LaLiga, Premier League, so, yes, I think very good background,” Ten Hag said.

“We have seen he can play very intense football, so we are happy while we had a problem with Luke Shaw injured, Tyrell Malacia injured, therefore long-term out. So I think we responded very well on that emergency situation.”

On top of deadline-day moves for Bayindir and Reguilon, progress has been made in United’s move for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat.

The 27-year-old midfielder starred at the World Cup for Morocco and previously played under Ten Hag at Utrecht.

“There are so many rumours, but it’s nice, eh?,” the United boss said when asked about Amrabat.

“I think we have done good business, we constructed a strong squad and we are ready to go in to the fight.”

Pushed again on Amrabat, he said: “I can’t tell (you much) because I don’t know if he can sign, so if we have news, we will report it immediately.”

There could be outgoings as well as incomings before the day is out, with multiple clubs looking at Mason Greenwood, Eric Bailly and Donny Van De Beek.

However, Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay look set to stay, having been subject of interest this summer.

“If you see the schedule, it’s tough, it’s really condensed,” United boss Ten Hag said.

“When you see last season the World Cup, crazy season, the season takes longer, two weeks longer. We played (the) FA Cup final one week longer.

“We had a short break, we had a really condensed pre-season again, so we need numbers. But also we need not only numbers, the numbers have to be quality.

“I think, yeah, with this squad we have depth and we have quality players and we can be in a variety of systems and we are happy with it.

“We are ready to go into the fight.”

Liverpool rejected a £150million offer for Mohamed Salah from Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad while Brighton completed the signing of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.

Salah has been the subject of interest from the Middle East for some time and the PA news agency understands a verbal offer was made on Friday.

However, the club have rejected it out of hand and consider the matter closed as the forward is not for sale.

The offer is understood to have been £100m up front with a further £50m in add-ons.

Brighton have signed Fati on a season-long loan from the Catalan giants.

The 20-year-old Spain international made 36 LaLiga appearances last season for Xavi’s men as they went on to win the title.

“This is a great deal for all of us,” Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said on the Premier League club’s website.

“I am sure Ansu will help us to reach a new target and we can help him get back to the level he deserves to be.”

Fati came through the Barcelona academy, making his senior debut in August 2019 and later became the club’s youngest goalscorer in both LaLiga and the Champions League.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United were all doing early business.

City completed the signing of Matheus Nunes from Wolves.

After overcoming some minor sticking points in final negotiations over an initial £47.3m deal on Wednesday night, both clubs were able to come to an agreement on a £53million move – a club-record sale for Wolves.

The 25-year-old Portugal international was keen to move to the Etihad Stadium and did not train with Wolves in order to push the move through.

Midfielder Tommy Doyle, 21, heads the other way, joining the Molineux club on a season-long loan with the option to make the switch permanent next summer.

Doyle’s exit follows that of fellow City academy product Cole Palmer, who has joined Chelsea on a seven-year contract.

The PA news agency understands Chelsea will pay an initial £40million for the 21-year-old with an additional £2.5m in possible add-ons.

Manchester United confirmed the signing of Turkey international goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce.

The 25-year-old has signed an initial four-year contract at Old Trafford, with the option of a further year.

Bayindir is the second goalkeeper signed by the Red Devils this summer and will provide competition to fellow new arrival Andre Onana.

“It is a huge honour to join Manchester United and become the first Turkish player to represent this incredible club,” Bayindir said in the statement announcing his signing.

United could add further recruits on deadline day, with a loan move for Tottenham full-back Sergio Reguilon close to completion.

Nottingham Forest signed Arsenal full-back Nuno Tavares on a season-long loan, with the option of making it permanent.

“Forest is a historic club which won two European Cups and to be part of it makes me really happy,” he said.

“I’m really happy to stay in the Premier League as it’s the best league in the world and I’m thankful to Forest for giving me that opportunity.”

Forest forward Brennan Johnson continued to be linked with a move to Tottenham.

Aston Villa brought in French defender Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan from Barcelona.

The centre-half spent last season on loan at Spurs, making 35 appearances in all competitions.

Aston Villa have been drawn to face AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski in Group E of the Europa Conference League.

The Premier League club hosted their first European game in 13 years on Thursday night, sealing their place in the group-stage draw with an 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian in their qualifying play-off.

Aberdeen, the only other British club in the group stage of European football’s third-tier competition, have been drawn in Group G alongside Eintracht Frankfurt, PAOK Athens and Helsinki.

The cinch Premiership side dropped into the Europa Conference League after losing to Swedish champions Hacken 5-3 on aggregate in their Europa League qualifier.

Villa’s Group E opponents Zrinjski are the first team from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the group stages of a UEFA club competition.

The 32 teams who featured in the draw, which took place in Monaco after the Europa League group-stage draw, is comprised of the 22 winners in the ECL play-off round along with the 10 losers in the Europa League play-off round.

The clubs were seeded in four pots of eight teams, in accordance with UEFA’s club coefficient rankings. Villa were in pot two, Aberdeen in pot four.

Liverpool have rejected a £150million offer for Mohamed Salah from Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad.

The Egypt international has been the subject of interest from the Middle East for some time and the PA news agency understands a verbal offer was made on Friday.

However, the club have rejected it out of hand and consider the matter closed as the forward is not for sale.