Harry Paton has signed a new two-year contract with Motherwell after initially joining on a short-term deal towards the end of last season.

The 25-year-old Canadian midfielder arrived in April, becoming Stuart Kettlewell’s first addition, and he made seven appearances as the Fir Park side finished the season strongly.

Paton, who previously played under the Well boss at Ross County, has now committed his future to the Steelmen until 2025.

“It’s great that I’ve been given this opportunity,” he told the Well website.

“I really enjoyed my short stint here last season and I’m now just focused on getting going again.”

Kettlewell is excited about what Paton can bring to Motherwell once he gets a full pre-season under his belt.

“Harry showed signs of real quality last season,” he said.

“Signing when he did, was really difficult as he had to get up to speed really quickly and help us get over the finish line.

“Now he has the summer to prepare physically and mentally and I’m really looking forward to working with him again.”

“He gives us real quality in the middle of the pitch and I have a really good relationship with him personally.”

News of Paton’s signing comes on the same day as confirmation that Dean Cornelius has left Motherwell to join Harrogate on a two-year contract.

The 22-year-old midfielder played more than 50 times for the team he supported as a child after making his debut in May 2019.

Motherwell offered Cornelius a new contract for the upcoming season, but he decided his future lay with English League Two side Harrogate.

“I’ve said for a while I’ve always wanted to challenge myself down in England and I feel like Harrogate is the right club for me,” he told the Town website.

“I’ve spoken briefly with the manager about his goals for the upcoming season and it really matched what I want to do in my career and hopefully we can kick on and have a good season.

“It was never going to be easy leaving Motherwell, but I just felt now at 22 years old it was the right time and the right move in my career to now challenge myself in a new league and a new environment, moving away from home for the first time.”

Motherwell said in a statement: “From attending matches in the stand, to playing over 50 matches for the club. Dean Cornelius has joined Harrogate Town. All the best, Dean.”

Newcastle are hoping to push through a club record-breaking deal for AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali within days, the PA news agency understands.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth has been pictured in the Italian city after he flew out to try to negotiate the terms of a move which it is understood would exceed the club’s £60million swoop for Sweden striker Alexander Isak last summer.

Reports from Italy have suggested the 23-year-old, who is expected to captain his country in their opening Group D fixture against France at the European Under-21s Championships on Thursday evening, has agreed to the switch.

A successful conclusion to the talks would take Newcastle’s transfer spending under their new owners past the £300million mark.

Head coach Eddie Howe has identified Tonali as the holding midfielder he needs to allow Bruno Guimaraes in particular to thrive in an advanced role.

Howe has vowed to strengthen his squad for the new campaign, during which the Magpies will play Champions League football for the first time since the 2002-03 season, as he attempts to challenge on both the domestic and European fronts.

The 45-year-old guided the club to a fourth-place Premier League finish and the Carabao Cup final last season as they took a major step forward, but he is expecting a response from the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea this time around in the race for the top four.

Howe has been at pains to point out the spending restrictions under which the club must operate, but at the same time has signalled his intention to recruit quality rather than quantity this summer.

Tonali, who was a substitute in the senior Italy side’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifier defeat by England in March, made 48 appearances for Milan in all competitions last season and started both legs of their Champions League semi-final defeat by city rivals Inter.

Celtic have completed the first signing of Brendan Rodgers’ second spell as manager after the club announced the arrival of Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm on a five-year contract.

The 20-year-old joins from Eliteserien club Valerenga for a fee reportedly in the region of £2.5million.

Holm was already on Celtic’s radar prior to Rodgers’ return as boss earlier this week, and the Northern Irishman has given the new recruit his seal of approval, describing him as “an exciting young player”.

“We are delighted to bring Odin to the club and to secure his signing so early in the window,” the recently-appointed Hoops manager told the club’s website.

“He is a player who has been in the club’s scouting and recruitment system for some time.

“I have looked at him closely and believe he is someone who can make a big impact at the club.

“I have spent time already with Odin, he is an ambitious, exciting young player and I know he is delighted to be joining us.

“He is a great addition to the quality squad we already have and we really look forward to working with him.”

Rodgers will face the media at Celtic Park on Friday afternoon for the first time since he was appointed as Ange Postecoglou’s successor.

Fulham are serious contenders in the race for Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse.

The Cottagers are targeting the midfielder, who is interested in a move to Craven Cottage, the PA news agency understands.

Southampton are likely to ask for close to £30million for their captain – who has three years left on his contract – after relegation from the Premier League last season.

West Ham want Fulham’s Joao Palhinha to replace Declan Rice, which would then see the Cottagers line up Ward-Prowse.

Arsenal have had two bids rejected for Hammers skipper Rice this week, although champions Manchester City are reportedly preparing their own offer.

The Hammers are also interested in England international Ward-Prowse but he would prefer a switch to west London.

The 28-year-old sees Marco Silva’s style as the best fit for him as he looks for a route back to the top flight.

A move to Fulham would also see him link up with former Saints team-mate Harrison Reed, with the pair having come through the academy at St Mary’s.

Brentford, given their threat from set pieces, also held an interest in Ward-Prowse but they were quickly rebuffed by the Saints star.

He will leave the club this summer having been unable to keep Southampton in the Premier League after they finished bottom.

They had three managers as Nathan Jones replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl in November – but lasted just 14 games before being sacked – and Ruben Selles was unable to save the Saints.

Southampton appointed Russell Martin on a three-year deal from Swansea on Wednesday, with the Swans looking to bring Michael Duff in from Barnsley.

Martin will have to mount a promotion charge in the Championship without Ward-Prowse, who has made 409 appearances and scored 55 goals for the Saints and is one goal short of David Beckham’s Premier League free-kick record of 18.

Saints could also lose Romeo Lavia, with the midfielder wanted by Liverpool and Arsenal.

Tottenham have accelerated their search to find Hugo Lloris’ long-term successor by opening talks with Empoli over the signing of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Spurs captain Lloris, 36, is approaching the final 12 months of his deal and revealed earlier this month his desire to seek a new challenge when in an interview with media in France he described his situation as “the end of an era”, having been at the club since 2012.

Discussions took place with Brentford number one David Raya over a potential move across the capital, but the £40million price tag placed on the Spanish international has stalled the move.

Tottenham have now shifted focus to Vicario and are confident of securing his services with talks under way with Empoli, the PA news agency understands.

The 26-year-old has starred for the Serie A mid-table outfit during the last two seasons, saving eight penalties in that period, and has recently been involved in Italy national team squads to highlight his growing reputation.

Reports suggest a bid in the region of 19million euros (£16.4m) will be enough to prize Vicario away from Empoli.

It would make the Italian keeper Ange Postecoglou’s second signing since he was announced as head coach on June 6, following the permanent transfer of former loanee Dejan Kulusevski last weekend.

Postecoglou officially begins his role at Tottenham on July 1, the club’s first day of pre-season, but is still finalising his coaching set-up

It was confirmed on Monday that John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan would not follow Postecoglou in swapping Celtic for Spurs after the duo were announced as part of Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff.

Ryan Mason, who took charge of Tottenham’s final six matches of the 2022-23 campaign, is set to remain at the club and be part of Postecoglou’s coaching set-up but the vacancy of goalkeeper coach is still to be finalised.

Zeb Jacobs intends to make Rangers one of the leading clubs in the world at developing young players after being promoted to the role of academy director.

The Belgian was initially recruited by Gers as head of academy coaching in 2021, with current manager Michael Beale – who was first-team coach at the time – involved in attracting him to Ibrox.

Jacobs, who was head of development at Royal Antwerp in his homeland prior to moving to Scotland, will step up to take on a position recently vacated by Craig Mulholland, whose looming departure was announced at the start of May.

“I am excited about this new chapter as the academy director of Rangers Football Club,” Jacobs told the Gers’ website. “The opportunity to develop the best young talent in Scotland is incredibly exciting, and I am ready to make a lasting impact.

“With the resources and elite infrastructure already in place, I firmly believe that our academy has the potential to become world-leading in player development.

“My vision is crystal clear: ‘create the most exciting learning environment in sports’.

“By maximising the potential of every player and nurturing their skills, we aim to produce a new generation of players who can excel not only for Rangers in Scotland but also on the European stage.
 
“My relationship with Michael Beale, our CEO and board is already very strong, and we will look to use that to maximise the pathway from the academy to the first team.

“I am grateful for this opportunity and truly excited for the bright future ahead.”

Chief executive James Bisgrove believes Jacobs’ relationship with Beale can help create a smooth pathway from academy to first team.

“I’d like to firstly congratulate Zeb on his appointment,” Bisgrove said.

“Michael Beale and I, along with other key colleagues from the football department, led a thorough and diligent recruitment process to identify our next academy director, with Zeb the outstanding candidate.

“Zeb will bring constant innovation and a clear vision to the role, and his strong collaborative relationship with Michael Beale and the first-team staff will ensure a direct link and pathway between the academy and men’s first team that will flourish for many years.

“The Rangers academy has produced some of the leading talents in the Scottish game in recent seasons, and we’re confident that Zeb is well placed to create an environment for the next crop of talent to thrive and reach the Rangers first team.
 
“Our academy is a truly elite environment, and the brilliant work of all academy staff, past and present, has laid a strong foundation for Zeb and the wider academy staff, including David McCallum [B team head coach], to accelerate this progress and ensure that our youth football development programme is the unrivalled leader in the Scottish game.”

Rumours linking Manchester City with West Ham’s Declan Rice gathered pace on Thursday as the treble winners remained the focus of considerable transfer speculation.

Reports suggested City were poised to launch a bid for the highly-regarded England international, who is expected to leave the London Stadium this summer.

Rice has already been the subject of interest from Arsenal, who have reportedly had two bids – the second worth up to £90million – rebuffed by the Hammers.

City did not comment on the reports when contacted by the PA news agency.

It is already shaping up to be a busy summer at the Etihad Stadium, with the club seemingly not standing still following their successes of last season.

Captain Ilkay Gundogan looks set to leave City for Barcelona having apparently turned down a new contract.

It is understood the Germany midfielder has been offered a three-year deal by the Spanish champions on more lucrative terms than those proposed by City.

City were keen for the 32-year-old to stay but were unwilling to match Barca’s overtures. City had tabled a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.

Given the player’s age, this was a pragmatic decision and Gundogan will depart with their blessing.

He made 304 appearances in seven years at City and won 12 major trophies, culminating in this year’s treble triumph.

As skipper he lifted the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies. He also played a key role in the run-in, not least scoring both goals in the FA Cup final win over Manchester United – the first of which came in record fashion after just 13 seconds.

City already have one midfield replacement in the pipeline having agreed an initial fee of £25million with Chelsea for Croatia international Mateo Kovacic. The final deal could be worth £30million if certain conditions are met.

The 29-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2018, had been entering the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. He would arrive at City as a four-time Champions League winner after three successes with Madrid and one at Chelsea.

A deal for Rice, if pursued, would dwarf that. West Ham accepted after their recent Europa Conference League win that their 24-year-old captain was likely to move on before next season.

They reportedly value him in the £100million bracket. He has one year remaining on his contract but the Hammers have an option to extend that by 12 months.

There is also uncertainty over the future of three other senior City players in defenders Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, and midfielder Bernardo Silva.  All three have been linked with moves away.

Former Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic believes the “inconsistency” of people running the club has made life difficult for players and staff.

The ex-Bosnia and Herzegovina international’s contract officially ends next week but his departure from Goodison Park has already been confirmed, ending a two-year stay during which time the Toffees have twice only narrowly escaped relegation.

Everton are also facing a Premier League charge for breaching profit and sustainability rules – having made cumulative losses of more than £430million over the last four seasons – and, in the wake of numerous supporters’ protests, the chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director and former striker Graeme Sharp left their roles last week.

The future of long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright, the main target for fans’ anger, was due to be announced in the following 48 hours but 10 days on he remains in post.

The PA news agency understands Kenwright, who has spent 19 years in his current role, was planning to step down last week but the intervention of owner Farhad Moshiri has complicated matters and left senior figures at the club in the dark about the next move.

“We obviously had some financial issues and a lot of inconsistency (with) people running the place so that makes it very difficult for the staff and the players,” Begovic, speaking to talkSPORT, said of his experience at the club.

“Certainly difficult. When I go back two years, people say: ‘Why in the world Everton?’

“It’s easy to say now but at the time, you were looking at a fantastic football club with a fantastic group of players.

“When you get in there, you realise there are bigger issues.”

American investors MSP Capital are close to agreeing a deal to buy a stake in the club, possibly up to 25 per cent, and those negotiations could also explain why a new board members have not been installed as they are believed to want two representatives at executive level.

Everton’s players are due to return to pre-season training on July 6, just over a week before their first friendly against Stade Nyonais, in Switzerland but full-back Nathan Patterson has already spent a few weeks at the club’s Finch Farm training ground working on his recovery from a hamstring injury which ended his campaign prematurely.

Charles Dunne has performed a U-turn and agreed a new one-year contract with St Mirren – just three weeks after the Buddies announced his departure.

The 30-year-old defender appeared to be on his way out following two seasons in Paisley after Saints released a statement on May 31 thanking him and two of his colleagues for their service to the club.

It read: “Offers were made to Charles Dunne, Curtis Main and captain Joe Shaughnessy, but all three have decided that their futures lie elsewhere.

“With over 250 combined appearances between them, we thank them immensely for their respective contributions to St Mirren and wish them the very best in their new challenges.”

However, Dunne has since returned to the negotiating table and it was announced on Thursday that the former Wycombe, Blackpool, Oldham and Motherwell player has agreed to remain for a third year with St Mirren.

“I’m buzzing to be back with the boys and the manager,” the Englishman told the Buddies’ website.

“I’ve really enjoyed it at St Mirren. We have a great dressing room with good people at the club so I’m over the moon.”

Manager Stephen Robinson, who recently signed a new deal of his own, welcomed Dunne’s change of heart.

“We’re delighted to have Charles with us for another year,” he said.

“We know what he brings to the team. He’s experienced, left-sided, quick, strong and he’s a big personality within the dressing room.”

Billy Gilmour was delighted to end a challenging season on a high with an impressive display in Scotland’s 2-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Georgia.

Gilmour won the official man-of-the-match award after making light of the sodden conditions with an excellent display of possession football.

The midfielder was making his first competitive start for Scotland this season after forcing his way into the Brighton team in the final weeks of the campaign.

Gilmour had been unfortunate to see the man who signed him from Chelsea, Graham Potter, leave for Stamford Bridge a week after the transfer. He took some time to get into Roberto De Zerbi’s team and also had to cope with being the victim of a stalking campaign last autumn by a woman who was sentenced in court to a suspended prison term on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old started five of the last eight games of the Premier League season, which included a 6-0 win over Wolves, a draw with Manchester City and wins over Manchester United and Arsenal.

And he was able to depart for his summer break in good spirits after helping Scotland maintain their 100 per cent record in Group A of the European Championship qualifiers.

“I am really happy with my first start in a while,” the former Rangers youth player said. “I am just happy to be back out there playing, with a smile on my face, doing what I love. It’s a good feeling.

“It’s been a challenging season. Towards the back end I got quite a few opportunities at Brighton, so I am thankful and happy. I have worked hard. It was a good way to end the season.”

Scotland moved eight points clear at the halfway mark of their group, although Spain have two games in hand and are nine behind.

Gilmour said: “We have shown a real togetherness. We are doing well as a team and the manager is making sure we are working hard and challenging each other every day in training. It’s really good for Scotland. Everyone is pushing each other.”

Scotland overcame torrential conditions and a near two-hour delay to clear water off the pitch to beat Georgia through goals from Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay.

“It was tough,” Gilmour said. “One minute the game was going ahead and the next it’s not.

“It was a crazy night but mentally we had to be focused and ready and big thanks to the fans staying behind and the ball boys helping out, cleaning the pitch and making sure it was playable.

“The first 10-15 minutes was crazy, just to adjust, you think you can win it and then it holds up. But we got it sorted. Everyone stuck together, helped out and we got three points.”

Gilmour was focused on the game rather than being distracted by the prospect of finishing the match on Wednesday and delaying summer breaks.

“I was too busy sitting down trying to keep myself ticking over,” he said. “There might have been a couple of shouts of ‘replay tomorrow’ but it was fine after we got the water off the pitch.

“Football came first, obviously with the national team. We were all focused on that and leave summer until after the game. Now we can go and have a break and enjoy.”

The three teams relegated from the Premier League have been handed a seemingly-comfortable start to the new season after Thursday’s release of the new campaign’s EFL fixtures.

Leicester, Leeds and Southampton will begin life back in the Championship under new managers with their sights set on an immediate return, and the fixture computer looks to have been kind – at least in the early stages.

The PA news agency has analysed the three divisions’ schedules using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Settling-in period

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca faces Coventry in his first game in charge and, while the Sky Blues reached last season’s play-off final, they are ranked only 11th in the aggregated promotion odds this time around.

Matches against Huddersfield, Cardiff and Rotherham, all ranked in the bottom six, and 16th-ranked Hull follow before they face fellow-relegated side Southampton in game six.

Leeds, who are currently managerless, open up at Elland Road against Cardiff – always a fiery encounter but representing opposition ranked 19th by the bookmakers and fancied to battle against relegation.

Birmingham follow with West Brom the toughest opposition in an opening six games against teams averaging 14.2 in the projected league positions.

Saints, who appointed Russell Martin on Wednesday, have fifth-ranked Norwich as well as the Foxes in their opening six games but also two promoted sides – Sheffield Wednesday, in the season’s opening game on August 4, and Plymouth – as well as QPR.

Leicester will also fancy their chances in the run-in, with relegation-candidates Birmingham, Plymouth and Preston in their last six games. Leeds and Saints have things tougher and meet at Elland Road on the final day.

Fast start vital for Hornets

Watford, also under new management yet again in the form of Valerien Ismael, have the easiest first six opponents on paper, with QPR, Plymouth and Birmingham in the bottom four of the combined odds and Stoke, Blackburn and Coventry also outside the play-off places.

The Hornets have the only harder run-in on paper than Southampton, though, and it stretches to their final eight games, facing Leeds, West Brom, Preston, Ipswich, Southampton, Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Martin’s old club Swansea have West Brom and Coventry as the only projected top-half finishers among their first eight, which also include Birmingham, Preston, Bristol City, Cardiff, QPR and Wednesday.

The toughest start on paper belongs to the Sky Blues as they seek to bounce back from their Wembley heartbreak. Mark Robins’ side face Leicester, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Sunderland and Watford before things start to ease up with Hull, Cardiff, Huddersfield and QPR back-to-back.

Their first six are matched for difficulty by QPR’s, with Cardiff the only let-up in a run also featuring Watford, Ipswich, Saints, Boro and Sunderland.

Posh problems?

Promotion-hopefuls Peterborough have the toughest start on paper in League One, with five of their first six opponents projected to finish in the top eight.

Reading, Barnsley and favourites Derby are tipped to finish above fifth-ranked Posh, with Charlton and Portsmouth also in the play-off picture and only Northampton seemingly offering much respite.

Burton and Cheltenham – both among the relegation favourites – face four and five of the projected top eight in their respective first eight games, while Shrewsbury’s first six, by contrast, includes both those teams plus Stevenage, Fleetwood and Carlisle, all ranked in the bottom seven.

Projected strugglers Cambridge and Carlisle have tough run-ins, with the late-season fixtures seeming to favour Cheltenham if they can stay in touch, while Derby have the friendliest run-in on paper of the promotion favourites.

Dragons decider

Three of the last four teams promoted into League Two are the favourites to go up again as this term’s top three, with last season’s risers Wrexham and Notts County sandwiching Stockport.

Intriguingly, the latter visit big-spending Wrexham on the final day with promotion potentially at stake – providing an echo of the Dragons’ National League meeting with Notts County in April when Ben Foster’s last-minute penalty save went a long way to deciding first place.

Crawley, tipped for relegation, have the toughest opening six games in the entire EFL with Bradford, Salford, MK Dons, Gillingham, Swindon and Stockport’s projected league positions averaging out to sixth.

Spare a thought too for Newport, who face projected top-seven finishers Notts County, Gills, MK Dons, Mansfield and Stockport in succession from games 15-19 – and then have to do it all again, in the same order, in games 33-37.

Carsten Ramelow believes Germany are being held back by a mentality issue as the former international warned: "Talent alone doesn't win you games."

Germany lost 2-0 at home to Colombia in a friendly on Tuesday – a third defeat from their last four matches.

The other game in that run finished 3-3, with Germany forging a late comeback to draw with Ukraine in a charity match.

Hansi Flick's side flopped in the 2022 World Cup, too, going out in the group stage, and Ramelow – a World Cup runner-up in 2002 – says German football as a whole has a mentality problem.

"I think there's multiple issues. That was not just about a bad performance in Qatar. The problems lie much deeper," he told Stats Perform.

"This is what aggravates everything. Having seen the game yesterday, I have only seen 15 minutes, that was enough. It shows which state the team has been in for weeks and months. Or maybe you have to say years.

"In that regard, we have big problems in Germany concerning youth players. I think [the team] lacks mentality. Talent alone doesn't win you games. Talent alone also doesn't bring you team spirit.

"People talk a lot about team spirit. Where is that team spirit? All those years, we have been saying that we have great talent. Maybe that's true but after this long period of suffering, you have to recognise that we have a lot of talent, but as I said, it lacks mentality, it lacks team spirit.

"We are not able to form a team, a unit. Be it Hansi Flick or any other coach, and you can see that in many Bundesliga teams. I think mentality is very, very important. A manager once told me something I will never forget: 'Passion is more important than skill'.

"You have to see how the players will develop. I don't know when it continues, in September or October. The ones that will be available then. There is quality but currently but at the moment this is not enough to compete with teams like [Colombia] or Ukraine and Poland."

Ramelow sympathises with Flick, and is unsure a change of coach would necessarily result in a change of fortunes. The pressure, though, is on ahead of Euro 2024.

"I think we all agree that the coach and his staff have an important role," he added. "We know what the business is like and the fact that the manager has to listen to a lot of criticism now is justified.

"He also accepts that. I see a lot of helplessness right now. No one in the interviews can say how things will continue. We all know we have good young players, which is fine, but to reach the final stages of an international tournament again is being considered very difficult. But what is the solution now?

"I feel like the manager had a lot of helplessness. He won't give up and it will go on as he said. He wants to prepare well for the next games. His task is to put a good team together and to bring back passion and mentality. You have to see a unit.

"Mentality is also a matter of character. A coach can barely train that. You either have it or you don't but he has to form a team and the results have to be good. I'm not saying anything new here, the business is tough. I think you could put anyone else on the touchline, it would be difficult for every coach."

Southampton will take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the opening match of the new Sky Bet Championship season on Friday, August 4.

Beginning life under new boss Russell Martin, the relegated Saints face a Wednesday outfit back in the second tier after winning the League One play-offs last month and currently managerless after parting company with Darren Moore.

Leicester, under new boss Enzo Maresca, and Leeds – the two other clubs to have dropped down from the Premier League – kick off their campaigns two days later at home against defeated play-off finalists Coventry and Cardiff respectively.

The other game that day sees Sunderland entertain promoted Ipswich, while League One champions Plymouth open by hosting Huddersfield the day before.

Southampton’s first home game of the campaign will be against Norwich the following Saturday, when Leicester travel to Huddersfield and Leeds are at Birmingham.

The final day of the regular Championship season on May 4 will see Leeds and Southampton go head to head at St Mary’s, while Leicester host Blackburn.

The opening round of League One fixtures on August 5 includes Wigan, who finished bottom of the Championship last term, playing at Derby as they start their season on minus eight points after being penalised over payment of wages.

Fellow relegated sides Reading and Blackpool begin at home against Peterborough and Burton respectively, while Barnsley, who missed out on promotion to Wednesday, welcome Port Vale to Oakwell.

In League Two, the return of Wrexham – owned by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – to the Football League, starts with a home clash against MK Dons.

Thursday’s release of the new season’s EFL fixtures also shows National League play-off winners Notts County beginning their own comeback campaign by playing Sutton away.

What the papers say

Manchester United have reportedly made a last-ditch attempt to sign England captain Harry Kane. According to The Sun, the Red Devils have reached out to the Tottenham striker to encourage him to put in a transfer request as club bosses grow increasingly frustrated with Spurs’ unwillingness to negotiate over Kane’s position.

Staying at Old Trafford, The Telegraph reports the club have joined Arsenal in pursuit of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice. United are said to be interested in a player-plus-cash deal involving England defender Harry Maguire or Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay.

West Brom defender Dara O’Shea could be set for a return to the Premier League next season. The Irish Independent reports the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international has all-but confirmed a move to Burnley, with a medical at Turf Moor on Thursday the last hurdle to clear.

And the Evening Standard claims Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech is nearing a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Sandro Tonali: The Athletic says Newcastle are circling a £60million deal for the AC Milan midfielder.

Bernardo Silva: The Manchester City midfielder is nearing a move to Saudi Arabia, according to Spanish outlet Marca.

Human rights must be a key consideration in selecting the hosts of the 2030 World Cup, according to a new survey.

Fifty-three per cent of the 17,477 people from 15 countries who took part in a YouGov poll commissioned by Amnesty International said human rights considerations were vital in choosing the host of the World Cup and other major sporting events, rising to 60 per cent among UK respondents.

Saudi Arabia has been linked with a joint bid alongside Greece and Egypt to host the 2030 or 2034 World Cup, while the Middle East state has already been selected to host the Club World Cup in December.

Representatives of more than 200 national associations will vote on who should host the 2030 finals at a FIFA Congress next year.

FIFA made human rights criteria part of the bidding process for the 2026 finals, which were awarded to the United States, Canada and Mexico, following the decision by the governing body’s now-defunct executive committee to award the 2018 and 2022 finals to Russia and Qatar respectively back in 2010.

However, organisations such as Amnesty and Kick It Out remain concerned that not enough importance is being attached to human rights in future decision-making processes.

The poll showed that, after safety and security (57 per cent), human rights was the most commonly-chosen consideration for determining tournament hosts.

This was the top consideration in seven of the countries surveyed and highest in Switzerland (68 per cent), where FIFA is based.

More than four times as many people chose human rights as a key factor over “commercial revenues for sports bodies” – just 13 per cent.

Amnesty’s head of economic and social justice Steve Cockburn said: “It is clear that the public wants human rights to be a high priority so that the World Cup is a celebration of the game they love and never provides a platform for exploitation, repression or discrimination.

“FIFA must rigorously apply the highest human rights standards in evaluating all bids to host its flagship tournament, demand clear human rights action plans and reject any bid that fails to credibly show how serious human rights risks would be prevented, independently monitored and remedied if abuses occur.”

Andrea Florence, the director of the Sports and Rights Alliance, added: “Since 2017, FIFA has made important progress in recognising its human rights responsibilities. But human rights assessments and considerations have not been applied systematically when awarding FIFA tournaments.

“To demonstrate they are serious about their own policies and statutes, it is critical that FIFA puts human rights front and centre when choosing the host for the 2030 men’s World Cup.”

FIFA has been approached for comment.