Dominic Solanke missed Bournemouth's friendly with Rayo Vallecano due to injury, Cherries head coach Andoni Iraola insisted amid transfer links to Tottenham.
Ange Postecoglou has made clear his desire to sign a striker in this transfer window, with Solanke reportedly a target from Premier League rivals Bournemouth.
Speculation ramped up after the Cherries forward, who is said to have a £65million release clause, was not named in their squad for Sunday's pre-season friendly with LaLiga's Rayo.
Yet Iraola explained the 26-year-old was absent due to a training injury, rather than a progression in any transfer movement with Postecoglou's Spurs.
"Someone stamped on his foot yesterday and we are not going to risk him in a pre-season friendly, and I hope he is going to play in the next game against Girona," Iraola said after his side's 1-0 win.
"[It's] nothing big, just that he couldn't put the boot on, and we decided obviously to [not risk him]. Even with other players, I hope they can play against Girona and we can see them. They are really close, they had some small issues, like Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook.
"With so many players and so many games it doesn't make sense to take any risks and we decided like this."
Solanke scored 19 times in last season's Premier League, a club record for Bournemouth in the competition, with that form catching the eye of clubs.
Iraola has no intention of parting ways with his star striker, though, as he reaffirmed the reasons for his omission.
"It's not in my control. I tell you what has happened and I've seen it happen. It's the reality," Iraola said when asked on the perceptions around Solanke's absence.
"It'll probably make it bigger, but the truth is Dom came today. We decided it doesn't make any sense to risk him in a friendly.
"It's not a big injury, I'm not worried because he will be fine in three of four days."
Iraola will hope Solanke recovers in time for Bournemouth's league opener away to Nottingham Forest on August 17.
Caicedo felt £115m price tag pressure during first season at Chelsea
Moises Caicedo has said he struggled with his confidence during his first season at Chelsea because of the pressure of his £115m price tag.
Caicedo, who completed his move to Stamford Bridge from Brighton last year, signed for an initial £100m fee but could see that rise to a British club record £115m due to performance-related add-ons.
The 22-year-old endured a difficult campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, making 49 appearances in all competitions but registering just four goal involvements (one goal, three assists).
He was often outperformed by midfield partner Conor Gallagher, who is expected to complete a move to Atletico Madrid in the coming days despite captaining the Blues to European football last season.
Last season, Gallagher won more tackles (52), created more chances (53) and had the highest passing accuracy (91.5%) when compared to Caicedo.
"The beginning was tough for me, because you are at a big club, the price, you always have to win every game," Caicedo said.
"It was tough for me because when I was in Brighton, the pressure is less.
"At Chelsea, it is different. I felt a lot of pressure because you know the club, the history, the players who were there.
"But after the last four or five months, I felt more comfortable at the club."
Caicedo showed signs of improvement towards the end of the last Premier League season, with three of his four goal involvements coming in the final four games of the campaign.
The Ecuador international praised new head coach Enzo Maresca's new style of play, likening it to the one played by Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi during his time at Brighton.
"He plays like the same system that I played in Brighton. He wants the same," Caicedo said.
"He wants me to show my quality, to have good personality, to show to my team-mates that I am the boss on the pitch."
It could have been much different for Caicedo, who was the subject of interest from Liverpool before his move to Chelsea last year.
After the departures of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jurgen Klopp was keen to add Caicedo to his midfield ranks.
Liverpool had agreed a £111m deal with Brighton before Caicedo chose Chelsea, something he said was down to the Blues' sustained show of interest.
"Chelsea was with me for a couple of months. I could not miss out on them," Caicedo added.
"Because they were with me in tough moments when Brighton didn’t want to let me go.
"It was a difficult decision but, for sure, 100%, I knew I wanted to go to Chelsea."
West Ham confirm arrival of Copa and World Cup winner Rodriguez
West Ham have announced their third signing in as many days after confirming the arrival of midfielder Guido Rodriguez on Tuesday.
Rodriguez, who was part of Argentina's Copa America-winning squad in July, arrives as a free agent having left Spanish side Real Betis upon the expiry of his contract.
The 30-year-old was also part of La Albiceleste's World Cup success in 2022 and has made 30 appearances for his nation, winning three trophies.
Rodriguez will provide another combative midfield option for Julen Lopetegui alongside Edson Alvarez, a player he knows well from his time with Club America in Mexico.
He was successful in 118 of his 196 contested duels last term, while also winning 30 of his 53 tackles, a total only bettered by Marc Roca (36) and Ayoze Perez (32) in Betis' side.
"I'm very happy to be here," said Rodríguez. “I feel like it’s every footballer’s dream to play in the Premier League, and I was very excited when I heard that West Ham were interested in me.
"It's a historic club, that has a really interesting project. I think it’s the right club for me, at the right time, and I hope together we can keep growing."
Rodríguez will become the ninth Argentine to represent the Hammers and is the sixth arrival at London Stadium during this transfer window.
Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme, Wes Foderingham, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug have bolstered West Ham's ranks as they back new coach Lopetegui and aim to improve on their ninth-place finish last season.
Ibrahimovic misses feeling "alive" but little chance of coaching role
Zlatan Ibrahimovic misses feeling "alive" following his retirement from professional football, but distanced himself from a coaching role.
Ibrahimovic, who is now an advisor to Milan's club's board, won 12 league titles during his illustrious 24-year career.
The Swede netted 496 goals in 827 appearances, with his 93 goals for Milan only bettered by his time with Paris Saint-Germain (156).
In an interview with The Athletic, Ibrahimovic quipped he could try his hand at any sport and have success, though conceded the buzz of being on the pitch is hard to replace.
He said: "I would be the best in every ball sport. Martial arts — I could challenge. I used to do taekwondo. With my feet, I’m fast, I move well. I had the advantage of being 1.97m tall, but moved like a guy of 1.60m.
"That’s why I was a freak of nature. This is not me trying to impress you. These are true facts. But I like the adrenaline of taekwondo. I like duels. I need to feel alive.
"That is the only thing I miss with football. It is not actually playing football. I just miss sometimes feeling… alive.
"Imagine you are in front of 80,000 people. If you were so small, you would get so big. And imagine if you can get 80,000 to bounce or you can make them cry. This is who I was."
Milan, 19-time Serie A champions, will be under new management this season, with Paulo Fonseca arriving from Lille following the departure of Stefano Pioli.
Ibrahimovic says he attends first-team training sessions regularly, but when asked about becoming a coach, he said: "No.
"You see my grey hair?. Fully grey hair is after one week as a coach. A coach's life is up to 12 hours per day.
"You absolutely don't have free time. My role is to connect everything; to be a leader from above and make sure the structure and organisation works. To keep everybody on their toes."
Ibrahimovic made 31 appearances in his final two seasons with Milan in all competitions, scoring nine times, but started just 12 of those games.
It paved the way for the likes of Rafael Leao to emerge onto centre stage, with Ibrahimovic concentrating on setting an example for the young players rather than his own personal gain.
"It depends on the person. I didn’t need to score one goal more or one goal less. It would not change my career," he added.
"It was more about preparing the future for the other ones because I believe this young generation needs a leader to follow.
"If you don’t have examples, especially when you’re playing at great clubs, who will show the way?
“I did it in a way where it was not about me, it was about the team. All these young guys that had never played in the Champions League and had never won.
"When you get older, you need to find trigger points. It’s not about contracts after 20 years. My trigger point was to show the path for the young team."
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