Rico Lewis says winning the treble once “isn’t good enough” as Manchester City look to repeat the feat and eye an unprecedented quadruple.

Pep Guardiola’s perennial Premier League champions added the FA Cup in June before beating Inter Milan to win the club’s first ever Champions League crown.

City joined Manchester United’s 1999 side as the only English teams in history to complete the treble, but there appears little chance of them stopping there.

Erling Haaland’s brace saw them open up their league campaign with a 3-0 win at promoted Burnley on Friday, after which teenage star Lewis outlined his ambitions.

“The objective is to win the treble again, to win the quadruple,” the homegrown 18-year-old talent said.

“You know, winning it once isn’t good enough, so we have to keep on going and try and win it again.”

You would not back against City winning the European crown on top of claiming the three main domestic trophies given their quality, cohesion and strength.

However, Guardiola’s men have already missed out on one piece of silverware this season having lost the Community Shield to Arsenal on penalties.

This week, though, offers another chance at a trophy as City seek to win the UEFA Super Cup for the first time against Sevilla in Athens.

“Obviously it’s a new competition for us,” Lewis said. “We’ve never won it, the club’s never won it, so, again, it’s another trophy that we want to go and win.

“It’s another competition and an important thing we need to go and take on.”

City make the trip buoyed by a solid start to the Premier League season, with Rodri adding to Haaland’s double on a night that also saw Lewis struck by an object.

Burnley quickly confirmed the individual responsible for the first-half incident had been identified, removed from the ground by police and now faces a banning order.

“Obviously when you’re in the game you can’t really focus on that,” Lewis said. “But it was just something I had to deal with at the time.

“It’s just an incident that’s unfortunate it’s happened to me but, you know, it happens to a lot of players, which is not a good thing.

“But there’s nothing really much you can do about it. You’ve just got to ignore it and then it’ll get sorted at the end of the game.”

Another issue City’s players could not let distract them was the injury to skipper Kevin De Bruyne.

The 32-year-old has only recently returned from a hamstring issue and Guardiola says he faces weeks on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of the issue.

“Well, you know, injuries happen to everyone,” Lewis said. “Every team suffers with injuries and it’s something that you’ve just got to deal with.

“There’s enough quality in the squad where if someone gets injured someone can slot in and just carry on playing in the same way that the last person did.

“Obviously there’s going to be certain positions where we’ll be more hurt than others just because of squad depth, but it’s something that happens to everyone and everyone has to deal with it.”

While City return to action on Wednesday, the Clarets have an extended wait until they play again.

Next weekend’s trip to Luton was postponed due to ongoing stadium works at Kenilworth Road, meaning Vincent Kompany’s side are next in action at home to Aston Villa on August 27.

That fortnight will give promoted Burnley an invaluable opportunity to work with their new-look squad after showing signs of promise against City.

Summer signing Luca Koleosho, 18, said after making his debut: “I think we had our moments in the game but obviously we were playing against the best team in the world right now.

“So, I just think that every game we’re going to get better and just improve.

“The mentality is just to win, there’s 37 games (to go), it’s a long season but just take it one at a time and just go out there and try and win.”

Paris St Germain have confirmed the signing of Ousmane Dembele on a five-year deal.

The forward joins from Barcelona, who said the fee was 50.4million euros (£43.5m).

Since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for a fee reportedly worth up to £135.5m, Dembele made 185 appearances and scored 40 goals for the LaLiga giants.

Dembele’s time at Barcelona also saw him win three Spanish league titles, two Spanish Cups and two Spanish Supercups.

The 26-year-old has been capped 37 times for France and featured at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where Les Bleus finished as runners-up.

Dembele told the club website: “I’m delighted to be joining Paris St Germain and can’t wait to play for my new club. I hope I can continue to grow here and make all the club’s fans proud.”

England captain Harry Kane has left the door open for a return to Tottenham after completing his £100million move to Bayern Munich.

Kane travelled to Germany on Friday for a medical and the Bundesliga giants confirmed on Saturday morning he had signed a deal until June 2027 and will wear the number nine shirt.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said the club had “reluctantly” agreed to the move after Kane, who was in the last 12 months of his contract, made it clear he wanted a fresh challenge.

Kane said in a message to Tottenham fans posted on his social media accounts: “It’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future, but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.”

The 30-year-old told his new club’s website that he hoped to play some part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night as he looks to win the first trophy of his career.

“I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now,” Kane said.

“Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’ve always said that I want to compete and prove myself at the highest level during my career. This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here.

“I feel like it was the right step in my career to really push myself and test myself on the highest level so that’s why I’m here and I look forward to that challenge.”

Shortly before the deal was officially confirmed, Kane posted a message on social media in which he thanked the fans and said he had not wanted to start the season with his future unresolved.

“From the moment I’ve been playing I’ve been one of your own and I’ve given everything that I possibly could to make you proud and give you as many special moments and memories to hopefully last forever,” Kane said.

“This is a message to all you fans around the world, every single Tottenham fan that’s supported me and been with me throughout my journey.

“Me and my family will cherish it forever, we’ll never forget all the moments we’ve had together so thank you.

“I felt like it was the time to leave. I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk.

“I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck.

“I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.”

Postecoglou had revealed on Friday that Kane’s move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.

Kane leaves Tottenham having scored 280 goals to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, but without a trophy.

“I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck,” Kane said.

“I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.”

Bayern had seen their previous bids for Kane turned down, but refused to give up their pursuit of the 30-year-old, who remains 47 goals shy of equalling Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260.

Levy told the club’s website: “We sought over a long period of time to engage Harry and his representatives in several forms of contract extension, both short and long term.

“Harry was clear, however, that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer. We have reluctantly, therefore, agreed to his transfer.

“We have seen a product of our academy system become one of the best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt and become one of world football’s elite strikers. It has been a truly remarkable journey.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists it will take a collective effort to replace the goals of Harry Kane, but has backed the “fantastic” Richarlison to fit in well into his attacking system.

Spurs start a new chapter when they make the trip to Brentford on Sunday with Postecoglou in charge for the first time and the Premier League opener will mark the beginning of the post-Kane era.

Kane has joined Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million with add-ons, which means Tottenham are now without their record goalscorer and a forward who scored 30 of their 70 Premier League goals last season.

Richarlison only scored once for Spurs in the top flight following a £60million move from Everton, but Postecoglou is a big fan of Brazil’s number nine and will count on him alongside the likes of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison to fill the void of talisman Kane.

“Oh, I don’t think there is a like-for-like replacement for Harry mate but yeah in terms of (trying to buy) a striker, again we’ve been planning for this, fair to say, for a while,” Postecoglou said.

“A lot of our business up to now is with that in mind. This doesn’t change things dramatically, from my perspective anyway, in terms of what we’re trying to build.”

On Richarlison, Postecoglou added: “He’s fit. There’s no issues with him. He picked up a slight knock in training and he got through the Barca game really well.

“Richy is a fantastic player and I said before he’s got some really strong attributes that fit in well with the way my team is set up. He’s a hard worker for the team and apart from doing the stuff he needs to in front of goal, there are other aspects of his game.

“He’s represented his country at a World Cup, which is not an insignificant thing and sometimes when things like this happen, opportunity exists and it’s up to somebody to step through that door. That’s Richy or anyone else.

“That’s all you can ask for in football, just to have that opportunity.

“I wouldn’t be expecting one player, and it’s not the way we’ll be set up, to cover the absence of Harry. It’s about the collective and how we can become a really strong offensive force with the players we have.

“We have some really fantastic attacking players and Richy is one of them.”

While Kane scored close to 43 per cent of Spurs’ goals in the Premier League last season, they also had a poor defensive record under Antonio Conte and caretakers Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason, shipping 63 times in 38 fixtures.

Tottenham will hope reinforcements to defence this summer can bring about improvement in that area and Postecoglou has a decision to make over centre-back Micky van de Ven.

The Dutchman joined from Wolfsburg this week and could be handed his debut at Brentford, with Guglielmo Vicario and England international Maddison nailed on to start while Destiny Udogie, who returned to the club this summer after a loan with Udinese, could receive his professional bow for Spurs.

“There is still three or so weeks to go in the transfer window, so I think there will still be movement but not because Harry has gone, that’s always been in the plan,” Postecoglou revealed.

“From my perspective we’re preparing for Brentford and there won’t be any incomings between now and Sunday.

“Micky’s settled in well. He’s had a pre-season with Wolfsburg but he hasn’t played 90 minutes yet so match-conditioning wise he’s probably not at the level, but he’s definitely available for the weekend.”

Bayern Munich have announced the signing of Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane for an initial £100million.

The fee could eventually rise to £120m including add-ons, which would be a record for a British player.

Here, the PA news agency compares the transfer with previous big-money signings.

Most expensive British players

Based on initial transfer fees, Kane is tied at the top of the list of most expensive British players of all-time.

He joins England team-mates and fellow £100m men Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, with Rice having moved from West Ham to Arsenal in July and Grealish leaving Aston Villa for Manchester City in 2021.

Jude Bellingham is fourth, with Real Madrid paying Borussia Dortmund an initial £88.5m for his services in June.

Then comes another ex-Tottenham player in Gareth Bale, who Spurs sold to Madrid for £85.1m back in 2013.

Kane’s move knocks Harry Maguire out of the top five, although his £80m switch from Leicester to Manchester United in 2019 remains a record for a British defender.

Most expensive over-30s

Kane has become the most expensive player from any country aged over 30.

He surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved from Real Madrid to Juventus for £99.2m in 2018 at the age of 33.

The size of the fee is testament to Kane’s form, following a season in which he became the all-time record scorer for both Tottenham and England, with nobody else apart from Ronaldo having come close to commanding a nine-figure bid in their 30s.

Ronaldo’s former Real and Manchester United team-mate Casemiro was 30 when he swapped the Bernabeu for Old Trafford for £60m last summer, while Barcelona paid £54.8m for 30-year-old Miralem Pjanic in 2020 and £38.3m for 33-year-old Robert Lewandowski in 2022.

Highest fees received by British clubs

Tottenham have become the fourth British club to receive a nine-figure sum for an individual player.

Liverpool’s sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January 2018 remains the most expensive in Premier League history, with the Reds having received an initial fee of £105m and a further £37m in add-ons.

Like Spurs, West Ham and Aston Villa received an initial £100m for Rice and Grealish respectively.

Chelsea’s sale of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid – thought to be worth an initial £88.3 million in 2019 – completes the top five.

England captain Harry Kane has completed his move from Tottenham to Bayern Munich.

Kane travelled to Germany on Friday night for a medical and the Bundesliga giants confirmed on Saturday he had signed a deal until June 2027 and will wear the number nine shirt.

“I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now,” Kane said.

“Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I’ve always said that I want to compete and prove myself at the highest level during my career. This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here.”

Shortly before the deal was official confirmed, Kane posted a message on his social media accounts in which he said: “I wanted to be the first to tell you Tottenham fans that I’ll be leaving the club today.

“Obviously a lot of emotions going through me right now; sad to be leaving the club I’ve spent nearly 20 years of my life at, from 11-year-old boy to a 30-year-old man now.

“There’s been so many great moments and special memories, memories that I will cherish forever.

“I felt like it was the time to leave. I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk.

“I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck.

“I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.”

Postecoglou had revealed on Friday that Kane’s move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.

Mary Earps insists there are “so many more levels” for England to reach ahead of their quarter-final meeting with Colombia on Saturday.

After finishing goalless in normal time, the Lionesses progressed to the final eight with a penalty shoot-out win against Nigeria with Chloe Kelly smashing home the decisive spot-kick.

It was a tricky test for Sarina Wiegman’s side, who were reduced to 10 when Lauren James was sent off for a stamp on Michelle Alozie, but Earps believes “the best is yet to come”.

“I think it’s an exciting time to be an England player for sure, but we have to earn that right every day,” the goalkeeper said.

“And I think that we’re constantly looking to improve and drive performance and drive our standards and I think that that’s the best thing about it.

“We’re not sitting here – of course we’re happy that we’re here and grateful that we’re here, but we’re not satisfied, we’re not done, and there’s still more levels we want to go to.

“I really believe the best is yet to come. I think there’s so much talent in the group, and so many more levels we can go, I really do believe that.”

Aside from their 6-1 rout of China, the Lionesses’ tournament has seen them edge some tight games, including two 1-0 victories in the group games.

Excluding the two spot-kicks that went past her in the 4-2 shoot-out victory against Nigeria, Earps has conceded only one goal in England’s four games.

“I think the most important thing to note about that is the fact that we’ve been winning games,” Earps added.

“We’re in a results business, and we’ve earned the right to be in the position we’re in today. But obviously I experience training every day, I know the players personally, and I’ve had the privilege of working with them for some time.

“I can see it just day to day. I just can see the talent in the team. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ve been bad by any means, but I think you have (only) seen glimpses of what we’re capable of.

“We as a team know the standard we want to get to. Our efforts have been 110 per cent and we’ve driven out and we’ve grinded out those results.”

Roberto Firmino scored a hat-trick on his Al Ahli debut as the former Liverpool striker got the much-hyped Saudi Pro League season up and running with dash of star power.

A host of big-name player from Europe’s top clubs, including Premier League stalwarts and Champions League winners, have been attracted to the oil-rich Gulf state in a trolley dash worth almost half a billion US dollars leading up to the 2023/24 campaign.

Firmino arrived as a well-paid free transfer from Anfield and the Brazil forward enjoyed a memorable start as he inspired a 3-1 win for Al Ahli over Al Hazem in Jeddah.

The 31-year-old, who was handed the captain’s armband, netted twice in the first nine minutes as he linked up with fellow imports Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin and rounded off the scoring midway through the second half.

There was an assist apiece for former Manchester City winger Mahrez and Newcastle old boy Saint-Maximin, but not all of Al Ahli’s high-profile acquisitions excelled.

Edouard Mendy, the former Chelsea goalkeeper, was enjoying a quiet evening until he side-footed a clearance straight to opposition forward Vina and found himself chipped from 25 yards as he scrambled back into position.

The error did not cost the home side, who were promoted last season and are one of several sides to have built a star-studded squad with the assistance of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Firmino opened his account with a powerful near-post header in the sixth minute and doubled his tally soon after when Saint-Maximin sprayed a pass wide for Mahrez, who left the striker a close-range tap-in.

He made the match ball his own in the 72nd minute when his headed effort from Saint-Maximin’s curling cross was saved, hooking his leg round to finish on the rebound.

Firmino has been joined in the league by his former Liverpool team-mates Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Sadio Mane, while Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante also take their place among the A-list cast of recruits.

Tottenham’s record goal-scorer Harry Kane has landed in Germany to complete his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kane’s transfer to the Bundesliga champions was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.

Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport.

Kane landed at his soon-to-be new home city on Friday night to complete his medical ahead of a landmark move.

Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen.

“From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry.

“From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway.

“But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry.

“It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes.

“I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.”

Kane faces a race against time to officially sign early enough to feature in Bayern’s DFL-Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night.

However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, England captain Kane could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off, even if the paperwork is not completed in time.

This is not the first summer in which Kane’s future has dominated headlines after Manchester City had a failed pursuit in 2021.

Kane sat out the first match of that season – coincidentally against City – but Pep Guardiola’s side never got close to agreeing a fee with Tottenham for the forward.

With Kane now into the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, speculation over his future this time always felt more significant.

Bayern saw bids reportedly turned down in June and July but made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about Kane’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions.

A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday.

With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team.

But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after Kane took his time to weigh up the decision, he decided it was the right time to end his 19-year stay at Spurs.

It means Kane’s pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal-scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260.

He will leave N17 as the club’s leading marksman after he surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ 266-goal record in February with the winner against Manchester City.

Kane will also get the chance to fulfil his career-long ambition of winning trophies at Bayern, while remaining in the Champions League.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane, but he was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Liepzig.

Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal.

“I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that.

“This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”

Fred is set to leave Manchester United after a deal worth up to 15million euros was struck with Fenerbahce.

The 30-year-old midfielder moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 and has made 213 appearances for the club.

Fred is now heading to Turkey to join Fenerbahce, who have agreed a deal in principle the PA news agency understands is worth an initial 10million euros (£8.6m), rising to a possible 15m euros (£12.9m).

The Brazil international, whose United contract was due to expire next summer, is flying out to Istanbul for a medical on Saturday.

A club statement read: “Manchester United can confirm an agreement in principle has been reached with Fenerbahce for the transfer of Fred.

“The Brazil international is set for a switch to the Turkish Super Lig, subject to a medical, agreeing personal terms and receiving international clearance to process the move.

“The 30-year-old leaves so many positive memories from his time at Old Trafford, where he has been a hugely popular individual, both as a person and as a player.

“Everybody at the club would like to wish the very best of luck to Fred for the future, as we await confirmation that the deal is completed.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 11.

Football

Alan Shearer was prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect his record Premier League goals haul, as Harry Kane neared a move to Bayern Munich from Tottenham.

Former Spurs stars Gary Lineker and Ramon Vega stuck up for Bayern.

Jamie Carragher defended Liverpool’s lavish spending…

…but soon had a, er, change of heart.

JJ Watt was buzzing before Burnley’s Premier League return against Manchester City.

Swansea announced a new signing in a creative way.

Luis Enrique opted for a bird’s eye view.

Andres Iniesta was hard at work with his new club Emirates.

Golf

Sergio Garcia is still loving LIV life.

F1

George Russell met up with Daniel Ricciardo.

Basketball

Dwyane Wade was feeling the love.

Liverpool have agreed a British record transfer fee with Brighton for Moises Caicedo, but the Reds face a battle to land the Ecuadorian amid fierce competition from Chelsea.

Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Friday morning a deal has been struck which could see Liverpool pay in the region of £110million for the midfielder, who has attracted intense interest from Chelsea this summer.

Chelsea’s third and most recent offer for Caicedo was £80m, substantially below Brighton’s valuation of a player who they signed for £4m from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in February 2021.

However, while Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is resigned to losing Caicedo, Chelsea are not yet out of the running and will be mulling over whether to make a fresh bid as it is understood the 21-year-old Ecuador international would prefer a switch to Stamford Bridge.

Klopp wants to reinforce his options in the middle of the park with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho going to the Saudi Pro League last month while Naby Keita and James Milner also recently left the club.

They signed Caicedo’s ex-Brighton team-mate Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig but missed out on Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in June in a deal that could rise to £115m.

“I can confirm the deal with (Brighton) is agreed, whatever that means because we want the player and not any kind of agreement, we will see,” Klopp said.

“We are a club that doesn’t have endless resources, we didn’t expect a couple of things happening in the summer, like Henderson and Fabinho (leaving), stuff like this.

“We didn’t think about that before the summer, to be honest, and then it happened. We gave (attempting to sign Bellingham) a go and the club was really stretched. We will see (what happens with Caicedo).”

As for whether Caicedo will undergo a medical in Merseyside on Friday or if signing the youngster would be Liverpool’s final business of the summer window, Klopp was tight-lipped.

“I’ve said what I know,” he added. “Let’s do it step by step, let’s see what happens in the next hours or days.”

The Caicedo fee is upwards of the previous British record of £107m that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January and dwarfs Liverpool’s own highest transfer payment of £75m for Virgil van Dijk in 2018.

De Zerbi said on Friday: “I would like to answer only one time (on Caicedo). I’ve already forgotten Moises. Moises is leaving and is not important for me now.”

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino was coy when asked about Caicedo but the tug-of-war between the Blues and Liverpool is an intriguing subplot ahead of their showdown on the opening weekend of the Premier League season on Sunday in west London.

“I never talk about players that don’t belong to us,” the Argentinian said. “I am so respectful.

“What I can tell you is we are working really hard to try to add more players to the squad, to add quality. When we have some update to be made for you, the club will do.

“It’s obvious, when you look at the squad compared with last season, too many midfielders leave the squad. We have different options, we are working hard to try, to see.”

Klopp, whose side missed out on Champions League qualification after finishing fifth last season, was reminded of his critical comments on paying nine-figure sums for players six years ago.

After Manchester United signed Paul Pogba for a then-world record £89m, Klopp said: “If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I’m not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together.”

However, Klopp accepted he was mistaken for questioning the wisdom of such fees on Friday and admitted prices for players will only increase with Saudi Arabia muscling in as a rival to Europe’s top leagues.

“Everything changed,” Klopp said. “Do I like it? But did I realise I was wrong? Definitely. That’s the way it goes, it will not go the other way around again, Saudi Arabia will not help with that.

“I’m not blaming anybody, it’s just the market with a lot of money.

“In the end, we as a club have just to try to make sure that with our resources, we get the best possible team together. We really try everything to get the best squad for us.

“We are not in a dreamland so we can’t just point on players and bring them in, there’s a lot of work to do these kinds of things. Sometimes one door closes then the other door opens up.

“If people want to throw my quotes from five or six years ago, absolutely no problem. I realise now I was wrong, it’s easy to admit that.”

Kilmarnock goalkeeper Will Dennis vowed his team would take the initiative on the road as well as at home following their shock win over Rangers.

A Killie starting team featuring seven summer signings opened their cinch Premiership campaign in style with a 1-0 win at Rugby Park last Saturday.

Manager Derek McInnes is looking to improve their away form this season and Killie now have the chance to lay down another marker when they travel to Edinburgh to face Hearts on Sunday.

Dennis said: “We don’t go into games thinking we are just going to sit back and let the better teams take control of us. We go in there with a mentality that we can beat anyone.

“It’s a fortress with the fans we have got, you saw that on Saturday, they turned up in their numbers and boosted us for 90 minutes-plus and got us over the line.

“Going to play a different team doesn’t change the way we want to play, we go in with the same mentality of wanting to win and come away with something.”

Dennis was one of those seven summer signings after moving to Ayrshire on loan from Bournemouth.

The 23-year-old said: “I heard good things. A few lads from Bournemouth have been up here on loan. Zeno Ibsen Rossi was here and I was in digs with him. We used to sit and watch his games on TV.

“So I knew this was a nice family-oriented club and a good place to come. I jumped at the chance.”

Dennis has had an experienced group of goalkeepers to work with at Bournemouth including former Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, former Chelsea player Asmir Begovic and Darren Randolph, once of Motherwell.

“They have been brilliant,” he said. “I learned a lot, especially when I was younger.

“We had Artur Boruc and Asmir, a few of the big names in football as goalies, different types of goalies and you take bits from each individual.

“Aaron Ramsdale is a couple of years older than me but you take parts of his game and just seeing where he is now, it motivates you to push to get to where you think you can, or where you know you can get to in the future.”

Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales is convinced eye-watering Saudi Arabian investment in domestic football will not derail their mission on Tyneside.

The Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund, which owns an 80 per cent stake in the St James’ Park outfit, bought majority holdings in four of the nation’s biggest clubs – Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad – in June, sparking a transfer flurry which has taken some of the game’s biggest names to the Saudi Pro League in return for vast pay packets.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and French counterpart Karim Benzema are among those to have headed for the Middle East, while the Magpies have themselves benefited – to raised eyebrows in some quarters – with Allan Saint-Maximin’s move to Al-Ahli, having unlocked a Financial Fair Play conundrum with what is understood to have been a £30million cash injection.

Asked to explain the difference between that and the more modest approach adopted on Tyneside, where the total transfer spend over the four windows since the new owners took charge currently amounts to around £350million, Eales said: “An investment was made and Financial Fair Play is the regulation, so within those parameters everybody knew what the guard rails are in terms of what you can spend and how you can spend it.

“Our job is to try to now grow Newcastle United to where we want it to be within the regulations which every club has to follow.”

While Newcastle’s spending has been huge in comparison to that under previous owner Mike Ashley, PIF’s investment in the club, which has prompted repeated accusations of sportswashing, has been relatively modest for a sovereign wealth fund worth in the region of £514billion.

However Eales, who admitted the success or otherwise of the Pro League could spark pressure for a change to spending regulations in Europe, insists the owners are not frustrated by their inability to throw money at the Premier League club as they have been able to do at home.

He said: “The reality is they came in and it has been incredible, fighting relegation to finishing 11th, then finishing fourth. We have very shrewd operators in our ownership group.

“We have got a great skill-set and set of people who have experience in various businesses. They understand it is a long-term plan not short-term.”

Summer swoops for Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento had bolstered Eddie Howe’s squad for a campaign in which the club will look to build upon last season’s top-four finish while at the same time renewing their acquaintance with the Champions League after a 20-year absence.

However, the arrivals of Barnes and Livramento were eased by Saint-Maximin’s departure amid questions over a PIF-backed club buying from another within the fund’s sporting portfolio.

However, sporting director Dan Ashworth, who confirmed there was no other formal bid for the Frenchman despite interest elsewhere, insisted the undisclosed fee represented the player’s market value.

Ashworth said: “We are absolutely convinced it is fair market value and without going into the actual price it was, there is plenty evidence of players of similar age, similar position, similar ability, similar CV that are moving for similar amounts outside the Saudi league.”

The trajectory since Amanda Staveley’s consortium took up the reins at St James’ in October 2021 has been inexorably upwards, and the plan is to continue that resurgence both on the pitch and off it, where £10million has been invested in the training ground and a feasibility study commissioned to look into ways in which the 52,000-capacity stadium could be expanded.

Commercial revenue and global supporter engagement are also major focuses for a club which has high hopes for sustained success.

Eales said: “We are trying to build the plane while we are flying it. We won’t always get everything right. For us, it’s about getting Newcastle United rightfully back to where it should be.”

Malky Mackay insists Ross County will give St Johnstone every respect in the Staggies’ first home cinch Premiership game of the season on Saturday.

The Dingwall outfit began their league campaign with a creditable performance against champions Celtic last week but still left Parkhead with a 4-2 defeat, while the Perth side’s opener ended in a 2-0 home loss to Hearts.

Mackay told the club’s official website: “It’s going to be a tough one for us. It has always been good games between the two clubs.

“I know Steven MacLean will have them well organised. I thought they were actually excellent at the weekend against a good Hearts side, very stuffy and didn’t give them too many chances in the game.

“They are a bit like ourselves, they are trying to rebuild and have some new players in the door.

“I am delighted to get the game here, our first home league game after last Saturday’s game at Celtic Park. We are under no illusions, it will be a tough game.”

Mackay is delighted to have added 25-year-old defender Ryan Leak from Salford to his squad earlier in the week.

He said: “Ryan has come in and joined us. We lost two experienced centre-backs this year in Alex Iacovitti and Keith Watson.

“He is someone who played over 30 game for Salford last year, he is left-footed, has good balance and is a big boy as well and is keen to come and join us. So delighted to get him in the door.”