Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has been released following the expiry of his contract, the club has confirmed.

The 28-year-old was signed by former manager Antonio Conte shortly after the team’s last Premier League title triumph in 2017 but had not played for the club since the end of his first season.

He has since spent time on loan at AC Milan – with whom he won the Serie A title in 2022 – Napoli and former club Monaco.

He arrived at Stamford Bridge in a £40million deal after helping Monaco to a surprise Ligue 1 title success, having been part of the team that also featured Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva.

The side managed by Leonardo Jardin knocked out Manchester City in the last-16 of the Champions League en route to a semi-final exit to Juventus.

But the midfielder, who won one cap for France in 2017, failed to live up to the expectation that accompanied his arrival.

His most memorable moment in blue came during the 2018 FA Cup final when he played the full 90 minutes as Conte’s side ran out 1-0 winners against Manchester United to lift the trophy.

Another 12 players to have come through Chelsea’s academy have also left the club according to a list released by the Premier League, including goalkeeper Nathan Baxter who played 12 times in the Championship on loan at Hull last season.

Brighton have announced the signing of German midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud from Borussia Dortmund.

The 27-year-old will join Albion on a four-year contract on July 1 following the expiry of his deal with the Bundesliga club.

Syria-born Dahoud, who was capped twice by Germany in 2020, becomes the Premier League side’s third signing of the summer following deals for Joao Pedro and James Milner.

Seagulls head coach Roberto De Zerbi told his club’s website: “I’m excited to have Mahmoud in my team.

“I wanted him when I was at Sassuolo and I’m sure he is going to be a top player for us.”

Dahoud began his career with Borussia Monchengladbach before moving to Dortmund in 2017.

He went on to make 141 appearances for this season’s Bundesliga runners-up, although his game time was restricted after he had surgery on his shoulder last summer.

Brighton technical director David Weir said: “We’re delighted to bring Mahmoud to the club, his quality and ability will really add to the options available to Roberto.

“He’s a quality player, he’s got lots of experience playing at a high level in Germany with great experience in Europe too.”

Manuel Lanzini will leave West Ham when his contract expires at the end of June.

The Argentinian midfielder joined the Hammers from United Arab Emirates side Al Jazira in the summer of 2015 and has made 226 appearances, scoring 32 goals.

Lanzini’s most memorable moment was his long-range equaliser at Tottenham in 2020 as West Ham came from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw.

The 30-year-old has been linked with a return to Argentina and former club River Plate.

Manager David Moyes told the club website: “Manu is a fantastic professional, a really good lad, and whichever club he joins will have an excellent player on their hands.

“We are sorry to see him go, but he deserves the opportunity to play more regularly elsewhere, and we wish him well in his next adventure.”

Norway manager Stale Solbakken joked that if Jack Grealish could train for England then he has no cause to worry about Erling Haaland’s treble celebrations ahead of Saturday’s clash with Scotland.

Solbakken understood the need for Haaland to revel in his success with Manchester City after last weekend’s Champions League final.

Solbakken has taken it easy with Haaland this week, more concerned with ensuring the striker recharges, and believes a homecoming welcome will lift his star man during the Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo.

City celebrated in Ibiza after their Istanbul success against Inter before continuing the party on a bus parade in Manchester on Monday with Grealish throwing himself wholeheartedly into the fun.

When asked what the Norwegian people made of the scenes ahead of a big international, Solbakken said: “I think everyone understands that and I also think it’s a good idea to do that.

“Because, no matter how good you are, if you say (Pep) Guardiola is the best manager in the world and he has managed to do this treble once in Spain, once time in England, even when he had the best players representing the biggest clubs with the biggest budgets, you could think this would happen more often. But it doesn’t because it’s so, so difficult.

“And I don’t think you can postpone a celebration like that. You can’t say ‘let’s meet up in the summer when these national games are over and we party’. It’s not the same because the excitement is a little bit out of your body and you have to do it then.

“When he came here, he didn’t look like he had gone the Grealish way. If Grealish managed to train for England the first time, he should also manage to do it for us.”

Only one of Haaland’s 53 goals this season has come on the international stage but the 22-year-old has not played for his country since September and Solbakken believes an excited home crowd will help him overcome his heavy schedule.

“The biggest gift in that is the love the crowd will give him because it’s a long time since he has played in Norway and he didn’t participate in the two internationals earlier this year,” the former Wolves and Copenhagen manager said.

“Obviously the Norwegian people have seen him on telly for a long time without seeing him live. I think he has had one game here in a year.

“So that will probably pump him up and give him the five to 10 per cent he probably lacks due to the programme he has been through and all the feelings and emotions he has been through as well.”

Haaland was missed in March as Norway took one point from their opening two Group A games against Spain and Georgia, while Scotland sealed maximum return.

On the game, Solbakken said: “It’s more crucial for us than Scotland of course but no matter what, before the group started, this would always have been a key game.

“But it’s more that Scotland have had a really great start. I think we played two really good games but what messed it up a little bit, even though we only got one point, is that Scotland beat Spain.

“That means it looks much better for us if we can beat you and everyone is beating each other. If we win, also Spain are in trouble, because it’s two teams who can catch them.”

Jarrad Branthwaite has just helped PSV Eindhoven to Champions League qualification and the Dutch Cup, but the defender was just six weeks away from not having a football career.

The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at the Eredivisie club from Everton and excelled, playing 36 times in all competitions and leaving with silverware, which was enough to earn him a call-up for the England Under-21s squad for this summer’s Euro 2023 tournament in Romania and Georgia.

But it could have been so different just four years ago when his boyhood club Carlisle gave him a six-week ultimatum to prove he was worthy of a professional contract.

Branthwaite, whose development was hindered by knee condition Osgood-Schlatter, felt close to giving up but it was his dad Paul who pushed him.

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“When I was at Carlisle at 16, it was a scholarship and they said to me that I had six weeks to prove that I wanted to get a professional contract,” he said.

“I went through a stage where I was like ‘do I really want to do it?’ And he said ‘yeah, come on, you have to do it’. So I think he’s influenced me to get to where I am today.

“I would probably say I was close to giving up. They said they didn’t think I had it in me to get a professional contract so they gave me six weeks.

“My dad Paul gave me a training programme to do and after the six weeks, I got given a contract. The programme was just to work on my fitness and things and strength to give myself the best chance to get that contract.

“It was back at home in the gym and stuff to make sure that if I looked back and had regrets, it would kick me, you know? So it was to make sure I gave my all and even if I didn’t get it, I could say I tried my best.

“I told him thanks for it. It’ll be a proud moment for him if I play for England here at a major tournament.”

His career path has sky rocketed since then and he has become hot property, with a host of top European clubs reported to be interested in signing him this summer.

But he has hinted that a return to Goodison Park could be on the cards as he eyes a Premier League career.

“You’ve got to set your goals. To play in the Premier League continuously is a big thing for every player,” he added.

“When I left Carlisle for Everton, it was my goal to play in the Premier League. I think every kid’s goal is to play in the Premier League. That would be my main ambition. Just to solidify myself in a team in the Premier League at Everton and play as many games as I can.

“It’s just about hard work. You’ve got to keep working hard every day, give yourself the best possible chance and perform on the pitch.

“It’s been a good, successful year for me. I moved abroad to PSV and was just looking to play games and to develop as a player.

“Over the year I’ve done that. I’ve played 36 games overall so it was a good learning curve for me, getting regular game time which is the first time in my career I’ve done that. I really enjoyed my time there. It was a good experience.”

Tottenham have confirmed the departures of Clement Lenglet and Arnaut Danjuma following the conclusion of their loan spells.

France defender Lenglet joined Spurs last summer from Barcelona and made 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring once.

Netherlands forward Danjuma arrived in January from Villarreal but was restricted to just one start in a total of 12 outings.

As previously announced by the Premier League club, Lucas Moura will also depart this summer at the end of his contract.

The Brazilian forward scored 39 goals in 221 Tottenham appearances, including a hat-trick against Ajax which secured a place in the 2019 Champions League final.

“We thank all three players for their service and wish them well for the future,” read a statement on Spurs’ website.

Fulham defender Joe Bryan is one of 10 out-of-contract players set to leave the Premier League club at the end of the month after they announced their retained list on Thursday.

The west-London club published their released and retained list ahead of the 2023/24 season which will see Bryan, Shane Duffy, Paulo Gazzaniga, Steven Sessegnon, Thorsteinn Antonsson, Sonny Hilton, Ziyad Larkeche, Jonathon Page, Murphy Parker and Jean-Pierre Tiehi leave Craven Cottage.

Bryan – who spent the last campaign on loan at Ligue 1 Nice – will leave the club after making 117 appearances which included two promotion campaigns.

Meanwhile, Gazzaniga, who began 2021/22 as Marco Silva’s first-choice goalkeeper, has since impressed following a loan spell at Girona and made the move to Spain permanent last week.

Fulham added that Neeskens Kebano, Willian, Luciano D’Auria-Henry, Stefan Parkes, Devan Tanton had all been offered new deals, while Ibane Bowat, Martial Godo and Jay Williams have had their one-year extension options triggered.

A statement on the club website read: “We would like to thank all of these players and the Academy boys, for their efforts during their time at the club and wish them the very best of luck during their respective next chapters.”

Barry Robson was delighted to secure “brilliant prospect” Leighton Clarkson on a permanent contract after Aberdeen signed the highly-regarded midfielder from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.

The 21-year-old has joined the cinch Premiership club on a four-year contract just weeks after his fruitful season on loan at Pittodrie came to an end.

Clarkson, who had one year left on his Anfield deal, scored six goals and provided nine assists in 38 appearances in the campaign just ended to help the Dons finish third.

Given his impact last term, there was some doubt about whether Aberdeen would be capable of landing the Englishman for the longer term.

But the financial reward coming their way as a result of securing European group-stage football next term has helped give them the leverage to strike a deal that suits both Liverpool and the former England Under-20 international, sparking a wave of excitement among the Dons’ fanbase.

“There is no doubt Leighton had a positive impact during his time with us last season and its hugely encouraging that he has now chosen this club as his home and the best place for his continued development,” manager Robson told the Aberdeen website.

“He is a brilliant prospect and exactly the type of player we want here at the club. He’s young, hungry and technically very good.

“He was much admired for the creativity he brought on the pitch and showed a real affinity with the supporters during his time at Pittodrie last season.

“We are shaping the squad up for playing both in Europe and domestically and will be looking to announce more new faces in the very near future.”

Clarkson is the Dons’ second arrival of the summer following the capture of Nicky Devlin from Livingston.

Aberdeen are on the verge of signing Liverpool midfielder Leighton Clarkson on a permanent contract.

The 21-year-old impressed on loan at the Dons last season, being named young player of the year, and was one of manager Barry Robson’s summer signing priorities.

The PA news agency understands a fee has now been agreed between the two clubs.

Clarkson, who had one year left on his Anfield deal, scored six goals and provided nine assists in 38 appearances as the Dons secured third place in the cinch Premiership and Europa League football.

He would be the second arrival of the summer following the capture of Nicky Devlin from Livingston.

Newcastle United are a "really big team" that deserve success, so says Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Magpies have had a transformative 20 months since they were taken over by a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in late 2021.

Under Eddie Howe's tutelage, Newcastle went from bottom of the Premier League at the start of 2022, to qualifying for the Champions League in under 18 months.

Wijnaldum spent a season with Newcastle in 2015-16 before he moved to Liverpool, and the Netherlands international hopes for the best for his old club.

"Really happy because Newcastle's a really big team," the midfielder told reporters after the Netherlands' Nations League loss to Croatia.

"I think a lot of people underestimate how big the club is and how loyal their supporters are.

"When I was there, I saw how hard they were trying to get results and to finish as high as possible and also the fans, who were standing by the team were amazing.

"So I think they deserve it. How they managed it throughout the years. I think they deserve how it is going right now."

Switching focus to his own future, Wijnaldum – who spent the season on loan at Roma from Paris Saint-Germain, but suffered a tibia fracture at the start of the campaign – conceded he is unsure over his next move.

"I don't know [what will happen]. I think it will be a surprise for everyone and also for me," he said.

"I just see what's going to happen and what options I will get and then you're going to see what's going to happen."

Manchester City’s opening-day reunion with Vincent Kompany and Burnley forms part of a friendly-looking start to the Premier League season for the treble-winners.

The top-flight fixture schedule was released on Thursday morning, with Kompany’s side hosting City on August 11 in the opening match of the 2023-24 season.

While clubs will all play each other twice over the course of the campaign, the ordering of the matches can have a significant impact on their fortunes.

 To help unravel next season’s fixtures, the PA news agency has analysed the entire schedule using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Soft start for City?

Using the aggregated odds to produce a projected league table, City – who top those standings ahead of Liverpool and then Arsenal – play only one of the projected top six in their first seven games.

Their first three games also include a second promoted side, Sheffield United, sandwiching a fixture against Newcastle – tipped to follow up their Champions League qualification by finishing fifth and facing City as part of a tricky first four games on paper.

Fulham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves follow, with only the Hammers projected to finish in the top half.

Those four sides recur in a similarly tame run-in, at least after April 20’s trip to Tottenham, and the festive period has also been kind. Teams are set to play seven games in December and City face Spurs, Aston Villa, Luton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Everton and the Blades.

The one concerning stretch of City’s season comes in March, when successive games against Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal coincide with Champions League commitments.

Coming up

Kompany’s side back up the City clash by travelling to fellow promoted side Luton.

Villa, Spurs and Forest follow before consecutive games loom against Champions League challengers Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea.

Sheffield United open up against Palace and Forest before their own date with City, while Luton travel to Brighton and Chelsea either side of the Burnley clash.

The end-of-season run-in pits the Hatters against exclusively mid-table sides in the projected standings in Brentford, Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Fulham – perhaps preferable to facing teams fighting for their lives at that stage.

Burnley and the Blades meet at Bramall Lane in their 34th game before each facing Forest, Newcastle and Tottenham in their last four – United also take on Everton while Burnley play Manchester United.

Meet the new boss

London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham will go into the season under new management, with Mauricio Pochettino crossing the divide to take over at Stamford Bridge.

While his first assignment is at home to Liverpool, the Blues otherwise have a reasonably appealing start – West Ham follow before successive games against Luton, Forest and Bournemouth.

Spurs, under new boss Ange Postecoglou, open up at Brentford before hosting Manchester United. Bournemouth, Burnley and Sheffield United follow in succession before the Australian’s sternest early test with Arsenal and Liverpool back to back.

He will face a tricky run-in though, with the home derby against the Gunners sandwiched between Manchester City and Liverpool, and Newcastle before that run for good measure. Burnley and the Blades may provide some late respite.

Toney’s timing

City, Chelsea and Spurs have the easiest first six games on paper, with Brentford among the next group in a potentially important boost while star striker Ivan Toney serves a betting ban.

Spurs and Newcastle are the toughest tests as they also face Fulham, Palace, Bournemouth and Everton while adjusting to life without Toney. He will be eligible to return at Tottenham on January 30, just in time to also face City and Liverpool in a run of 11 games, nine of them against projected top-half finishers.

The toughest start on paper belongs to Bournemouth, who face West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, Brentford, Chelsea, Brighton and then Arsenal.

The Cherries are hardly paid back in the run-in, with their final six games against Manchester United, Aston Villa, Brighton, Arsenal, Brentford and Chelsea – Gary O’Neil may have his work cut out to repeat last season’s impressive survival act.

The Premier League fixtures announcement has thrown up some intriguing encounters in the opening round.

Vincent Kompany’s promoted Burnley will host his former club and treble winners Manchester City, while fellow new boys Luton visit Brighton and Chelsea welcome Liverpool.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the most memorable opening-round Premier League fixtures from previous years.

1992: Sheffield United 2 Manchester United 1

This game was not a classic like those below but it did feature the first Premier League goal. Brian Deane scored it, then won it for the hosts from the spot after Mark Hughes had levelled. Fortunes soon changed as Alex Ferguson’s side won the title and the Blades were relegated.

1994: Sheffield Wednesday 3 Tottenham 4

This launched what was meant to be a continental new era for Spurs, with Jurgen Klinsmann leading the line after a move from Monaco. He delivered too, scoring and then performing one of the Premier League’s most memorable celebrations – a dive to live up to his reputation.

1996: Middlesbrough 3 Liverpool 3

It was shirts-over-your-head time at the Riverside as Fabrizio Ravanelli marked his Boro debut with a hat-trick. The White Feather took on Liverpool’s Spice Boys and nearly came out on top but, at the end of the season, Boro went down despite the Italian’s 16 goals.

1996: Wimbledon 0 Manchester United 3

David Beckham’s majestic lob from his own half triggered one of the English game’s most celebrated and high-profile careers. Beckham was a well-established prospect before he caught Neil Sullivan napping – but this goal certainly helped him make a name for himself.

2016: Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4

The hosts took the lead through Theo Walcott, who recovered from seeing a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet to score just 69 seconds later. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side stormed back as Philippe Coutinho (2), Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane put them 4-1 ahead, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers set up an exciting finish to a thrilling game.

2017: Arsenal 4 Leicester 3

The night started perfectly for Arsenal as new signing Alexandre Lacazette marked his league debut with a goal after just 94 seconds, only for Shinji Okazaki to level three minutes later. Jamie Vardy then capitalised on poor defending to twice put the Foxes ahead either side of Danny Welbeck’s equaliser. However Aaron Ramsey levelled, then fellow substitute Olivier Giroud’s 85th-minute goal settled a breathless encounter in Arsenal’s favour.

2017: Watford 3 Liverpool 3

Stefano Okaka gave Watford an eighth-minute lead, with Abdoulaye Doucoure re-establishing their one-goal advantage shortly after Mane equalised. Roberto Firmino levelled from the penalty spot after debutant Mohamed Salah was fouled, with the Egypt international then poking Liverpool ahead – only for Miguel Britos to equalise and give Marco Silva a positive first outing as Watford boss.

2020: Liverpool 4 Leeds 3

Champions Liverpool were given a scare by a fired-up Leeds side playing their first top-flight match in 16 years but ultimately a Salah hat-trick proved decisive. Three times the Reds were pegged back after taking the lead with a Salah penalty, a Virgil van Dijk header and another Salah strike, with equalisers coming from Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich. Salah finally settled the contest with a second spot-kick two minutes from time.

2021: Brentford 2 Arsenal 0

Brentford announced their arrival in the Premier League in style as goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard secured a memorable 2-0 win over Arsenal. The Bees finally came full circle as their last match in the top flight, in May 1947, was a 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal.

2022: Manchester United 1-2 Brighton

Erik ten Hag endured a chastening reminder of the size of the job he had taken on at Manchester United as his first game in charge ended in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford. Starting with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, United were thoroughly outplayed in the first half as two Pascal Gross goals in the space of nine minutes gave the Seagulls a deserved lead. Ten Hag’s men did improve after the break once Ronaldo had come on, but only found the back of the net through an Alexis Mac Allister own goal and were unable to get a leveller.

Manchester City will begin their bid for a record fourth consecutive Premier League title away to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.

The Treble winners will visit Turf Moor to face their former captain’s newly-promoted side on the evening of Friday, August 11 to raise the curtain on the 2023-24 campaign.

It will be the second time Kompany – who won the title on four occasions as City skipper – will have faced his old side as a manager, with City running out 6-0 winners at the Etihad in March’s FA Cup quarter-final.

Premier League debutants Luton will play their first top-flight fixture since 1992 away to Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton on Saturday, August 12, having to wait until the following weekend for their first home game when Kenilworth Road will become the smallest ground to host a fixture in the competition for the visit of Burnley.

The other promoted side Sheffield United kick off their season with a home game against Crystal Palace.

The outstanding fixture of the opening weekend will be at Stamford Bridge where Mauricio Pochettino begins life as Chelsea manager against Liverpool on Sunday, August 13, with both sides looking to bounce back after disappointing campaigns.

Arsenal, following an anticlimactic conclusion to last season’s title challenge, open at home to Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s lunchtime game, with fellow Champions League qualifiers Newcastle hosting Aston Villa that evening and Manchester United beginning against Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday, August 14.

Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Tottenham will be away to Brentford at 2pm on Sunday, Bournemouth open at home to Europa Conference League winners West Ham, and Everton, looking to avoid a third straight relegation scrap, begin at home to Fulham.

The first north London derby of the campaign sees Spurs visit Arsenal on September 23 (with the return on April 27) while Man City travel to the Emirates on October 7 for a meeting of last season’s top two.

October 28 at Old Trafford will bring the first Manchester derby since City matched United’s Treble-winning feat of 1999 (United go to the Etihad on March 2), with the champions hosting Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on November 25.

The first Merseyside derby of the campaign sees Everton go to Anfield on October 21, while Pochettino will take his new side to face his old one when Chelsea visit Tottenham on November 4.

Mikel Arteta is unlikely to be impressed with Arsenal’s schedule, with the club’s first two Champions League fixtures in six years coming immediately ahead of games against Tottenham and City.

Pochettino will receive an early test of his Chelsea rebuild when the Blues face Tottenham, Man City and Newcastle in consecutive games in November.

Luton have been handed a seemingly kind start to life in the Premier League, their only meeting with any of the ‘big six’ in their first seven games coming away at Chelsea on August 26.

The final weekend sees all three promoted sides play at home, with Burnley welcoming Forest, Sheffield United hosting Spurs and Luton playing Fulham.

Marcus Rashford could not bring himself to watch Manchester City lift the Champions League – but the Manchester United star says club rivalries are left at the door with England thanks to the group’s “strong bond”.

Erik ten Hag’s arrival sparked a marked improvement in the red half of Manchester this season, with February’s Carabao Cup triumph followed up by a third-placed finish in the Premier League.

But City stopped United ending their campaign on a high at Wembley by winning the first all-Manchester FA Cup final as they stayed on track to replicate their rivals’ historic 1999 treble triumph.

Pep Guardiola’s men did just that by beating Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final – a match Rashford watched on TV, although there was only so much he could stomach.

Put to the forward that Trent Alexander-Arnold turned off the TV when United won the FA Cup as he could not bear to watch Liverpool’s rivals lift silverware, Rashford said: “It’s exactly the same.

“I like watching football, I like watching the best games so that’s what I did.

“But after they win the game, I don’t need to watch them celebrating and all that stuff, so yeah, TV off!”

City’s treble understandably sticks in the craw but there appears little chance of club rivalries impacting England like they did with previous generations.

“It is going to be funny,” Rashford said of the conversations he was expecting with the quintet on international duty.

“But, like I said, it’s congratulations to them and, for me, they deserved it, they played the best football this year.

“There’s not much more to say about it, really. The talking’s done on the pitch and they did really well this year.”

Asked if it is a strength of the England squad to go from bantering about club matters to playing well together, Rashford said: “Yeah, I think definitely that’s a part of it.

“But there’s a strong bond in this squad and there has been regardless of which players come in and that’s down to the environment.

“There’s not much more I can put it down to, so we’re looking forward to having them back here.

“They’re obviously all really good players and we need them if we want our squad to be as strong as possible.”

While club allegiances will not put a spoke in England’s wheel, Rashford does not hide from questions about United’s place in the pecking order.

For so long the dominant force in English football, the 20-time league champions are now playing second fiddle in their own city.

On the desire to be top dogs once more, Rashford said: “I think that was always the aim regardless of their success this year or the previous years.

“Let’s be honest, it’s not anything new – the only thing that’s new is that they managed to win all three.

“They are a very good team and it’s not just us that are trying to catch up to them, it’s pretty much every team as well.

“Is it a challenge? Yeah, but we can’t shy away from it. We have to face it and do our best next season.”

Rashford says United’s players and staff spoke in the dressing room after the FA Cup final about the need to kick on again as the 2023-24 campaign quickly comes into focus.

There are only 23 days between Rashford, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw playing in England’s final June qualifier against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday and United playing their first pre-season match.

It is a far cry from the full summer of preparation Rashford enjoyed last year, which provided a platform for him to bounce back from the most challenging campaign of his career.

The rejuvenated 25-year-old went onto score a career best 30 goals in all competitions under Ten Hag, who the United forward credits for changing the mindset of the group and helping him find his fire again.

“He came in and he wanted to win,” Rashford said. “I feel like at times we have lacked that ambition, as I’ve said before.

“He wasn’t caring about getting into the top four, doing any of that – he just wanted to win trophies and when you strive for the best sometimes you are going to fall short as we did in areas this season.

“But you have to look at the outcome. We managed to win a trophy and get back into the Champions League spots, get to another final and it’s definitely a progression from the previous year, or couple of years before.

“He just managed to motivate me and just relight the flame that was missing.”

Ten Hag’s United have put things in place to close the gap to City next season, but the interminable takeover saga continues to provide a dark, uncertain cloud over the Old Trafford giants.

Asked if it is easy to block out the constant noise about it, Rashford said: “For me, yeah, because I am here with the national team, like I don’t want to be worrying about what’s going on in Manchester and stuff like that.

“For me, it’s just the importance on these next two games and getting the job done while also doing it as well as we can.”

Callum Wilson revealed being dropped by both Newcastle and England fuelled his determination to fight back.

The striker’s post-World Cup slump saw him confined to the bench at Newcastle as he scored just once in 13 appearances.

It also saw him left out of the opening Euro 2024 qualifying wins over Ukraine and Italy in March.

However, Wilson is back to face Malta on Friday before Monday’s visit of North Macedonia to Old Trafford after scoring 11 goals across his final 12 games for Newcastle to fire them to fourth place in the Premier League.

He said: “I was finding myself on the bench and was used to playing week in, week out. All of a sudden, I was watching from the sidelines and coming on for 10 minutes at the end of the game.

“I didn’t like that. You want to play. You work hard all week and then on a matchday it is where you want to perform and score goals. I wasn’t getting to do that and knew I had to make sure I was working even harder to get back into the team.

“It was a weird one, playing a World Cup in the winter. Club and country is totally different as well. At the club you are playing regularly: week in, week out.

“Here, it is a bit more difficult to get game time and you have to bide your time, be professional and make sure you are doing everything you can on the training field.

“So to then go back into club football was exciting, really, as I had been away from it for so long and I was thinking I am going to start playing again a little bit more, especially as I was feeling so sharp as I was at the World Cup.

“I tried to use it in a positive way but yes, mentally, you do have to reset because you go on a drought of scoring goals.

“We went to Dubai for a mid-season training camp and we had five days there when we didn’t play football.

“We got to sit back and think, ‘yes it has been a fantastic start to the season but it has turned into a bad season’ when I was out of the team so I had to basically pull my finger out and start scoring goals again.”

The Magpies’ return to the Champions League after 20 years capped a successful season but it only sunk in for Wilson after he went to Sam Fender’s gig at St James’ Park on Sunday.

He said: “I went to the concert with my wife at St James’ Park. There was a sea of black and white and, before he came out, he actually played the Champions League song and everyone was cheering and I was like, ‘this is absolutely real’.

“I could see how much it meant to everybody in the stadium at that time. Hearing the anthem in the stadium, without actually walking out to play, was surreal. This is going to happen next season and I cannot wait to get started.”

Along with his love of music, Wilson is also a keen art collector as he looks to build his portfolio.

“I’m trying to add slowly at the right time. Banksy, Daimen Hirst, Tracey Emin, a few little pieces. Mr Doodle, I’ve got that one piece,” said the 31-year-old.

“Art is art, isn’t it? It’s down to everyone’s personal preference. Me personally, I took a shine to it, in terms of investment side of things and then you actually start to get into it, ‘I’ll put that on the wall’.

“I want to get something that’s got a bit of value and means something and try and find the right pieces at the right time.”