Mauricio Pochettino’s first match as Chelsea manager ended in a breathless, hard-fought home draw with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Both sides attempted to kick off the new season with a bang after disappointing campaigns, with the Blues particularly bruised having finished 12th at the end of a humiliating season.

Former Tottenham favourite Pochettino has been tasked with turning Chelsea around and oversaw a promising performance in their Premier League opener, with debutant Axel Disasi cancelling out Luis Diaz’s effort in a 1-1 draw.

The sides also saw one goal apiece ruled out for offside in a helter-skelter encounter that showed how much both would benefit from a midfielder like Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia.

Chelsea and Liverpool will renew their transfer battle for a number six after Sunday’s action-packed clash in the Stamford Bridge sunshine.

Mohamed Salah saw an early effort rattle the crossbar before expertly slipping in Diaz to score a goal that the Egypt star then coolly added to, only for it to be ruled out on VAR review.

Chelsea made the most of that let-off. Disasi levelled from a looping header by Ben Chilwell, who soon rounded Alisson to score only for the VAR to rule him offside as well.

The teams played out an entertaining second half without a winner and Salah looked irked to have been taken off as Liverpool hunted a second.

Chelsea ended strongly but made an uneasy start to Sunday’s game. Carney Chukwuemeka was booked in the fourth minute for a high foot and Diogo Jota mishit poorly after good work by debutant Dominik Szoboszlai.

Liverpool played with more edge than the new-look hosts, with Salah recovering a poor Cody Gakpo pass, turning and continuing to curl a 20-yard right-footed effort off the crossbar.

The former Chelsea player started the afternoon with the bit between his teeth and produced a moment of magic in the 18th minute.

Salah collected the ball on the right, ran at homegrown debutant Levi Colwill and fizzed an exquisite left-footed pass through for Diaz to slide home.

Liverpool’s travelling hordes – who had been subject of unsavoury chants from some Chelsea fans – celebrated wildly.

The west Londoners pushed for a leveller, but their defence continued to look susceptible.

Thiago Silva produced a key block to deny Salah and soon afterwards Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant pass put the forward through to coolly dink over new Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

It looked like a potentially decisive goal, only for the VAR’s intervention to give Chelsea renewed hope. Salah had strayed marginally offside and Pochettino’s Blues quickly capitalised.

Alexander-Arnold sent a threatening Raheem Sterling cross aimed for Nicolas Jackson behind his own goal and Liverpool failed to deal with the resulting corner.

Chilwell kept his cool as Chelsea kept the pressure on, looping a header over for Disasi to stretch and turn past Alisson, sparking 37th-minute celebrations.

Within two minutes the volume went up several more notches. Enzo Fernandez‘s nudged pass put Chilwell through to round Alisson and turn home what Chelsea thought was their second, only for the VAR to step in for offside once again.

Salah and Jackson had further shots as a frantic first half ended 1-1, with play continuing in similar fashion when play resumed.

There was an audible gasp when new Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk whistled just wide from the edge of the box, before Diaz’s weak headed attempt hit Jackson’s hand and went behind. He survived a VAR check for a penalty.

Chelsea had chances at the other end. Chilwell forced Sanchez into a save, skipper Reece James sent a speculative free-kick over and Jackson raced through to get a shot on Alisson’s goal.

Jurgen Klopp rang the changes in search of a winner and Salah looked unhappy to be withdrawn, ripping the strapping off his wrist as he angrily walked off the pitch.

Debutant Sanchez nearly gifted Liverpool a late winner, with his poor pass cut out by Alexis Mac Allister, but Darwin Nunez was unable to capitalise.

The substitute striker saw a curling effort from distance defect narrowly wide in stoppage time, with Chelsea then going close on the counter.

Mykhailo Mudryk went around Alisson following Jackson’s lung-busting run, but Ian Maatsen got crowded out from the cutback.

Thomas Frank embraced Brentford “again making history” after their Premier League opener at home to Tottenham was delayed due to a sanitation issue inside the stadium.

A six-minute delay occurred to the scheduled 2pm kick-off following an issue with the water supply at the Brentford Community Stadium.

It meant toilets could not be used and while the problem remained until half-time, Frank laughed off the Bees providing another Premier League first after a drone saw a clash with Wolves delayed at the start of 2022.

Frank said: “I actually don’t know (if anyone had a shower yet), but it is the most crazy reason for delaying a Premier League game I ever heard.

“I know we normally hit the headlines for a lot of good things. Probably is not the worst thing to hit the headlines with, but yeah quite crazy.

“It reminded me a little bit about the drone game two years ago against Wolves. Probably also the first time in the Premier League wasn’t it? Again, making history. First time drone and second time no water.”

A Brentford statement at the time said: “Please be aware that we are currently dealing with an issue in relation to the water supply into the stadium which is affecting all related facilities.”

Meanwhile, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou laughed off the fact his Premier League bow was momentarily delayed.

Postecoglou added: “Twenty-seven years of managing mate and that’s the beauty of it, there’s always something new. So just another little line in my autobiography.”

Ange Postecoglou promised Tottenham would improve and praised the resilience of his squad for not allowing Harry Kane’s departure to distract them after they battled to a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford.

Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London.

Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes before quick-fire efforts from Bees forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this season opener, but James Maddison – wearing the 10 shirt in Kane’s absence – set up Emerson Royal to level matters on the stroke of half-time.

It stayed 2-2 despite the visitors having 69 per cent possession and 18 shots, which pleased Postecoglou to an extent but the Australian was also aware they must get better in the final third, especially following the £100million sale of their record goal-scorer.

“Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou reflected when asked if he had discussed Kane’s departure with the squad.

“I haven’t needed to address it, I haven’t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for and they knew that.

“I think that was the important thing for us. If it felt like we were distracted, I was distracted or anyone else, I think you would have seen evidence of it today, particularly after that first half and the way it went.

“We showed a real resilience that we’re going to need because it’s going to be a challenging year for sure.

“It was a good starting point for us today, but we need to improve and we have to improve and we will.

“I think that 2-1 down, having conceded a penalty and an own goal, it would have been very easy for us to drop our heads but I never sensed that in the group.”

After Romero had combined with fellow vice-captain Maddison to open the scoring, he was forced off following an earlier clash of heads with Mbeumo.

The Argentina international wanted to stay on, but Postecoglou had no doubt over the substitution, although was critical over how a pedantic minor error by Spurs’ backroom staff penalised them when it came to further substitutes.

Postecoglou added: “They were pretty sure we needed – for his own benefit – to get him off and obviously what we know about head injuries, for me it is not even an issue. We will always err on the side of caution.

“Disappointed that we apparently filled out the wrong slip and it was not a concussion sub.

“In this day and age, where what we know about head injuries, if we are going to worry about what form we fill out, I thought it was pretty clear what happened – but hopefully he’ll be OK.”

Despite no longer having Kane to call on and with other experienced members of the squad in Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier not involved, Postecoglou was happy to give the away fans reasons for optimism.

“I thought our supporters were outstanding today,” he said.

“It is fair to say we have put them through a fair bit this pre-season and all we can try and do is give them some hope and belief.

“Hopefully they leave the ground, maybe disappointed we weren’t able to get the win, but at least seeing the players are fully committed to us trying to be a football team that makes an impact.”

While a lot of the pre-match focus centred on Tottenham being without Kane, Brentford are missing last season’s top goal-scorer Ivan Toney until January due to his ban for repeated betting breaches.

Bees boss Thomas Frank maintained there was no need for them to sign a new forward and was pleased to be validated in their opening fixture with Mbeumo and Wissa on target.

He said: “There have been quite a few questions from you guys at the end of last season and the start of this about ‘will we buy a striker?’ And I’ve said no, no, no, no and no because we believe the forward players we have will provide enough goals.

“Bryan and Wissa showed it last season and I am so glad they showed it again today.

“Do I want Ivan in the team? Yes, but I know he is not there before January so I am not focused too much on that, only on the players we have now.”

William Saliba was delighted to make a successful return to Premier League action in Arsenal’s win over Nottingham Forest.

The France defender missed the closing weeks of last season with a back injury and his absence was felt as Arsenal slipped from the top of the table to finish five points behind champions Manchester City.

Up until his injury, the Gunners had been settled at the summit and Saliba had formed a formidable defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes.

Saliba returned to the team for the 2-1 win over Forest, providing the assist for Bukayo Saka’s stunning strike after Eddie Nketiah’s deflected effort had broken the deadlock.

“I’m really, really happy,” he said of his competitive return.

“I’m not 100 per cent at the moment, but I give everything to come back, because it’s been a long time. I didn’t play as I was injured, and I’m so happy to be with the team. The team and the staff helped me to get better and get back to my best.

“It’s always better (to play at home). You don’t feel pressure, you don’t feel any pain, it’s good.”

Arsenal had looked in control against the visitors until substitute Taiwo Awoniyi pulled a goal back with eight minutes remaining to give the visitors hope of wrestling back an unlikely point.

Ultimately, the hosts hung on and Saliba was pleased to start the campaign with a victory.

“It was really good to start the season with a win,” he added.

“It’s never easy to win the first game in the league, and we have done a good game. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal in the last 10 minutes, but it’s okay, we learn and will improve for the next game.”

Forest are aiming to add to their squad before the transfer deadline, having handed debuts to Ola Aina, Anthony Elanga and Matt Turner. The latter was pleased to make his bow against Arsenal, whom he left for the City Ground earlier last week.

“Debut and Prem debut. A dream was finally realised yesterday,” he said on Instagram.

“Thank you to the Forest fans who made the trip! See you at the City Ground on Friday.

“Also just wanted to say thanks for the warm welcome back to the Emirates, it was truly a special day for me and my family.”

James Maddison provided two assists to help fill the creative void left by Harry Kane’s departure, but Tottenham could only start the Ange Postecoglou era with a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford.

Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London.

New vice-captain Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes, but quick-fire efforts from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this Premier League opener for the Bees.

Emerson Royal was able to level on the stroke of half-time after another assist by Maddison, who was wearing the number 10 shirt, and despite both teams fashioning further chances in the second half, the spoils were shared.

It had been a whirlwind period for everyone involved at Tottenham with Kane beginning his journey to Germany on Friday and making his debut for Bayern on Saturday night. By that point, his former club had moved on.

Son Heung-min was confirmed as Spurs’ new captain, with Hugo Lloris still expected to depart before September 1, and Postecoglou handed out several debuts during his own Premier League bow.

A slight delay occurred to kick-off at Brentford due to a sanitation issue inside the stadium, but it took only 11 minutes for Tottenham to score the first goal of this new era.

Maddison curled in a free-kick for fellow vice-captain Romero to head home but that would prove the World Cup winner’s last involvement.

Romero had clashed heads with Mbeumo after five minutes and despite insisting he could carry on, Davinson Sanchez was introduced.

Brentford started to grow into proceedings and Tottenham’s new number one Guglielmo Vicario saved well from Mbeumo before Son started his captaincy duties with a low point.

The Spurs forward caught Mathias Jensen inside the area and – while it looked innocuous at first glance – VAR told referee Robert Jones to review the incident with the pitchside monitor and he pointed to the penalty spot.

With Brentford without the banned Ivan Toney due to repeated betting breaches, Mbeumo took on the spot-kick responsibility and slotted the ball home after 26 minutes in a similar fashion to his fellow strike partner.

Nine minutes later, Thomas Frank’s side were ahead when Rico Henry got in behind Emerson too easily on the right and cut back, where Wissa’s shot was deflected beyond Vicario by fellow debutant Micky Van De Ven.

A booking for Oliver Skipp on the stroke of half-time made it five yellows handed out to the visitors, which included coach Ryan Mason and those minor delays contributed towards 11 minutes being added on at the end of the first half.

It proved enough time for Tottenham to go in level after Emerson rifled home from 22 yards following Maddison’s pass to continue his resurgence after he was booed onto the pitch against Aston Villa at the start of 2023.

Brentford substitute Mikkel Damsgaard should have made it 3-2 after 58 minutes, but he scuffed his effort straight at Vicario from 12 yards after the Italian had punched away Vitaly Janelt’s cross.

Spurs improved afterwards with Son testing Mark Flekken, who produced a strong display after replacing Arsenal-bound David Raya.

Flekken was equal to Richarlison’s 64th-minute effort when Maddison had slipped through the Brazil forward before a host of changes were made by both managers.

Van De Ven breathed a sigh of relief after VAR decided to not intervene when he caught Bees substitute Kevin Schade inside the area with 12 minutes left.

And it proved the final noteworthy moment of an entertaining opener, which showed both sides there was life without talismans Kane and Toney.

Manchester United midfielder Fred has completed his transfer to Fenerbahce.

United announced a deal had been agreed between the two clubs on Friday and the Brazil international travelled to Turkey on Saturday for a medical and to discuss terms.

Both happened without an issue, so Fred heads to Istanbul in a move worth an initial 10million euros (£8.6m) rising to a possible 15m euros (£12.9m).

The 30-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 and had made 213 appearances for the club, had already said his goodbyes on social media.

He said on Saturday: “Thanks for everything, Manchester United Football Club.

“Today ends one of the most beautiful stages of my career. I lived the dream of wearing the shirt of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“Going through ups and downs, I leave with the conviction that I always gave my best during all training sessions and games.

“It was five years of a true dream for me and my family. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. Forever a Red!”

Everton manager Sean Dyche is confident the goalscoring problem which has affected the team for a year will be solved soon.

Despite creating 19 chances against Fulham, the Toffees slipped to an opening game defeat at home – where the top-flight’s lowest scorers lost a record 10 league matches last season.

Central to the issue is the continuing unavailability of injury-plagued Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose lack of minutes in pre-season means he is still possibly a couple of weeks short of being ready.

However, the arrivals of on-loan Arnaut Danjuma – who made his debut as a late substitute – and young Sporting striker Youssef Chermiti, watching from the stands, will hopefully help to ease the burden as current deputy Neal Maupay wasted a host of chances as he extended his woeful record to one goal in 30 appearances for the club.

“Dominic will get some football this week, amongst others,” said Dyche, who is still looking for reinforcements but knows he must get more out of the limited resources he has.

“He is at the end of his rehab period, so, in the next week or two, we’re going to be stronger, just by our own group and let’s see if we can get something in to help us as well.

“Arnie (Danjuma) is getting fit, properly fit – he knows he’s a bit behind the curve.

“I am confident we have to rely (on players) within the squad because this is what we are at the moment. If we can affect it, we will do.”

Everton had only 41 percent possession but made the most of it and with better finishing could have had the game won by half-time.

While the outcome was disappointing, the manner of the performance was more encouraging than the majority of the relegation scraps they had when Dyche took over in January and guided them to safety on the final day.

“Some of the breakaways, some of the moments, some of the quality of chances were excellent,” the Toffees boss added.

“One of our analysts said about xG, which I’m not that big a believer in but it’s still a reference point, was around three, which is high in the Premier League.

“Inevitably, it’s only a measure but we’ve got to look at where we were and where we are now – and that, I thought, was a big shift.

“Now we’ve got to find those moments to go and score goals.

“But there’s a real strong sign there today, a strong sign of a good outfit there that is creating lots of chances and a lot of good things, so we’ve got to maintain the belief in that.”

Fulham were fortunate to leave Goodison Park with a third successive win and boss Marco Silva admits there is plenty of improvements to be made.

“We need more time to work, our pre-season was not at the level that it should be so we missed a bit of energy,” he said.

“But we were able to win a football match and that shows we have the quality to work.”

Nicolas Jackson is ready to hit the ground running at Chelsea after swapping LaLiga for the Premier League, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The pressure on the 22-year-old striker, who joined from Villarreal for £31million in June, to adapt quickly to English football has been increased by injury to fellow new signing Christopher Nkunku, who is now unlikely to play for the club before December.

The pair impressed in attack for Pochettino’s new-look side during the tour of the United States, raising hopes that the team’s struggles in front of goal last season had been fixed.

But injury to Nkunku – together with the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Fofana (on loan), unavailability of Armando Broja and a failure to resolve the future of Romelu Lukaku – has left Jackson as Pochettino’s only available striker for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Liverpool.

The manager though said he had seen enough from the player, who netted 13 times in 48 games for Villarreal last season, to be encouraged that he is ready to take on the mantle of a Premier League goal-scorer.

“He’s a young player but he has the quality to be here and score goals,” said Pochettino. “We’re enjoying the way we are working, he’s working really hard, the quality is there. You can see (from) some games (he has played), he has the quality.

“LaLiga is completely different the Premier League. It was good to play the Premier League Summer Series in America to test the Premier League, that was really good for us.

“I have no doubt he’s going to score goals and the adaptation is going to be good because it’s not only his quality, it’s also his character. He has great character, his personality is strong. I’m sure he’s going to be good here.

“He’s so strong, he isn’t scared of (anything), he’s so brave, and you can see the quality in his feet. (He has) quality also in his physicality – he’s fast and he’s strong.”

Pochettino’s tenures at his previous two English clubs – Tottenham and Southampton – were characterised by the tight bond that he and long-time assistant Jesus Perez were able to forge with players and staff.

The relationship between Pochettino and Perez has been in evidence since the pair arrived at Stamford Bridge, with the assistant often joining his manager at media briefings and sharing in jokes with with the Argentinian, with whom he first worked more than a decade ago at Espanyol.

And Pochettino believes that, despite the turmoil that engulfed Chelsea last season, the building blocks are being put in place for that same spirit and togetherness to spread through the club this campaign.

“I believe it’s possible, yes of course,” he said. “We (Pochettino and Perez) need to show how we are and the players need to trust. For sure I think with time you can create very good bonds between the players and us.

“We are so happy in the way that we have progressed. It’s little steps but they are very important. You cannot make a big jump, you need to create this basis and structure and little steps from the beginning that is going to help after to evolve and develop what you want.

“Every (Premier League) season is stronger and stronger. It’s improving and always more difficult. But that’s good, because the challenge every season is bigger.”

James Maddison has promised to fill the creative void at Tottenham after he admitted to a sense of inevitability about joining the club.

The England international completed a £40million move to Spurs from Leicester in June and will make his debut in Sunday’s Premier League opener away to Brentford.

It will mark the start of a new era for Tottenham with a huge sense of mixed emotions amongst the fanbase after Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich was finalised on Saturday.

While Kane’s departure is a bitter pill to swallow, there remains optimism about the attacking brand of football new manager Ange Postecoglou will try to implement and excitement around signings like Maddison.

Speaking at a TNT Sports event last week before Kane’s departure, Maddison said: “When I was speaking to my agent about moving clubs and you come to a place where you need to make decisions, where you want to go and what you think fits best, I could actually see myself playing for Spurs.

“There’s a little window for me at Tottenham Hotspur, a creative player that they’ve always had, maybe not had in recent years.

“I could definitely see myself, when making the decision, playing for Tottenham, in that kit, in that stadium and being the creative player I know I can be.

“I’ve always had a strong self belief and I’ll always back myself and my own ability to succeed. It hasn’t failed me so far so I will continue to have that mindset and attitude. I just saw myself playing at Tottenham.”

Maddison, 27, had been tracked by Spurs since he was a teenager at Coventry and following spells with Norwich and Leicester, he will finally wear the white of Tottenham.

He appears the natural heir to Christian Eriksen, who wore the crown as the team’s chief creator until his departure in 2020.

Kane has carried the creative burden alongside his goalscoring exploits in recent seasons under the pragmatic football of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but his exit on the eve of the season will further put the onus on Maddison.

“There was interest that never really fully materialised for whatever reason,” Maddison reflected on Spurs’ past interest.

“When I spoke to the chairman (Daniel Levy), he shared with me that he was a fan of mine and had followed my career for a while. That was obviously nice to hear.

“Sometimes things don’t always work out and you can’t just like a player and get them, it doesn’t always work like that. It is a little bit more complicated than that, but it was nice to hear and that there had been interest.

“You do see sometimes hear rumours and paper talk and stuff, but when it did materialise and I ended up speaking to the manager and chairman, it was a thing I was flattered by and I’m really happy to be at Tottenham.”

If Maddison buys into the notion that he fits in at Spurs, he has a similar opinion of new boss Postecoglou, who made the former Leicester playmaker one of his vice-captains on Saturday.

Postecoglou will make his Premier League bow at Brentford and while his name does not carry the same weight that Mourinho and Conte did, there seems no doubt fans will quickly get on board if his bold, attacking style can translate into results.

Maddison added: “I think that’s why he’s at Tottenham as well because of how he likes to play.

“It kind of suits Tottenham and maybe what they lacked a little bit with managers of recent times. The club has obviously had some big name managers and the type of football I imagine Spurs fans want to see has been a little bit lacking.

“But the quality is there to be an attacking team. The players are there to do it and the manager made no hesitation on the way he wants to play.”

Harry Kane made his debut for Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup, but missed out on his first trophy as Leipzig won 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.

The England captain stepped off the bench as a 63rd-minute replacement for Mathys Tel but made little impact, with DFB-Pokal holders Leipzig running out convincing winners thanks to Dani Olmo’s hat-trick.

Kane, who wore the number nine shirt after training with his new team-mates for the first time on Saturday morning, has yet to win any silverware in his 14-year senior playing career.

Kane, who has signed a deal until June 2027 after Tottenham agreed an £86.4million deal plus add-ons with the German champions, was given a rapturous reception by the Bayern fans after stepping out of the dug-out.

The striker had earlier taken to social media to announce his departure from Spurs, which chairman Daniel Levy said the club “reluctantly” agreed to as Kane, who had entered into the last 12 months of his contract in north London, had made it clear he was seeking a fresh challenge.

Kane said: “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.”

He told his new club’s website: “I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now.

“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.

Kane leaves Tottenham as the club’s all-time leading scorer with 280 goals but without a trophy.

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.”

Kane’s strike partner at Spurs, Son Heung-min, paid tribute to his departing colleague in a post on Instagram and was later confirmed by the club to have been appointed as their new captain.

Son, who holds the Premier League record for goal combinations with Kane, wrote: “Leader, brother, legend.

“Since day one it has been a joy to play by your side. So many memories, amazing games and incredible goals together.

“Harry, thank you for everything you have given to me, to our club, and to our fans. Wish you nothing but the best in your new chapter. Good luck brother.”

Tottenham said of Son’s appointment as skipper on their website: “Heung-Min Son has been named club captain.

“Sonny, 31, takes over the captain’s armband from Hugo Lloris, who first captained the team in 2014-15 and was named skipper for the start of 2015-16 – Sonny’s first season at Spurs.

“James Maddison and Cristian Romero have been appointed vice-captains.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed he signed £52million midfielder Sandro Tonali after he “fell in love” watching his play for AC Milan last season.

The 23-year-old Italy international made a stunning Premier League debut in the Magpies’ 5-1 rout of Aston Villa on Saturday evening, announcing himself in English football in style with the opening goal and a commanding engine room display.

Asked if Tonali had exceeded his expectations, head coach Howe said: “I don’t know. I wouldn’t say so because that would be disrespectful to his ability.

“We pursued him for a long, long time, paid a big fee for him because I fell in love watching him play the game last year.

“He’s an outstanding talent. He can do a little bit of everything. Very similar to our other midfielders, he’s got a combination of a lot of attributes that I think will suit the Premier League.

“This is one game. I don’t want to go over the top and put more pressure on him, but it’s a really good start and I’m just pleased that he looked confident in the shirt, and the fans have certainly taken to him. That’s a great thing to see.”

Tonali set the ball rolling with the opener just six minutes into his first competitive appearance in a black and white shirt only for equally impressive Villa debutant Moussa Diaby to level in short order.

However, Alexander Isak struck either side of half-time to put the home side in control and late goals from substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes rounded off a thrilling performance.

The romp left Newcastle top of the fledgling table, although Howe admitted that was of little significance to him.

He said: “It’s nice, but it’s not important at this stage for me. The most important thing today was our performance, our attitude to the game, how we tried to deliver what we asked the players to do.

“There’s a long season ahead and we know we come back to earth quickly because we have Manchester City away next week and that’s going to be a huge challenge, so my mind is already turning to that.”

Villa’s disappointment at the way the game unravelled was compounded by what looked like a serious injury to England defender Tyrone Mings which saw him carried from the field on a stretcher before the break.

Head coach Unai Emery said: “We don’t know what’s happened with this injury, but it doesn’t look good. Tomorrow we will scan him and hopefully it is not important. We have to wait for the scan, but it doesn’t look good.”

Howe, who saw Mings suffer an anterior cruciate ligament in 2015 shortly after he had signed him for Bournemouth, said: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience.

“We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.”

Asked if he had been shocked by his team’s performance, Emery said: “At the end, 5-1 is a little bit more than we deserved.

“They [Newcastle] deserved to win, but not like that and that with the impact of injuries this week is very, very tough. We have lost two very, very important players for today in the match and for the next weeks.”

Sandro Tonali paid off the first instalment of his £52million transfer fee as he marked a fine debut with his first goal and inspired Newcastle to a 5-1 drubbing of Aston Villa.

The 23-year-old Italy international opened the scoring just six minutes into his first competitive appearance for the Magpies and had a hand in two more of their goals as Alexander Isak helped himself to a double and substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes struck late on after Moussa Diaby, also making his bow in England’s top flight, had levelled.

However, a hugely entertaining game win was overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to Villa’s England defender Tyrone Mings, who was carried from the pitch on a stretcher to warm applause from a crowd of 52,207 at St James Park after going down following a clash with Isak.

Neither Tonali nor Diaby wasted any time in making a significant impact for their new employers.

Less than six minutes had elapsed when the Italian timed his arrival into the six-yard box perfectly to volley home Anthony Gordon’s cross after Emiliano Martinez had parried Bruno Guimaraes strike, and he might have doubled his tally two minutes later but for the goalkeeper’s block.

However, Newcastle’s advantage lasted only fleetingly when Diaby, who had seen an earlier attempt from a tight angle saved by Nick Pope, was similarly well placed to equalise after Ollie Watkins had flicked on Lucas Digne’s left-wing cross.

But the impressive Tonali was not finished and it was his deep 16th-minute cross which was turned acrobatically across goal by the stretching Sven Botman for Alexander Isak to open his account for the season from close range.

Pope was relieved to see Watkins’ scuffed first-time effort from livewire Diaby’s pull-back after another menacing run slide just wide as an end-to-end encounter unfolded at frantic pace.

Villa’s fortunes took a further turn for the worse when Mings, just days after midfielder Emiliano Buendia suffered a serious knee injury, was carried from the field following a tangle of legs with Isak.

The visitors nevertheless refused to take a backwards step in a breathless contest and Watkins might have done better after meeting Digne’s corner unopposed, while Diaby fired into the side-netting from Luiz’s intelligent pass three minutes before the break.

Martinez picked up a stoppage-time booking for hauling back Miguel Almiron outside his penalty area with the home crowd calling for a red card and making their feelings towards referee Andy Madley abundantly clear when he did not produce one.

Another Villa new boy, Youri Tielemans, entered the fray as a half-time replacement for Leon Bailey, but Gordon saw a 51st-minute attempt deflected wide after Almiron had led a pacy counter-attack.

Tielemans helped to drive the visitors forward once again, but that allowed the Magpies to exploit the space they left behind, and they went further ahead with 58 minutes gone when Isak pounced on a slip by Ezri Konsa before chipping the ball over the advancing Martinez.

The Villa keeper had to race from his line once again to deny Joelinton, but recovered in time to field Almiron’s follow-up, although it was Pope who was called upon to repel Watkins’ 64th-minute drive before Matty Cash blazed over from the rebound.

Martinez was beaten once again 13 minutes from time when Barnes collected Tonali’s pass and crossed for Wilson to score, and although the Argentina international denied Wilson a second with an instinctive save, he was beaten again by Barnes in added time.

Rob Edwards admits Luton must quickly improve after their Premier League debut ended in a thumping 4-1 defeat at Brighton.

Just nine years on from being a non-league side, the newly-promoted Hatters were taught a punishing lesson on their first return to top-flight action since relegation from the old First Division in 1992.

Carlton Morris’ 81st-minute penalty gave Town hope of snatching something at the Amex Stadium after Joao Pedro’s spot-kick added to Solly March’s first-half header.

But, despite some encouraging signs, they were second best on the south coast and ultimately suffered a resounding loss following late finishes from Seagulls substitutes Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson.

“We have to do it our way,” said manager Edwards. “We have got a plan, we’ve had that over the last decade or so and had a lot of success.

“We’re now going into what’s probably going to be the biggest challenge the club’s had. We know the scale of the challenge. We’re going to have some tough days.

“I don’t want anyone to be happy about losing football matches – we’re certainly not.

“I was pleased with stuff I saw today. I know we’re going to get better. But we’ve got to get better quickly.”

March nodded the hosts ahead nine minutes before the break before Brighton’s £30million record signing Pedro slotted home from 12 yards, having been brought down by Luton captain Tom Lockyer.

Morris’ successful spot-kick, after Jacob Brown’s cross struck the elbow of Lewis Dunk, looked to have set up a tense finale.

But an inexplicable error from Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu allowed Albion debutant Adingra to swiftly restore the hosts’ two-goal advantage before fellow substitute Ferguson added another deep into stoppage time.

Edwards, who felt both penalty decisions were “harsh”, was left to rue his side’s mistakes.

“I thought we were right in the game at 1-0 and at 2-1 but we shot ourselves in the foot,” he said.

“We made a couple of clear errors in the build up to the third goal and we got punished and at this level you do get punished.

“It shows the ruthless nature of the league.”

Brighton set aside Moises Caicedo’s ongoing transfer saga to launch their first campaign to feature European football in commanding fashion.

Build up to the contest was dominated by news of Albion accepting a British record transfer fee of around £111million from Liverpool for the absent Ecuador midfielder amid reports he would prefer to join Chelsea.

Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi, who handed debuts to James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud, in addition to goalscorers Pedro and Adingra, also lost Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool during the summer, while Levi Colwill returned to parent club Chelsea.

The Italian warned it will take his team time to hit the heights of last season, which brought a club-record sixth-placed finish, and does not view Dahoud as a direct replacement for Caicedo.

“Dahoud is a great player for us because he’s specific for our idea of football, for our style of play,” he said.

“But we lost different characteristics because Dahoud is different from Moises Caicedo.

“We played well, not one of the best games in my time, but we need much time to reach the same level, the same quality of play of last season.

“We won a very tough game. I’m really pleased.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson was surprised at himself after getting involved in a touchline spat with Sheffield United’s Max Lowe as his side enjoyed a winning start to the Premier League season.

Hodgson clashed with the Blades defender, who appeared to shove the 76-year-old in the midriff, midway through the second half after he stopped the ball in the dugout.

His side were winning 1-0 at the time through Odsonne Eduoard’s 50th-minute goal and that is how it ended at Bramall Lane as Palace started the campaign strongly.

“It took me a bit by surprise, I suppose I don’t take many challenges these days at my age, so it took me by surprise,” Hodgson said of the incident.

“It was nothing at all and immediately afterwards Max Lowe looked over and we smiled at each other.

“He obviously realised he hadn’t done a lot to hurt me and I was probably a bit surprised I have got the energy to react in the way I did.”

Hodgson also distanced himself from wantaway goalkeeper Vicente Guaita’s pre-match tweet, which appeared to question his exclusion from the matchday squad.

The Palace boss said earlier this week that the Spaniard had refused to play in pre-season, but he tweeted: “Where is my name? So how can I play for Palace?”

Hodgson said: “I didn’t know that happened, I don’t really think about it at all.

“I’m more than happy we got through today’s game, our goalkeeper was largely untroubled throughout the game, everything he had to do he did well.. What you’re talking about will be something that he and the club will need to sort out, for me it doesn’t affect me whatsoever.”

Defeat for the Blades worsens the gloom around the club following last season’s promotion.

They have sold star men Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge and have yet to replace them, with boss Paul Heckingbottom admitting that the loss exposed how far away they are from competing at this level.

But he expects that to improve between now and the end of the transfer window.

“It’s obvious. That’s not the story,” he said when asked whether this loss highlighted the gap. “The story is that’s where we are at the minute, but we’re only going to improve. We’ve sold players so we have got the money to spend to bring players in.

“I can’t be critical, I think we needed the first goal if I am honest. We compromised the way we wanted to play with the difference in the team.

“But I felt by being disruptive and aggressive, we had an impact on the game, especially in the second half.

“To concede the first goal so early in the second half made it difficult. These are a well established team, they have experience, they have some real quality. I have not come away from there scared and the players shouldn’t either.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche was frustrated by his side’s inability to convert their chances and disappointed by the lack of VAR intervention on Michael Keane’s disallowed goal in the 1-0 defeat to Fulham.

Despite an encouraging performance in which they created twice as many chances as the visitors, they were undone by a sucker-punch goal as two Cottagers substitutes Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andreas Pereira combined to provide the third, Bobby Decordova-Reid, with a 73rd-minute tap-in.

But it was the chalking off of Keane’s goal, when he turned the ball into an empty net after goalkeeper Bernd Leno had dropped it in a challenge with James Tarkowski, which was crucial to an Everton side who were the Premier League’s lowest scorers last season.

“Very frustrated with the outcome. We played well and a lot of the things we are looking for were there, especially first half,” said Dyche.

“We limited them to almost no chances or nothing clear while creating nine or 10 in the first half, five of which are high quality. We had one of the highest chance counts in my time. So the mix of the performance is right, but we have to score a goal.

“I am a big fan of VAR, I don’t know why (Keane’s goal was not referred) on this occasion, I get the idea they are promoting the idea the referee’s decision is first but they should step in on this one.

“I can’t really work it out. I have seen it back, Tarky does nothing really, minimal contact other than the keeper landing on him.

“The minimum should be that you go and look at the monitor. He didn’t do anything to put the keeper off and he drops it.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva – a former Everton manager – admitted his side got fortunate with the result.

“It was not a good performance from ourselves. Overall during the game we didn’t perform at our level,” he said.

“Even if we started the game well. after the first 15 minutes we started to lose too many balls in areas it is difficult to lose balls in.

“We gave Everton so many chances to punish us in counter-attacks. It was more our fault because we didn’t perform. Bernd keeps us in the game – a great performance.

“That we are able to win in such circumstances, it is a great feeling. It is not a problem for me to say Everton deserved better.

“It’s a great feeling when you don’t play at your level for 95 minutes and you are able to win away from home.”