Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag would rather develop the players he has than sign the wrong man if the club fail in their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong.

United have been strongly linked with Barcelona midfielder De Jong for months, with reports of their interest emerging even before Ten Hag was officially appointed in April.

De Jong enjoyed his Ajax breakthrough under Ten Hag, playing a key role in the team that almost reached the 2018-19 Champions League final.

He moved to Barca in 2019 but arguably has not reached the level many expected of him initially upon his transfer to Camp Nou.

Ten Hag apparently saw De Jong's acquisition as vital for the way he wants United to play, and media reports have indicated the club agreed a fee with Barca last month.

However, it is claimed Barca owe De Jong millions of euros in deferred wages, and he is apparently refusing to leave the club – who need a big sale in order to ease their financial issues – until a settlement is reached.

While some fans may be urging United to move on and sign an alternative, Ten Hag suggested that is not an option.

"We want Frenkie? I didn't know," he told reporters with a smile on Friday. "We want the right players, but I cannot comment on players contracted to other clubs.

"When we have news, we will bring it."

He added: "You work with the current squad, you develop players who are in your current squad. In this moment, the players in that position have performed really well [in pre-season]."

While the De Jong saga shows no sign of ending, United have been able to add promising left-back Tyrell Malacia, versatile Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen to the squad.

Given United looked short of quality last season and eight first-team players have since left, many were expecting the club to be far busier on the transfer front.

Ralf Rangnick, who was interim manager for the second half of last season, suggested during his spell in charge that the squad needed as many as 10 new players, yet they have not brought in even half of that figure.

De Jong aside, United are rumoured to be keen on signing another striker, a right-sided winger and potentially a right-back, but again Ten Hag insisted panic buys will not satisfy him.

Asked if he is frustrated they have not strengthened all the areas he wanted to, Ten Hag said: "It would be good situation, but I am happy with the current squad, they make good progress.

"I'm happy with the signings until now. You don't just need any players, you need the right players. That's the point, and we're working together."

It was then asked of Ten Hag is he would rather go without any signings if they are not exactly who he wants, and his response was unequivocal.

"If it's not the right player, no, I'm happy with the current squad," he replied. "We need the right players."

Eddie Howe has signed a new long-term contract with Newcastle United on the eve of their first Premier League game of the season against Nottingham Forest.

Howe was appointed as Magpies boss last November on a deal until 2024 following the sacking of Steve Bruce.

Newcastle's wealthy owners charged the former Bournemouth manager with the task of guiding the club out of the Premier League relegation zone to safety at the start of a new era following their takeover.

It was very much mission accomplished for the 44-year-old, as the Tyneside club surged up the table to finish last season in 11th place.

Howe was on Friday rewarded with a new deal as his side prepare to take on top-flight newcomers Forest at St James' Park.

"It's a great feeling to commit my future to this incredible club," said Howe. "I'm extremely proud to be the head coach of Newcastle United and have enjoyed every moment here.

"I'd like to take the opportunity to acknowledge my coaching team, the players, staff and supporters. They make it a very special place to be every day.

"I'd also like to extend my gratitude to our owners and to Dan Ashworth [Newcastle sporting director]. We are still at the start of our journey, but this is an exciting time to be a part of Newcastle United and I'm very excited about the future together."

Ashworth said: "I'm delighted Eddie has committed his long-term future to Newcastle United. He is an incredibly talented leader and has had a huge impact since being appointed in November.

"In the short period of time I have worked with him, I have seen how much of a diligent, detailed, hard-working coach and leader he is.

"This is great news for the club and I am looking forward to working with Eddie and our colleagues on our exciting journey ahead."

Erik ten Hag looked to move past the controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo's early departure from a pre-season friendly as the Dutchman prepares for his first Premier League game as Manchester United manager.

Ronaldo was one of several United players who left Old Trafford early during last weekend's 1-1 friendly draw with Rayo Vallecano.

Ten Hag gave an interview on Dutch television during the week and called such actions "unacceptable".

While he was talking broadly about all players who went home early, the focus of those quotes in the media was on Ronaldo.

The Portugal star's relationship with United has been a constant sideshow during pre-season, as he did not go on their tour of Australia and Thailand owing to personal reasons, though at the time there was frequent speculation suggesting he wanted to leave for a Champions League club.

No such move has materalised and he played the first 45 minutes against Rayo, his only action of pre-season, with Ronaldo unsurprisingly the centre of attention during Ten Hag's first Premier League pre-match news conference on Friday.

"Now I have to point. Those who left early, there were many," Ten Hag said when asked about his criticism of the players. "But the spotlight is on Ronaldo, and that's not right.

"He was part of it, but again it was a lot of players. So do you research and make [it clear that] many players left."

Pressed by a reporter on whether he was happy that Ronaldo was content at the club, the somewhat prickly Ten Hag replied: "I'm really happy, I told you before. We have a top striker, I'm happy he's here. He's in the squad and we stick to the plan."

Ten Hag was subsequently asked what measures could be implemented to ensure players do not take liberties in future, though he appeared to confirm none of those guilty on this occasion were facing disciplinary action.

"I think we said enough of it. I said it's not correct, clear. You mention it, correct them, and then move on," he said.

"I think I am satisfied with the whole team, they're working well, it's a good culture. And also Ronaldo, he's working really hard."

Ronaldo seemingly has a strong chance of starting in Sunday's visit of Brighton and Hove Albion, with their only other recognised senior striker – Anthony Martial – sustaining a hamstring injury against Atletico Madrid last Saturday.

The Frenchman, who endured a disappointing loan spell at Sevilla in the second half of last season, had looked sharp in pre-season but now appears set to begin the campaign on the sidelines.

"It's always difficult to say [how long he will be out for] with these injuries, I hope not too long," Ten Hag said.

Jurgen Klopp believes "massive talent" Fabio Carvalho can dazzle in the Premier League with Liverpool ahead of the teenager's Fulham reunion.

The first Saturday of the English top-flight season sees Liverpool travel to tackle last season's Championship winners, who return to the elite after a traumatic 2020-21 relegation.

Fulham have yo-yoed between the Championship and Premier League over recent years, having two single-season spells among the big boys and three promotions.

Portuguese winger Carvalho scored 10 goals and had eight assists in 36 Championship games for Fulham last season, leading to a £5million switch to Anfield.

"He's a top player. I really love it," said Klopp. "He's a massive talent and a really good kid. I'm really happy to have him, it's very important for us because we count on this age group as well.

"We don't wait until they're 22, 23, or whatever, and then we use them. He's ready like Harvey [Elliott] is ready, in a similar age group.

"And that's really good. We all need luck in life with injuries and stuff like this, but without that he will be a really important player for us."

Midfielder Elliott also joined Liverpool from Fulham, three years ago in his case. Both players are 19, with Carvalho coming up for his 20th birthday on August 30, and Klopp quipped that Liverpool's buys from the Cottagers carry echoes of a former spending habit.

"It's like with Southampton in the past," Klopp said, harking back to deals for the likes of Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana and Virgil van Dijk.

Carvalho had a fleeting introduction to the Premier League as a fringe figure with Fulham in their relegation campaign, and will hope to be more involved with Liverpool.

Saturday's game might look like a mismatch, but closer examination suggests Liverpool will need to be sharp to avoid an early slip-up.

Two seasons ago, when bossed by Scott Parker, Fulham became the first side to fail to reach double figures for goals in home league games in English league history, netting just nine in 19 games in their relegation campaign.

They are winless in their last 10 Premier League games (D2 L8), yet their last top-flight victory came against Liverpool in March 2021.

Indeed, Fulham also managed a 1-1 home draw against Klopp's team in that campaign, as Liverpool suffered a hangover from their previous title-winning season.

The Cottagers' four points against the Reds was their joint-most against any opponent, with Fulham also taking four against Sheffield United and West Brom, who joined them in tumbling into the second tier.

Encouragement for Liverpool comes in knowing that on the five previous occasions Fulham have been promoted to the top flight, they have then lost their first league match of the season, doing so in 1949-50, 1959-60, 2001-02, 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Some will expect Marco Silva's team to be easily picked off by Liverpool, who were runners-up to champions Manchester City in May, but Klopp does not see it that way.

"Fulham is doing really well and did extremely well last year," Klopp said.

"I met Marco at a managers' meeting in London. Getting promoted but playing football is one of the harder things to do in the Championship. He gets all my respect and that's what Fulham did."

Klopp lost his first Premier League meeting with Silva in February 2017, with his side beaten 2-0 away at Hull. Since then, though, Klopp is unbeaten in his last four against the Portuguese in the competition (W2 D2), with the most recent being a 5-2 win against Silva's Everton.

Liverpool secured Mohamed Salah on an extended contract during the off season, and the Egyptian will be looking for a familiar fast start to a season.

He has scored in Liverpool's Premier League opener in each of his past five seasons with the club, the only player in the competition to have ever put such a run together. Salah has seven goals in all on matchday one in the competition, one shy of the record held jointly by Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel rebuffed former Premier League defender Gary Neville's criticism of new Blues owner Todd Boehly, labelling the American businessman as "super hard-working".

Neville accused Boehly of treating Chelsea as if he "wants to play Football Manager", referring to the video game, and acting "panicky" in the transfer market.

The west London club have missed out on a number of key targets this window, with Jules Kounde from Sevilla and Raphinha from Leeds United reportedly snubbing Chelsea in order to move to Spanish giants Barcelona.

While they have completed the signings of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and England international Raheem Sterling, Neville said about Boehly on The Overlap: "He's reacting to clubs and what they are doing. You hear his name too much, he's too prominent."

However, Tuchel was quick to defend the owner in a news conference ahead of Chelsea's Premier League opener against Everton on Saturday.

When asked about Neville's comments, Tuchel said: "Panicking? No, I would describe it as super hard-working and learning while on the job.

"The transfer market is one of the toughest things you can do when you come from outside, but I have nothing but the biggest respect and compliments for both Todd and Behdad [Eghbali, co-owner].

"I don't know when they sleep, I think maybe they never sleep. But we have a very honest, very open, very direct line of communication and the transfers so far speak for itself.

"We have a delay, of course nobody is guilty for that delay. We have a delay because of the sanctions [against the club when Roman Abramovich was owner], and the sanctions led to the loss of key players.

"But both of the owners who are involved in the daily business have done a fantastic job so far."

Ahead of the game against Everton, Chelsea have been boosted by captain Cesar Azpilicueta signing a new two-year contract, ending speculation of a move this window to Barcelona.

They have also completed the signings of 18-year-old midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion left-back Marc Cucurella.

Marc Cucurella has left Brighton and Hove Albion for Chelsea, rather than Manchester City, in a reported £50million transfer.

The Spain left-back enjoyed an outstanding single season at Brighton, having joined from Getafe last August.

With City selling Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal, it appeared Cucurella was set to sign for the Premier League champions

However, it was widely reported Brighton were standing firm with their demands of a £50m fee while City were only willing to pay £40m.

Brighton head coach Graham Potter last week described the club as "confident and relaxed in our position" as they awaited a further bid from City.

Instead, it came from Chelsea, with the Blues moving quickly to sign Cucurella on a six-year deal. He follows Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly in signing for the London club ahead of the new season.

Teenage Blues defender Levi Colwill has moved in the opposite direction, joining Brighton on a season-long loan deal.

Cucurella's arrival comes as a big boost to Thomas Tuchel, who has seen top targets Matthijs de Ligt, Jules Kounde and Raphinha go elsewhere.

With Marcos Alonso – another Spain international – linked with a move to Barcelona, ex-Blaugrana academy graduate Cucurella appears set for a battle with Ben Chilwell for a starting spot, although it has been suggested the new recruit could play in a back three.

Injury restricted Chilwell to seven appearances in the Premier League last season, although he still scored three goals and provided an assist. Cucurella, in 35 matches, netted just once and could also only match Chilwell's single assist.

But Cucurella also showed why he would be a good fit for any team competing at the top end of the table.

The 24-year-old enjoyed 2,827 touches, ranking seventh among Premier League defenders; each of the six players above him played for either City (Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte), Liverpool (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk) or Chelsea (Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger).

Despite his sole assist, Cucurella finished sixth among defenders for chances created, with his 42 just behind Blues duo Reece James (48) and Alonso (43).

Cucurella ranked sixth among defenders for duels contested (323), winning a solid 59.1 per cent.

Listed at 1.72 metres tall, Cucurella is shorter than Lisandro Martinez (1.75m), the Premier League's smallest nominal centre-back, but he still won 52.6 per cent of his aerial duels last term, bettering the 44.7 per cent of James – another Chelsea star who switched between wing-back and centre-back roles.

Jurgen Klopp drew a parallel between the burden on footballers and the climate change crisis as the Liverpool boss attacked powerbrokers for refusing to take meaningful action.

Speaking in a news conference ahead of his team's opening match of the new Premier League season, Klopp railed at the approaching prospect of a mid-season World Cup.

He takes his team to London to tackle Fulham on Saturday, but he then stands to lose many of his top stars in November when they travel to Qatar to represent their countries.

Klopp is irate that such a tournament can be jammed into a season that he would already expect to be busy for Liverpool, and his perception is that nobody is listening to his complaints and concerns.

"It's just not OK," Klopp said. "It was decided long ago for, how everybody says, the right reasons."

When Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup in a December 2010 vote, it was expected the tournament would be played in its usual June-July slot, but average temperatures for that time of year meant it was not feasible to take place then.

It was confirmed in 2015 that it would be played in November and December instead, and Klopp is braced for his players to be mentally and physically exhausted by playing such an intense tournament during the usual timeframe of a Premier League campaign.

Games in England's top flight will not take place while the World Cup happens, and that means it will be supremely busy either side of the global tournament. 

Klopp told assembled reporters: "I was not angry at all before I came in, but when we start talking about it, I really get angry.

"My problem is that as much as everybody knows it's not right, nobody talks often enough about it that it will be changed.

"You can't have top-class players and constantly watch them, [and think] 'Oh my god, how they're great'. It just doesn't work.

"It's like with the climate. We all know we have to change, but nobody's saying, 'What do we have to do?'"

England has seen record temperatures during its current summer, leading to climate fears being raised by campaigners, and Klopp feels football is heading towards a tipping point.

He said: "Why we wouldn't talk about that and do it properly, and say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, FIFA, UEFA, Premier League and FA, please start talking to each other'.

"There must be one meeting where they all sit together, and the only subtext should be the most important part of this game – the players – and that didn't happen yet.

"This World Cup happens at the wrong moment for the wrong reasons, but everything is fine."

Marc Cucurella has left Brighton and Hove Albion for Chelsea, rather than Manchester City, in a reported £50million transfer.

The Spain left-back enjoyed an outstanding single season at Brighton, having joined from Getafe last August.

With City selling Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal, it appeared Cucurella was set to sign for the Premier League champions

However, it was widely reported Brighton were standing firm with their demands of a £50m fee while City were only willing to pay £40m.

Brighton head coach Graham Potter last week described the club as "confident and relaxed in our position" as they awaited a further bid from City.

Instead, it came from Chelsea, with the Blues moving quickly to sign Cucurella on a six-year deal. He follows Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly in signing for the London club ahead of the new season.

His arrival comes as a big boost to Thomas Tuchel, who has seen top targets Matthijs de Ligt, Jules Kounde and Raphinha go elsewhere.

With Marcos Alonso – another Spain international – linked with a move to Barcelona, ex-Blaugrana academy graduate Cucurella appears set for a battle with Ben Chilwell for a starting spot, although it has been suggested the new recruit could play in a back three.

Injury restricted Chilwell to seven appearances in the Premier League last season, although he still scored three goals and provided an assist. Cucurella, in 35 matches, netted just once and could also only match Chilwell's single assist.

But Cucurella also showed why he would be a good fit for any team competing at the top end of the table.

The 24-year-old enjoyed 2,827 touches, ranking seventh among Premier League defenders; each of the six players above him played for either City (Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte), Liverpool (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk) or Chelsea (Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger).

Despite his sole assist, Cucurella finished sixth among defenders for chances created, with his 42 just behind Blues duo Reece James (48) and Alonso (43).

Cucurella ranked sixth among defenders for duels contested (323), winning a solid 59.1 per cent.

Listed at 1.72 metres tall, Cucurella is shorter than Lisandro Martinez (1.75m), the Premier League's smallest nominal centre-back, but he still won 52.6 per cent of his aerial duels last term, bettering the 44.7 per cent of James – another Chelsea star who switched between wing-back and centre-back roles.

Pep Guardiola wants his Manchester City future to be resolved "in a natural way" as he approaches the end of his contract.

The Spaniard is keen to stay with the Premier League champions and will hold talks with the club before his deal at the end of the 2022-23 season.

There is no rush on the manager's part to commit, however, and he says it would be a mistake to "force" any agreement.

Ahead of his seventh season in charge, Guardiola suggested City would be within their rights to look elsewhere if the team and boss  under-perform.

"It depends on results," Guardiola said.

"I wouldn't change my life here one second. It's seven seasons already. We've spoken with the club and at the middle of the season, at the end of the season, we'll talk again how we feel, and we'll decide the best for the club.

"I said many times I will extend if they want it. I would like to stay longer, and at the same time they have to be sure. It's many years already and I have to see the players, how they behave.

"I don't want to be a problem. Sometimes when you extend things, you force it and it's not good. These kind of situations happen when it's going to happen in a natural way. If you force it, it's not going to happen.

"We'll see what happens during the season, how we feel, and the best [decision] for the club is going to be taken."

City start the new Premier League campaign at West Ham on Sunday.

Former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach Guardiola has led City to four league titles in the past five seasons, and guided the team to the 2021 Champions League final, when domestic rivals Chelsea denied them the trophy.

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani felt "ashamed" to pull the plug on a "done deal" for Raphinha to join Chelsea and says only time will tell if Barcelona will pay up for the winger.

Raphinha left Elland Road to join Barca for a reported fee of €67million (£57m) last month.

Chelsea thought the Brazil international was on his way to Stamford Bridge after reaching an agreement with their Premier League rivals.

Radrizzani was embarrassed to inform Blues owner Todd Boehly that the deal was off, but says he had no choice.

He told The Athletic: "For me, it was done, the deal with Chelsea. When I have a deal, my word is my word and I felt ashamed to go back to Todd Boehly, the owner of Chelsea, and change the position.

"It was really for me, disrespectful and not the right thing to do, but I didn't have a choice.

"If I could decide to not sell the player, I would have preferred that. But I didn't have a choice because for us it was more important to buy six players than keep Raphinha."

Radrizzani confirmed London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal also wanted Raphinha.

He added: "Obviously we had interest from Tottenham, from Arsenal, from Chelsea and from Barcelona. So all of  these clubs and the best deal we agreed was with Chelsea.

"Then at the end the deal that came up with Barcelona is pretty much the same for the way we structured it at the very end, but it took time, it was hard. We had to manage well and as I said, I'd rather not sell him, but I didn't have a choice because we had to buy six players."

Eyebrows have been raised over Barca's spending in this transfer window given they had to let Lionel Messi leave 12 months ago due to a financial crisis.

Radrizzani says only time will tell if the LaLiga giants stump up the cash they have agreed to pay Leeds for Raphinha and vowed to take action if they do not.

Asked if he is confident Leeds will get the money from Barca, the Italian replied: "Look, I'll tell you on the 2nd of September. If not we will have a global case on all media in the world about Barcelona. So I don't know."

Pep Guardiola sees Bernardo Silva's future at Manchester City but accepts that could all change if the player sets his heart on a move to Barcelona.

The LaLiga giants are thought to be keen on City's Portuguese midfield star and could be preparing a bid to take him to Camp Nou.

Silva has spent five fruitful years with City, winning four Premier League titles in that time, and at the age of 27 can be reasonably considered to be still in his prime years.

Guardiola is aware of the Barca speculation but says he sees Silva as being settled, pointing to his fiancee and his dog as reasons for him to be happy with his life.

But after selling Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus during the off-season, it is clear that City are a club willing to do deals if the timing and the terms are right.

"I was comfortable working with Oleks, Gabriel and Raheem. They were three figures with incredible characters who helped us achieve a lot," said Guardiola.

"Sometimes players have to depart our path. The desire of the players is the most important thing. I want people happy here, to be here and to try to do it together.

"Of course I'd love if Bernardo could continue here. He's been a special player here, for the locker room. I don't know what is going to happen.

"If he stays, it's perfect, and if he has to leave it's because football is like this, and the clubs have an agreement and the player has desires. When you're a football player [the career] is so short. When the club decides, for me it is okay.

"I want Bernardo to stay, definitely. To find players is difficult. I want 100 per cent Bernardo to stay here, but in the same time if you want to leave and have an offer and the clubs have an agreement, it's common sense what I said.

"This is the reality. He's an important player for me, Bernardo is special, but I don't know what's going to happen. Man City, as far as I know, didn't get any offer. Bernardo's training and doing really well, ready for Sunday."

City start their Premier League title defence at West Ham on Sunday, with Erling Haaland expected to make his debut in the competition.

Unless there is a dramatic intervention from Barcelona, Silva also looks set to feature at London Stadium.

The City star had his best season for Premier League goals last season, netting eight times in 35 games, having managed to score just twice in the previous campaign.

He and girlfriend Ines Degener Tomaz, who share a home with dog John, then became engaged at the end of the campaign.

"I talk a lot with Bernardo," said Guardiola. "But also with all of them, maybe because I'm getting old and we know each other quite well.

"Now the relationship is completely different to three or four years ago. I know the feelings they have, the good moments and the bad moments.

"I talk with them, but not especially with this situation. If he has to tell me something, he will tell me. I don't have doubts about that, but we don't talk about this situation.

"He's our player. I know he's happy: he's engaged, he has a beautiful dog, so he's happy here, I know that, and what's going to happen is going to happen."

Just 11 weeks have passed since Manchester City lifted the Premier League title to bring down the curtain on the 2021-22 Premier League campaign, yet plenty has changed ahead of the start of the new season.

City have undergone a facelift of sorts, with Erling Haaland their marquee arrival of the window, while last term's runners-up Liverpool have replaced the ever-reliable Sadio Mane with Darwin Nunez in attack.

The chasing pack have also been busy as they desperately attempt to keep pace with City and Liverpool, but the exciting signings of the close season to date have not been solely reserved by those competing in the upper echelons.

With the 2022-23 season getting underway on Friday, Stats Perform picks out 10 players we are most looking forward to seeing in action in the Premier League for the very first time.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Arguably the highest-profile signing of the transfer window, Haaland arrives at City with a reputation of being one of Europe's most ruthless goalscorers at the age of just 22.

Haaland was prolific during his short time at Salzburg and scored 86 goals in 89 appearances in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund.

That is a tally bettered by only Robert Lewandowski (122) and Kylian Mbappe (89) across the same period, both of whom played 19 games more.

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)

Liverpool will also have a new frontman this campaign after spending an initial £64million (€75m) to bring in Nunez from Benfica.

While not a direct like-for-like replacement for Mane, the Uruguay international will have to both score goals on a regular basis and also help to get the best out of his fellow attackers, such as Mohamed Salah. 

The figures suggest Nunez should be well up to the task, with his conversion rate of 27.2 per cent being the highest of all players with 55 or more non-penalty shots in Europe's top-six leagues last season.

Ivan Perisic (Tottenham)

Tottenham were successful in getting the majority of their transfer business out the way early on, giving Antonio Conte a chance to integrate the likes of Clement Lenglet, Djed Spence, Richarlison and Yves Bissouma into his squad.

Each of those will add something different, but it is Perisic who is the most intriguing signing of the lot. Regularly linked with a switch to the Premier League, the former Dortmund, Inter and Bayern winger finally gets a chance to test himself in England's top flight. 

Among many other qualities, Perisic created the most chances following ball carries – defined as any instance when a player moves five-or-more metres with the ball – of any player in Serie A in 2021-22 (26), showing he can still be a menace out wide even at the age of 33.

Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)

New head coach Erik ten Hag has largely stuck to what he knows when it comes to Manchester United's transfer activity in his first window in charge. Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Martinez have all either worked under Ten Hag or have strong connections with the Eredivisie.

Eriksen is already an established name in English football, whereas Malacia and Martinez are gearing up for their first taste of the Premier League. While Malacia is expected to be used as a squad player, Martinez will surely be a regular in the heart of defence if his £48m (€57m) price tag is anything to go by.

Despite concerns being raised over his lack of height, Martinez boasted an aerial duel success rate of 70.2 per cent in the Eredivisie last season, which was fourth-best return of any player.

Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea)

Another perennially linked Premier League player, Koulibaly has joined Chelsea after eight years as a Napoli player. Following the departures of centre-backs Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger after the expiration of their contracts, Koulibaly will have to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.

If his time with Napoli is anything to go by, Chelsea will have a solid and reliable player in the heart of their defence for the next few years. Across his time in Naples, no defender in Serie A won more tackles (344) or made more successful passes (14,528) than the Senegal international.

Fabio Vieira (Arsenal)

Arsenal mean serious business ahead of Mikel Arteta's third full season in charge. The Spaniard has used his Man City links to recruit Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, having already added Vieira to the squad earlier in the window.

Central midfield was not exactly an area Arsenal were light, yet Arteta felt the need to strengthen and in Vieira he has a player with experience of winning a couple of league titles with Porto prior to turning 22.

In contrast to legendary Arsenal namesake Patrick, the Portugal Under-21 international is more accustomed to playing high up the field and recorded the most assists (14) of any Porto player in the league last season, while also chipping in with six goals of his own. 

Tyler Adams (Leeds United)

Leeds escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last season – now they must do so again without their most important player following Kalvin Phillips' move to Man City. 

Plenty of eyes will be on Adams in the holding midfield position, the United States international having arrived at Elland Road on the back of three years with New York Red Bulls, followed by three more years with sister club RB Leipzig.

Adams recovered possession an average of 5.69 times per 90 minutes across his 24 Bundesliga appearances last season, which is nearly half the number Phillips (10.2) managed in the Premier League – the best return of any player with 900+ minutes in the competition.

Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa)

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has quietly gone about his transfer business ahead of his first full season in Premier League management. The signing of Kamara, a defensive midfielder by trade, went somewhat under the radar given it was announced just a day after the previous season finished.

Kamara was a big part of Marseille's strong 2021-22 campaign, which saw them finish second in Ligue 1 and reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.

Of midfielders in the French top division in last season, only Johan Gastien and Jordan Ferri made more than Kamara's 2,383 passes, while of those who made over 1,000 passes, only five players had better accuracy than his 90.68 per cent.

Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham)

It says an awful lot about the work carried out by David Moyes at West Ham over the past two seasons that finishing seventh last time out – a drop from sixth the year before – was considered a disappointment.

If Moyes' men are to once again challenge on multiple fronts this coming season, bringing in a player who knows how to find the net was always going to be imperative. In Scamacca, West Ham appear to have exactly that.

The Italy international scored 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances for mid-table Sassuolo last season and converted 70.59 per cent of his big chances, a figure only bettered by Gianluca Caprari (83.33) and Dusan Vlahovic (73.91) among players to hit double figures.

Aaron Hickey (Brentford)

Brentford have broken their transfer record multiple times this window to help build on an impressive first ever campaign in the Premier League. Christian Eriksen may have departed, but other areas have been strengthened, including in defence.

The £14m (€16.6m) signing of Hickey from Bologna arguably strengthens Brentford in both full-back departments, given the Scotland international's versatility with both feet. 

He also has an eye for goal, having netted five times in the Italian top flight and assisted another last season. Among Serie A defenders in the 2021-22 season, only Genoa's Domenico Criscito (six) and Nahuel Molina (seven) of Udinese scored more goals.

Pep Guardiola has no doubt Erling Haaland will score goals for Manchester City but insists he does not care how many he gets.

The Premier League champions, who begin their title defence at West Ham on Sunday, secured the services of one of the most sought-after players in the world when Haaland's move from Borussia Dortmund was announced in June.

However, the Norwegian's debut did not go according to plan as he drew a blank in a 3-1 Community Shield loss to Liverpool.

Asked how many goals Haaland will score this season, Guardiola's response was initially jovial as he replied: "You are the guy who's going to ask me about Haaland at every press conference, right? Welcome to Manchester."

He added: "I don't know how many goals he's going to score and I don't care.

"We are not going to win for Erling and we are not going to lose for Erling. He has to be himself. From what I've seen he's going to adapt quick.

"He played one week ago his first 90 minutes in five months. He's a big figure in terms of physicality and needs maybe more time to get in the best condition.

"If people have doubts he's going to score goals, he's going to score goals.

"The chances are always there. He's a good finisher, so just adapt the way he plays and we're going to do that to him.

"At the same time I don't have any doubts it's going to happen.

"The goals he's going to score, I don't care."

The schedule this term will present a new challenge as the Qatar World Cup falls in the middle of the campaign, taking place from November 21 to December 18.

Guardiola believes there are effectively two seasons within one, and acknowledged there is precious little room for error as City seek to fend off the persistent threat of Liverpool and other contenders.

"It's like two Premier Leagues in one Premier League," he said. "There's one Premier League before the World Cup. You cannot win the Premier League [before the World Cup] but you can lose it.

"It's not just Liverpool. They will not drop much, so this is why you have to start well. We won two Premier Leagues being just one point ahead of Liverpool. That means we are able to win 11, 12, 15 or 14 games in a row if we can do it. Liverpool as well.

"We proved ourselves we can do it in the past, and if you can do it in the past you can do it in the present. I have the feeling the rivals will not drop many points, we know.

"I have the feeling since we arrived... the team I rely on them a lot and I see in every training session that the guys are still out there. How they train every day. That makes me feel, okay, we'll see what happens.

"I think we're still there, we'll be there, and that's the most important thing. When I see the relations they have in the locker room and the incredible focus they have in training sessions, what we are doing so far is really good.

"We'll see what happens in the good moments and the low moments in the season, how we react and how we behave."

Cristiano Ronaldo faces an uncertain Manchester United future, but he stands to pass a string of landmarks if he stays and plays for Erik ten Hag this season.

Tottenham's Harry Kane, set to captain England at the World Cup later in the year, is chasing a significant club landmark.

And guess who will join Mohamed Salah in bidding to set an opening-day career goals record.

Of course, it's......  Jamie Vardy.

As the new season gets under way on Friday, Stats Perform looks at the records and milestones coming into view.

KANE, RONALDO, HAALAND: TARGETS IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF THE BIG GUNS

What role Ronaldo has to play remains in the balance, given he appears keen to leave United for a second time.

But if the 37-year-old features for the Red Devils, he can begin to chase down landmarks. For starters, he is just four victories short of having had a hand in 150 United wins in the Premier League, having drawn 43 times and lost 37 while a member of the team across his two Old Trafford spells.

Ronaldo is a mere six goals away from becoming the first player to amass 500 goals in Europe's top five leagues. His record 494 goals to date have come from 616 league matches. On his heels, however, is perennial rival Lionel Messi, once of Barcelona and now at Paris Saint-Germain (480 goals in 546 league games).

Kane is 17 away from hitting the 200-goal mark in the Premier League, a total only ever achieved by Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). Sergio Aguero (184) and Andy Cole (187), third and fourth on the Premier League era list, are poised to be knocked down a peg as Kane continues his assault on the league record.

Both Leicester City's Vardy and Liverpool's Salah will be looking to equal or break the Premier League matchday one goals record, which is currently held jointly by Shearer, Frank Lampard and Rooney (eight goals). Vardy and Salah have seven each, like the retired Teddy Sheringham and Aguero.

Manchester City new boy Erling Haaland has caused a sensation with his goalscoring wherever he has played, dazzling for Molde, Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Norway. He could become the seventh Norwegian to score on his Premier League debut, and the third to do so in the opening game of a season, after Tore Andre Flo for Chelsea in 1997-98 and Adama Diomande in 2016-17 with Hull City.

DESERVES A LONG SERVICE MEDAL

Liverpool's James Milner, fresh from signing a new one-year contract, is 12 short of reaching 600 Premier League games. Only three players have reached that mark to date: Gareth Barry (653), Ryan Giggs (632) and Lampard (609).

Milner made his Premier League debut for Leeds United as a 16-year-old in November 2002, so a 20-year anniversary is approaching for the former England midfielder.

David Moyes was already a Premier League manager by the time Milner made his first appearance. At Everton then, he has done the rounds since and is a mere two games away from completing 1,000 matches in all competitions as a manager in English football.

Now at West Ham, Moyes looks to be at the opposite end of his touchline career to Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager who is one away from bringing up his first 50 wins as a Premier League boss.

STICK AROUND LONG ENOUGH...

Only six teams have been constant members of the Premier League since its first year in 1992-93. Completing the first 30 seasons without suffering the indignity of relegation have been Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal. Sooner or later, all sorts of landmarks arrive for these league lynchpins.

Arsenal have lost 249 Premier League games and headed into Friday night's season opener against Crystal Palace under threat of becoming the 13th side to lose 250. They would have had the longest wait to lose 250, however, having already played four games more than Chelsea, who took the longest (1,148 games) of those to have reached the not-so-desirable milestone.

Tottenham, another of those stalwart sides, are just five away from becoming the fifth team to score 1,000 goals at home in the competition (Manchester United 1,214, Liverpool 1,156, Arsenal 1,154, Chelsea 1,121).

Chelsea are 27 shy of 2,000 goals, home or away, having plundered 1,973 in their 1,152 games to date.

Aston Villa and Newcastle United are both 12 short of losing 400 Premier League games. Only West Ham (408) and Everton (414) have lost more games than those sides, who will hope to avoid spilling over that barrier this season.

West Ham are four away from reaching 1,000 Premier League games, while promoted Nottingham Forest are two away from 200.

MAKING UP THE NUMBERS

Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson needs one assist to become only the second defender to register 50 Premier League assists, after Leighton Baines (Wigan, Everton). Robertson has 49, with Baines managing 53 across his career.

Aston Villa veteran Ashley Young and Tottenham new arrival Richarlison are two shy of reaching 50 Premier League goals, while Newcastle's former Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is four away from 50 clean sheets in the competition.

Brighton and Hove Albion are two away from 50 wins, with Aston Villa four short of 300 draws, a tally that only Everton (320) have reached.

Southampton need four victories to reach 100 away wins, and Aston Villa want four three-pointers on the road to reach their 150 wins. Leicester, on the other hand, are four away from 150 Premier League away defeats. Brendan Rodgers will hope to fend off that landmark until well into the new campaign.

When Jack Grealish charged into the penalty area in the 87th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu late last season and saw his shot cleared off the line by Ferland Mendy, there seemed no way Manchester City would not be in the Champions League final.

They were 1-0 up in the semi-final second leg, 5-3 ahead on aggregate. Real Madrid had three minutes plus stoppage time to turn things around – even for a side who produced some memorable comebacks en route to the semi-finals, turning this tie around looked impossible.

Yet the tale unfolded in a matter of minutes, with City's Champions League aspirations dissolving for another season.

Over the course of the two legs, City were comfortably the better team and yet failed to advance to the final in Paris, where Madrid went on to beat Liverpool 1-0.

City's failure served to highlight a key deficiency in their squad.

Whether that's fair or not is up for debate, because they subsequently went on to win a fourth Premier League title in five years, and no one would have questioned the legitimacy of them seeing off Madrid, but when the victor is led by the type of figure the loser is lacking, it's an easy conclusion to jump to.

Karim Benzema may not have been at his unplayable best in that second leg, but he won and converted the ultimately decisive penalty, and the effectiveness with which he led the line in the first game ensured Madrid were still in with a shout upon the return to Spain.

City will now hope they have such a goalscoring talisman in Erling Haaland.

After a slightly unconvincing City debut in the Community Shield last week, failing to score against Liverpool from his game-high 1.04 expected goals (xG), Haaland will make his Premier League bow as the new season begins this weekend, with attention sure to soon turn to European action.

City apparently paid £51.3million (€60m) to Borussia Dortmund for his transfer. Even when you consider the apparently significant agents' fees, it is difficult to see this as anything other than a bargain for City.

The dust may now have settled on City's 2021-22 collapse in the Spanish capital, but it's hard not to look at the deal through the prism of Champions League failure because of what will now be expected – rather than hoped for – with a player like Haaland in the team.

When trying to understand what has specifically gone wrong for City in the Champions League since Pep Guardiola was hired, most observers seem to have different opinions. Some might point to an apparent lack of on-field leaders, others highlight wastefulness at crucial moments, and of course there are many who have bemoaned Pep's dreaded "overthinking".

The idea of there being a lack of on-field leaders has always seemed wide of the mark, while no one can accuse Guardiola of overcomplicating his selections against Madrid. Even if one were to try to claim that, City were on course for the final until the 90th minute of the second leg.

Similarly, wastefulness is something most clubs can be accused of at one time or another, and, in fact, across all the Champions League ties from which City have been eliminated under Guardiola, they have scored 17 times from 16.99 xG. Granted, there were occasions where they didn't score as often as they should have, but over time it evens itself out.

Yet perhaps this is where Haaland can make the difference. Sure, City's xG has evened out over the unsuccessful ties in question, but with a striker as freakishly deadly as the Norwegian – last Saturday at the King Power Stadium excepted – there becomes a greater opportunity to finish chances that maybe you wouldn't generally expect to.

Following his Bundesliga debut on January 18, 2020, Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund in all competitions, averaging a goal every 84 minutes.

Only Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski (123 goals in 108 games) boasted a better scoring rate over that period among players from Europe's top five leagues.

Despite struggling with injuries in the 2021-22 season, Haaland still managed 29 goals in 30 games for BVB, including a strike in his final game. Twenty-one of those goals were scored via his favoured left foot, three came via his right and the other five were headers.

One thing you cannot accuse City of is being ineffective when it comes to controlling football matches and creating chances – they wouldn't have enjoyed the success they have in the Premier League, under intense pressure from an incredible Liverpool side, if not.

But in knockout ties when there is such a limited amount of time to respond to setbacks or make amends for certain mistakes, whether defensive or in front of goal, the value of the greatest strikers can shine through even more: Benzema showed that against City.

While there remain stylistic compatibility questions to be asked regarding City and Haaland – there were occasions last week when dangerous runs were not quite met by passes, as City adjust to playing with an out-and-out striker – they suddenly have arguably the finest finisher of his generation in their arsenal.

If Haaland isn't the final piece of the puzzle in City's quest for a maiden Champions League crown, Guardiola might as well give up.