LaLiga has confirmed it will support clubs who elect not to release players who represent national teams in South America for next month's fixtures.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Premier League announced that all 20 clubs had agreed to block their players travelling to countries on the United Kingdom's red list amid concerns over enforced quarantine periods on their return.

The majority of countries in South and Central America are on the UK's red list, while the Premier League also confirmed it had aired its frustration with FIFA over the decision to extend the CONMEBOL international window from nine days to 11.

Similarly, LaLiga has now hit out at world football's governing body, insisting it would fully back clubs who choose not to release South American internationals for this reason, while also taking into account concerns over coronavirus.

"In relation to the serious unilateral decision by FIFA to increase by two days, from nine to 11 days in both September and October, the international FIFA period for the CONMEBOL confederation, without addressing other solutions that were raised in the World Leagues Forum, LaLiga wants to communicate that it will support in all areas the decision of the Spanish clubs not to release their players belonging to the national teams for the convocation of CONMEBOL, and will take the pertinent legal actions against this decision that affects the integrity of the competition by not allowing the availability of the players," a statement read.

The statement went on to declare that 25 players from 13 LaLiga clubs had already been called up by South American nations, with the squads for Ecuador and Venezuela still to be announced.

"The Spanish association understands that the world calendar cannot and should not be modified in this way, especially when there are alternative solutions," LaLiga's statement continued.

"LaLiga, through the World Leagues Forum, has already expressed its discomfort in this situation and in the absence of sensitivity towards the clubs, on an issue, such as the international calendar, which is set and agreed four years in advance and to which the national leagues have already adapted taking into account the circumstances of the COVID, but always in a way agreed between all the parties involved.

"LaLiga will summon the affected clubs for a meeting in the coming days."

Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta has returned to Atalanta on a permanent deal.

Neither club has confirmed the transfer fee nor the contract length but it is reported the Serie A outfit will pay €10million for the 29-year-old.

Zappacosta started his career with Atalanta, impressing to secure a move to Torino before subsequently signing for Chelsea in 2017, winning the FA Cup and Europa League in his first two seasons.

The wing-back was a standout feature of Antonio Conte's Chelsea, appearing 35 times in 2017-18, before loan spells with Roma and Genoa in the last two campaigns.

During that term under Conte, Zappacosta ranked fourth among Chelsea defenders for chances created (24) while producing 109 recoveries across 2,112 minutes of action.

The Italy defender, who has been capped 13 times, sustained a serious knee injury with Roma but returned encouragingly to form with Genoa, featuring 25 times last term.

Among Genoa defenders, Zappacosta's 11 chances created and 98 duels won placed him second in both aspects – his 119 recoveries also only bettered by two players.

The wing-back could feature as soon as Sunday against Bologna for Atalanta, who defeated Torino 2-1 on the opening day.

Granit Xhaka is happy to be staying at 'home' after confirming he has signed a new contract with Arsenal.

Xhaka's previous deal was due to expire in 2023 but he has reportedly agreed to remain at the Premier League club for an extra year, with the option of a further extension until 2025.

The Gunners captain, who was heavily linked with a move to Roma during the offseason, admitted his delight in a post on Instagram.

"Home is where the heart is - really proud to extend my stay at Arsenal," Xhaka wrote to accompany a picture of him signing the contract.

Mikel Arteta's side are yet to announce the news officially, though the club's website has referenced the extension and Arsenal owners Stan and Josh Kroenke also revealed the news in the programme notes before the home game against Chelsea on Sunday.

Xhaka was a regular last term, with only Bukayo Saka (46) appearing more times among Arsenal midfielders.

The 28-year-old started 42 times, provided two assists and created 20 chances in total, while also adding a goal of his own with a free-kick against Chelsea.

Xhaka recorded a passing accuracy of 89.89 per cent, with only Mohamed Elneny (92.08) and Martin Odegaard (90.38) bettering his success rate.

The Switzerland international led the way in terms of recoveries, regaining possession 281 times and making 74 tackles – ranking him first for both aspects among midfield team-mates.

Harvey Elliott has been inspired by working alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, but now he sees the duo as part of the competition for first-team opportunities at Liverpool.

Elliott was handed his full Premier League debut by Jurgen Klopp in Saturday's 2-0 win over Burnley, becoming the 10th youngest player start a top-flight game for Liverpool and the youngest since Ben Woodburn in April 2017.

The 18-year-old previously appeared for Fulham aged just 16 years and 30 days, making him the youngest player to appear in Premier League history.

However, after a positive loan spell with Blackburn in the Championship last term, Elliott is back at Anfield and proving he can fit right in to Klopp's team.

"The first few training sessions after I first arrived at Liverpool was like, woah, I am actually training with these guys," Elliott responded to The Athletic and BT Sport about Salah and Mane.

"Going from watching them live on TV to seeing them in person and training alongside them, you really realise what a presence they bring. They are world-class players but we're all here to fight for a place in the team.

"We're all competing for the same thing. Now I look upon them as my competition. I learn a lot from them.

"They are great inspirations to kids around the world — and to me too — with what they have been through and what they've achieved. I want to achieve big things like they have."

Used in a midfield role against Burnley, Elliott produced three key passes – the third-most of any Liverpool player – and completed 90 per cent of his attempted passes in the opposing team's half. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold, who set up Mane to make it 2-0, attempted more (42).

Teenager Elliott knows he must keep on improving to challenge Salah and Mane, who became the fifth player to hit 50 home goals for Liverpool with his second-half strike at Anfield.

"Even to this day I'm not as quick as I’d like to be," he admitted.

"You can never be happy with what you are, you always need to push yourself. I still need to improve my speed, especially when you look at players like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane."

Asked about being versatile, he explained: "It’s what players need in their game, being able to adapt to different positions.

"It gives me more of a chance of getting into the team. It’s been a challenge to adapt.

"It's a case of getting your head around knowing where you need to be, how and when you need to press, knowing who you are needing to deal with on their team. I'm enjoying playing somewhere else."

Could the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga be nearing a conclusion?

Long linked with Real Madrid, Mbappe is out of contract at the end of the season.

Paris Saint-Germain's attempts to re-sign Mbappe have been fruitless up until this point and the Ligue 1 giants are reportedly willing to cash in.

TOP STORY – MBAPPE NEARING MADRID?

Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to accept an offer for Kylian Mbappe should one arrive from Real Madrid before the end of the transfer window, according to RMC.

PSG have been fighting to re-sign Mbappe, who is in the final year of his current deal in the French capital.

However, PSG have reportedly accepted defeat in their efforts to retain Mbappe beyond the 2021-22 season as Madrid look to lure the Frenchman to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Premier League pair Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked.

ROUND-UP

- The Mirror writes United are prepared to offer cash plus a player-swap – believed to be Jesse Lingard – to sign West Ham's Declan Rice.

- Atletico Madrid are closing in on a deal to sign Hertha Berlin's Matheus Cunha, says Fabrizio Romano. LaLiga champions Atletico had been linked with Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic – also wanted by the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Inter and Arsenal – but have so far failed to reach an agreement.

- The Daily Telegraph reports Tottenham are preparing a £40million bid to reunite Nuno Espirito Santo with Wolves star Adama Traore.

- Napoli are eyeing unwanted Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic, per Correire dello Sport. Pjanic had looked set to return to Juventus.

- Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira will move to Fiorentina after turning down Eintracht Frankfurt, according to Romano.

- Chelsea are continuing to eye Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, claims Romano. The Frenchman is ready to swap Seville for London after agreeing personal terms on a deal until June 2026.

- Inter are monitoring Torino star Andrea Belotti as they seek to replace Romelu Lukaku, says Calciomercato. The Serie A champions have also been linked to Lazio forward Joaquin Correa.

Michail Antonio became West Ham's all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League as David Moyes' side crushed Leicester City on Monday.

The 31-year-old scored twice in four minutes in the closing stages of the Hammers' 4-1 victory at London Stadium.

Antonio had earlier teed up Said Benrahma to make it 2-0 after Pablo Fornals broke the deadlock prior to Ayoze Perez's red card. Youri Tielemans netted what proved to be a consolation for Leicester.

Antonio now has 49 Premier League goals for West Ham, two more than previous leading scorer Paolo Di Canio.

The former Sheffield Wednesday player has scored four times in nine appearances against Leicester and already has three in England's top flight this season. No player has scored more.

Antonio celebrated his historic double by holding up a cardboard cut-out to a rapturous home crowd.

The Hammers are now on a four-game winning streak, their best Premier League run since winning five consecutive matches from January 14 to February 13, 2006.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has lost five times against Moyes in England's top flight, more than he has against any other manager in the competition.

Harry Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham this season on Sunday amid speculation about his future.

Kane has been linked with a big-money move to Manchester City, having reportedly told Spurs he wanted to leave late last season.

Spurs have postured that they are steadfast in wanting to keep their star forward, though it has been claimed they may be tempted if City up their bid to around £150million.

TOP STORY - CITY TO MAKE FRESH KANE BID THIS WEEK

The Telegraph claims that Manchester City will make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remains stubborn.

City want to bring in Kane to bolster their attack but have reportedly been unsuccessful with a £100m bid previously.

The report claims City will make a further bid this week for the England captain ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of the month.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham have reached out to Juventus to discuss a potential deal for United States international Weston McKennie, with Tanguy Ndombele expected to be involved in a player exchange according to Tuttosport.

- Corriere dello Sport claims that Napoli have contacted Barcelona's Miralem Pjanic about a move to Italy. Barca are reportedly hoping to offload several players to ease their financial situation, with midfielder Pjanic among them.

- Sport1 claims that RB Leipzig remain interested in signing Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba and may make a move if Marcel Sabitzer leaves the German club.

- Rennes will permit Eduardo Camavinga to leave for €35m as the closure of the transfer window approaches, reports Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea and Manchester United are among his admirers.

- Romano also reports that Chelsea will sell Davide Zappacosta to Atalanta, with personal terms already agreed.

- Burnley will rival Southampton in their interest for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie, claims the Daily Record. Italian club Sampdoria are also keen on the Scotland international.

Liverpool and Lyon have agreed a deal in principle for Xherdan Shaqiri, with the attacking midfielder set for a medical on Monday.

The Switzerland international joined the Reds in July 2018, but remained on the fringes of the first team throughout his time at Anfield.

Shaqiri featured 63 times for Liverpool in all competitions and confirmed earlier this window that he was interested in a move away from the Premier League side.

Lyon were one of a number of teams linked with Shaqiri and the Ligue 1 outfit confirmed the former Bayern Munich and Inter player's arrival on their official website on Sunday.

Shaqiri featured 45 times for Liverpool in the Premier League, including 18 starts, scoring seven goals and assisting five more in his three seasons on Merseyside.

While Shaqiri struggled for minutes at club level last season, he impressed for Switzerland at Euro 2020 with three goals and an assist, including a strike in his nation's quarter-final exit at the hands of Spain.

He was directly involved in four goals at the Euros, with only the Czech Republic's Patrik Schick (five) and Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo (six) involved in more.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reiterated his desire to keep Paul Pogba after he once again caught the eye in Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Southampton.

Pogba provided four assists in a 5-1 rout of Leeds United last weekend and the midfielder set up Mason Greenwood's equaliser at St Mary's on Sunday after a Fred own goal gave Saints a first-half lead.

Former Juventus man Pogba became the first player to provide five assists in the opening two games of a Premier League campaign.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, but Red Devils boss Solskjaer hopes he will extend his stay at Old Trafford.

When asked about Pogba's future, Solskjaer said: "That's going to be the question every week now until he does [sign a new deal].

"As I've said all the time, Paul is a top player and the talks between the club and his representatives I'm not involved in but he knows how much I care about him and we want him to play well for us."

He added: "He's been very good. Paul has come in bright, with his own personality. He's lean, he's been working hard over the summer and he's enjoying himself.

"I think we've seen that Paul wants to contribute. Of course you don't see him in the dressing room or in training, but he's really determined, he shows his winning mentality and I'm very pleased with him."

United felt they should have been awarded a free-kick for a foul on Bruno Fernandes by Jack Stephens just before Saints' opening goal.

Solskjaer was puzzled that referee Craig Pawson and the VAR saw nothing untoward and thinks the officials are being too lenient early in the new season

He said: "We should do better. If we don't get the foul, we should make sure we block the shot, put your body on the line and make sure they don't get a shot on target.

"That being said, it's a foul. He goes straight through Bruno with his own hip and his arm across him and I'm a bit, not worried, but we have to look at it because you can't go from one extreme going from volleyball or basketball last year to rugby now.

"I've liked the more lenient way, more men's football but it's still basically a foul. You can see early on they got the crowd going with a few tackles and we did suffer a few tackles, which was their thinking early on it looked like."

Solskjaer also revealed winger Amad Diallo could go out on loan before the transfer window closes.

The former Norway striker said: "He's a top player and what he's done in training in the last week or so since he came back from the Olympics has been really impressive. If we find the right place for him we will probably let him go, if not he will be in the squad very soon.

"He's training with us and doing really well, I'm sure if he stays he will contribute but if the right offer comes for him we have to consider it of course."

Record signing Romelu Lukaku returns for his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Having last appeared for the Blues during the 2013-14 campaign, Thomas Tuchel hands Lukaku his first start since he rejoined the club and leaves Timo Werner on the bench for the Premier League clash.

The Belgium forward, who netted 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances to fire Inter to the Scudetto last term, will be joined by Mason Mount and Kai Havertz for support up top.

Christian Pulisic misses out due to COVID-19 with Havertz taking his place, while Reece James replaces Trevoh Chalobah, meaning Cesar Azpilicueta moves back to centre-back.

Behind the visitors' three-man defence, Edouard Mendy retains his place - the former Rennes goalkeeper keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League (10) since Tuchel's appointment in January.

Chelsea are looking for their fifth consecutive away London derby league victory, last achieving such a feat under Jose Mourinho between January 2005 and January 2006.

However, Mikel Arteta's men were victorious in both fixtures last term, though they have not won three in a row in the competition since February 2004.

Arsenal are without Ben White, who misses out through COVID-19, so Rob Holding comes in at centre-back.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who tested positive for coronavirus prior to the defeat to Brentford last weekend, returns and is listed among the substitutes, but Alexandre Lacazette and Willian are both out after their positive tests.

New addition Martin Odegaard is not in the squad, but Arteta's other midweek signing Aaron Ramsdale makes the bench.

Lionel Messi was the topic of plenty of speculation in recent weeks before inking a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

The 34-year-old left Barcelona as a free agent after two decades with the Catalan club, unable to stay despite wanting to continue his career there.

But rumours are swirling already about Messi's next move after PSG, even though he has yet to even make his debut for the Ligue 1 side.

TOP STORY - BECKHAM HOLDS MESSI TALKS

Inter Miami owner David Beckham has held talks with Messi about joining the MLS club after his PSG contract expires, reports The Mirror.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder has promised to bring a superstar player to the club, with links to Cristiano Ronaldo in the past.

According to the report, Messi purchased six luxury penthouse apartments in Miami a few weeks ago, adding fuel to the fire.

ROUND-UP

- Manchester City will need to up their bid for Harry Kane to Tottenham by £50million to convince Spurs to sell, reports The Mirror. City have reportedly tabled an improved bid since their £100m offer and are said to be willing to go as high as £120m.

- Newcastle are ready to make a move to sign Everton's Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez, according to fichajes.net.

- Milan are interested in a move for Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva for £45m (€52m) according to Star on Sunday.

- The Sun claims that Southampton are looking to complete a bargain deal for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Mikel Arteta reckons Arsenal must be "perfect" to beat Chelsea on Sunday as he looks to get the north London club back among the Premier League challengers.

The Gunners started the new top-flight campaign in lacklustre fashion, going down to promoted Brentford 2-0 in the opening game.

A derby with Thomas Tuchel's side is next up and, after defeating Chelsea 3-1 in the same fixture last term, Arteta knows what it will take to be successful again at Emirates Stadium.

"What we have to do is perform, perform at the highest level," he replied when asked in a pre-match media conference if a draw would be a positive result.

"We know that to beat Chelsea we need to be perfect.

"Individually and collectively, we have to have an extraordinary game. The focus is going to be that."

Arsenal also triumphed 1-0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of the previous season, too. They have not won three in a row against Chelsea in the league since a successful run between January 2003 and February 2004.

While Chelsea could be buoyed on by their record signing Romelu Lukaku making his return, Arteta has added Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale to his squad.

Asked whether spending money came with added pressure, Arteta made clear it is all part of the long-term planning at the club to get them back contending again.

"We are a football club that tries to make the right decisions and move forward," the Spaniard said.

"It’s never been down to me. When we have success, titles, or when we have difficulties, it's down to us with me here, and it will be like this in the future.

"What we want to do is bring this club back to where it was. We are going to do that, the timing of it is a little more complicated than people think, but the aim is to do that.

"The only aim going into all matches is to win, nothing else. Achieving that as quickly as possible is the only objective we have."

Pep Guardiola hailed Gabriel Jesus' display in Manchester City's 5-0 win against Norwich City and said he feels fortunate to be able to work with a player as selfless as the Brazilian.

Jesus was brought into City's starting line-up as one of five changes from last weekend's defeat to Tottenham as City produced a five-star showing against Norwich.

The Brazil international was fielded to the right of a front three that also contained Ferran Torres and Jack Grealish in Saturday's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

While Jesus did not find the net, he played a game-high three key passes, which included assists for Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling.

He also sent in the ball that led to Grant Hanley and Tim Krul inadvertently combining for City's opener and was heavily praised by Guardiola after the impressive display.

"If one person deserves respect and man of the match prizes then it's him. His mum and dad have to be so proud to have someone like him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.

Speaking at his post-match news conference, the Catalan coach added: "He's a player who likes to be wider than central position.

"One of the reasons I'm a manager is when you can work with people and humans like Gabriel. He never complains, he plays five minutes, he plays the best five minutes he can.

"He's happy on left, right or centre and today the connection with Kyle [Walker] was exceptional. I'm pleased with his performance – he was involved in three of our goals and is an incredibly important player for us.

"He made an exceptional performance today, and I repeat, if he plays three minutes he plays the best three minutes for the club and everyone. The more you have in this position the better we are. When someone plays like this they deserve to play.

"He's so young, big congratulations because he deserves in life the best. He's so generous and as I say, I'm incredibly satisfied for him."

Jesus has experience of playing in a wide role with the Brazil national team, whom he helped reach the final of the Copa America last month.

The 24-year-old was given an extended break following his Copa exploits but took little time to find his groove on his first start of the season, having been introduced as a second-half substitute against Tottenham last week.

"I play more on the right for the national team," Jesus told BBC Sport. "We have a lot of good wingers here and a very good team overall.

"I feel good and I'm getting my confidence and energy back. I like to play all the time, wherever the manager tries to play me, I try to do my best always.

"I was the last one to come back after the holidays. I didn't lose too much power. I'm a little bit lucky that I can come back, train two days or one week and get back my fitness."

Grealish, Aymeric Laporte, Sterling and Riyad Mahrez were all on target for City in their routine victory after Krul had opened the scoring win an early own goal.

Since Guardiola arrived in the Premier League at the start of the 2016-17 season, City have now been responsible for 23 of the 49 games won by a five-goal margin (47 per cent).

It was a timely win for City, ending a run of three defeats in a row in competitive games without scoring stretching back into last season.

"This result was the consequence of how many good things we have done," Guardiola said.

"We are still not at the top – there are still many things to do. We trained, we were refreshed and I'm happy for these first points.... hopefully they will not be the last!"

Grealish's goal was his first for City since arriving in a British record £100million deal from Aston Villa this month on what was his home debut and third appearance overall.

The England international knew little about the goal, with Jesus' powerful cross hitting his thigh before he could react and flying past Krul.

Citing the example of "machine" Sterling, who has built a reputation for being in the right place to finish off moves, Guardiola expects Grealish to become a regular goalscorer.

"If he gets the mentality to score goals like Raheem, yeah [he can score more]," Guardiola said. "When Raheem was here when I first arrived he didn't have goals in his mind and we immediately changed his arrival.

"Today Raheem scored because he arrives in the centre, he's a machine there. He changed his mind and decided he was going to score. Jack has this mentality to score goals and win games. If he has the Raheem mentality then he can do it, too."

Jack Grealish was among the scorers as Manchester City eased past Norwich City 5-0 on Saturday for their first win of the Premier League season.

The reigning champions fell to a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in their opening game but had no trouble in seeing off their newly promoted opponents at the Etihad Stadium.

British record signing Grealish scored in an unconventional manner 22 minutes into his home debut after Tim Krul's unfortunate own goal had given the hosts an early lead.

Aymeric Laporte added to the scoring in the second half and substitutes Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez piled the misery on Norwich, who slipped to a second successive defeat on their return to the top tier.

City had won their previous three home league games against Norwich by an aggregate score of 14-1 and were ahead inside seven minutes of this latest one-sided encounter.

Gabriel Jesus chested down Rodri's diagonal pass and fired a low cross into the six-yard box, Grant Hanley diverting the ball against goalkeeper Krul and into the net.

Ferran Torres was denied a goal by VAR for Bernardo Silva's trip on Milot Rashica in the build-up, but Grealish netted soon after as Jesus' cross hit his thigh and beat Krul.

Having played a part in those opening two goals, Jesus went close to scoring one of his own early in the second half when dragging a shot just wide from range.

City's third did arrive nine minutes later when Laporte stroked home after Norwich failed to deal with a corner and the ball bounced around in the box.

Sterling was next to register with a close-range finish after being teed up by the impressive Jesus, while Mahrez rounded out the scoring late on, brilliantly controlling Ruben Dias' long pass and tucking in off the inside of the post.

Harvey Elliott has been handed a first Premier League start for Liverpool against Burnley, while captain Jordan Henderson returns to action for the Reds.

Henderson suffered a groin injury in the derby defeat to Everton at Anfield in February and has not featured for Jurgen Klopp's men since, though he was involved in England's Euro 2020 campaign.

Elliott became the youngest player to make an appearance in Premier League history in May 2019, making his debut for former club Fulham when aged 16 years and 30 days.

The 18-year-old now gets the chance from the outset after appearing twice as a substitute during the 2019-20 campaign for Liverpool, with Andy Robertson is also fit again to return to the bench.

The Scotland left-back suffered ankle ligament damage in a pre-season friendly with Athletic Bilbao and while Saturday's clash has come too soon to start again, it appears he could be ready for the Chelsea game next week.

Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners in their Premier League opener against Norwich City, in which Elliott tasted seven minutes of action off the bench, but they now host a Burnley side who ended their 68-game unbeaten home run last term.

Mohamed Salah netted once, his record-breaking fifth consecutive goal on the opening day of a Premier League campaign, as well as providing two assists against the Canaries.

A brace against the Clarets would see the Egypt forward reach 100 Premier League goals in 160 appearances. Only four players have ever achieved that feat in the competition before: Alan Shearer (124 games), Harry Kane (141), Sergio Aguero (147) and Thierry Henry (160).

Burnley, in contrast, got their campaign underway with a 2-1 loss at home to Brighton and Hove Albion. They could win consecutive away league matches at Anfield for the first time since 1894-95 and 1896-97.