Villarreal boss Unai Emery has acknowledged the Yellow Submarine may be forced to sell young winger Yeremi Pino, amid reports linking him with a move to Arsenal.

The Gunners have reportedly been in the market for another versatile attacker since top target Raphinha opted to join Barcelona earlier in the transfer window, while the Spanish press has also touted Liverpool as potential suitors for Yeremi.

The 19-year-old played a key role as Villarreal made the Champions League semi-finals last season, making 40 appearances for Emery's team in all competitions.

Yeremi recorded seven goals and four assists in a strong campaign, also creating 32 chances for LaLiga's seventh-placed finishers.

But Emery told reporters on Friday the club may be powerless to keep him in the face of Premier League interest, acknowledging: "If an offer arrives for players like Yeremi Pino, then he will have to leave.

"We have a responsibility with the club. It is what it is."

Villarreal go to Real Valladolid for their first outing of the 2022-23 LaLiga season on Saturday.

Villarreal boss Unai Emery has acknowledged the Yellow Submarine may be forced to sell young winger Yeremi Pino, amid reports linking him with a move to Arsenal.

The Gunners have reportedly been in the market for another versatile attacker since top target Raphinha opted to join Barcelona earlier in the transfer window, while the Spanish press has also touted Liverpool as potential suitors for Yeremi.

The 19-year-old played a key role as Villarreal made the Champions League semi-finals last season, making 40 appearances for Emery's team in all competitions.

Yeremi recorded seven goals and four assists in a strong campaign, also creating 32 chances for LaLiga's seventh-placed finishers.

But Emery told reporters on Friday the club may be powerless to keep him in the face of Premier League interest, acknowledging: "If an offer arrives for players like Yeremi Pino, then he will have to leave.

"We have a responsibility with the club. It is what it is."

Villarreal go to Real Valladolid for their first outing of the 2022-23 LaLiga season on Saturday.

Barcelona coach Xavi refused to rule out exits for Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the eve of their LaLiga opener, acknowledging "anything can happen".

Manchester United's interest in De Jong has evolved into one of the longest-running sagas of the transfer window, while Chelsea are being strongly linked with both the Netherlands midfielder and Barca striker Aubameyang.

Although Xavi and president Joan Laporta have expressed confidence Barca will overcome their financial woes to register a host of new acquisitions ahead of Saturday's fixture against Rayo Vallecano, they are trying to offload players and reduce the wage bill.

While Xavi still considers both men key players, he made it clear they may depart before the transfer window closes.

"From here until August 31 a lot can happen, but I like Aubameyang a lot," Xavi told a news conference on Friday.

"He helped us a lot, he's an important player for me, he arrived here with a lot of humility, a good work ethic, so we'll see what happens."

On De Jong's future, the Blaugrana boss added: "It's the same as Aubameyang, he's an important player and he's part of the squad. 

"If I can use him, great. From now until the 31st we will see what possibilities there are and where we are with regards to our participation in the market. 

"From now until August 31, anything can happen with Frenkie and with any players in the squad."

Reports have suggested tensions are high between De Jong and the club after he appeared to be jeered by a group of supporters while arriving at training earlier this week.

But Xavi denies there is any ill-feeling towards De Jong, who joined from Ajax for a reported fee of €75million in 2019.

"I didn't hear whistles, I heard applause," Xavi claimed. "People are able to express how and when they want, I'm here to try to improve the squad and make a cohesive unit. 

"It depends on how you perform on the pitch whether they support you or whistle. I think Frenkie can help the squad very well, he's helped the club also and I have no complaints."

One player who is set to leave Barcelona is young midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who declared on Wednesday he would be joining Valencia on a season-long loan.

Nico made 37 appearances for Barca last season – although only 17 were starts – and Xavi revealed the 20-year-old asked to leave.

"He came to me three weeks ago. I insisted that he continue because he would have minutes. I like Nico," Xavi said. "But a few days ago, he came back and told me that there was a team where he would play. 

"He has been brave and is going to Valencia. I hope he comes back more mature because it will be important for the future of Barca. 

"For the midfield we have Busquets, [Miralem] Pjanic, [Franck] Kessie, Frenkie, Sergi Roberto, and even [Andreas] Christensen who can play there."

Xavi says Barcelona are "very optimistic" that their new signings will be registered, but they may not all be given the green light for their first match of the LaLiga season against Rayo Vallecano.

Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have arrived at Camp Nou since the end of last season, but there is uncertainty over whether they will be able to make their competitive debuts on Saturday.

The Catalan giants have been busy trying to raise funds in order to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season and activated a fourth economic lever on Friday.

Barca sold a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million, having also agreed a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with Spotify and sold a percentage of LaLiga broadcast rights, 

They have been able to lower their wage bill by offloading players and more could follow, with Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reportedly targets for Chelsea.

Blaugrana head coach Xavi says he is prepared for the possibility that some of his new men may not be eligible to play this weekend.

He told reporters: "We are working hard and everyone at the club is very positive. Maybe not 100 per cent, but we are optimistic. We'll see. The club has signed very well, I am very excited about the players we have signed. We have time until tomorrow and now we are very optimistic."

Xavi maintained his plans for the opening match of the season have not been badly disrupted by being unsure over who will be available.

He said: "It has little influence, as at the end of the day we work on different systems, different variants. Either one or the other players, very few things change.

"We pretty much have two players for each position. We work the same, we don't have a different system with the way we play in attack. Not a lot varies and I insist that right now we are very optimistic of registering the players."

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso continue to be linked with Barca, with just under three weeks before the transfer window closes.

A deal to sign Alonso is reported to have been agreed and Xavi made it clear he is eager to do further business.

"We are still planning ahead, that's a reality," the former Spain midfielder said. "We are going to see what we are going to do until August 31.

"Of course, we need to have players leave in order for others to come, but the transfer market is open until the 31st and there is work to be done for all of us. We'll see."

Xavi also revealed he wanted Nico Gonzalez to stay rather than join Valencia on loan for the season, adding: "[Nico] came to me three weeks ago. I insisted that he continue because he would have minutes. I like Nico.

"But a few days ago he came back and told me that there was a team where he would play. He has been brave and is going to Valencia.

"I hope he comes back more mature because it must be important for the future of Barca. For the midfield we have [Sergio] Busquets, [Miralem] Pjanic, Kessie, Frenkie, Sergi Roberto, and even Christensen, who can play there."

The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has made the decision to postpone Lyon's Ligue 1 trip to Lorient on Sunday owing to an unsafe pitch at the latter's home ground.

The two sides were due to play their second league match of the new season, having got their campaigns underway last weekend.

But the LFP has elected to delay the encounter after a pitch inspection at Stade du Moustoir deemed the surface to possess a risk to the welfare of both teams.

"The LFP Competitions Committee decided on Friday to postpone the match between FC Lorient and Olympique Lyonnais to a later date," read an official statement.

"The commission noted that the current state of the pitch at Stade du Moustoir did not ensure the safety of the players. As a result, the LFP Competitions Committee decided to postpone the meeting."

Reports suggest that both the ongoing heatwave and drought across Western Europe, coupled with the ground playing host to events for the Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient contributed to the poor conditions.

Both teams kicked off their campaign with a win last weekend, as Lyon defeated Ajaccio and Lorient scored a surprise victory over Rennes.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has named a majority locally based squad for the country’s upcoming three-game mini tournament in Austria.

The football competition, which will take place at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, has been put on by Qatar as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup later this year.

In addition to Qatar, the Reggae will be joined at the tournament by Morocco and African nation Ghana, who will also be making an appearance in Qatar for the global football showpiece.

 Of the 27 players named in the Jamaica squad, 20 ply their trade in the country’s local league.  The exceptions are experienced defender Adrian Mariappa who will join from Australia’s McArthur FC, Jevani Brown who represents EFL League One club Exeter City, Oquassa Chong (Esbjerb fb), Venton Evans (Greenville Triumph) Damani Osei                    
(Santa Clara), Jourdain Fletcher (Gokulam Kerala) and Maliek Howell (University of Memphis).

The Reggae Boyz will tackle Ghana on August 20, followed by matches against Morocco on the 23^rd and Qatar on the 26^th.  The team will be coached by Merron Gordon who will be assisted by Vassell Reynolds.

Full squad

Kemar Foster         Waterhouse FC

Amal Knight            Harbour View FC

Eric Edwards               Arnett Gardens FC

Colorado Murray      Harbour View FC

Trayvone Reid           Harbour View FC

Ricardo Thomas        Waterhouse FC

Ky-Mani Campbell        Waterhouse FC

Richard King                 Cavalier SC

Denardo Thomas         Waterhouse FC

Demario Phillips               Dunbeholden FC

Fabion McCarthy         Dunbeholden FC

Nickoy Christian             Dunbeholden FC

Ramone Howell             Waterhouse FC

Ronaldo Webster            Cavalier SC

Jourdain Fletcher             Gokulam Kerala

Maliek Howell               University of Memphis

Earl Simpson                  Arnett Gardens FC

Odane Pennycooke       Tivoli Gardens FC

Tarick Ximines                Mount Pleasant FC

Alwayne Harvey           Mount Pleasant FC

Adrian Marriapa.             McAuthur FC

Damani Osei.                     Santa Clara Broncos         

Shamari Dyer                      Harbour View           

Oquassa Chong                    Esbjerb fb

Venton Evans                           Greenville Triumph                 

Jevani Brown                          Exeter City

Nicholas Hamilton               Harbour View FC

The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has made the decision to postpone Lyon's Ligue 1 trip to Lorient on Sunday owing to an unsafe pitch at the latter's home ground.

The two sides were due to play their second league match of the new season, having got their campaigns underway last weekend.

But the LFP has elected to delay the encounter after a pitch inspection at Stade du Moustoir deemed the surface to possess a risk to the welfare of both teams.

"The LFP Competitions Committee decided on Friday to postpone the match between FC Lorient and Olympique Lyonnais to a later date," read an official statement.

"The commission noted that the current state of the pitch at Stade du Moustoir did not ensure the safety of the players. As a result, the LFP Competitions Committee decided to postpone the meeting."

Reports suggest that both the ongoing heatwave and drought across Western Europe, coupled with the ground playing host to events for the Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient contributed to the poor conditions.

Both teams kicked off their campaign with a win last weekend, as Lyon defeated Ajaccio and Lorient scored a surprise victory over Rennes.

Stefano Pioli says Milan will "not back down" in the transfer market as they eye further reinforcements ahead of a "special" season.

The Serie A champions reportedly paid €36million to sign attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, and also brought in striker Divock Origi on a free transfer after his Liverpool contract expired.

But it has been a quiet transfer window for the Rossoneri after they ended an 11-year wait to win the Scudetto in May.

Milan start the defence of their title against Udinese at San Siro on Saturday and head coach Pioli hopes to have more new faces on board by the time the transfer window closes on September 1.

He told reporters on Friday: "I am very happy and delighted with who has arrived. If there is a chance to improve the squad, we will not back down."

Pioli added: "The transfer market can offer you situations that you may not have thought of until now. If there is the possibility the squad will be improved; different characteristics may be needed from those we have."

Such a hectic schedule due to the World Cup in Qatar will provide further challenges, but Pioli is relishing another title battle.

He said: "It will be a special season. Today I showed the team the whole calendar until November 13 and many will have 23-24 games in 90 days.

"I will need everyone available. In three months we will have already played a lot: we play 15 league games, the Champions League...

"It will be a very balanced championship and I think it will be difficult for everyone to improve the standard of the last championship. All the top eight are at a high level, the mid-table ones have grown. It will be a good fight."

Simone Inzaghi emphasised the importance of Inter keeping their squad together on the eve of the new Serie A campaign, as he revealed the Nerazzurri are not targeting multiple new additions.

Inter missed out on the Serie A title to rivals Milan by just two points in Inzaghi's first campaign at the helm in 2021-22, but have been tipped to regain the Scudetto after bringing in the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Andre Onana.

Meanwhile, despite Paris Saint-Germain being linked with Milan Skriniar and Chelsea touted as a possible destination for Denzel Dumfries and Alessandro Bastoni, the Nerazzurri have retained the services of other key players.

And Inzaghi is keen to ensure things remain that way, as he said a replacement for defensive back-up Andrea Rannocchia – who has joined Monza – is Inter's only transfer target.

"The team is the one that I have agreed with the company and the owners," he told a news conference ahead of Inter's Serie A opener at Lecce.

"The team will be this, we are missing a player to replace Ranocchia, the company is working on this and I think I don't have to talk about it anymore. 

"The incoming and outgoing market is closed."

Lukaku's return on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea represents one of the biggest acquisitions made by any Serie A team during the off-season, after he fired them to the 2020-21 Scudetto with 24 league goals.

Upon his San Siro comeback, Lukaku will be expected to rekindle a fearsome partnership with Lautaro Martinez after they created 29 chances for one another – eight resulting in goals – during the Belgian's last season at Inter.

Inzaghi also has the likes of Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa to call upon as attacking options, and is pleased with the way the 29-year-old has settled back in to the Nerazzurri frontline.

"Lukaku works as well as the others, he's been out for a year, he's trying to integrate as best he can with everyone," Inzaghi added. 

"He's not new here, I'm very happy with him, Dzeko, Lautaro and Correa. 

"On [departing forwards Alexis] Sanchez and [Andrea] Pinamonti, we made some choices focusing on these four, who give me great guarantees.

"Tomorrow, a difficult championship starts again where many teams will fight to win like us. They have strengthened a lot, my focus is only on Lecce. 

"They are a newly promoted team who will have support and enthusiasm, it will take a real match from Inter to be able to win.

"It must be another great year, Inter have a duty to aspire to the maximum. The team is unchanged: we lost [Ivan] Perisic who was very important, but he made other choices. We brought back Lukaku, we took functional players.

"The opponents made many purchases, investing a lot, but they know that Inter will be on their way."

Marcus Rashford is "really important" to Manchester United and the forward is very much in their plans amid reported transfer interest from Paris Saint-Germain, says Erik ten Hag.

The 24-year-old struggled during a tepid 2021-22 campaign at Old Trafford, losing his place in the England set-up and mustering just four goals in 25 league appearances.

Reports have since emerged that he could make a fresh start across the English Channel with Ligue 1 heavyweights PSG.

But speaking ahead of a trip to Brentford this weekend, Ten Hag insists he regards Rashford as a key member of his squad this term.

"He is really important," Ten Hag said. "You have seen from the first day I am here [that] I am really happy with him.

"I do not want to lose him. He is definitely in our plans at Manchester United."

Ten Hag also addressed Cristiano Ronaldo's involvement after the Portugal star was benched for their opening weekend loss to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The veteran forward missed much of pre-season amid reports he is seeking an exit to find Champions League football, though a lack of credible suitors may well have put the brakes on a move.

"He has had a good training week," the Dutchman added. "He has had two half games now. We will see tomorrow."

Defeat to Brighton represented a major blow to hopes Ten Hag will re-establish United as genuine contenders for the top four this term, but the former Ajax man is unworried by a slow start from his side.

"After every game, I analyse what went wrong and where we can improve, where we have to improve, and how we have to train," he added.

"We tell and show the players this too, to give them the solutions. We learnt a lot [from the first game] but it is normal when you start a season, every season in that part is the same.

"You have a new start, you make mistakes. Football is a game of mistakes, so we know we have to improve in many factors."

Juventus have announced the arrival of wing-back Filip Kostic from Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-year deal, with the 29-year-old reportedly commanding a fee of €16million including add-ons.

Kostic, a key player in Eintracht's Europa League triumph last season, was absent from Oliver Glasner's squad as they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the Super Cup on Wednesday.

Glasner declared the Serbia international would leave the Bundesliga club "as a hero" ahead of that match, before Kostic posted a heartfelt message to Eintracht's fans on Instagram.

After Kostic underwent a medical with Juventus on Thursday, he has been revealed as their latest addition of a busy transfer window, following the acquisitions of Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria and Gleison Bremer.

A statement on Juventus' website read: "A player possessed of talent, strength and speed, able to cover the entire flank. The naturally left-footed wide player has shown over the years that he can play in every area of the pitch, but prefers to throw himself in attack, dishing [out] assists when required.

"The above presentation is basically the football identity card of Filip Kostic, the 29-year-old Serb who is now a Juventus player, having signed a contract that ties him to the club until June 2026."

Kostic, who joined Eintracht in 2018, scored seven goals and added 13 assists from his role as a flying left wing-back last season (in all competitions), also creating 112 chances for the side – almost double the highest tally managed by any of his team-mates (Jesper Lindstom created 57).

The 29-year-old will hope to be involved when Juventus host Sassuolo in their opening match of the new Serie A campaign on Monday.

Julian Nagelsmann has revealed Leroy Sane is unhappy with his lack of game time at Bayern Munich, but the coach sees no reason to change his team following a flying start to the Bundesliga season.

Nagelsmann's side have begun his second season at the helm in stunning fashion, beating RB Leipzig 5-3 in a thrilling DFL-Supercup before racing to a 6-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in their Bundesliga opener last week.

Bayern were 5-0 up before half-time as they tore the Europa League winners apart last Friday, the biggest half-time lead a team have ever had in their opening Bundesliga game, while only one side have ever netted more than their six goals on matchday one – also Bayern in an 8-0 thrashing of Schalke in 2020. 

The Bundesliga champions' terrific start was made all the more impressive by the strength of their bench, with Sane and Matthijs de Ligt restricted to roles as second-half substitutes.

Sane, who went on to assist Bayern's sixth goal, has been linked with a move to Manchester United as Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane start in Nagelsmann's attack, yet the coach is not concerned.

"I don't see any reason to change anything. We're still in the kind phase of the season, so you don't have to make big changes," he told a news conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Wolfsburg.

On Sane, he added: "He is not satisfied that he does not start. Others are doing better, like Jamal Musiala recently. 

"He needs to impose himself in training. He handles it well."

Mane has quickly made his mark, scoring 29 minutes into his Bundesliga debut and finishing the first weekend with the joint-most sprints (39) across the division, showing his seamless adaptation to Bayern's high-energy approach.

"He's very humble, an extreme team player who lets others shine," Nagelsmann said of the former Liverpool forward. "When dealing with him, you don't realise that he's a superstar. That makes it comfortable with him."

Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka has missed out entirely for Bayern so far this season, having undergone knee surgery ahead of a pre-season tour of the United States in July.

The Germany midfielder only made 19 Bundesliga appearances during a troubled 2021-22 campaign, but Nagelsmann revealed his recovery is progressing nicely.

"He's done some running but will need a bit longer before he can join team training," Nagelsmann said. 

"I will give him all the time he needs. The knee hasn't reacted badly at all, and the healing process is going better than we'd expected."

Barcelona have activated a fourth economic lever in a bid to ensure their new signings can be registered for LaLiga, announcing the sale of a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million.

The Catalan giants, who have signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie despite ongoing financial troubles, have reportedly failed to register their new acquisitions for the upcoming league campaign.

President Joan Laporta has been working to raise funds to allow Barca to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season, and said last week the club had made a "great effort" to do so. 

Last month, 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios was sold to the company Socios.com for €100million, while the Blaugrana have also sold 10 per cent of their LaLiga broadcasting rights to American investment firm Sixth Street, among other measures.

But with reports suggesting the club were still struggling to meet LaLiga's rules, they have announced a second deal for an equivalent stake in Barca Studios.

"FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios to the company Orpheus Media, managed by Mr Jaume Roures, an audiovisual production company with a long history of producing content, for 100 million euros," read a club statement.

"The agreement complements the one signed on 29 July with Socios.com and will help to accelerate the growth of the club's digital, NFT and Web.3 strategy.

"With this investment the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport."

Reports suggest that while Barca are prioritising the registration of their new signings, they are still eyeing a move for Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva has been touted as another target.

Barca begin their LaLiga campaign when they host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, though it remains to be seen how many of their new stars can feature.

Barcelona have activated a fourth economic lever in a bid to ensure their new signings can be registered for LaLiga, announcing the sale of a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million.

The Catalan giants, who have signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie despite ongoing financial troubles, have reportedly failed to register their new acquisitions for the upcoming league campaign.

President Joan Laporta has been working to raise funds to allow Barca to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season, and said last week the club had made a "great effort" to do so. 

Last month, 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios was sold to the company Socios.com for €100million, while the Blaugrana have also sold 10 per cent of their LaLiga broadcasting rights to American investment firm Sixth Street, among other measures.

But with reports suggesting the club were still struggling to meet LaLiga's rules, they have announced a second deal for an equivalent stake in Barca Studios.

"FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios to the company Orpheus Media, managed by Mr Jaume Roures, an audiovisual production company with a long history of producing content, for 100 million euros," read a club statement.

"The agreement complements the one signed on 29 July with Socios.com and will help to accelerate the growth of the club's digital, NFT and Web.3 strategy.

"With this investment the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport."

Reports suggest that while Barca are prioritising the registration of their new signings, they are still eyeing a move for Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva has been touted as another target.

Barca begin their LaLiga campaign when they host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, though it remains to be seen how many of their new stars can feature.

As their Serie A rivals attempt to turn back time, champions Milan are looking to the future.

Romelu Lukaku, Inter's 2020-21 Scudetto hero, and Paul Pogba, the winner of four straight championships at Juventus, have returned to their former clubs following ultimately unsuccessful Premier League stints.

Of course, this is a move that worked for Milan last season, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic had played for three different clubs in three different countries between featuring in the Rossoneri's two most recent title-winning campaigns.

Ibrahimovic, soon to turn 41, has signed up for another season, but there is a young, exciting core to the Milan team who secured that latest title and will now bid to defend it.

Young stars repay Pioli's faith

Milan had the fourth-youngest average age of their starters in Serie A last season (25y 337d), older only than Empoli (24y 325d), Spezia (24y 334d) and Torino (25y 189d).

And this average was dragged up significantly by Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud.

Among the 10 outfield players to start 20 or more league games for Milan in 2021-22, nine were below that average age at the end of the season, with Giroud (35y 233d) the exception.

Giroud scored 11 goals, including two the day the Rossoneri won the title at Sassuolo, but even he made only 22 starts as Stefano Pioli showed faith in his young charges.

Pierre Kalulu (21 starts) was 21 on the final day; Rafael Leao (31 starts), Sandro Tonali (31 starts), Brahim Diaz (25 starts) and Alexis Saelemaekers (22 starts) were all 22; Theo Hernandez (30 starts) and Fikayo Tomori (30 starts) were both 24; and the now departed Franck Kessie (25 starts) was 25, along with Davide Calabria (24 starts).

Of those, only Diaz was not in the XI at Sassuolo, with the 28-year-old Rade Krunic preferred.

That this young Milan side held their nerve on that day – needing to avoid defeat to ensure they could not be pipped at the post by Inter – justified Pioli's approach, and the club have seemingly sought to get even younger ahead of their title defence.

Milan boosted by Belgium pair

Realistically, given the financial power of other clubs across Europe, Milan have had little choice but to pay for potential rather than proven performers.

Yet their early moves in this close season sought to find a blend of the two, as Milan honed in on two stars of Lille's shock 2020-21 Ligue 1 title success.

Centre-back Sven Botman, only 22, was a favourite of Paolo Maldini, while Renato Sanches, 24, appeared a good fit for a midfield set to be robbed of Kessie following his move to Barcelona as a free agent.

Unfortunately, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain – backed by Saudi Arabia's PIF and Qatar's QSI respectively – outmuscled Milan in both cases.

Instead, Kalulu could be set to start again alongside Tomori, and Tommaso Pobega, returning from a loan at Torino and now 23, is a likely replacement for Kessie.

Milan have preferred to focus their limited budget on the attack, successfully holding off rival interest to sign Charles De Ketelaere.

The Belgium international, who turned 21 in March, contributed 14 goals and nine assists in 39 First Division A matches for Club Brugge last term.

De Ketelaere was the second-youngest player in the Belgian top flight to tally at least five goals and five assists for the season – after Anderlecht's Bayern Munich loanee Joshua Zirkzee (16 goals, nine assists).

He will now link up with Leao (11 goals, eight assists), who was the second-youngest to achieve that feat in Serie A in 2021-22 – after Sassuolo's Giacomo Raspadori (10 goals, five assists).

Even De Ketelaere's Belgium team-mate Divock Origi – another new forward signing, set to become Milan's latest experienced option up front – is only 27.

Still young, now experienced

The signing of Origi, an elder statesman in the Milan dressing room, would actually have made Serie A rivals Juventus (27y 319d) and Inter (29y 73d) younger.

Indeed, Inter were the third-oldest team in Serie A last season – after Sampdoria (29y 212d) and Lazio (29y 217d) – with their squad already in need of regeneration a year after winning the Scudetto.

There is no danger of Milan being in the same position, with their young side getting younger and extending their window in which they can expect to contend for further titles.

The Rossoneri were comfortably the youngest champions across Europe's top five leagues last season, with Champions League victors Real Madrid (28y 95d) the oldest.

Milan's title winners will undoubtedly benefit from their 2021-22 experiences, too.

Leao (85), Tonali (60), Diaz (47), Saelemaekers (45), Tomori (34) and Kalulu (13) had each played comfortably fewer than 100 games in Europe's top five leagues heading into the previous campaign. Kalulu had tallied a mere 727 minutes prior to his breakout year.

In the Champions League, they were even greener. Besides Giroud, who had played 41 games and started 25, those nine other Serie A regulars had made just 11 combined appearances and five combined starts in Europe's elite club competition up to that point.

Milan's European campaign did not pan out as they would have hoped, losing their first three group stage matches and finishing bottom of the table in a punishing pool, but there was a dramatic away win at Atletico Madrid, and the Rossoneri twice took the game to eventual finalists Liverpool.

There may be departures along the way – and Milan will hope to receive a fee, unlike in Kessie's case – but this team should continue to grow together.

If Milan's players progress as they have done so far, there will be plenty more title challenges – and perhaps even a tilt at an eighth European crown soon enough.