Rogers and Palmer join Premier League’s best bromances
Morgan Rogers’ reunion with best friend Cole Palmer at Chelsea makes them the Premier League’s latest bromance.
New Blues signing Rogers has known Palmer since he was 14, playing with him for England at youth and senior level and Manchester City’s academy.
Following news of his close mate’s arrival from Aston Villa, Palmer posted an Instagram story of old pictures of the pair, with the caption: “Playing for Chelsea with one of your best friends in life.”
On his friendship with Palmer, Rogers told Chelsea’s website: “We’ve been speaking about this for a while, that we would always love to play together.
“He’s been non-stop ringing my phone, texting me, and I can’t wait. I think that’s probably the most special thing, playing with one of your best friends and being around him every day. It’s something I’m really excited about.”
Rogers also hopes he and Palmer get to do their ‘‘cold’’ celebration together, adding: “I don’t see why not. Hopefully we both can score loads of goals so we both get chance to do it.”
Past Premier League bromances include Dele Alli and Eric Dier, with the former Tottenham Hotspur team-mates even appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox together.
Gary Neville and Sir David Beckham were best friends at Manchester United, with the former being best man at the latter’s wedding to Spice Girls star Victoria in 1999.
Patrice Evra grew so close to Park Ji-sung at Man Utd that he asked him to be godfather to his son.
Alexandre Lacazette described fellow striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as like his “brother” during their time together at Arsenal, famously celebrating goals with each other by shaking hands and bowing.
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Iraola wants to keep Mac Allister and Alisson
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has addressed the futures of Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson Becker – insisting he wants the experienced duo to stay at the club.
Midfielder Mac Allister, who helped Argentina reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, reportedly has two years left on his Reds contract, while goalkeeper Alisson has only one year remaining on his deal.
“I think Alexis has been one of the best players at the club for the last few years, and he has had a very good World Cup,” Iraola said at a press conference at the start of Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States.
“It is normal that other clubs want our best players, but I want to keep my good players.”
On Alisson, Iraola said: “I’m very happy with the situation we have right now in the goalkeeping area.
“In a changing room that has lost some references in terms of experience, Alisson is someone that will help us in this process of adaptation of the new players, the young players.”
Iraola also revealed right-back Conor Bradley is still “months” away from returning from the knee injury he sustained in January, meaning he is keen to sign a new defender this summer.
“It’s a situation that is tricky, because we trust Conor in the long term, we know we want him to be our right-back, but right now he is still a little bit far from returning,” added Iraola.
“In terms of defensive depth, we are very thin right now, so I think it’s a solution that we are trying to find.”
De Zerbi hints at more Spurs signings
Spurs’ busy transfer window is not over yet, according to their head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The club have already brought in six new players in the form of Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Martin Dubravka, Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
However, De Zerbi insists more new arrivals are still to come this summer.
“I think we are building a very good team, with some very important new players, and starting the project in another part of the history of the club,” the Italian head coach told the club website in his first interview of pre-season.
“I spent a lot of time [understanding the club] before joining in April and I knew very well the ideas of the owner of the club.
“Now we are inside [the project], we are excited with the idea to build a very strong team.
“Now we have to finish as it’s not finished yet, our transfer market, in and out, but at the moment I’m very happy, very proud and very positive.”
De Zerbi is looking to lead his side up the table in 2026/27 following their disappointing 17th-place finish last season.
“I think Tottenham deserve to compete for the top of the Premier League,” he added.
“I know very well the Premier League is very tough but if you have a good motivation inside of the players, a good organisation on the pitch and outside of the pitch, I think you work well and at the end you reach your target.”
Upson Jnr following his father’s lead at Arsenal
Elijah Upson has followed in the footsteps of his father by signing for Arsenal.
Former England defender Matthew Upson joined the Gunners as an 18-year-old in 1997 and went on to win the Premier League title with the club during a six-year stay.
Now his 18-year-old son – who is also a centre-back – has signed his first professional terms with Arsenal, having joined from their north London rivals Spurs.
“My dad signed here around the same time as me, so it’s great to have someone with a good experience of the place,” Upson Jnr told the club website.
“At the same time, I’m definitely looking forward to building my own reputation and getting started.”
If Upson goes on to make his Premier League debut for Arsenal, he would become the latest player to have emulated his dad by featuring in the competition.
Peter Schmeichel and Kasper Schmeichel are the father-and-son combination who have made the most combined Premier League appearances.
Ipswich close in on Japan star Maeda
Ipswich Town have agreed a deal to sign Japanese forward Daizen Maeda from Celtic, according to multiple reports.
Sky Sports claim a transfer fee has been agreed in principle between the clubs, with Maeda now set to become Ipswich’s latest summer arrival.
Maeda has won five straight Scottish Premiership titles with Celtic. He scored 33 goals in all competitions for the club in 2024/25, backed up by 17 in 2025/26.
The 28-year-old started three of Japan’s four games at the World Cup, netting in the 1-1 draw against Sweden.
If he completes a switch to Ipswich, he would take the number of Japanese players in the Premier League to eight, joining Kota Takai (Spurs), Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (Coventry City), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) and Wataru Endo (Liverpool).