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The football fixture calendar is relentless, and the news cycle feels nonstop – spanning everything from results and matches to tactics, competitions, transfers, politics, global expansion, and even the geopolitics and greater forces now reshaping how the very sport is played.
In short, there’s a lot to keep up with – and to make sense of. That’s where my new newsletter Inside Football comes in.
Landing in your inbox every Monday and Friday, Inside Football delivers insight, opinion, and the under-the-radar details you love.
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 11:11
Garnacho’s move to Chelsea stalls
Alejandro Garnacho wants out of Manchester United and seemed set to move to Chelsea this summer having allegedly agreed personal terms with the club.
Chelsea however will not move for Garnacho until they have got some of their own fringe players off the books with Christopher Nkunku the big selling point.
Bayern Munich are interested in the forward but want a loan deal while Chelsea prefer to sell him permanently for around £50m.
That is the same price United want for Garnacho who is stubbornly holding out for a move to the Blues.
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 10:49
Jadon Sancho is another player that Manchester United want off their books and they are desperately hoping to secure a move for him this summer.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Sancho has rejected a proposal from the Serie A side and won’t be moving to Italy.
Romano posted on X: “Jadon Sancho’s agent also informed AS Roma of their decision not to accept the proposal.
“Sancho wants to consider other clubs’ proposals and AS Roma will now look at different options.”
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 10:40
Enciso signing for ‘BlueCo’ explained
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has offered a brief explanation into the deal for Julio Enciso, which has been labelled as a signing for BlueCo.
In short, Strasbourg will be signing the player and then selling him to Chelsea in a year or two, he says.
“Chelsea cannot sign Enciso and loan him to Strasbourg because they already have three loan players there which is the FIFA limit,” says Maguire.
“Chelsea also have to follow the UEFA business plan following their breach of cost control rules. This involves having a negative net spend this window. So if Chelsea did sign Enciso creates more pressure to sell players.
“By getting Strasbourg to sign Enciso and then sell him to Chelsea in 1-2 years solves all the problems,” he adds.
Chris Wilson21 August 2025 10:33
Tottenham identify Monaco star as Savinho alternative
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 10:12
Lionesses star Agyemang leaves Arsenal on loan to join another WSL club
Agyemang, 19. scored twice at the tournament and was named best young player as the Lionesses defeated Spain to retain their European title in Switzerland.
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 09:49
Done deal! Bournemouth sign Adli
Bournemouth have signed Amine Adli from Bayer Leverkusen for £25m.
The Moroccan attacker, who is predominantly a No 10 but can play anywhere across the front line, has signed a five-year contract.
The fee spent is only a fraction of the £150m received for selling defenders Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi to Liverpool, Real Madrid and PSG respectively, and Bournemouth still hope to bring in more new recruits, with Chelsea’s Axel Disasi on their target list.
Lawrence Ostlere21 August 2025 09:38
Why Alexander Isak may have closed his own window on dream move to Liverpool
It was only minutes after the PFA team of the year departed the stage at Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, with just 10 players rather than 11, that Alexander Isak decided to make his presence felt in a different way.
You could sense the ripple around the room as people began to animatedly tell each other of the Swede’s social statement, the first time that he has publicly spoken on this summer’s dominant saga.
More than a few players raised their eyebrows. Everyone was taking it in.
Miguel Delaney21 August 2025 09:25
Newcastle hint at Alexander Isak decision in response to striker’s bombshell statement
Newcastle United have rejected Alexander Isak’s claim that he was told he could leave this summer and hinted at no future deal for an exit materialising in the closing stages of the transfer window.
Now the Magpies have hit back.
Richard Jolly21 August 2025 09:10
How Arsenal silently hijacked Spurs’ Eberechi Eze transfer well before anyone knew
Just hours before Arsenal clinched a deal for Eberechi Eze, somewhat cruelly, Tottenham Hotspur finally put in the offer they felt would be acceptable to Crystal Palace. There had been a verbal agreement. Spurs just never got a proper answer.
After days of difficult and painstaking negotiations between Daniel Levy and Steve Parish, Arsenal had appeared to steal in within a matter of mere hours. That has already seen this move cast as the mother of all transfer hijackings, especially with how it is another North London derby victory.
Except, The Independent can now reveal it wasn’t really a hijacking at all.
Read Miguel Delaney’s exclusive on how the late-night Eze drama really went down:
Luke Baker21 August 2025 08:58