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Liverpool 0-3 Man City (Gravenberch red card 62′ | Haaland 65′, Doku 68′, Cherki 78′)

ANFIELD — It was like a dystopian episode of Black Mirror. All that bluster. All that angst. All those eyes watching in hundreds of countries around the world. For a game that was effectively meaningless.

Until Manchester City are sanctioned, that is the dark reality of Premier League football. Every success, every last-minute winner, every monumental upset could be deemed irrelevant in a few months if City are relegated, demoted or wiped from existence, as the most vociferous naysayers insist must happen as a result of their systemic breaching of the financial rules.

At Anfield on Sunday, we got our first taste of this new existence. The travelling supporters waved inflatable bananas to laugh in the face of their impending doom. They purchased “Cheats” merchandise and displayed it with gusto in the Merseyside sunshine. The team bus came in via a secret entrance.

Nobody wins in all of this. We can only hope all of the exhibition matches between now and the end of the season are as breathless as Sunday’s fraught encounter.

Erling Haaland gives Manchester City the lead against Liverpool pic.twitter.com/cELo5y60Fk

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 11, 2026

City’s first opponents since the guilty verdict could only have been Liverpool. The Premier League’s socialist enclave, where winning the right way is as important as the victories themselves. The club who feel most wronged, whose favourite German’s legacy could have been dramatically different had it not been for City’s financial doping.

Supporters lined Anfield Road in anticipation of being the first supporters in the angry land to voice their vitriol towards a busload of players, coaches and support staff, all of whom are completely innocent.

“What’s the story, tainted glory”, read one banner. Others demanded more medals for Jurgen Klopp and his perennial runners-up to City. Their message failed to get across, however, as the coach came from the opposite way and entered under the stadium.

Inside the ground, there appeared to be more yellow fruit than away supporters initially. It is a nod to the less problematic 1980s, when ecstatic revellers went straight from the Hacienda to City matches, waving inflatable bananas in homage to Imre Varadi, and a mispronunciation of his name that went viral, before viral was even a thing.

As numbers filled the stands, home supporters could finally boo and hiss to their heart’s content as City players made their way out for the warm-up. City fans, just prior to kick-off, did a “Poznan”. Bananas in hand. The whole spectacle was just downright bizarre.

A cauldron-like atmosphere, which started with whistles on par with anything Galatasaray followers could muster, soon fizzled out, as the action on the pitch wasn’t quite as intense as the feeling in the stands.

Other than a few long-range efforts for both, neither side could create any meaningful first-half openings. Anfield fell silent by the interval.

The game exploded into action early in the second half, Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into two fine saves, before Iliman Ndiaye failed to connect from close range, as did Victor Munoz down the other end moments later.

After Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for two bookable offences early in the second half, the stage was set for the man whose astronomical wages would not have been possible without years of cheating to have the decisive and, of course, most controversial say.

Erling Haaland had only just passed up one glaring opportunity to break the deadlock before reacting quickest to the loose ball to fire the visitors in front, before a stunning Jeremy Doku strike – what has become a trademark curler – sent the away end into delirium.

Alfe Inge Haaland beat the air in among the travelling City fans. Noel Gallagher, strategically placed right at the front, in line with the cameras, looked like he was standing on the shoulder of giants, such was the euphoria. Liverpool simply didn’t possess the quality to issue a response of any kind.

City’s third was the pick of the bunch, and sent home supporters filing for the exits, feeling more cheated than ever. Rayan Cherki sashayed one way, slalomed the next, and slotted home to seal the most acrimonious victory the Premier League has ever produced.

Read more

• Analysis: How relegation could cost Man City over £500m
• Special report: Man City in League Two? Here’s why EFL clubs are divided

City supporters trust their club. What choice do they have? Pep Guardiola is preparing to return on Wednesday to lend his support. Chief executive Ferran Soriano was blinking away in the directors’ box. For now, the City juggernaut, three points clear at the summit, will keep rumbling on.

As Enzo Maresca insisted on Friday, these twenty-something players will go about their business regardless. They know only of what goes on during 90 minutes a couple of times a week.

It is for the greater powers to decide whether a City title success would be a distorted truth or not. And that fact makes the rest of this season feel more Orwellian than we have ever had to endure.

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Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Mbeumo 73’ | Solanke 90+2′)

OLD TRAFFORD – Lisandro Martinez has long been a cult hero in Manchester. The Butcher takes no prisoners but conducts himself with a finesse that belies his ruthless reputation.

Yet, as Manchester United slumped to their worst start to a season in 40 years, Martinez epitomises why this sleeping giant of world football will likely remain in its slumber for a long while yet.

Even the longest international break in history has not changed United one bit.

Michael Carrick did so much right last season and got supporters believing again. Yet, the start to the current campaign has been just like the majority of those that came before in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson wilderness years.

A regroup was needed. A chance to remember what breathed life into United again last term. Instead, what occurred was, of course, their worst 45 minutes of the season upon the Premier League’s return against Tottenham.

A remotely competent attack would have buried United by half time. Instead, Carrick was left to fight another day.

Fortunately for the disgruntled masses inside Old Trafford, it appeared the hosts had done what they have so often while flattering to deceive in terms of overall performance – snatch victory from the jaws of defeat through Bryan Mbeumo’s fine finish. United in fact looked home and dry after Rodrigo Bentancur lost his head and was sent off late on.

There can never be such security where United are concerned.

Against the depleted Spurs, who looked destined to suffer another defeat from a showing that promised so much more, United retreated. A team that has not kept a clean sheet all season, and only three in their last 17 league games, was always going to crumble under the mere suggestion of any pressure.

Instead of competing with Dominic Solanke for Sandro Tonali’s stoppage-time cross, Martinez chose a more unconventional path – leaning backwards and hoping the Spurs skipper would fluff his lines, a tactic that had been successful during regulation time.

On this rare occasion, however, Solanke got a deadly touch to deny United victory against 10 men for a second successive home match. Six points from six matches and yet another nadir.

The back four who finished the match were Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw. Look familiar? It is the same quartet that started the opening day defeat to Brighton four years previously.

All four have their own merits, and Martinez especially could have been considered elite in his prime, when fully fit. Both junctures he is now well past. As a unit, that rearguard was not good enough four years ago. And it certainly isn’t now.

A midfield rebuild was a must in the summer. A sensible revamp took place, three fresh faces coming in without breaking the bank – or getting many pulses racing.

Some of that £150m outlay, if that was all Ineos could conjure, had to be funnelled into the backline. Neglecting to do so leaves an ageing, ill-equipped defensive unit acting as the anchor to any United progress.

One United source this week questioned much of the negativity that had come the club’s way this term. Had Ainsley Maitland-Niles not arrowed a stoppage-time thunderbolt into the top corner, Carrick’s side would have picked up two more points at Everton. Had VAR been remotely capable in the Manchester derby, they may have not slumped to defeat to City.

More on Man Utd

Kevin Garside: It’s time for Man Utd to press the nuclear button

Pete Hall: ‘Toxic’ Man Utd fan rift forces supporters’ group founder to step down

The reality is that in terms of performance, United are exactly where they deserve to be. Other than one half against Ipswich, having benefitted from a rather fortunate refereeing call, Carrick’s side have been beyond bad, as far from their former glories as they ever have been.

There were positives in the Spurs anguish. Carlos Baleba looked especially impressive when stepping off the bench for his debut, while Mbeumo offered intensity beyond the levels he has reached in a red shirt so far.

But with that backline as it is now, exactly the same as it was four years ago, United are never going to get anywhere anytime soon.

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David Bernstein is telling a story about the advice his future father-in-law gave him before he
married his daughter. “He told me: ‘You can lose your wealth and win it back but you can only lose your reputation once.’”

The man who as chairman steered Manchester City from the third tier of English football to the Premier League, from Maine Road into what is now the Etihad Stadium, has no doubt the club will recover from the scandals that have enveloped it.

If City are relegated, they will come back. If players like Erling Haaland are forced to leave, there will be fresh heroes. If the owners from Abu Dhabi quit, new ones will be attracted by the club’s history and fanbase. However, whether Manchester City will ever regain its reputation is another question entirely. Pending an appeal, they stand condemned of blatantly subverting financial rules that were designed to ensure some semblance of fair play.

“We all believe in redemption and the chances of Manchester City winning back their reputation depend on how they handle things now and once the appeal is done,” Bernstein tells The i Paper.

“If they hold their hands up and apologise, if the people who oversaw this debacle go and are replaced by others who will work within the rules, then they have a chance.”

The signs are not encouraging. In a leaked video to staff after the club was found guilty of inflating its revenue by more than £850m, City’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, who is accused of presiding over six years of dummy contracts, fake sponsorship deals and hidden payments, insisted they would use all legal avenues to protect the club and seek compensation from what he termed a “Premier League conspiracy”.

“These are people who don’t resign easily,” says Bernstein. “They are going to fight it out. They come from the Donald Trump school of never back off, always strike back harder, never admit anything and drag it out for as long as possible. To use the word ‘conspiracy’ is desperate and Trumpian stuff.

“I knew there would be things coming out but when I read the report I was shocked by the extent of it. The case is subject to appeal, but these verdicts are damning in the extreme. The allegations could not be more serious with falsified documentation and falsified accounts on a massive scale. I am shocked by the cold-blooded premeditation of it all.

“Once they have been designated by the independent regulator as not being fit and proper people to run a football club, people have to resign. You can hardly be ‘fit and proper’ if, after the appeal, you’re convicted of calculated misdemeanours.

“My feeling is that City should have their titles taken away from them. The success they have had after the period that’s been investigated has been built on what has gone before. Our total record is tarnished and I include what was achieved after 2018 [which falls outside the Premier League inquiry].

“And it is our record. I have been a City fan for 70 years; 5 May, 1956 was one of the great days of my life. Manchester City won the FA Cup on the day of my bar mitzvah.

“When we play Liverpool on Sunday, I want us to win. I will always support the team but I cannot any longer support the club until the consequences of this are dealt with.”

Two years ago Bernstein published We Were Really There, about City’s rise from the humiliation of relegation to the third division of English football.

“It is almost the complete reverse of 1998 because then you had a club that had for many years been neglected, which suffered from under-investment, appeared to be 50 years behind Manchester United, played in a run-down old stadium and did not have a proper training ground. It was failing badly on the pitch.

“This is everything in reverse; a club that has enjoyed success beyond belief and created wonderful facilities, owned by people who have invested not just in the club but in east Manchester.”

In Bernstein’s living room is a photograph of Queen Elizabeth examining a model of how the City of Manchester Stadium would be converted into a football venue after the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Nine years later, Etihad Airways bought the naming rights to the stadium for £400m, which was 45 times their annual profit. The Liverpool owner, John W Henry, asked which bid had come second.

More on Man City

Tim Rich: English football owes Arsene Wenger an apology

Pete Hall: Yes, Man City broke the rules. But the rules are also a nonsense

“A lot of people went along with this, closing their eyes, happy not to think too hard about how this was happening or how it was being funded.”

But hold on. City have not been accused of bribing referees like Barcelona. They have not bribed opposition players to throw games as Marseille did in the 1990s. Their money has helped transform east Manchester. The men from Abu Dhabi delivered in everything they said they would do. They were merely dishonest about how they would do it.

“I am afraid this is the road to perdition,” says Bernstein. “It means might and money are always right and, just because it has achieved some good things, you should allow the wealthy and powerful to get away with anything.

“Once that happens then society, let alone football, is finished.”

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My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. Ten years on from Leicester City’s stunning Premier League title win, Danny Simpson reflects on the season that changed his life for ever.

I thought I’d made it when I assisted Wayne Rooney

I probably acted like I did as well. You know, you start going out drinking and doing all sorts. I was a local lad from Manchester, and people started to notice who I was, and so I’d go out and enjoy myself, and yeah, probably liked it a bit too much.

Sir Alex Ferguson had to pull me into his office a couple of times. He gave me a few bollockings for sure. I look back now and think there’s no way I should’ve been doing that.

At the time, you think you know what’s best. What I know now, especially training with that calibre of player and the intensity of it every day, and I was sometimes enjoying it a bit too much off the field, I would’ve done things differently if I had my time again. But I know I’m not the first, I’m not the last and it’s an experience that I can pass onto younger players as well.

We used to laugh at Cristiano Ronaldo for having a private chef

Look who’s laughing now! He copped a fair bit of stick at Manchester United for that. Rio [Ferdinand] and the rest used to tease him relentlessly.

But he knew how to look after himself. That’s why he’s had the career he’s had. He’s the most complete player I’ve ever seen.

He would spend hours in the gym after training. Back then, we all knew how good he was. He was just obsessed with being the best.

James McClean gave me a good kicking

We used to get into a lot of fights. You can’t fight now, but you could back then. We’ve had a bit of banter since about fighting each other, because he’s a good boxer. He was a tough guy. He liked it, I liked it.

That was more of a direct competition, but in terms of someone that would pull onto my shoulder, Didier Drogba was a nightmare. I was really young at that point, early 20s I think.

He was so big and strong. I know he was a striker, but he’d still come onto me at right-back and try and pin me and stuff. So yeah, I always knew I was in for a battle with them two on the pitch.

I’m still in a group chat with the Leicester City boys

It was called “Reunion 2026,” which has happened now, so we probably need to rename it. Maybe 2031, a 15-year reunion. We all meet up when we can.

Jamie Vardy still loves winding everyone up. I cried that night we won the league at Vardy’s house. I’m close to Wes Morgan, Riyad Mahrez as well. We get a game of padel in whenever he’s over here.

When you go through something like that, you’re bonded for life. But I always want to beat him. He’s the most competitive person you’ll ever meet in your life.

I cried when I thought my career was over

I got told I’d be out for about seven months. I didn’t have a club, and I tore a tendon off my hip bone training at Leicester. I had a free transfer lined up and ready to go.

I was probably a week away from going to a new club, and then played in that practice match, and it was nothing, a bit of a lazy tackle as well. The way I did it was actually technically wrong. I went in with the wrong foot for a tackle and then it pinged.

And yeah, I was out for about seven months, and then obviously you’re not going to get signed, so for seven months there was no contract. I wasn’t getting paid. There was no club to rehab me. Leicester helped as much as they could because I wasn’t their player, and the physios have got a lot to do. St George’s Park and the PFA helped, and I came back.

Claudio Ranieri and I didn’t see eye to eye at first

It wasn’t a great start, I’ll be honest. We didn’t have the greatest of first meetings. He told me I could leave, which obviously I didn’t agree with, and I said I wanted to fight for my place at least until January.

So he put me in the reserves for pre-season and the first six weeks of the season, I’d get to train some times with the first team, and I just kept my head down and worked hard. The next meeting we had was him saying he got it wrong and that he thought I could help the team and help him. So I made him eat his words a little bit.

Fortunately for me, the next game I started and I never looked back. But for him to apologise, it takes a bigger person to do that in life, to admit he got that call wrong. Then I went from strength to strength with him and learned tactically a lot from him.

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The Friedkin Group value Everton at around £800m, with at least two groups showing interest in the club after confirmation the owners are looking to sell.

A statement on Friday confirmed TFG have retained investment bank Moelis and Company to find possible buyers for the club just two years after their full takeover. While some senior figures inside Everton were left surprised by the timing of the announcement, it was hardly a shock to sources who move in the world of football takeovers.

“TFG’s intentions have been clear for a long time,” one said. Reports in September that they were open to fresh investment in the club were part of a “fishing expedition” for potential buyers that had been partially successful, they claimed.

Sources believe a consortium mainly backed by US private equity is the most likely buyer of the club. Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners have previously distanced themselves from any auction for Everton, despite coming close to buying the club in 2023.

While nothing appears to be imminent in terms of a sale, the hope is that the statement gives Everton supporters and those who work at the club “clarity” on TFG’s intentions and helps to expedite a takeover. But with some big decisions on the horizon – not least a decision on David Moyes’ future – it leaves some uncertainty at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Why now?

In short, TFG have done their sums. Twelve months ago The i Paper was told that the intention was to get Everton competing with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle as “best of the rest” in the Premier League. From there increased revenue from the stadium and smart recruitment would bridge the gap to the very top.

But they appear to have had an epiphany about English football and, in particular, rising transfer fees. Having invested close to £500m to put the club on a stable financial footing, there is now no great appetite to inject the same again with no guarantee that it gets them closer to Europe.

Throw in the fact that Uefa rules would prevent Everton and Roma from competing in the same European competition – with suspicions they favour the Serie A club – and Dan and Ryan Friedkin’s lack of public profile on Merseyside and it’s no great surprise this announcement has come.

Sources who know the Friedkins believe criticism of them on Merseyside after the disastrous end to the summer transfer window will have stung and will have played a part in this decision.

“They like to be popular,” one source who has worked with them told The i Paper. “They are very, very aware of what the fans are saying about them.”

It’s also a good time to attract investment according to those in the know. “There’s a lot of US private equity looking to get into the Premier League at the moment,” one top flight executive told The i Paper.

“With the new stadium, the history and the potential it really shouldn’t be difficult for Everton to find a buyer if they’re realistic about the valuation.”

How much do they want for it?

It’s understood that TFG’s valuation is close to £800m – which would represent a doubling of the £400m they bought it for. The club has around £380m of long-term debt although sources stress that is on “manageable” terms and would be factored into any deal.

“Everton are in decent shape for investment. Revenue was around £200m the last set of accounts, wages to revenue is around 75-80 per cent and I’d estimate the enterprise value to be somewhere between £700-750million,” football finance expert Professor Rob Wilson told The i Paper.

“Given the history, new stadium, positioning and financial results £800m feels like a fair valuation. A trophy asset hunter would pay the top end of that – if someone is looking for a return on investment it’ll be closer to £700m.”

Who could buy Everton?

It is understood at least two groups have shown an interest in Everton, with US-based consortiums the most likely buyer

The i Paper understands from club sources that there has been communication with Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners in recent weeks but sources close to the former Newcastle co-owner have denied they have any intention of buying Everton given their ongoing interest in West Ham.

PCP battled TFG for control of the club when Farhad Moshiri put the Toffees on the market two years ago but ultimately decided the deal “did not make financial sense”.

What does it mean for David Moyes?

Over the summer there were plenty inside the club who thought this would be Moyes’s last season at Everton. Given the friction with the club’s transfer committee over some targets – Moyes had knocked back some suggestions that he didn’t feel were the right fit for the Premier League – it felt like his days were numbered. He didn’t do any media in the close season and fan sentiment seemed to be turning against him.

Since then things have shifted considerably. Moyes handled the disappointment of the final weeks of the summer transfer window impeccably – memorably calling himself an “Evertonian” when asked whether he could empathise with fan frustration at the transfer window – and the team have made an unbeaten start to the season. He seems to be revelling in the underdog status and creating a siege mentality.

Moyes was the continuity candidate when TFG first took over, viewed as a steady hand at the tiller as the club stabilised off the pitch. Perhaps originally the idea was to find a more “progressive” coach in a few years but a potential sale means that is now a non-starter.

It feels like the chances of him staying have improved considerably. If there is no buyer before the end of the season, a short-term extension makes sense – provided Moyes is amenable to it.

How long will the process take?

TFG have signposted to the market that they want to sell so will be hoping for things to move quickly. But they made it clear in their statement that they will only sell to “parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the club forward and build on the momentum that has been established”.

A possible complication is that a number of other Premier League clubs appear to be on the market at the moment.

More on Everton

The ‘Goodison Gazza’: At 19 I was an Everton wonderkid – then I lost two decades to cocaine

Special report: Amanda Staveley eyes stake in two clubs – and the truth about Everton links

If a buyer can be found quickly, a deal could be wrapped up before the New Year. But that feels unrealistic.

What does it mean for January transfers?

TFG have promised to “support the club in all ways necessary to achieve success on the pitch”. But anyone hoping for big signings in January is likely to be disappointed.

Sources told The i Paper that TFG are in “phase two” of their ownership of the club – where effectively Everton needs to be run on a sustainable basis. The sale of Iliman Ndiaye was agreed to fund signings and comply with Premier League financial rules. It created financial headroom to bring in a striker – a move that ultimately fell through – so there is the possibility of at least one incoming.

But until the future of the club is resolved, big money moves seem unlikely.

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CITY FOOTBALL ACADEMY — When Manchester City started the first in-house Enzo Maresca interview since the guilty verdict with, “what have you been up to in the international break?”, not much was expected from the Italian’s first press conference on the subject.

In the face of the biggest cheating scandal in British footballing history, City have remained masters at the art of deflection. In their moribund questioning of Maresca, they keep referring to the “noise” around the club. 

Maresca himself toed the party line as he faced the media on Friday, a press auditorium three times as busy as any other City pre-match press conference in recent memory. The rest of what he said was, however, rather more illuminating than expected. With one or two exceptions…

City’s success remains untainted

Maresca was unequivocal in assessing whether City’s success now comes with an asterisk. Or could even be taken away.

“Absolutely not,” he began with an insistence on the former glories. “The last time I was here, from the treble season, I know the effort from the players, the club, the manager. I know the effort that the club put into achieve that target so I don’t have any doubt about that.”

No regrets about taking the job

Whether we believe him or not on this matter is up for debate. Maresca, however, feels he made the right call in the summer to rejoin City, even given the uncertain future they face now.

His confidence in the final clause echoed through the state-of-the-art halls at City Football Academy.

“I trust the club, because I trust the people and this is also the reason why I joined the club,” he said. “There is not another club in the world where I would like to be. I’m very happy to be, I’m very proud. 

“I understand why most of you are here but the only thing I can say is the reason why I joined the club is that I completely trust the club, all the organisation. I don’t have any doubts about that. I spoke with the club… and probably the right moment to speak about that is when we win the appeal.”

Business as usual for the players

With no relegation clauses in their contracts, it is understood that there is at least some uncertainty among the playing staff over their futures.

Some who picked City over other elite Premier League clubs must be questioning their sanity? Not according to Maresca, who used experience from being a player during the Calciopoli scandal in Italy to explain how young footballers go about dealing with such seismic events.

“The players are 20, 25 years old. They are just thinking how they can train, how they can get better and thinking about the games,” he said.

“We completely understand the seriousness of the situation. We understand, the players understand, but it’s our duty and our job to try to control the noise. The manager and the players are focused to win games, not about something different.”

He did not address the charges before taking the job

Probably something of an oversight, Enzo. It just never came up.

“No,” Maresca said when asked if the topic was discussed when penning a multi-million-pound contract. “It wasn’t a problem for the club in that time and they are thinking in an honest way. I think they are convinced that at the end we’re going to win the appeal.”

Pep will be in attendance next week

The troops are rallying. Pep Guardiola knows his legacy is at stake, so is doubling down, and will attend the Paris Saint-Germain match at the Etihad next week, Maresca confirmed.

Probably sat next to his chairman, who he also insists has done no wrong.

“The last time was after the Man United game when I spoke to Pep but I know that he’s coming on Tuesday,” Maresca said. “It’s always a pleasure. After 10 years here, he can come any time he wants – not just for a game or training session. It will be nice for him and for the fans.”

What remains unanswered – whether he will stick around

There was an element of gallows humour in Maresca’s response to questions over whether he would stay if City are relegated, or worse.

It is almost impossible to hypothesise, given the wide range of punishments City face. Maresca nonetheless passed up the opportunity to nail his colours to the mast.

“I won the Championship with Leicester,” Maresca added. “So in case we are in League One we will see. But we are thinking about something we don’t know. 

“I would like to speak about this situation when we win the appeal. Now it makes no sense to speak about anything because I don’t have any information.”

More on Man City

Tim Rich: English football owes Arsene Wenger an apology

Pete Hall: Yes, Man City broke the rules. But the rules are also a nonsense

Does he really understand it all?

It appears Maresca has some pre-bedtime reading to do over the next few weeks.

Not many of us completely comprehend the complexity of the case. The manager of Manchester City, however, seems rather worryingly short of any idea.

“I trust the club because I know the people, but I promise you that my focus is just about football,” he said. “I’m not thinking about different things. I don’t understand many things, about different things, so I just focus on what I can control – the football side.” 

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Newcastle United believe they have built the fastest attack in the Premier League – they just haven’t been able to show it yet.

One word dominated recruitment as Newcastle pressed the reset button this summer: pace. Having plotted Premier League trends that suggest speed is the X factor for teams that want to be Champions League insurgents, Newcastle re-constructed their front three with that in mind.

In Will Osula, Anthony Elanga and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, they believe they have a trio that will be a “nightmare” for Premier League defences to play against. But with Osula and Elanga still recovering from long-term injuries, it is down to £51m signing Fernandez-Pardo to get Newcastle among the Premier League’s early front runners.

“We love him,” is how one insider sums up his early impact at St James’ Park. That view is backed up by his manager Matthias Jaissle, who believes he has “everything” to be a top striker.

But the Belgium international is in some ways typical of what Jaissle calls the “brave journey” that Newcastle are on. The 21-year-old does not fit the typical profile of a Premier League striker and with a 0.05 xG in three games so far, there is work to do in marrying his potential with a prolific strike rate.

Some of that is down to the way Newcastle are playing. Privately Jaissle admits they are the start of a process that will take time and is complicated by the youth of this new-look squad. He has been happy with the way his team have pressed so far this season – but frustrated by what they have done when they’ve won the ball in key areas. Too many unforced errors have made their early displays look scrappy.

Fernandez-Pardo is one of the players that has disadvantaged. His relentless press against Hull didn’t produce any goalscoring chances but it did stretch the Tigers defence to the point where his teammates benefited. “Unselfish” is how one insider sums up that performance.

There is more to make Newcastle feel confident about his early contribution, with insiders speaking of Fernandez-Pardo’s numbers being “off the charts” in his first three Premier League games.

In terms of intensity, speed and acceleration, they believe he is in a different tier to most of his Premier League peers. But what really sets him apart, sources say, is “his ability to do it time and time and time again” without relenting.

In that way he’s seen as similar to Anthony Gordon, although his numbers so far suggest he is actually quicker than the England international.

“He’s a player that other teams won’t like playing against” is the succinct view of one figure familiar with his work.

Like everything at Newcastle this season, Fernandez-Pardo will take time. The Magpies wanted to make him their first signing of the summer – in the end he turned out to be their last one.

Tracked by some of the biggest clubs in the world – Atletico Madrid and Liverpool were known admirers – Newcastle had to bide their time to get him. There was “total buy-in” in early recruitment meetings but wariness about whether they could get a “dream target” in a summer when forwards were at a premium.

In the end their persistence (“We were just trying to find ways to get him all summer,” one insider says) paid off. What struck recruitment figures was just how much he wanted to move to Newcastle, with insiders speaking of a “confident, ambitious lad” who ticked every box for a potential “2.0” signing.

But it also means there needs to be patience. He had no pre-season and has just spent three weeks with Belgium, rarely playing or even training. “He’s a young lad, a really young lad and it’s part of the brave way, the brave journey we’re taking here,” Jaissle said on Thursday.

One of the fastest forwards in the Premier League might not hit the ground running. But the message is clear – he will be worth the wait.

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