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Tottenham Hotspur are to hold fresh talks with two Bayern Munich officials on Monday over the German club’s interest in signing Harry Kane, with reports that youngster Mathys Tel could be thrown into the mix to sweeten the deal.

Kane has just one year left on his contract and doesn’t appear close to signing fresh terms in north London. As i reported earlier this week, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has already turned down a £60 million bid plus add-ons from Bayern, who look dead-set on landing England captain Kane.

Bayern are figuring out their next steps and The Telegraph report that technical director Marco Neppe and chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen will land in London at the start of the week to discuss the deal with Levy.

France youth international Tel, 18, could be used as a pawn in the negotiations. But he is not considered a direct replacement for centre-forward Kane, and is instead likened in playing style to Kylian Mbappe.

Sending their star striker to the Bundesliga is far more preferable than a rival Premier League club snapping up Kane this summer, as is letting the 30-year-old leave on a free transfer next season. Levy is said to have discussed a move with Paris Saint-Germain but Kane isn’t interested in playing in Ligue 1.

That leaves Bayern as the only realistic suitor this summer, unless Real Madrid pop up with a big offer as they seek to replace Karim Benzema. Bayern will know how hard Levy negotiates when it comes to player sales, but the fact the Spurs chairman is prepared to hold in-person talks is seen as progress in this potential transfer.

Tottenham are said to have already been interested in Tel this summer, although no official bid has been made. New manager Ange Postecoglou has already spent more than £110m on new players, including James Maddison from Leicester City.

Who is Mathys Tel?

Tel made his senior breakthrough at Rennes back in 2021 before moving to Bayern for an up-front fee of around £17.1m, with add-ons due, a year later. Last season he scored six goals in 28 appearances for Bayern across all competitions, five of which came in the Bundesliga.

He is a versatile forward who appears at his best when cutting in from the wing, which has driven the comparison with France superstar Mbappe. However, Tel sees himself as Bayern’s future No 9 and will be hoping for a more central role this term, should be stay.

In April Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel discussed the possibility of loaning Tel out, saying: “We see his qualities. He has explosiveness and very good finishing. He has to keep that up. For now, his role is to come off the bench. We’ll talk about his future [to loan or keep him] at a later date.”

At 18, Tel is the ideal impact sub for Bayern who already boast a wealth of attacking talent. But keeping him at the club alongside new arrival Kane, plus the existing presence of Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, may seem unwise. While he no doubt has talent, Tuchel is trying to create a balanced squad and adding Kane into the mix would only reduce Tel’s playing time.

Tel’s agents tried to dispel rumours the player would leave Bayern this summer, claiming “he is on a mission” to be the first-choice striker at the German giants. A loan move could therefore be more feasible. That is, assuming Spurs don’t pick him up on a permanent transfer.

Where could Tel fit at Spurs?

Postecoglou played Maddison directly behind Kane, with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski either side, in the friendly win over Lion City Sailors earlier this week. That forward set-up is likely to be the new boss’ style this coming season.

Were Tel to join Spurs then it’s unlikely he would fill the void left by Kane. At 18, even if he were an out-and-out centre-forward then relying on him to do Kane’s job would be a significant burden on young shoulders.

However, while he could certainly thrive in a dynamic offensive unit coming off the wing, there are hints that Tel could one-day play the Kane role.

Ex-Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann, the man who signed Tel last summer, said the youngster could play “multiple positions” and “can hold up the ball well with his back to the goal”. If Postecoglou is planning to maintain Spurs’ familiar set-up of a focal centre-forward who drops deep to bring others into play then Tel, perhaps, could provide this outlet.

Of Tel’s 28 appearances last season he started just once, in a 2-2 draw with Stuttgart in which he scored. He played on the right of an attacking three sat behind Muller that day, and out wide is where he would probably fare best for Spurs this season, leaving the central duties to someone else.

That someone is unlikely to be Kane. The England striker who almost left Tottenham two years ago is about to get his wish now. All that remains is a game of who blinks first between Levy and Bayern’s officials.

After which, the job for Postecoglou is to find a true replacement.

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After nine consecutive seasons at the top table, a spell that included historic Premier League and FA Cup titles and famous European nights at the King Power, Leicester succumbed to a shock – and entirely avoidable – relegation two months ago.

Even despite a difficult 2022 summer in which not enough players were signed and not enough were sold, nobody could have anticipated their dramatic descent. Leicester posted top-half finishes in six of their last seven seasons, including five in a row, before slumping to 18th in 2022-23; a 10-place plummet from the previous year. A club whose recent history is defined by miraculous overachievement suddenly became swallowed up by its own costly mistakes.

After the death knell to Leicester’s slow procession to the Championship was sounded at Goodison Park, supporters’ thoughts began to turn to an uncertain future. A natural by-product of relegation is regeneration and at Leicester, a squad that had become overly familiar has undergone a necessary refresh.

James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have departed for a combined £79m to Tottenham and Newcastle respectively, while a batch of players that the club should have got rid of 12-18 months ago have left at the end of their contracts. Youri Tielemans has gone to Aston Villa, the top six’s newest gatecrashers; Caglar Soyuncu to Atletico Madrid; Daniel Amartey to Besiktas; Ayoze Perez to Real Betis; Jonny Evans to [checks notes] Manchester United; Nampalys Mendy and Ryan Bertrand to the free agency list.

Others will probably follow. Kelechi Iheanacho has been linked with Everton, Timothy Castagne is reportedly on Fulham’s watchlist, and Wilfred Ndidi is rumoured to be a Nottingham Forest target. Danny Ward hasn’t played a minute of pre-season.

It is telling of last season’s misery that, Maddison and Barnes aside, not many of the summer leavers will be sorely missed. Even Tielemans, the scorer of the second most significant goal in Leicester’s history in the 2021 FA Cup final – behind Eden Hazard’s strike for Chelsea against Spurs that handed the Foxes the title in May 2016 – left under a cloud.

Amid the swirling seas of change, there is at least one constant looking to steer the club back to calmer waters. Jamie Vardy, a veteran of Leicester’s last promotion-winning campaign in 2014, and at 36 years old a sporting veteran too, looks as though he’s sticking around after rejecting overtures from Saudi Arabia. Judging by his three league goals last season, Vardy’s time at the top has sailed, but clearly given his Saudi decision, there is fight in the wily old fox yet.

The volume of incomings hasn’t yet matched the outgoings, but Leicester have nonetheless begun reshaping a new squad to play a new style of football under a new manager, the former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca.

The Premier League-proven pair of Harry Winks and Conor Coady have arrived, along with highly-rated Manchester City defender Callum Doyle and (at last) a new first-choice goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen from Brondby. Ex-Arsenal youngster Stephy Mavididi, a forward who can play wide or through the middle, is tipped to join from Montpellier and plug the gap left by Barnes, and others will follow before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

There is plenty more for Leicester to do in the transfer market, but Maresca has made an impression on his new players with his vision for how he wants the team to play.

“It’s new for everyone and not just for me, in terms of what he is bringing. It is a possession-based way of doing things,” Coady, whose flexibility will come in handy, said. “It is important we all see what he wants us to do because his ideas are brilliant. The first few weeks have been full of information.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Italian has leant upon the tactical grounding he learned at the highly-acclaimed School of Pep, with Leicester adopting a back four out of possession, but reverting to a three-man defence when on the attack with the more offensive-minded full-back pushing forward in their warm-up games.

Leicester’s summer transfer business

Ins: Harry Winks (£10m from Spurs), Conor Coady (£7.5m from Wolves), Mads Hermansen (£6m from Brondby), Callum Doyle (loan to Man City)

Outs: James Maddison (£40m to Spurs), Harvey Barnes (£39m to Newcastle), George Hirst (£1.5m to Ipswich), Youri Tielemans (free to Aston Villa), Caglar Soyuncu (free to Atletico Madrid), Daniel Amartey (free to Besiktas), Ayoze Perez (free to Real Betis), Jonny Evans (free to Man Utd), Nampalys Mendy (free), Ryan Bertrand (free)

“The idea is to try to play in one way, the way we want, but it will require time,” Maresca said when asked whether Leicester would attempt to become the Man City of the second-tier. “Hopefully we can achieve it as soon as possible.”

A consequence both of relegation and an exodus of first-team talent is that greater opportunities for young players can emerge. Wanya Marcal-Madivadua, a 20-year-old Portuguese winger, is the leading contender to become the club’s breakthrough act of 2023 after catching the eye during pre-season. Left-back Luke Thomas will be buoyed by being a part of England U21s’ Euro success after a difficult campaign at club level.

Despite this summer’s upheaval, Leicester are regarded as the favourites to win the Championship and evens to achieve promotion via any method, according to some bookmakers. That status brings a different type of pressure to what was experienced when they were battling for survival. Divisional rivals will see Leicester as a scalp.

“Every team will want to come to our stadium and take points as probably for them we are the most important team in the Championship,” Maresca acknowledged. “I experienced this at City. Every team were trying desperately to get points from us as the best team in the Premier League. The same will happen with us and we have to be ready.”

With uncertainty surrounding who could stay, who could go and who could arrive, it remains to be seen how ready a new-look Leicester are to embark on their unforeseen new era. An opening game against beaten play-off finalists Coventry City is a tricky first test, albeit one that will be taken at home.

Suggesting that relegation can be a positive thing for a club is a luxury reserved for fans of other teams. Try telling Leicester fans or the club’s owner Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha that demotion was anything other than a sporting and financial disaster. But it was evident that a changing of the guard was required. After years of punching above their weight, Leicester eventually punched themselves out.

The good times were fun while they lasted. Now a new era begins.

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SYDNEY — Sarina Wiegman has called Australia a “home away from home” and with good reason.

It was anticipated there would be more touring England fans at the World Cup than from any other nation, in spite of the epic 10,000 mile trip, nine-hour time difference across hemispheres and thousands of pounds in travel costs.

Aside from ex-pats already living here, an additional 4,000 have come especially from the UK and as the Lionesses kicked off their tournament in Brisbane, Mary Earps immediately ran over to applaud a sea of red and white St George’s flags.

Over 1.3 million tickets have been sold for the World Cup overall – more than any other Women’s World Cup in history – and as England head to Adelaide for their final Group D match against China, i caught up with some of the supporters who have completed the marathon journey Down Under.

Charlie and Ella from Leeds are completing the entire tournament in a camper van. “It’s a bit of a monstrosity to be honest,” says Charlie.

“It looks a bit like the Mystery Machine [from Scooby Doo]. It’s green and purple, we tried to England it up with car flags but then we lost a flag on the motorway.

“It sounds cool but we just couldn’t afford to fly around Australia – and it covers the accommodation sleeping in the van.”

The Haiti match was “stressful towards the end” says Ella, and “a bit flat”.

“I was more defensively concerned but ‘in Wiegman we trust.” Charlie taps his head: “She’s got it up here.”

Are England winning it? “I’m going to go quarter-finals – I’m a pessimist” says Charlie.

“Of course we are [winning it],” says Ella. “We didn’t come all this way in a camper van for a quarter-final.”

Leanne, who has travelled from Manchester and has followed women’s football all her life, is another in the “of course” category.

“Bit of a slow start, but that happened at the Euros,” she says.

“A couple of changes were needed but we’ve got the three points [in both games].

“When Ellen White retired we lost a lot of height. [Alessia] Russo’s great but the height isn’t there but then you’ve got [Rachel] Daly, we know she can score.”

There are a mass of England fans down by the Opera House, overlooking Sydney Harbour Bridge and playing “Football’s Coming Home” out of a speaker. They are part of the Football Supporters’ Association’s Free Lionesses group and are travelling up and down Australia for the duration of the tournament.

Outside the Sydney Football Stadium, Flick and Vick have come from Caerphilly in Wales – one of them on crutches. “Some of these pavements are a nightmare,” she laughs. As Chelsea fans, they have spent the season watching Lauren James force her way into Wiegman’s thinking.

“She holds the ball really well, but she’s too excited about the game to start in a World Cup,” Flick says – though that was before her sixth-minute winning goal against Denmark.

“She does the same for Chelsea, when she starts she goes a bit too fast so I like her as a sub. I also like Russo but she’s an impact sub.”

So far, whatever the starting XI it has been a case of job done, albeit a little uninspiringly – and crucially, England fans can at least breathe a sigh of relief that Keira Walsh’s injury is not as bad as first feared.

A win against China after consecutive 1-0 victories over Haiti and Denmark will mean they top the group – and that’s when England fans will really dare to start believing.

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ADELAIDE — As Asisat Oshoala whirled her Nigeria jersey around her head after clinching one of the great upsets in Women’s World Cup history against co-hosts Australia, it was immediately remarked that she had “done a Chloe Kelly”.

The England forward was not the innovator of the shirtless celebration in women’s football – Brandi Chastain has been credited with that since the 1999 World Cup final – but in the current era, the iconic image of Kelly’s match-winner in the European Championship final at Wembley is unmatched.

A year on from that day, its impact is still immeasurable. In the season that followed, Women’s Super League attendances rocketed by more than 200 per cent. We are in the midst of the most popular Women’s World Cup of all time.

Anecdotally, travelling around Australia and being greeted by people of all demographics who want to talk about Sam Kerr’s injury, Oshoala’s goal, and Lauren James’s breakthrough, would once have been unheard of.

For the Lionesses, the 12-month anniversary of their becoming European champions is a moment not only to bask in the seismic effect their triumph had on women and girls’ football at every level, but also to reflect on where they stand as a squad a year on.

“I think we’re in a good place,” says Kelly.

“We’re at another tournament now and it’s so exciting but we want to keep building momentum as we go through this tournament and that’s really important.

“Last year we won but this year we obviously have our eyes on that too.”

The extraordinary fact the Manchester City winger was at the Euros at all bears repeating. In May 2021, after damaging her ACL she might never have been the same player again. She cried so much that she made herself get her eyelashes done the next day so she would stop.

“The fact she got picked for the tournament, I was so happy for her because I know she worked so hard,” recalled Lucy Bronze, who was her City teammate at the time of the injury.

“She changed her complete mentality of how she looked at training, how she wanted to perform and how she wanted to be a high-level performing athlete. I think that’s why she was able to play in the tournament.

“There’s not many people who can come in three games after an ACL and be able to compete with the level that we were playing at to win a Euros. Even now, girls who are coming back from ACLs, world class players, it’s taken time. The way Chloe did it is kind of unheard of.”

That was then and this is now, is the message from England. It does not do to dwell on past successes when they are trying to win a fourth trophy in (after the Euros, Arnold Clark Cup and Finalissima) just over a year.

Nor is it possible to compare the current squad to the Euros winners, when it is considered England are without captain Leah Williamson, Euros top scorer Beth Mead and Fran Kirby – with Keira Walsh also in recovery after suffering a knee injury in the win over Denmark.

Jill Scott and Ellen White, two of the most senior players in that group, have retired and Lauren James, on whom there now rests an enormous weight of expectation, was not deemed ready to play a part last July.

Rachel Daly has gone from left-back to striker, via a WSL Golden Boot, to left-back again and still there are unanswered questions about what England’s XI could look like by the later stages of this tournament.

Sarina Wiegman has made the same point, responding to a question about England having “no Plan B” without Walsh last summer: “You’re talking about the Euros. We’re now in a World Cup.”

The threats are greater – namely the three-time world champions USA – but it is England’s own problems – the injuries, the long-standing issue with lack of goals – that have dimmed the optimism surrounding their World Cup chances.

They remain one of the favourites, under Wiegman a two-time European champion and 2019 World Cup finalist, but the expectation has been tempered by a dash of realism given the injury list they have had to contend with.

And still, England keep winning. Neither of their 1-0 victories have been totally convincing; Haiti shocked the world with the way they stifled England’s midfield and countered through Melchie Dumornay and Denmark wrested back control with two up top following Walsh’s injury.

These are finer details, though, that will be remembered with the same irrelevance as the Euro 2022 opener against Austria if England can pull off the unimaginable in Australia and New Zealand.

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SYDNEY — England have been given some hope that Keira Walsh’s World Cup is not over after scans cleared her of a horror anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

The 26-year-old was substituted in the 38th minute of the Lionesses’ 1-0 victory over Denmark and replaced with Laura Coombs.

The midfielder could be seen mouthing to medical staff “I’ve done my knee” after extending her leg and falling awkwardly. She was later seen on crutches on the bench.

After undergoing scans on Saturday afternoon, Walsh has been ruled out of the Lionesses’ final Group D match against China in Adelaide.

She will remain at England’s base camp in Terrigal, New South Wales, where she will continue her recovery.

“Her knee injury will continue to be assessed by England medical staff and no further update will be provided at this stage,” an FA statement said.

Widely regarded as England’s most influential player and a European Championship winner last summer, head coach Sarina Wiegman admitted Walsh’s injury was a huge “concern” before the prognosis was confirmed.

England are already without three key players – Fran Kirby, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead – due to serious knee injuries, the latter two having ruptured their ACLs.

Given the prevalence of the injury in the women’s game, the worst was immediately feared and England’s World Cup dream looked to be in tatters.

Rachel Daly did not yet know the severity but when it was put to her that her teammate might have damaged her ACL, she replied: “Those three letters scare the you-know-what out of me”.

Speaking from the BBC studio, former striker Ellen White said she had “dreaded” the day England were without Walsh, adding that at the 2022 Euros there had been “no Plan B” to cope with her ever being absent.

However, while there is no guarantee she will be fit for the last 16 and beyond, England will now be optimistic Walsh can recover in time to play some part at the tournament, which they began as one of the favourites.

How England could line up against China without Walsh

Even on a run of luck as miserable like England’s, nobody could have foreseen a turn of fate as cruel as Keira Walsh’s injury.

Walsh immediately turned to the medical staff and mouthed “I’ve done my knee” towards the end of the first half of the 1-0 win over Denmark in the Lionesses’ second World Cup match. The FA are continuing to assess the damage, though immediate fears that she has torn her ACL may have been mistaken.

Even if the midfielder’s injury is not as serious as first thought, as it stands her participation in the rest of the tournament is still in major doubt. Sarina Wiegman was adamant there is a back-up plan in that scenario, in response to former striker Ellen White’s suggestion that at last summer’s European Championship there had been “no Plan B” without Walsh.

Coombs, as a short-term fix, is England’s most natural fit as an alternative but has made just six international appearances and until this year’s Arnold Clark Cup, none since 2015.

“Everything came through Keira,” White had said in the BBC studio. “I dreaded to think of the idea of us ever losing her because she was one of our best players. Beth Mead was scoring all the goals but all of our play came through Keira. She was the key cog, everything moved through her.”

“You’re talking about the Euros, we’re now in a World Cup,” Wiegman told reporters. “You saw the Plan B. You saw what we did, Georgia Stanway dropped back and Laura [Coombs] came in.”

Coombs, as a short-term fix, is England’s most natural fit as an alternative but has made just six international appearances and until this year’s Arnold Clark Cup, none since 2015.

Using Stanway in a deeper role would risk losing her attacking threat, not to mention she is walking a tight rope on a booking and risks a suspension for the round of 16 if she were to receive another yellow card in the China match.

Read Kat’s analysis in full here

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SYDNEY – Even on a run of luck as miserable like England’s, nobody could have foreseen a turn of fate as cruel as Keira Walsh’s injury.

Walsh immediately turned to the medical staff and mouthed “I’ve done my knee” towards the end of the first half of the 1-0 win over Denmark in the Lionesses’ second World Cup match. The FA are continuing to assess the damage, though immediate fears that she has torn her ACL may have been mistaken.

Even if the midfielder’s injury is not as serious as first thought, as it stands her participation in the rest of the tournament is still in major doubt. Sarina Wiegman was adamant there is a back-up plan in that scenario, in response to former striker Ellen White’s suggestion that at last summer’s European Championship there had been “no Plan B” without Walsh.

“Everything came through Keira,” White had said in the BBC studio. “I dreaded to think of the idea of us ever losing her because she was one of our best players. Beth Mead was scoring all the goals but all of our play came through Keira. She was the key cog, everything moved through her.”

“You’re talking about the Euros, we’re now in a World Cup,” Wiegman told reporters. “You saw the Plan B. You saw what we did, Georgia Stanway dropped back and Laura [Coombs] came in.”

Coombs, as a short-term fix, is England’s most natural fit as an alternative but has made just six international appearances and until this year’s Arnold Clark Cup, none since 2015.

Using Stanway in a deeper role would risk losing her attacking threat, not to mention she is walking a tight rope on a booking and risks a suspension for the round of 16 if she were to receive another yellow card in the China match.

Like Coombs, Jordan Nobbs was only expected to play a minor role at this World Cup, but she knows better than any of Walsh’s teammates what it is like to battle the frustration of a major injury.

The Aston Villa midfielder, who forced her way into Wiegman’s plans after making the bold decision to leave Arsenal after 13 years, offers more creativity but the major question will be how much freedom Walsh’s replacement can be given. The same goes for Katie Zelem, who was not picked for last year’s Euros. Trust will be key for Wiegman, as with no conventional defensive midfielders whoever comes in will have to fulfil unfamiliar duties.

England will need a holding player to sit tight, particularly if Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly are playing as roaming full-backs.

Bronze created more chances than any other England player against Denmark and Daly has only just been moved to left-back again, a means of ensuring she is on the pitch without having to choose between her and Alessia Russo.

It worked to great effect in the early stages against Denmark when England had so much of the ball (largely because Walsh was still on the pitch), but there is the prospect of Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood being left exposed by too much space around them with no-one in the holding role.

There may be an easier fix, where centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy is used in midfield as she has occasionally been deployed there for Arsenal. Of course, once upon a time there would have been an even simpler solution of the same model, had Leah Williamson not torn her ACL months before the tournament.

History has shown Wiegman will be reluctant to make more changes than are strictly necessary. Lauren James was the card up her sleeve before Denmark and the Chelsea forward has done enough to warrant another start, with an effervescent performance and a spectacular winning goal.

Even her positioning will not be straightforward; starting in place of Lauren Hemp, Walsh’s absence meant she was later drafted into a No 10 role to replace Ella Toone. Some would have liked to see that change from minute one but the balance of the midfield is so up in the air, and lacks so much familiarity, it is unclear how much room for manoeuvre Wiegman has.

Longer term, the problem will not go away. Once the prognosis is known, it will become a little clearer how long England will have to operate without their most important player. In the meantime – after Mead, Williamson and Fran Kirby – England will depend on yet another Wiegman masterstroke.

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It is a muggy late-July morning, the threat of a heavy shower hanging thick in the air. On Meadow Lane – and outside Meadow Lane – a queue has formed along one wall.

The club shop, for that is what they are waiting for, does not open for another 45 minutes but a dozen quickly doubles in number. Notts County’s new home shirt is being released at 10am. You better believe that there is an intense pride at being one of the first to own it.

There is something magical about visiting a football ground in the summer. It shouldn’t feel any different: the same cars and delivery drivers flick in and out of the car park, the same mowers continue to hum over the impossibly green pitch.

But there is a unique buzz, as if you are spying on something illicit or treading where you shouldn’t be. It’s like reverse skiving, secretly stepping into a place of work.

If those waiting impatiently for the latest black-and-white stripes are the keenest of us all, it is a forgivable fervour. This is the dawn of a new age for a historic institution. A large sign stands on the wall of the Derek Pavis Stand: “The oldest professional club in the world”.

They used to say “oldest league club” about Notts County, but then came the fall. That’s something else that can come back into fashion.

A potted history of the Notts County curses: the administration, the fake takeover, the record run of defeats, the previous owner accidentally tweeting a picture of his phallus, the fall into non-league, the repeated play-off heartbreak. And then… salvation. New owners, a manager in Luke Williams whose football caught the eye, a brilliant goalscorer plucked from the sixth tier and Wembley glory, this time.

Notts are preparing for their return to the Football League and they intend to make up for lost time.

The pressure never stops; never will. Williams was appointed knowing that promotion was the only goal, and he achieved that in his first season: 117 goals scored, three of 48 matches lost. He stresses that the club’s Danish owners were patient and understanding, but they are also ambitious.

A red line is drawn through the first target and another written below in pen. Focus simply switches. Preseason is relentless for every manager, but the demands following promotion are unique.

Notts County proactively worked on recruitment plans based on different scenarios, but the decreasing gap between National League and League Two could complicate things.

Ruben Rodrigues chose to leave for Oxford United, which was a blow. David McGoldrick has arrived from Derby County and is a coup at this level. You win some, you lose some.

“If you had pots of money that you could spend freely, you might buy the best player in every position, but that is not the reality,” Williams says.

“You are then in a marketplace where you are looking at players who you think are potentially good enough for League Two and might be a top performer at that level.

“But you also have a group of players already who have proven that they are outstanding performers for the National League. We have a squad that outperformed in the league below, so we need to see how high their ceiling is.”

Over the river from the club shop queue, comfortably visible to the naked eye if you took away the new-build flats and single-story workshops and outlets further down Meadow Lane, Notts County’s players train on the pitches close to the River Trent.

This land used to belong to Nottingham Forest, but County’s move here in 2019 ended a period of nomadicity. It took some getting used to. The pitches here, near the water, are far softer than they were at Nottingham Trent University and Basford United, two temporary homes.

With promotion, the demands of preseason training change. Williams points out that new players arriving forces him to consider using different formations, which must be trialled. Last season, County were able to dominate the ball in the majority of their games, but that may change at a higher level. Drills change too.

“We have to now try to train with an anticipation of more quality and speed in our opponents,” he adds.

“It would be foolish not to expect those two things to be more prevalent at the higher level. So we have to try and change some of our rules to prepare for different opponents. And we’re preparing defensively to be more efficient at defending against pace.”

To examine what that means, i speaks to head of medical Craig Heiden. He and Ian Hutton, the strength and conditioning coach, saw a rise in physical demand when Williams came into the club in 2022 and so were prepared for that to increase this season.

They created an offseason programme for every player to bridge the gap to preseason training. Then comes the work, accompanied by analysis of physical and medical data to ensure that every player has an individual schedule that best suits their physical fitness and workload. It is, it goes without saying, a busy time of the year.

“Luke likes to play a high-intensity style as soon as we lose the ball,” Heiden says.

“So in terms of training, we are preparing the players to tolerate that physically. Last year, we increased the intensity of training. This year, we all knew that if we went up we would have to do the same again – that has certainly happened.

“That’s not just a case of doing running drills every single session – a lot of it is done with the ball at feet or within football drills. So that has all been planned out. When you have the ball it is easier to wear teams down with relentless pressure.

“This year, we are going into the unknown a little bit. But if we know from a physical standpoint that we are at an unbelievable level, that even if we have a bad day in terms of the football style, we have the ability to grind teams down in a different way and withstand pressure. That is the message behind why we have set the demands at the level we have.”

While the focus – from supporters and media – is usually on the players, the contentment of the staff is also crucial.

These are the people tasked with delivering the message to the players or looking after them. If they are not fulfilled, that message may be diluted and everyone suffers. So work is done behind the scenes to make improvements to make their professional lives easier or more enjoyable.

“My staff have to work very long hours, particularly at this time of year but even in the season,” Williams tells i.

“There’s very short deadlines that are passed to them – work has to be turned around in a short space of time to a certain level. That’s very demanding. So whenever there is a chance to give them something to show them the respect that I have for them, I try to do that if I can.

“I wanted to give the facilities that we use as a football staff – my analysts, coaches and medical staff – a more clinical and modern feel. And that has happened. The feedback has been brilliant and sometimes these apparently small things can make a huge difference to people’s psychology.

“So we had a makeover in the office areas to make them much more in-keeping with how we want to appear on the pitch.”

It’s something that Heiden focuses on too. Promotion can change the careers of players and managers, particularly if they thrive at the higher level. But it’s also a potential game-changer for the staff too. They have generally been here longer than most. They saw the bad times and they deserve to revel in the good.

“We know the history of being the oldest league club and so we want to stay that way,” he says.

“We have come so close every year, and to finally get over the line, it provokes such excitement about what comes next. You appreciate the high points when you have experienced the low. And now everyone at this club is ready to show how good we think we are.”

The last word must go to the supporters. If the staff at Notts County have seen the difference that promotion can bring and the players have revelled in it, it is the supporters who deserve to most anticipate the return of league football.

Williams’ first task at the start of last season was to reconnect the fans with their club. There were frank meetings with the squad about reacting to criticism and the importance of entertaining season-ticket holders.

Williams says he instructed players to get the ball into the box in the first 10 seconds of the match to engage them: “It’s like the first scene of Saving Private Ryan! When you’ve watched that, you can’t not watch the rest of the film.”

A new season and a new dawn lie just around the corner for Notts County. Changes have been made off the field. The squad are being prepared for the greatest physical test of their careers.

Williams is ready for his first shot at the Football League for six years. Some of the players have never tasted it before. That is daunting and exciting in equal measure.

But the greatest aspect of all this for supporters, according to the manager? The potential that still exists.

“This may sound like a very strange thing to say, but I would be so happy if I was a fan because this club is not reliant upon me or even our best players,” he adds.

“The owners have such a clear process and are so driven for success that it doesn’t matter if any of us are surplus to requirements, or if our best players are poached. They will find better people and they will move forward. This club is going to succeed without any of us.”

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Streaming platform Dazn will join the bidding for Premier League TV rights when a potentially “challenging” auction opens in the autumn, i can reveal.

The Premier League’s domestic rights raised £5.1bn the last time they went to an open auction in 2018 in a deal that changed the landscape for clubs, giving even mid-table sides unprecedented spending power to buy some of the world’s best players and cementing English football’s pre-eminence.

The rights were rolled over in 2021 to mitigate the impact of the Covid pandemic but bidding for the three-year cycle that begins in 2025 will re-open later this year, possibly as early as October according to TV industry insiders.

It promises to be a fascinating sub-plot to the start the new season as the Premier League goes to market hoping to match or better the current deal amid a cost of living crisis that has resulted in some fans ditching subscriptions with the likes of Amazon and the newly-rebranded TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport), as well a round of cost-cutting at the league’s major TV partner Sky Sports.

There will be intense scrutiny on the bidding process and whether the Premier League can buck the trend of falling rights valuations around Europe. One leading industry expert has told i that the league has its “work cut out” to match previous valuations.

In order to do that the Premier League is considering a raft of changes to its TV offering. Several sources have told i that among the things being considered are:

• Offering many more live games to bidders – possibly more than 60 extra matches – and making every Sunday game available to televise
• Reducing the number of packages that go to market from the current number of seven – which will bring an end to Amazon’s cut price £30m deal for two rounds of top flight matches
• Offering TV companies more behind-the-scenes access, including dressing room footage and flash interviews at willing clubs
• But despite being open to new technology advances, removing the 3pm blackout in the domestic market is emphatically not up for debate this time

There has been speculation that Apple may enter the bidding this time around but the tech giant indicated this week that it was only interested in global rights deals and wouldn’t be putting forward a proposal.

That comes after another possible bidder – Swedish streaming company Viaplay, which holds the rights for the Scottish League Cup and made a bid for EFL rights earlier this year – announced huge cutbacks after recording record losses.

It adds to a gloomy picture for the future of sports rights and Adam Dalrymple, a research analyst who specialises in the field for Enders Analysis, says the Premier League is entering the market at a difficult time.

“The Premier League has its work cut out for it to match the £5.1bn they raised last time,” he told i.

“All its potential bidders are in cost-cutting mode, inflation has hit consumer demand and other flagship football rights auctions in Europe have struggled to reach their revenue targets in recent months.

“However, the Premier League rights remain the most effective engine for driving pay-TV subscriptions in the UK ahead of this upcoming auction.”

And the Premier League will be heartened by the apparent resilience of Dazn, the UK streaming platform that has been investing heavily and holds Italian rights to Serie A and Spanish domestic rights to La Liga in its growing portfolio.

In a sign of its buoyancy Dazn made a bid for the EFL rights that would have made every game in the league available for broadcast which was ultimately rejected.

The company’s chief financial officer, Darren Waterman, told i that the Premier League auction is a “great opportunity” as they look to make a major impact in the UK market.

“The Premier League is the next top, top right to come to the market and we will definitely look at it, we have to. It’s a great opportunity,” he said.

“It’s not until 2025 so it’s a fair way off but yes, we’ll look at it.”

He added that Dazn could also partner the league in making every game available simultaneously in one of the Premier League’s overseas territories – another possible revenue spinner if the domestic auction falls flat.

“We have the technology to do it, they’ve seen what we can do with the NFL game pass which makes every game available to fans,” he said.

“We’re uniquely placed in that we’re everywhere so we could really help the Premier League in, say, South East Asia or South America.”

Dazn wants to ‘go big’ in the UK

From the outside, Dazn’s global headquarters in West Yorkshire looks fairly nondescript.

But inside it is a different story. Smart offices named after some of the biggest stadiums in Europe line the corridors before you enter a room with a bank of screens. One shows a live baseball from Japan, another a WTA tennis match.

On a busy match night there can be 20, 30 or even more games screening simultaneously, engineers working feverishly to ensure everything ticks along and gets to the smart phones or TVs of customers.

It is a huge hub that few know about, even in its hometown of Leeds. One employee jokes the futuristic office complex is the city’s “best kept secret”, with few realising that it supplies live feeds of some of the biggest games for half of Europe.

That is probably because to many in this country the company is simply about combat sports – but that could be about to change.

It currently holds domestic rights to La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. And while chief finance officer Darren Waterman tells i that the UK market isn’t “existential” to the success of the company, it is a market it believes it can “go big” in.

A subsantial and groundbreaking offer to become the domestic rights partner of the EFL – which would have made every game available for broadcast – was tabled earlier this year.

It has required substantial investment but the company now has 60 million users and over 20 million premium, paying subscribers. In a difficult landscape for sports rights it is growing.

“We’ve got 2,500 employees, we’re on run rate revenue of £3bn – that’s a very large business,” Waterman says.

“We’ve been established across the world in core markets since 2016. It’s a business where you have to invest at the beginning, like any platform business you have to build the platform before you get the customers.

“You have to invest to grow your customer base. Where we are is on that path where our revenue is getting over that fixed cost.

“From an economic point of view as a fixed cost business it’s a double edged sword – when you’re below your fixed cost it’s very costly, once you’re past it you become very profitable very quickly and we’re on that precipice now and nearly tipping over. It’s very exciting times.”

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This is officially a transfer saga, and for everyone’s sake – including those simply watching on – it would be of huge benefit if Harry Kane’s future was resolved as soon as possible.

That may be wishful thinking, but there is hope, with Bayern Munich entering talks with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Friday.

The aim for the Bundesliga champions will be to wrap up a transfer before their season starts with a German Super Cup clash against RB Leipzig on 12 August, a day before Spurs begin their Premier League campaign at Brentford.

A fortnight allows time for negotiations to progress, with Bayern reportedly willing to offer €100m (£86m) after bids of €70m (£60m) and €80m (£68m) plus add-ons left Levy unmoved.

But beyond talks between the two clubs, Spurs would also need to draw up a firm back-up plan, one that either involves trusting the in-house option or spending the Kane money on what they would hope is a viable replacement.

Either way of course, should the England captain leave, finding someone to fill those roughly 30-goal-a-season boots will not be easy.

Put faith in Richarlison

Regardless of whether Kane stays or goes, Richarlison and Spurs will be hoping a checkered debut campaign can quickly be forgotten about. The Brazilian scored just three goals in 35 games following his £60m move from Everton last year, and endured a rocky relationship with former head coach Antonio Conte.

But under new boss Ange Postecoglou, he has a new lease of life, with Richarlison’s value within the squad bound to increase should Kane move on, even if another signing does come in.

For Richarlison, it would be a case of easing the transition, and Postecoglou will hope the forward’s hat-trick in the 5-1 friendly win over Lion City Sailors in Singapore on Wednesday is a sign of things to come.

Richy seals his hat-trick in style

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 26, 2023

“He’s always in the right areas,” Postecoglou said. “I’ve really got a lot of time for him and he’s one of the players I’m really looking forward to working with. You try to picture your players playing the football you want to play and I certainly think he can.”

Spurs top scorers in 2022-23

• Harry Kane – 32
• Son Heung-min – 14
• Rodrigo Bentancur – 6
• Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5
• Pedro Porro – 3
• Richarlison – 3

Sign Dusan Vlahovic

Among the strikers seemingly stuck in transfer limbo is Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, a reported back-up option for Bayern if they cannot sign Kane, but also attracting interest from Chelsea as well.

The moving parts here not only involve Kane and Vlahovic, but also Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, and arguably stretches to Kylian Mbappe’s own future given PSG will be searching for alternatives if the France captain leaves this summer.

So in short, Spurs would face competition for Vlahovic, the 23-year-old Serb who they had reportedly looked to sign from Fiorentina two summers ago.

In January 2022 the striker was then sold to Juventus for £66.6m, and in the 18 months since Vlahovic has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances, including 10 in 27 Serie A appearances last season.

Vlahovic is now said to be open to a move, but his wage demands have proved a stumbling block for Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail, meaning Spurs could face a similar issue.

3 alternatives to Dusan Vlahovic

The potential striker merry-go-round goes beyond even the aforementioned names, and could involve a trio that Spurs may view as strong competition to Richarlison for the starting No 9 role.

Search for Goncalo Ramos or Randal Kolo Muani, and Manchester United will autofill into Google’s search bar, with the pair reportedly options for United if (time to name another striker…) Rasmus Hojlund talks break down over Atalanta’s asking price.

Ramos, 22, is also attracting interest from PSG after scoring 27 goals across all competitions for Benfica last season. He also memorably replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s starting line-up at the World Cup for the knockout stages last year, making an instant impact with a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Switzerland in the last 16.

Kolo Muani, meanwhile, scored 23 goals in 46 games for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, and came up against Spurs twice in the Champions League group stages, drawing a blank on both occasions. The 24-year-old was however crucial to Frankfurt’s run to the DFB-Pokal final, scoring six times in the previous rounds before they lost the showpiece to RB Leipzig 2-0.

Finally, Evan Ferguson, the 18-year-old Brighton forward who is turning heads and has been reportedly identified as a 2024 transfer target for both Spurs and United.

Spurs could accelerate that interest if Kane leaves, but the likelihood is that Brighton will demand more for the Republic of Ireland forward than the amount Spurs are likely to get for Kane.

Ferguson has been hailed as “special” by Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, who says the club are “lucky” to have him, while he also believes the teenager can become one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

Once more, then, Brighton face losing a player to a Big Six side, but as we have learned already, they will be no pushovers during negotiations. Levy could well meet his match.

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Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in football has been evident this summer with a whole host of high-profile players making lucrative moves from Europe to play in the Middle East.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to join Al-Nassr from Manchester United last winter has seemingly opened the floodgates for other stars to sign on the dotted line at Saudi Pro League clubs.

Karim Benzema, Ronaldo’s former strike partner at Real Madrid and the current Ballon d’Or holder, has joined last season’s champions Al-Ittihad, where he will link up with French international team-mate N’Golo Kante.

While Ronaldo, Benzema and Kante are all entering the twilight years of their careers, the same cannot be said of all those who have gone to Saudi Arabia. Ruben Neves has swapped the Premier League for the Pro League at the age of 26, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Seko Fofana have turned their back on the Champions League after leaving Lazio and RC Lens respectively.

It isn’t just players that are being sought after but managers too.

Fulham manager Marco Silva was strongly linked with Al-Hilal, but has rejected a £17m per year offer in order to remain in the Premier League, as reported exclusively by i.

However, Steven Gerrard has joined Al-Ettifaq, nine months after being sacked by Aston Villa. He has been joined, in a rather controversial fashion, by former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson who previously aligned himself to LGBT+ charities in England.

More established names are expected to join Saudi clubs between now and the end of the transfer window on 1 September, with the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) expanding further into the sport.

PIF, which has had an 80 per cent controlling stake in Newcastle United since November 2021, took control of four of the country’s biggest clubs – Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli – in June.

The hope in Saudi Arabia is that in time their domestic league will possess the technical quality and broadcasting appeal to rival that of the “Top Five” European leagues while also boosting the country’s bid for the 2030 World Cup.

Here is the complete list of European or Europe-based players to join Saudi Pro Leagues this summer:

Abha

Players in: None

Al-Ahli

| Bobby is here! #WelcomeFirmino pic.twitter.com/b9uAU3cDas

— Al-Ahli Saudi Club (@ALAHLI_FCEN) July 4, 2023

Players in: Riyad Mahrez (£30m from Man City), Edouard Mendy (£16m from Chelsea), Roberto Firmino (free from Liverpool)

Al-Ettifaq

Players in: Jordan Henderson (£12m from Liverpool), Jack Hendry (£6.5m from Club Brugge), Moussa Dembele (free from Lyon)

Al-Fateh

Players in: Jason Denayer (free from Shabab Al-Ahli)

Al-Fayha

Players in: Gojko Cimirot (free from Standard Liege)

Al-Hazem

Players in: Faiz Selemani (£1m from KV Kortrijk)

Al-Hilal

Players in: Malcom (£51m from Zenit St Petersburg), Ruben Neves (£47m from Wolves), Kalidou Koulibaly (£20m from Chelsea), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (£34m from Lazio)

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗥𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗻 #AlHilal @rubendsneves_ pic.twitter.com/ml2osTPQj8

— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) June 23, 2023

Al-Ittihad

Players in: Karim Benzema (free from Real Madrid), N’Golo Kante (free from Chelsea), Jota (£25m from Celtic)

Al-Khaleej

Players in: Pedro Rebocho (free from Lech Poznan), Ivo Rodrigues (free from Famalicao)

Al-Nassr

Players in: Seko Fofana (£22m from RC Lens), Marcelo Brozovic (£15.5m from Inter Milan), Alex Telles (undisclosed from Man Utd)

Al-Okhdood

Players in: Paulo Vitor (free from Chaves), Andrei Burca (£860,000 from CFR Cluj), Solomon Kverkvelia (free from Neftchi Baku)

Al-Raed

Players in: None

#WelcomeBox2Box pic.twitter.com/a5Kd7KoGJM

— Ittihad Club (@ittihad_en) June 20, 2023

Al-Riyadh

Players in: Birama Toure (free from Auxerre), Alin Tosca (free from Benevento)

Al-Shabab

Players in: None

Al-Taawoun

Players in: Flavio (on loan from Fenerbahce)

Al-Tai

Players in: Robert Bauer (free from Sint-Truiden), Bernard Mensah (free from Kayserispor), Virgil Misidjan (free from FC Twente)

Al-Wehda

Players in: None

Damac

Players in: None

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