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Everton are prepared to wait until the end of the transfer window to make their move for Jack Grealish, with the club looking to get a better deal this summer if they re-sign the Manchester City winger.

Once again, it is proving a complex transfer window at Hill Dickinson Stadium – where this summer’s priority is to strengthen the first XI rather than the entire squad overhaul that was required in 2025.

With Everton’s short-term aim to establish themselves in the category of clubs competing to be the “best of the rest” – think Aston Villa and Newcastle – improvement is clearly required.

CEO Angus Kinnear’s claim that he was “happily dissatisfied” with 13th place did not quite chime with the view among the fanbase that last season was an opportunity missed.

One way to remedy that is in the transfer market. But that is not easily achieved and in the background there remain two different agendas to satisfy.

Manager David Moyes is happiest working with proven quality while Everton’s influential transfer committee has one eye on the future and a recruitment profile that leans towards players with a high potential ceiling aged between 18-25.

We have completed the signing of Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.

Welcome to Everton, Hayden!

— Everton (@Everton) July 2, 2026

Marquee signing Hayden Hackney – of whom much is expected next season after the club sold him a pivotal role in their tilt to return to Europe – ticked both boxes.

But juggling competing priorities with a budget that may have to be supplemented by sales to protect their position under financial fair play rules in this transfer window is a challenge.

Grealish is a player Everton would make an exception for and there is certainly a desire to bring him back to Merseyside, where he enjoyed a fruitful loan spell last season. That transfer cost in the region of £12m and Everton do not want to commit that kind of money to another loan, which is the most likely path for him to return.

Grealish is also recovering from a serious injury and Everton would want to see how far along his recovery is before resuming talks with Manchester City, who are open to letting him leave again.

With Grealish in the final year of his contract, though, they want to maximise their return on the 30-year-old before he can leave on a free transfer.

It all points to some tough negotiations ahead, and potentially a decision in the later stages of next month about whether Grealish returns.

Everton’s transfer priority

In the meantime, the priority for Everton is to sign a new right-back. The club have considered a move for long-term target Brooke Norton-Cuffy, the 22-year-old Genoa full-back, but that deal does not have universal support among the club’s transfer power brokers, so they are looking at alternative targets.

Spurs defender Djed Spence had admirers at Everton but his excellent World Cup performances may now put him out of the club’s reach and Toffees’ sources indicate that they are prepared to play the waiting game for the “ideal” candidate to fill the right-back slot.

Jake O’Brien, who filled in towards the end of the season, and Merlin Rohl may end up deputising during pre-season.

Elsewhere, Everton are spinning plates on recruiting another midfielder, winger and a No 2 goalkeeper who can push Jordan Pickford.

A new striker does not appear to be on the cards. The club are “open to market opportunities” later in the transfer window but at the moment the plan is to continue into the new season with Thierno Barry and Beto.

Time will tell whether that gives them the sort of firepower required to improve on last season’s underwhelming 13th-placed finish.

Who could leave Everton?

There are varying degrees of uncertainty around the futures of Charly Alcaraz, Tim Iroegbunam and Mark Travers – who all have interest – while Idrissa Gueye is unlikely to accept fresh terms on offer from Everton.

Iroegbunam is well thought of and Everton would not let him go on the cheap – especially considering the midfield market this summer – but they have to have one eye on keeping their squad cost ratio as low as possible.

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While they will not have a problem complying with the Premier League’s 85 per cent squad cost rule for clubs not in Europe, Everton’s aspiration to return to those competitions means they are trying to extract value from deals this summer.

So far they have done that in the backdrop of extortionate fees being paid elsewhere. Tyrique George, Hackney and Rohl all seem like the right age and price but there is clearly more work to do.

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A decade on from leaving the iconic Boleyn Ground for the unloved London Stadium, and a mere three years after winning the Europa Conference League, a major reality check now swirls around relegated West Ham United.

The Hammers’ history is, of course, feted with reassuringly grand tales of glamour. One suspects that sense of history is front and centre of the brochure to attract new talent amid a bleak transition to the Championship.

Inevitably, departures of key players and a significant round of recycling is under way. Now, transfer ingenuity is vital for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and new director of player recruitment Nils Koppen.

From a supporter perspective the hope is that, for prospective targets, West Ham will trade heavily on their name and, arguably, aura, as opposed to the humdrum potential of life in the Championship. They will also contend that the disappointment of relegation is offset slightly by the departures of unpopular directors Karren Brady and David Sullivan, although the latter remains the club’s largest single shareholder. Nevertheless, despite uncertainty over prospects a short-lived residence in the second tier is still expected.

With Koppen arriving at the Hammers earlier this month, it suggests a least a note of forward thinking for a club busy putting out fires. And the job facing the Belgian, who previously worked at Rangers, FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven, includes bringing value in terms of both experienced players and uncut diamonds with healthy sell-on value.

Who could leave?

Enforced change is part of the current landscape for West Ham. No player is off limits as a consequence of the drop. The sale of Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham Hotspur for £85m is excellent business, although the imminent exit of talisman Crysencio Summerville appears a harsher blow.

The winger and fan favourite is on the brink of moving to Roma for around £45m, despite interest from Aston Villa. Summerville’s impressive World Cup performances with the Netherlands have boosted both his marketability and a fee which Nuno can reinvest on more prosaic operators capable of settling into the earthy demands of the Championship.

While West Ham sources suggest there is no rush to sell Konstantinos Mavropanos, the reality is that the Greek stopper has his price. Valued at around £18m he is on the radar of clubs at home and abroad. The new “sell high, buy low” policy needs to kick in immediately, with the Hammers posting a loss of £104.2m last year.

James Ward-Prowse was loaned out to Burnley last term. Nuno would not be against allowing the 31-year-old to leave, although his vast experience might still tilt the head coach’s thinking as the ex-England international enters the final year of his contract. Similar consideration surrounds Tomas Soucek, in the same situation. Should West Ham lean on their know-how to get out of the Championship at the first attempt, or cash in for fairly modest fees?

Niclas Fullkrug struggled upon arrival in east London and the German forward’s career stagnated further with a disappointing loan spell at AC Milan in the second half of 2025-26. With two years left on his West Ham deal, even relatively modest offers will be welcomed. Meanwhile, winger Maxwel Cornet, on loan at Genoa last term, will be allowed to depart too.

Who could stay?

With the understandable temptation to retain Ward-Prowse and Soucek for the time being, Jarrod Bowen’s decision to remain at West Ham represents the best news of the summer to date for fans. Such rare sense of loyalty by the Hammers’ captain and role model, who has signed a revised contract, is to be absolutely admired.

Bowen narrowly missed out on an England World Cup squad place and has been reassured by West Ham’s short term plans following discussions with key shareholder Daniel Kretinsky and board member Jiri Svarc.

Similarly, Taty Castellanos appears more likely at this point to remain than leave the London Stadium, despite interest from Everton. The Argentine forward netted seven goals in 22 appearances, only arriving at West Ham in January from Lazio, and appears to be on board for the Championship assault.

Who could come in?

With various positions requiring reinforcement, the east Londoners could look north of the border for squad-boosting value.

The Hammers have struggled to find an attacking creator since Lucas Paqueta left in January. Celtic’s Reo Hatate has made his wish to leave the Scottish champions clear – and the 28-year-old’s precise passing sensibilities and versatility across midfield is an attractive package. Koppen will have close up knowledge of the Japanese player’s qualities across Glasgow from his spell as Rangers sporting director.

Koppen’s time at Ibrox may also yield a strong centre -half in the shape of John Souttar. The Scotland international is a siege defender with deep European experience too. It would come as no surprise if Koppen recommends the Gers centre-half to Nuno. Souttar currently interests Leicester City, but a fresh start at a higher level would have greater appeal.

Ironically, Souttar’s brother, Harry, has been linked with a move to the Hammers from Leicester, his stock rising since featuring at the World Cup for Australia. However, West Ham face competition from Championship rivals Sheffield United and Stoke City.

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Time is of the essence for Leeds United and the club’s hierarchy.

Having survived last season by the skin of their teeth, Daniel Farke’s side cannot rest on their laurels.

Newly-promoted teams have struggled to retain their Premier League status in recent years, but that trend has to end at some point.

Leeds have made a promising start to the summer window.

Former Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson was a much-coveted free agent before being persuaded to move to Elland Road, while executives moved fast to secure the £34m capture of Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo as Pascal Struijk’s replacement at the back.

The i Paper has been told that, while the club are aware they need to focus on signing some younger players, given several new arrivals have been approaching 30, market opportunities like Wilson’s made his arrival a “no-brainer”.

Money is still pretty tight, with a stadium revamp to pay for and the new squad cost ratio (SCR) rules limiting the club even more than its predecessor, profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR), did.

A new striker and a full-back are also needed – these will be identified later in the window.

In the meantime, three prime targets will be pursued in the coming weeks before those other key areas are addressed.

Julian Brandt

Another market opportunity, where Leeds can get a player worth “upwards of £20m” for free, even if he is the wrong side of 30, that is proving irresistible to turn down.

Sources have told The i Paper that Julian Brandt’s agent and father, Jurgen, has held talks with the club over a free transfer after the attacking midfielder’s contract with Borussia Dortmund expired at the end of last season.

Talks are ongoing, with Leeds hoping to beat several European clubs to Brandt’s signature.

The Whites are particularly short in this position and feel Brandt could add a new dimension to their attack.

Shea Charles

Leeds’ interest in Southampton midfielder Shea Charles is long-standing.

It is understood that two bids have already been rejected, thought to be in the region of £25m.

Reports that Leeds are set to walk away from the deal are wide of the mark, however.

Sources indicated talks remain ongoing, as is the case with any negotiation, with the hope a deal can be struck.

Charles fits several of the profiles Leeds are looking for.

While the club are aware they need to add youth to their ageing squad, the 22-year-old has plenty of gametime for one so young, including 35 international caps for Northern Ireland. 

Experience is seen as a crucial facet in Farke’s squad, given Leeds are likely to be in another relegation battle, where knowhow could be invaluable.

James Trafford

How long can James Trafford sit on the Manchester City bench, if he is ever going to usurp Jordan Pickford as England’s No 1?

Leeds are huge admirers of Trafford and see him as the ideal signing between the sticks.

Sources indicated the club are looking to upgrade on current goalkeeper Lucas Perri, who they signed last summer.

The Brazilian has interest from Torino in Italy after a mediocre first season in England.

Trafford has admirers up and down the land, given his situation at the Etihad.

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City are understood to be willing to listen to suitable offers for the England keeper, but the 23-year-old will not be allowed to leave on the cheap.

Leeds would likely have to move Perri on to help fund any move for Trafford.

Karl Darlow has left to become understudy to Senne Lammens at Manchester United, so signing another keeper this summer is a must.

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Despite plenty of interest from across Europe, Marcus Rashford is most likely to get the chance to resurrect his Manchester United career next season, as the most appealing exit options for the England forward have failed to materialise.

Rashford has two years left on his £325,000-a-week United contract. With Champions League football to contend with next season, there will be plenty of opportunities to play, should he be reintegrated.

There is no ill-will from Rashford’s side towards the club over his treatment when part of the so-called “bomb squad”. He is still a fan of his boyhood club and retains a good relationship with several team-mates. Rashford also, crucially, has an ally in manager Michael Carrick.

Another claimed that he would be “very surprised” if Rashford was playing anywhere other than Old Trafford next season.

Another loan the only route

Had it not been for Rashford’s wages, he would have likely secured an Old Trafford exit already. Even coming close to matching his salary rules out most of even the biggest clubs. The conduct of senior United executives has not helped the situation, insiders said.

They have been vocal about their desire to get his salary off their wage bill – a big part of Ineos’ manifesto after taking a minority stake in the club.

As a result of their palpable desperation, no club is going to be willing to pay anything like the £26m option Barcelona had to make last season’s Rashford stay permanent.

Sources believe suitors will return with further loan offers to test whether United feel they can challenge on multiple fronts without the academy graduate or not.

Man Utd against Spurs move for Rashford

A host of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea, have been keeping tabs on the 28-year-old, with Spurs plotting a £40m move last month.

However, The i Paper has been told there is a reluctance among senior United figures to sell to another English top-flight club, given it could lead to humiliation should Rashford start scoring elsewhere.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both tried to sign Rashford this summer, sources said, but he was not interested. A top Champions League team remains his priority, the identity of which is becoming clearer.

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Dangerous domestic deal

There are plenty at Old Trafford who feel there is too much water under the bridge for Rashford’s return to be a success. There is little doubt for many, however, that the talent is still there. There was evidence of that ability, fleetingly, at the World Cup.

Tottenham were prepared to make a big play for Rashford this summer, and were even willing to pay a fee, rather than a loan. While shifting the England forward was preferred, the potential PR disaster if goals flowed elsewhere made such an option much less appealing.

If Rashford were to leave, United would need another wide forward, one that does not appear forthcoming. Another midfielder is priority, and with little generated from player sales, there is not the money to splurge on other big-money arrivals.

As it stands, Rashford will join up with his United teammates at their six-day training camp in Dublin, scheduled around their friendly clash with Leeds on 12 August.

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NEW YORK — Far from the eyes of the World Cup’s major cities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested thousands of people since the tournament began.

The uneasy “truce” which was promised by Trump officials for the duration of the tournament did not hold. Before a ball was kicked, migrant communities feared raids would take place in and around the stadiums and the streets where they came out to support their teams. Instead, beyond the World Cup’s reach, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people have been taken into custody. One man has been fatally shot.

Three days after Houston, Texas hosted its final game between Morocco and Canada, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican who had lived in the US for 35 years, was killed by agents while he was driving his van, in a raid of which he was not the intended target. Agents say that he attempted to ram their vehicle; bystanders and his family dispute this account and say he was close to obtaining legal status in the US.

He is at least the eighth person to be shot dead by ICE agents in Trump’s second term; across the border, President Claudia Sheinbaum estimates that 17 Mexicans have now died during raids or while being held in the custody of immigration authorities in that time.

Here in New York, the state’s major cities host World Cup festivals while games have taken place across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Three-hundred miles upstate, in the shadow of the Adirondack Mountains, migrants at Lake Placid spoke of a climate of fear after raids targeted seasonal workers on temporary visas.

Along Broadway, I visited the ominous 34-storey courthouse, now the centre of a battle between activists and ICE agents, who have been accused of monitoring the door and arresting people showing up to court to have their immigration cases heard.

The vast majority of those detained have been Latinos. Tribal leaders also say Native American communities have been targeted. In Los Angeles, anti-ICE campaigners told The i Paper that ICE agents had been seen in the vicinity of the SoFi Stadium, where the USA played its opener, but that they had not made any arrests. There have been more calls to immigration helplines in the city across June than in previous months.

“There has been a marked surge in detentions during the World Cup,” US academic and former footballer Jules Boykoff tells The i Paper.

“It wasn’t happening around the vicinity of World Cup stadiums with foreign tourists who were here for the game, but it was happening far away from these venues where the international tourists and journalists are not based.

“This actually was the fear of a lot of people who follow immigration in the United States, that Trump would proceed in a quieter way. By that, I mean quieter than the sort of brutal shootings of US citizens in the streets of Minneapolis, and do it much more quietly, behind the scenes, far from the international journalists and cameras. And that appears to be what they’re doing.

“They’ve been going to rural areas at the same time that there’s been an uptick in unaccompanied minors being sent away.”

Over 4 July weekend, as the nation marked 250 years of American independence, the Department of Homeland Security said it had “celebrated Freedom 250 by arresting criminal illegal aliens from American communities”.

Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said ICE agents had spent the weekend “arresting the worst of the worst, including multiple murders, paedophiles, rapists, kidnappers, drunk drivers, drug traffickers and other dangerous public safety threats,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

“Thanks to President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers who will continue delivering on the American people’s mandate to make our nation safe again.”

Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) suggests around 70 per cent of detainees across the US –42,722 of the 60,000 in custody – have no criminal convictions or pending charges. At its peak during the World Cup, the ICE operation has been detaining up to 2,000 people a day. Raids on workplaces have increased, as have detentions via traffic stops. Texas, Louisiana and California are the states with the most detainees.

In the final days of the tournament, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades. The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted.

“Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, we must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP! Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands. The Radical Left Dumocrats [sic] would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch. I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming!”

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In May, as tournament preparations were being finalised, there was another spike in detentions. Mexicans, Hondurans and Guatemalans were the most affected. Even on the day the World Cup began, a major raid took place on a construction site in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Now the legal status of around 1.3 million more migrants has been called into question after the Supreme Court ruled that the President could overrule the Temporary Protected Status programme, which offers protections for migrants for countries affected by war or natural disaster.

The promise that there would be no “civil immigration enforcement” at matches has been kept; beyond the reach of the World Cup, ICE are more powerful than ever.

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The most famous image of Kevin Keegan is of a man shaking with emotion, gripping a microphone, headphones clamped down over his ears, shouting how he would “love it, absolutely love it if we beat them”.

He seems a man on the brink, who knows that he will not beat Manchester United and that his vivid, passionate affair with Newcastle would not end well. Keegan, the young naïve optimist, brought down by the curmudgeonly wiles of Alex Ferguson. Keegan is like the young card sharp, Steve McQueen, who in The Cincinnati Kid stakes everything on his belief that the old poker hand, Edward G Robinson, does not have the jack of diamonds. He is wrong.

The 1995/96 Premier League season had the feel of a film. Newcastle, young, buccaneering, full of goals and glamour, tore through the old order – although defensively they were remarkably tight. On 23 December, they were 12 points clear at the top. Tyneside was going through something of an economic boom. The Quayside had gone from being a place of derelict wharves to a place of clubs and bars with names like The Quilted Camel.

If you turned to the screens of some of the new sports bars, you had a good chance of seeing Kevin Keegan’s face. He was forever giving press conferences, armed with the soundbites that fuelled the dreams of a club that had not won the title since 1927. If he were a politician, he would have been Tony Blair, who claimed to be a Newcastle supporter and invited Keegan to the Labour Party Conference, where they were photographed heading footballs.

However, by the time Blair took office in May 1997, Keegan had quit as manager of Newcastle United, and the giddy dreams had gone. Ferguson’s jack of diamonds came in the form of five 1-0 wins. In four of them Eric Cantona scored the only goal. The fifth was against Leeds on 17 April. Leeds, who had seen their keeper dismissed after 16 minutes, almost held out and Ferguson wondered aloud whether these players could raise their game against Newcastle. They had, he said, “betrayed their manager” by only turning it on at Old Trafford.

Significantly, Ferguson had consulted the Leeds manager, Howard Wilkinson, about what he planned to say. This was something Keegan said he would never have done, not least because he did not have many close relationships in football, which he rarely watched. His friends tended to be outside the game.

When playing for Liverpool, he lived not in the traditional haunts of Southport or Formby but in rural north Wales, where he and his wife Jean raised their family and their horses. After retiring as a player in 1984, he spent eight years in Marbella, honing his golf handicap and being a father to his two daughters. Then in 1992, he was called by the Newcastle chairman, Sir John Hall, whose club faced relegation to the Third Division, “There are only two men who can save Newcastle United,” said Hall. “And we are speaking on the phone.” A little over four years later, they were almost champions of England.

Manchester United won that title on the last day of the season and the sweep of that contest, followed by the drama of Euro 96 was partially responsible for the upsurge in attendances that cemented the Premier League as the wealthiest in the world.

However, this failure gnawed away. On 8 January, he walked out, never having signed the ten-year contract he had been offered. Ferguson, driving to Glasgow and hearing the news on Radio Five being delivered like the assassination of a president, thought the coverage bewildering.

As a player, Keegan had timed his exits wonderfully. After winning championships and FA Cups at Liverpool, he left after lifting the European Cup in Rome. There was another European Cup final with Hamburg, lost to Nottingham Forest, but there was also the Bundesliga title and two European Footballer of the Year Awards.

After captaining England in the 1982 World Cup where a back injury limited his participation to a few fitful minutes against Spain, he joined Newcastle who were then in the Second Division. His father was from the North East; his grandfather, Frank, had led 26 Durham miners to safety on a February day when 168 were killed in the West Stanley pit disaster. There was a romantic attachment, and Keegan was forever a romantic. There was also plenty of money, a contract underwritten by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries.

Two years later, after they had celebrated promotion with a testimonial against Liverpool, a helicopter came to pluck him from the pitch and take him into the skies. In terms of silverware, which may be one measure of sport, Keegan’s greatest feats had come on the shores of two great estuaries, the Mersey and the Elbe, but it was by the Tyne that he achieved immortality

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I’m calling it now: this has been an odd World Cup for defenders and midfielders. While the superstar attackers have all turned up – to the extent that Harry Kane misses out on this team – central defenders and central midfielders have either quietly gone about their business or suffered lapses. 

Still, head above the parapet time. Here is my best XI of the tournament. Shout at me on social media if you want, but please do be aware that there is usually a queue.

Goalkeeper – Orlando Gill (Paraguay)

The first problem position. Cape Verde’s Vozinha got all the plaudits but their defending was absolutely a communal effort. Diogo Costa was almost faultless but then a) Portugal have a decent defence and b) Portugal were rank bad all tournament.

This became a choice between two goalkeepers: Mostafa Shobeir of Egypt and Orlando Gil of Paraguay. Gill gets the nod on the basis that he made the most saves of any goalkeeper in the tournament and I watched him be brilliant live.

Right-back – Pedro Porro (Spain)

Until Spain beat France in the semi-final, Achraf Hakimi was nailed on for a place in this team. But a) Porro played brilliantly against France and scored, and b) there are other reasons why I am more than happy to leave Hakimi out.

Between Marc Cucurella and Porro, Spain have two full-backs who have arguably produced their best performances over the last two years in this tournament. Their attacking invention has allowed the wingers to drift close to Mikel Oyarzabal and make Spain increasingly hard to defend against.

Left-back – Nuno Mendes (Portugal)

No left-back created more chances. No left-back completed more dribbles. No regular left-back made more passes per game. No left-back played more accurate through balls.

This tournament was a waste of time for Portugal because Roberto Martinez considered it more important to give Cristiano Ronaldo a retirement lap than to commit everything to winning the tournament. Nuno Mendes lost out more than anyone.

Central defender – Pau Cubarsi (Spain)

You could make a decent case for picking Aymeric Laporte here, but Cubarsi impressed me so much during the tournament given his age and relative inexperience (he had only 12 international caps before the group stage started).

Cubarsi was also the right choice to win the Young Player of the Tournament award. The completeness of his game at 19 is astonishing and Spain have two teenage pillars to build around.

Central defender – Dayot Upamecano (France)

There were doubts about Upamecano before this World Cup; the suspicion was that he occasionally loses concentration and makes poor mistakes. But we saw almost none of that in the US.

In fact, I think Upamecano was the best French defender who also had the good fortune to miss the appalling first half against England in Miami. At 27, he merits being the natural partner to William Saliba for Zinedine Zidane.

Central midfielder – Rodri (Spain)

One of the stories of the entire tournament. Rodri has spent most of the last two years either recovering from a serious injury, recovering his match fitness after so long out or struggling to recapture the peaks he reached before the injury. Then he walked into a major tournament and immediately put every other midfielder in the shade.

Spain did not win the World Cup just because of Rodri, but they would not have won the World Cup without him either. His performance against France in the semi-final was one of the most dominant in recent World Cup memory.

Central midfielder – Elliot Anderson (England)

Anderson came into this tournament as one of the form midfielders in Europe last season, completed a then-British record move to Manchester City and somehow ended the summer still flying a little under the radar.

His work off the ball, including an unerring ability to be in the right place at the right time, was a game changer for England. I made him the second best in the team after Bellingham and the second best central midfielder behind Rodri.

Attacking midfielder – Jude Bellingham (England)

The greatest individual major tournament by any England player, by my reckoning. That Bellingham ended it with a wonderful individual goal to confirm his place as the highest goalscorer in a single major tournament for England was entirely fitting.

Bellingham isn’t just a goalscorer – he drives and drags England forward more often than is ideal – but his ability to make penalty-box runs defined England’s run to the semi-final. To think that some people thought that he shouldn’t be in the team at all.

Attacking midfielder – Lionel Messi (Argentina)

He’s 39; that is the phrase to repeat to yourself until the enormity of what Messi achieved in this World Cup sinks in. In 2023 he chose to leave European football, ostensibly to extend his Argentina career and give him a shot at another World Cup.

It probably paid off. Messi was quiet in the final but he scored or assisted 12 goals along the way, a ludicrous return even in a team designed exclusively to get the best out of him. And if this is it, it has been an honour to report on the denouement.

Striker – Kylian Mbappe (France)

You can insert caveats around the expansion of the tournament reducing the quality of opponents slightly and point out that Mbappe has been part of three excellent France teams, but who cares? He has scored 22 World Cup goals in 22 matches to become the highest scorer in the competition’s history and scored 10 here.

Mbappe came into this tournament with question marks surrounding his defensive contributions at Real Madrid. And he spent six weeks largely proving that it doesn’t matter if you are one of the most reliable contributors in the history of the international game.

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Striker – Erling Haaland (Norway)

Kane can consider himself unfortunate not to be here, obviously. But then Haaland led his team to their best ever World Cup performance and did so in the manner of an insouciant meat robot, goofy smile as he thwacks you out of the competition.

Haaland has broken America in this tournament. On every sports show, it was him who the more casual followers of soccer gravitated towards. And the performance against Brazil, when he produced the best individual display of any centre forward this summer, gets him the nod.

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