Transfers latest, Van Nistelrooy exit, Savage set for Forest Green, Euro U-21 final: football

Key events

Thanks Taha. What a fun Friday afternoon we have ahead of us. Strap in.

Time for Will Unwin to take over. I’ll hop back later in the afternoon. Cheers!

Jacob Steinberg writes about Enzo Fernández, who has had a mixed time at Chelsea.

The Leicester game marked a shift. The assumption with Fernández when he joined was that he was a conductor; a direct replacement for Jorginho. Maresca sees it differently. If Fernández does not have the mobility to be a driving box-to-box midfielder and is wasted screening a defence, then ask him to do less. Contain his role and put him in the right areas. Playing higher, Fernández has turned into a box-crashing midfielder.

Ashley Barnes, 35 years young, continues to truck along for Burnley. After a year and a half at Norwich, the forward rejoined the Clarets in January and made 13 league appearances – 12 off the bench – as they returned to the Premier League. The club have confirmed that Barnes has signed a one-year deal that will take him through to the end of the 2025/26 season. Barnes is Burnley’s second highest goalscorer in the Premier League with 42 strikes, seven behind Chris Wood.

Our Euro 2025 team guides continue to drop in. Here’s the take on Germany, runners-up last time round.

James Frost asks: “Looking for a ‘route to the final’ for Club World Cup – fixture guide. ie who would play who, in QF and SF… how the different sides of the draw line up.”

Here’s one from the Fifa website. Chelsea are on the same side of the draw as Manchester City so could end up meeting in the semi-finals. The two Bellinghams could take on each other in the quarters.

The last 16 of the Club World Cup – your favourite competition, I know – gets going tomorrow. The Brazilian sides have had a terrific time so far and the country will definitely be represented in the quarter-finals: Palmeiras meet Botafogo in Philadelphia.

“Consider it a Brazilian version of the Manchester City v Liverpool rivalry – but with a bit more spice,” write Tom Sanderson and Josué Seixas.

But this was worse. It’s nine years since England were embarrassed by Iceland in Nice.

For Roy Hodgson it was a desperate and ignominious way to end his four years as England manager. Whatever else happened in that time, his period in office will probably always be remembered for the full-on humiliation that accompanied this defeat and the knowledge it will rank among the more infamous results in the history of the national team.

A bit of hot #OnThisDay action for you, with two tragicomic anniversaries for English football. First up, it’s 15 years since Frank Lampard equalised for England on the cusp of half-time against Germany … except it didn’t count. Fabio Capello’s men fell to a 4-1 defeat, crashing out before the World Cup quarters.

Here’s what Owen Gibson wrote at the time:

It was as though England’s players had been taken in by the spin from Joachim Löw, that they were the favourites and Germany’s young team the underdogs. There was an element of shock (and awe) in the way that England were taken apart by the pace and agility of the three men playing behind Miroslav Klose.

Savage poised to join Forest Green Rovers

Ben Fisher

Robbie Savage is poised to be appointed manager of Forest Green Rovers. The former Wales midfielder is the manager and part-owner of Macclesfield and led them to promotion to the sixth tier as runaway champions last season but is expected to take over at Forest Green, who are one division above in the National League. Forest Green sacked their head coach Steve Cotterill on Thursday after losing in the playoffs as they attempt to get back into the EFL, where they spent 2022-23 in League One.

Forest Green’s owner, Dale Vince, is away at Glastonbury and is due to confirm the appointment on his return. Savage is understood to have visited the club this week and spoken to the director of football, Mark Bowen, who played alongside Savage for Wales. Savage, 50, took on the role of head coach at Moss Rose a year ago after previously serving as the director of football. Alongside the local businessman Robert Smethurst, Savage helped form a phoenix club after Macclesfield Town folded, creating Macclesfield, of which the former Premier League player owns 10.9%.

Additional reporting by Will Unwin

Morning, all. Ed Aarons has plenty of transfer updates, with Arsenal on the cusp of solving their problem position … um, no, scrap that: they’re trying to get themselves another centre-half.

With that, I shall pass over to Taha for the rest of the morning.

Mark Levy gets in touch: “In Ben’s list of the top 10 players in the Under-21 tournament, 7 are over 21, 2 are 21, & only 1 is actually under 21! Does the competition need a new name? The under & over 21s? Mark (sitting on my balcony in the Madrid Sierra, with nothing more pressing to do!)“

Via Wiki: “To be eligible for the campaign ending in 2027, players must be born in 2004 or later. Many may actually be 23 years old by the time of the final tournament; however, when the qualification process began (2025), all players would have been 21 or under.”

Time to take the quiz of the week.

Van Nistelrooy departs Leicester after relegation

Ruud van Nistelrooy has left his job as Leicester’s manager after a miserable 27-game spell which brought relegation from the Premier League.

The club said the termination of his contract had come by mutual consent. The former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche and Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Röhl are among the contenders to take over.

Van Nistelrooy was appointed in late November on a contract to 2027 after Steve Cooper was sacked with Leicester 16th but their form got worse, with demotion confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on 20 April. It was Leicester’s nine home loss in a row without scoring.

A glance at that Club World Cup last 16 will tell you that they are dominated by the Europeans, and the Brazilians, with one team from Saudi Arabia and one from Mexico. Africa, ~~like MLS~~*, like Argentina, had a blowout. Paul MacInnes reports.

*Correction: Inter Miami are still knocking about. Apologies to Leo and Luis.

The Euro Under-21 final takes place on Saturday. England’s Young Lions are in the final again.