Until the transfer window slams shut at the end of August, the Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona saga won’t be over.

The Spanish giants are desperate to replace the recently departed Neymar, who became the most expensive player in football’s history with his €222 million switch to Paris Saint-Germain.

After having two bids rejected thus far on top of Coutinho’s transfer request, it appears as if Barcelona are up against it to get the deal done.

“If they (Barca) say they will bid whatever we don’t want it. It’s a clear message,” boss Jurgen Klopp said.

“We don’t want money, we want to invest in the team and have the best team because we have our aims and dreams.”

Barca are certain they can put together a deal that will turn Liverpool’s head, but how stubborn are the Reds prepared to be?

According to Spanish football expert and inside journalist Guillem Balague, they plan on resisting all offers regardless of the price.

Considering there is nothing Barcelona can do to force the move through or tempt Liverpool, Coutinho must remain on Merseyside.

Klopp also explained that he has very little say in Coutinho’s future at the club. That rests in the hands of the Fenway Sports Group that run the club.

“If there is an offer for a player and I say ‘no’ for example, the owners may say ‘yes, let’s ask for a number on how much they want to pay.’ And I say, ‘I don’t want to hear it.’ But they say ‘we want to hear it. £50m? £50m cool.’

“So then they sell the player – that is how a club works. That is how it was with Hans-Joachim Watzke at Dortmund. Do you think I said: ‘Bring Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid as quickly as possible?’

“It was not my decision. The player had a contract. They agreed. I don’t ask for things I can’t get and I respect the rules in the game.

“So now if I said ‘I’d sell him’ and they said ‘no, we won’t sell him’, it doesn’t make sense.

Jack Wilshere is free to leave Arsenal this summer if the right offer comes in.

Having spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, the midfielder finds himself at something of a crossroads.

Arsene Wenger currently has him training with the under-23s as he completes his rehabilitation, though Wilshere reportedly insisted he was fit enough to take on Leicester in the Premier League season opener.

His exclusion from the squad for that 4-3 victory suggests it’s going to be very difficult for him to force his way into the manager’s plans.

Yet, at the same time, he is undecided on whether to cut his losses or try and get as many games as he can thanks to the club’s participation in the Europa League.

The 25-year-old has not been without offers, albeit with several clubs only wanting to take him for another loan.

And the Mirror’s latest report suggests his career could be about to take a rather disappointing turn.

As Wenger knows Steve Bruce well, Aston Villa are ready to try their luck with an ambitious move for the England international.

The Villains have already pulled off one enormous coup this summer with the signing of John Terry on a free, snatching him from under Birmingham City’s noses in the process.

Six years on from that famous night against Barcelona, Wilshere could find himself plying his trade in the Championship.

Newcastle United, Swansea City, Sampdoria, and West Ham have also been linked, though Arsenal are yet to receive a bid that matches their valuation.

The big question is whether the player himself would be willing to take the step down a division. Last summer’s move to the South Coast raised a few eyebrows, but it would be a definite low point if he were unable to convince a top flight club to take a punt on him.

Bruce is hopeful that with a big contract and bonuses on the table, he’ll be able to tempt the Gunners’ Academy product to make what would undoubtedly be a bold call on his future.

Arsenal have several players who are deemed surplus to requirements. Mathieu Debuchy, Lucas Perez, and Kieran Gibbs are among them, and Wenger definitely needs to move some of them on to trim his overflowing squad.

Liverpool’s defensive flaws were there for all to see during Saturday’s disappointing 3-3 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.

Poor marking and decision making saw the Reds initially go 1-0 down from a corner and then concede a sloppy 93rd-minute equaliser, having led 3-2 since the hour mark.

Fans have been calling for Jurgen Klopp to sign reinforcements at centre-back this summer, but the German insisted earlier this month that he has enough options.

“We have four [centre-backs]. I don’t think we need more,” he said. “We are open until the 31st [of August]. We cannot force the things and we would never get a centre-back just because.”

Another area that fans want to see bolstered is midfield, which even Klopp has agreed with following injuries to Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho.

Klopp believes his side lack experience in the centre of the park, given captain Jordan Henderson is his oldest option at 27-years-old.

James Milner, 31, is also a midfielder by trade, of course, but he’s been so good at left-back for Liverpool that Klopp wouldn’t dream of playing him anywhere else.

The simple fact of the matter is that Liverpool must spend more money between now and the end of the summer transfer window in order to compete for the Premier League title.

Whereas the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have all spent in excess of £100 million, Liverpool have splashed an underwhelming £46 million.

Steven Gerrard will want to see Klopp open his chequebook a few more times before the deadline window closes and he’s now made it very clear what kind of player he wants to arrive.

Speaking on BT Sport ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League qualifier against Hoffenheim on Tuesday night, Gerrard was asked if he could sign one United player, who would it be.

And his response? Nemanja Matic, who he claims he’s a huge fan of. Check out Gerrard and Steve McManaman’s answers in the video below.

“Right now? Looking at the weekend, I’d take Matic,” Gerrard said. “We haven’t got a natural holding midfielder at the moment.

“Jordan Henderson has done a fantastic job in there, obviously struggles with injury at times. We’ve got Emre Can as well, but for me, they’re suited as well to being No.8s.

“I think all them players would benefit from having a real big monster of a midfielder in there who can break up play; that can help secure Liverpool when they pile forward.

“I’m a huge fan of Matic and looking at him over the weekend, he looks like the right piece of the puzzle that [Jose] Mourinho needs.”

Chelsea must still be in a state of shock after suffering a nightmare start to their Premier League title defence against Burnley on Saturday.

The reigning champions recovered from a first-half implosion to pull the scoreline back to 3-2 in the second period, though it did little to abate the nervous tension around Stamford Bridge.

Antonio Conte has endured a frustrating summer transfer window and made no secret of his desire to change that with the August 31 deadline fast approaching.

The Chelsea boss feels his squad lacks depth across several key positions in their 3-4-3 system, namely centre midfield, striker and both wingback roles.

Following an embarrassing opening weekend defeat in front of his own fans, Conte is surely even more desperate to secure the reinforcements he needs to contend for four trophies this season.

Conte has cause to be upset with the Blues’ performance in the transfer market despite landing £125 million worth of signings to date.

Chelsea have welcomed Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata to West London, yet they look bereft of options compared to their title rivals.

Conte has seen no less than seven first team players leave the club this summer – the most telling of which could turn out to be Nemanja Matic joining Manchester United, supposedly against the Italian’s wishes.

But after missing out on a host of key targets this summer, the 48-year-old may have a chance to get back at the Red Devils.

The Mirror reports Chelsea are plotting a move for Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic in a deal that would scupper United’s long-term pursuit of the player.

Jose Mourinho is thought to want one last high-profile arrival at Old Trafford and views the Croatian as the ideal candidate to complete his United jigsaw.

However, Perisic – who scored against Chelsea in pre-season – would also be a perfect fit for Conte given his ability to play across the attacking midfield line or up front.

The 28-year-old – thought to carry a £48 million price tag – is understood to be one of numerous players on the Blues’ late summer shortlist alongside Juventus wingback Alex Sandro, Joao Cancelo of Valencia, and Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater.

It could be a messy end to the transfer window for Chelsea, but Conte won’t care in the slightest if at least a few of these deals can get over the line.

Romelu Lukaku scored twice on his Premier League debut for Manchester United as they started the season with an impressive 4-0 victory over West Ham United.

The Belgian striker, signed from Everton in the summer, found the inside of the post after being teed up by Marcus Rashford on the counter-attack with 33 minutes gone.

Lukaku doubled his tally seven minutes after half-time when he headed in from Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s free-kick.

Rashford’s curling strike flew off the post and across the goalmouth but Jose Mourinho’s men were not denied a third as Anthony Martial slid the ball past West Ham debutant Joe Hart after a superb Mkhitaryan pass.

And then Paul Pogba rounded off the win with a long-range strike after Martial’s pass.

Michael Carrick could take a step towards a career landmark when Manchester United begin their Premier League campaign at home to West Ham United on Sunday.
If Carrick plays at Old Trafford this afternoon he will make one of the 21 appearances he needs to reach 500 in the Premier League.

Only 13 players in Premier League history have ever reached the milestone being chased by the former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United midfielder, who is currently on 479.

Carrick made 23 appearances last season and has only played fewer than 21 times in a single campaign once since becoming a regular in 2000/01, so the odds are in his favour.

AFC Bournemouth’s Jermain Defoe is another player who could reach 500 in 2017/18.

The Premier League’s seventh-highest all-time goalscorer has taken 469 matches to score his 158 goals.

Defoe and Carrick trail behind the active player with the most Premier League appearances.

That honour belongs to Everton’s Gareth Barry, whose 628 matches puts him only four shy of Ryan Giggs’ all-time record.

Several other players could also reach top-flight milestones, including Leighton Baines (385), Ashley Young (297) and Ryan Shawcross (291).

Huddersfield manager David Wagner laughed off his side’s ascent to the top of the Premier League after their 3-0 victory at Crystal Palace.

Despite widely being considered contenders for relegation, appearing in the Premier League for the first time in their history and returning to the top flight after a 45-year absence, they excelled at Selhurst Park to secure a significant win.

His Crystal Palace counterpart Frank de Boer’s first competitive game in charge proved a major disappointment, with his new team appearing likely to again struggle.

However after an own goal from Joel Ward and two finishes from club-record signing Steve Mounie gave Huddersfield the fine start they will likely need in what could yet become a difficult season, Wagner refused to be too upbeat.

“I can’t take that seriously,” the 45-year-old said after laughing. “Let’s just focus on our performance, which was good, and the result was excellent. Nobody is looking at the table.

“We should not look too far ahead. We should focus on what we have seen and that made me very happy. You cannot moan if you play your first game in the top flight in 45 years and you win 3-0 away. We know we were very clinical and had bit of luck when they missed chances.

“With the togetherness and fighting attitude we had, and the idea to keep them away from goal by pressing them as high as possible, we were brave enough to try to press them high and over the game our game plan worked.

“I said beforehand we will stick to our identity and idea. This means you have to show togetherness. We were clinical: it was a great debut for Steve Mounie and we had a great goalkeeper (Jonas Lossl) and that helped massively. Did I expect this result? No, but i hoped it could happen. This makes for a wonderful afternoon.”

Tottenham claimed a 2-0 win over 10-man Newcastle thanks to second-half goals from Dele Alli and Ben Davies at St James’ Park. From Jonjo Shelvey’s sending off to Kyle Walker-Peters’ impressive debut, here are five talking points from the game.
The second half was barely three minutes old when Shelvey trod on Alli’s ankle following an innocuous coming together in the middle of the pitch. Referee Andre Marriner, standing just a few yards away, did not hesitate to brandish the red card. “Is that the most stupid red card you’ve ever seen in your life?” asked Alan Smith in the Sky Sports commentary box.

It was the latest in a long line of controversies involving Shelvey and it raises serious questions about Rafael Benitez’s decision to hand him the captain’s armband. The hosts had largely nullified Spurs up until that point, but in the end they were fortunate to the margin of defeat wasn’t greater.

As well as defender Terry and midfielder Matic, Chelsea have sold Asmir Begovic to Bournemouth, while last season’s top scorer Diego Costa has been told he is free to leave.

The recruitment of midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma and former Manchester City keeper Willy Caballero fills the gaps vacated by this quartet.

But Conte has made no secret of his desire to recruit more players to strengthen his first team for a season that sees the addition of Champions League matches to their fixture list.

Having also sold Nathan Ake to Bournemouth and loaned fellow defender Kurt Zouma to Stoke, the suspension of Cahill will further deplete Conte’s resources.

Equally, Fabregas’ ban deprives him of another midfielder, with Bakayoko, Hazard and Pedro all out injured.

Conte felt Cahill’s dismissal was pivotal to the outcome of Saturday’s game against Burnley, with Chelsea 3-0 down at the break following two goals from Sam Vokes and a Stephen Ward strike.

A debut goal from substitute Morata and a late David Luiz finish gave them hope, but Burnley held on for the win.

“The red card [for Cahill] was the key moment,” Conte told BBC Sport. “We started well with good intensity and were dominating the game. Then the game changed. We lost our heads too easily and we need to reflect on this situation.

“If we are able to stay in the game, then anything can happen in the second half, but instead we conceded three goals. In the second half, my players showed great will to try to change the result.”

Back in 2013, Ross Barkley was one of the hottest prospects in not just English football, but all of Europe.

The precocious Everton youngster caught the eye with his impressive ability to drive forward with the ball, take opponents on and create chances.

However, now 23-years-old, many believe the Liverpool-born star hasn’t quite lived up to his very obvious potential.

His contract only has 11 months remaining on it at Goodison Park and manager Ronald Koeman has already publicly stated he will sell Barkely if the player did not agree to a new deal.

Alas, we are nearing the middle of August and Barkley hasn’t even come close to leaving the club. However, Chelsea legend Frank Lampard – who played with Barkley at the 2014 World Cup – believes that the playmaker may need to find a top club to help him progress.

“Looking at it from the outside, he’s 23 now and he’s always had pockets of games where he’s done well and we talk about him.” Lampard said via the Metro.

“His England career has done a bit of that as well because he’s never done that throughout a season, so maybe a change would be good for him.

“At some stage sometimes, I did it as a young lad at West Ham, you have to try and go out of your comfort zone and try something else.

“Everton fans might not want to hear that, but everybody moves on. I like Ross and he’s got so much talent,” added Chelsea’s record goalscorer.

“While it does look like he’s going to leave now, he does need to go to a club where he can fulfill that talent.

“It’s all there, but he probably just needs to get a bit more out of himself. He’s at a young age and it seems that he wants to move.

“If he comes to a team like Chelsea or Tottenham, the players around him will help him improve because he’ll see what it takes to go to the next level.”

The plot thickens. Lampard goes on to suggest that Barkley could really flourish training with players who are proven in his position.

“Ross has the potential and he needs to go to the next level, he needs to look at the likes of Hazard and Willian and try and do the things they do.

“That’s not just have the potential, but to create and score goals regularly.”

Should Chelsea splash the cash on Barkley? With Conte desperate for new signings, they just might.