Sports
£400m spent but who made early moves in mini transfer window?

After a busy 10 days and £400m spent the transfer window has officially closed for Premier League clubs – a week before it opens once again.
This summer has seen an unusual, two-part transfer window to allow clubs to sign players for the Fifa Club World Cup which begins on Sunday, 15 June (01:00 BST).
A second will open on Monday, 16 June, before closing on Monday, 1 September at 19:00 BST for Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership clubs.
Fifa rules state a transfer window cannot last more than 16 weeks in a calendar year, hence the split this summer.
Manchester City and Chelsea are the two Premier League clubs competing at the Club World Cup in the United States, but any team from a league with sides at the tournament could participate in the window.
So who made their early moves?
Premier League clubs have already spent £400m in initial transfer fees before the new season. That dwarfs the tallies of top-flight clubs in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Saudi Arabia.
There’s still a long way to go to match last summer’s final tally of £1.98bn spent by Premier League clubs on player transfers, while the record outlay of £2.36bn was set in summer 2023.
Chelsea begin their Club World Cup campaign against Los Angeles FC on 16 June, while City play Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June.
Both sides have new faces in their touring party, with City landing Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri for £31m and bringing in goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as cover.
They also announced the signing of attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon before the deadline for an initial fee of £30.45m.
Chelsea have spent more than any other club so far, splashing out initial fees of £89.5m on Liam Delap (£30m), Dario Essugo (£18.5m) and Mamadou Sarr (£12m), while Estevao Willian (£29m) will join after agreeing a move a year ago.
Manchester United are not in the Club World Cup but have made the most expensive move yet, spending £62.5m on Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.
That deal has already eclipsed the biggest fee in the Premier League last summer, when Spurs spent an initial £55m on striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth.
Bournemouth to the Bernabeu is not a well-trodden path in football history but Real Madrid have spent £50m on Cherries centre-half Dean Huijsen.
The Spanish giants activated his release clause, with the Spain international having as many as seven offers on the table, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle.
Real, of course, also chose to spend £10m to bring forward the long-awaited signing of Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold so he could feature in the United States.
The 26-year-old would have been able to leave Liverpool on a free transfer when his contract expired on 30 June.
But Real moved early thanks to the financial incentive of the winner of the 32-team tournament potentially earning up to £97m in prize money.
Borussia Dortmund have gone down a familiar path by bringing in Jobe Bellingham – younger brother of Real and England midfielder Jude – from Sunderland for an initial £27.8m.
Liverpool replaced Alexander-Arnold with Dutch full-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, while the Bundesliga side took goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford.
The Bees in turn signed Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, while across the city Everton turned forward Carlos Alcaraz’s loan move from Flamengo into a permanent one.
And Sunderland may have lost the younger Bellingham, but broke their own transfer record ahead of their top-flight return by signing French midfielder Enzo le Fee for £19m following his loan spell from Roma.
Sports
August 22 Set as Kick-Off Date for 2025/26 NPFL Season

By Joel Ajayi
Following what many have described as one of the most successful football seasons in recent years, the Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, has announced that the 2025/26 season will commence on August 22 and run through May.
Elegbeleye made this known on Friday during a press briefing held to review the just-concluded season and unveil plans for the upcoming campaign.
According to him, the decision to announce the kickoff date early is to ensure that the NPFL aligns with the international football calendar.
“We called this briefing to review the achievements of the past season and to inform Nigerians about the date for the new season, in line with global football standards,” he stated.
“This is perhaps the first time in nearly 20 years since the start of the modern NPFL era in 2005 — that both kickoff and closing dates have been strictly adhered to. It’s a promise we made and a promise we’ve delivered,” Elegbeleye stated.
He added that the new season will begin on August 22, 2025, and conclude in May 2026, maintaining the calendar structure established in the previous season.
Reviewing the recently concluded 2024/25 season, which ran from August 31, 2024, to May 25, 2025, Elegbeleye highlighted several milestones and statistical achievements.
He noted that Remo Stars made history by clinching the league title with three matches to spare after defeating Niger Tornadoes on Matchday 35, April 27. Remo Stars finished at the top of the table, followed by Rivers United and Abia Warriors.
In total,380 matches were played across the season. Each of the 20 clubs played 19 home and 19 away games, 286 matches were won, while 94 ended in draws.
A total of 784 goals were scored, comprising 552 at home and 232 away goals.60 goals came from the penalty spot, with 16 penalties missed. 13 own goals were recorded, and there were four hat-tricks.
On discipline: 1,380 yellow cards and 56 red cards were issued.
As Yusuf Anas of Nasarawa United topped the list with 18 goals, including two hat-tricks.
He was followed by veteran Rabiu Ali with 13 goals, and Anthony Ijoma of Abia Warriors with 12 goals.
Isaac Saviour (Rangers) and Amadu Liman also recorded a hat-trick each.
He added that: “Out of the 380 matches played:188 were broadcast live by StarTimes, while Propel streamed over 200 matches online.
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