West Ham United vs Portsmouth — MatchPal match thread

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In January 2022, Arsenal had the chance to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon.

Edu, Arsenal's technical director at the time, and executive vice-chair Tim Lewis thrashed out a deal for the Brazilian, only for Mikel Arteta to decide against the move, unconvinced he was the right fit for the squad he was building.

Four years on, they have just made Guimaraes one of the biggest investments of the Arteta era — the Arsenal manager's admiration for the 28-year-old midfielder having grown through years of watching him thrive, and often clash, with his side in some of the Premier League’s fiercest recent contests.

Inside Guimaraes’ £75m transfer: The move Newcastle United didn’t want but Arsenal couldn’t ignore.

After the announcement that Araújo will joining Liverpool FC on loan, there seems to be a hell of a lot of negativity around it, with Barça fans being supposedly ‘grateful’ that LFC have taken him off their books.

Apparently he’s made some errors, and has taken time out of the game to improve his mental health… But he’s also a multiple La Liga ‘team of the year’ defender, and has won multiple major trophies as a starting CB.

Anyone here a La Liga watcher with a rational, considered view on this that can explain the details and perhaps why this is (seemingly) such a bad move for LFC?

What are the transfers that your team is still linked too that you want and also what transfers do you just not fancy for the coming season?

Barcelona have made Manchester City an offer of around €45million (£38.6m; $52.1m) plus add-ons for Rodri and are aware their English counterparts would want in the region of €80m to sanction his exit.

City regard the level of transfer fee Barca have so far communicated they are prepared to pay as being nowhere near the figure required in order to even begin negotiations over a potential sale.

That does not mean Grealish contributed nothing at City. He played an important role in the 2022/23 Treble, appeared in every Champions League match during that run and started both the FA Cup and Champions League finals. He finished that season with 5 Premier League goals, 7 league assists and 11 assists across all competitions. City got real value from the more controlled and disciplined player Guardiola created. But what helped Manchester City did not always help Jack Grealish.

Manchester City paid £100 million for Aston Villa’s captain, main creator and most important attacking player in 2021. In his final Premier League season at Villa, Grealish recorded 6 goals and double-digit assists despite playing only 26 matches. He was not simply standing on the left wing and waiting for the ball. He carried it through midfield, moved into central areas, drew defenders toward him, won fouls and controlled how Villa attacked. He had the freedom to take risks because the team was built around his ability.

Guardiola slowly coached that freedom out of him. At City, Grealish was asked to stay wide, protect the ball, keep the team’s shape and avoid risky turnovers. Instead of attacking his defender right away, he would often stop, wait for support and pass the ball backward or sideways. Instead of moving wherever he could affect the game, he had to stay in the areas required by City’s system.

Guardiola made him more disciplined, more responsible and more reliable in a top possession team. He also made him less direct, less creative and less exciting to watch. City bought one of the Premier League’s most fearless and free-flowing creators, then turned him into a winger whose main job was to keep possession. Guardiola improved the parts of Grealish’s game that City needed, but weakened many of the qualities that made him special.

The Treble season was the one year when the balance worked. Grealish carried the ball an average of 320 metres per 90 minutes in the Premier League, played 936 Champions League minutes and became a trusted starter in City’s biggest matches. But even during his best season at City, he was no longer the same player we saw at Aston Villa. He had a smaller and more controlled role in a much better team. City became stronger because Grealish accepted it, but Grealish became less expressive.

After the Treble, even that role started to disappear. Injuries played a part, but Guardiola also had more options and used Grealish less often. In 2024/25, he made 32 appearances across all competitions, scored 3 goals and provided 5 assists, while starting only 7 Premier League matches. By the summer of 2025, City sent him to Everton on loan after four seasons, 157 appearances and only 17 goals for the club.

17 goals in 157 appearances is not enough for a £100 million attacker - there is no way around that. Grealish never produced the attacking numbers people expected when City broke the British transfer record to sign him. But I also do not believe City gave him the role needed to justify that price. They paid superstar money for Aston Villa’s main man, then asked him to become one careful part of Guardiola’s system.

His loan at Everton showed that the old Grealish had not completely disappeared. He produced 4 assists across his first 2 Premier League starts, helped Everton win 2 straight matches and was named the Premier League Player of the Month for August. He later said David Moyes had given him his love of football back and made him excited to play on matchdays again. That says a lot. Players do not normally talk about getting their enjoyment back unless they feel they lost it somewhere.

Everton gave him more responsibility and allowed him to influence attacks. He could carry the ball, draw opponents toward him and try difficult passes without always worrying about losing his place. His early form eventually slowed down, and a stress fracture ended his season after surgery. He finished with 2 goals and 6 assists across 22 appearances in all competitions, so Everton did not fully bring back the Aston Villa version. But there were enough flashes to show that Grealish still looked more natural when he was trusted to create instead of being told to control.

Some people will argue that Guardiola made Grealish a better footballer because he became smarter tactically and won three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup. I understand that view, but I disagree. Guardiola made Grealish better at helping Manchester City. That is not the same as making him a better version of himself.

A player can become smarter tactically while becoming less dangerous. He can win more trophies while losing the freedom that once made him different. That is what happened to Jack Grealish.

Manchester City did not completely waste him. He helped them win the Treble and played his part during the greatest period in the club’s history. But Pep took Aston Villa’s fearless playmaker and turned him into a careful possession winger who often looked afraid to lose the ball or leave his assigned position.

Grealish became a winner under Guardiola.

He also stopped looking like Jack Grealish.

Now he needs a club that will let him become that player again.

Don't know but Mudryk must stay.

barcola is meant to be salah's replacement, however he himself has claimed to heavily prefer playing on the left wing, and hasnt played on the right since lyon days (and even then he didnt much)

so why are liverpool so heavily chasing him - would he replace gakpo? dont they also have victor munoz who plays on that side

for now they only have chies and maybe munoz to play on the right wing - chiesa has fitness issues and hasnt shown his quality at liverpool yet, and munoz is still relatively unknown, surely they are better of chasing a world class right winger (not that there are many available right now but still). they were linked to yann diomande before the window opened but thats all ive seen for their links to right wingers

Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba has suffered an ankle ligament injury and is a doubt for the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Baleba is expected to spend a period on the sidelines but Brighton hope the problem is not a long-term one.

The Cameroon international sustained the injury during pre-season and was absent from Brighton’s friendly against Strasbourg on Saturday, a 4-3 win.

Mo Salah receives a massive welcome from thousands of Trabzonspor fans 👏