• Manager: ‘This season will be survival of the fittest’
• Unclear if Jadon Sancho available after ear infection

Erik ten Hag has warned his Manchester United players to accept being dropped from the matchday squad and that they must remain motivated to contribute when required.

The manager left Jadon Sancho out of last September’s trip to Arsenal, causing the player to challenge the decision publicly. The situation led to Sancho’s departure to Borussia Dortmund on loan, although he is now back in Ten Hag’s plans. The 24-year-old was left out of the 1-0 opening day win over Fulham because of an ear infection, Ten Hag explained after the game.

Today’s fluff awaits the rain

West Ham are still in the market for a centre-back, with Victor Nelsson a potential target. The Denmark international, who plays his club football for Galatasaray, is also wanted by Sevilla, Lille and Bologna. It is thought a deal could be done for a fee in the region of £12m but the Hammers are currently reliant on sales to generate income.

Chelsea are desperate to clear the decks because they have created some of the most bizarre business in Premier League history, leaving them with a bloated and confused squad, not to mention a cripplingly expensive one. One unwanted player is Ben Chilwell, who is training away from the first team. The Blues have, supposedly, offered him up to Manchester United because they need a left-back in the absence of a Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

An electrifying retelling of how the Munich air disaster changed football and Britain for ever

Why the plural? There’s only one Munich in David Peace’s new novel, and we see very little of it: the slushy runway where British European Airways flight 609 crashes on February 6, 1958; the hotel room where two survivors spend their first bewildered night; the hospital where their fellow passengers recover – or don’t. This is surely the story of one accident, one time, one team: the air crash that killed 23 out of 44 passengers, including eight of Manchester United’s players, three of its staff, and eight journalists.

But Peace’s reasoning becomes clear over the several hundred pages of this relentless, electrifying, harrowing novel. The Munich Air Disaster, so integral a part of how the football club developed, and which had such a profound impact on the city, the north of England, the sporting community and the country as a whole, might easily not have happened had takeoff been aborted. And what would the world look like then?

• Investigation dropped ‘without indictment’, say lawyers
• Manchester United player denied allegations of violence

The Brazilian police investigation into allegations of violence against the Manchester United winger Antony has been dropped by the Sao Paulo civil police “without indictment”, his legal representative has stated.

Antony, who denied the allegations, is understood to have voluntarily been interviewed by Brazilian police last June. The winger, who was not arrested or charged, was also the subject of a Greater Manchester police investigation.

Today’s tittle-tattle tells us desperate times call for desperate measures

It has been at least 15 minutes since Chelsea handed a massive contract to a player they did not need, so it is no great surprise that they are considering a late move for Ivan Toney. Brentford, though, expect the player to join Al-Ahli as per his childhood dream of one day running out for The Classy Ones; the Mill is choking up.

Meantime their traditional rivals, Al-Hilal, are also hoping to be busy. They fancy a full-back so are looking at Kyle Walker and João Cancelo, in case either prefers swapping quality football, packed stadiums and the Champions League for the chance to crown their career at football’s Fyre festival.

• United happy to wait until deadline day to make move
• PSG currently value the Uruguay midfielder at £51m

Manchester United are willing to wait until transfer deadline day to try to sign Manuel Ugarte. There does not have to be any outgoings to finance the deal although Paris Saint-Germain’s £51m valuation of the Uruguay midfielder is deemed too high by United and there is belief that the French champions may reduce it as the deadline nears.

Ugarte could be purchased now by United should PSG lower their asking price but the manager, Erik ten Hag, and the sporting director, Dan Ashworth, are prepared to bide their time to force a reduction. The window closes at 11pm on 30 August and United are intent on making more sales before then. The players the club would listen to offers for include Victor Lindelöf, Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Scott McTominay.

Good first impressions at Manchester United, David Raya’s magic moment and more utter chaos at Chelsea

It was very much a case of job done for Manchester United on Friday night as they edged past Fulham. United did not secure the convincing win that many desired but three points is a good base from which to start the campaign. Erik ten Hag will be further boosted by the performances of his three debutants. Noussair Mazraoui was the only one to start, playing at right-back where he provided energy and looked composed on the ball. Matthijs de Ligt came on with Jonny Evans as the defence was reshuffled late on to help preserve United’s clean sheet, with Fulham stretching their tired hosts. De Ligt worked diligently but was upstaged by his compatriot, Joshua Zirkzee, who provided the 87th-minute winner with a cunning finish as United finally got the better of Bernd Leno. Each recruit offered an indication of what they will bring to United and, like the team, the new arrivals have something to build on. Will Unwin

Match report: Manchester United 1-0 Fulham

Match report: Arsenal 2-0 Wolves

Match report: Chelsea 0-2 Man City

Match report: West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa

Match report: Ipswich 0-2 Liverpool

Match report: Everton 0-3 Brighton

• Greenwood scored twice in Marseille’s 5-1 win over Brest
• Forward’s arrival in summer drew backlash from fans

The Marseille head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has said he hopes Mason Greenwood’s debut goals on Saturday will “calm the controversies” around the striker.

Greenwood left Manchester United this summer, signing a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 side after the clubs agreed a £26.6m fee. The forward had not played for United since being suspended in January 2022 and spent 2023-24 on loan at the Spanish side Getafe.

• Bruno Fernandes twice denied in one on ones
• United had to rely on 87th-minute Zirkzee goal

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United cannot continue to waste chances, having missed a number of good opportunities before Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench to score the winner against Fulham with three minutes to go.

Bruno Fernandes was repelled twice by Bernd Leno in one-on-one situations before the break and Mason Mount suffered a similar fate in the second half.

New signing made an instant impact to rescue what threatened to be another false start for Erik ten Hag’s side

It wasn’t brilliant from Manchester United, but it was a win, it was better than the 1-0 win over Wolves with which they started last season and, perhaps most significantly, it was a victory achieved with a late goal from one of their new signings. And those are the ingredients for optimism.

It’s true that if Joshua Zirkzee had not steered in an Alejandro Garnacho cross with three minutes remaining, the mood would have been very different. But then the whole tenor of the game would have been very different had Bruno Fernandes converted either of his one-on-one opportunities against Bernd Leno before half-time. Games, seasons and careers are decided by fine margins and, on this occasion, they went for United.

It was certainly not the convincing and commanding display Erik ten Hag might have desired to kickstart what is hoped will be a new Manchester United era, but a winning goal from the debutant striker Joshua Zirkzee and a clean sheet against Fulham brought the platform he craves.

Ten Hag knows it was a similar story last season when they bungled their way past Wolves to start a campaign that ended with an eighth-placed finish. Results are what matter but performances will need to improve once the team settles. Zirkzee arrived from Bologna in the summer and he has built expectations early and showed a clinical nature that has been lacking at Old Trafford for a number of years. His jabbed effort might have looked like a stroke of luck but it was precision finishing from the Dutch international who wears the No 11 shirt, a garment somewhat tainted since the retirement of Ryan Giggs a decade ago.

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Here we go, then, as Fulham get the first match of the new Premier League season underway. But not before the knee of justice is taken. Andreas Pereira with 2024-25’s first kick of the ball. “I don’t have any Man U or Fulham defenders in my FPL team, so I’m confident of a 6-6 draw,” predicts Chloë Vaughan.

The teams are out! Expectation crackles around a packed Old Trafford as United and Fulham take to the field in their fetching new Adidas strips. Three bars ahoy! Trefoils to come. The hosts in red, the visitors in white, a classic look that acts as balm for tired eyes. There’s been plenty of noise ever since United’s quartet of new signings – the aforementioned Mazraoui, De Ligt and Zirkzee, plus the crocked Leny Yoro – were announced to the crowd a few minutes ago. The 2024-25 Premier League season kicks off in two or three of your Lancastrian minutes!

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Are you ready for the new Premier League season? Because Manchester United aren’t! In a mature, realistic observation that has already been disingenuously twisted by shameless emoji-wielding wrong’uns, Erik ten Hag said his team may not come roaring out of the blocks when they play Fulham tonight. “We had the USA tour squad, then we added the players who did the Euros and Copa América, and now new signings,” he said. “Now we have to make a team from it. That team is not ready, but the league starts – and there are more managers to deal with this problem. We can’t run away from it, so we have to deal with it.”

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New managers, new players, new hopes and new dreams as clubs ready themselves for another marathon season

Erik ten Hag is one step closer to playing an all-former-Ajax back five after the arrivals of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. With André Onana and Lisandro Martínez already in position, the head coach’s influence in transfer activity is clear. What this means, however, is that Ten Hag will not be left with many excuses if the defence is not up to scratch. The vast majority of new players arriving in the Premier League need time to settle, but how much can they be afforded given the need to get off to a good start? They should all know how the manager wants them to operate, having worked with him before, but whether they can function as a unit remains to be seen. Fulham won at Old Trafford last season and are capable of doing it again, which would put United on the back foot from the start. With a difficult trip to Brighton followed by Liverpool at home, United’s new defence must harmonise quickly, otherwise the pressure will be on. Will Unwin

Manchester United v Fulham, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Ipswich Town v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm

Arsenal v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

• Manager says his trophy haul second only to City
• ‘We want to win every competition,’ Dutchman adds

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United’s ambition is to win the Premier League, claiming they have only been second best to rivals Manchester City since his arrival in 2022.

The Dutchman has led the club to Carabao Cup and FA Cup triumphs in his first two seasons but they finished a disappointing eighth in May.

• Captain pens fresh contract which ties him until 2027
• ‘Everyone knows the passion I have for United’

The Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes, has signed a new contract until June 2027, with the option of a further year.

Fernandes, who joined from Sporting in 2020, had two years remaining on his current deal but has penned an extension that will put his wages in line with the club’s highest earners.

Former Manchester United midfielder on why teenager reminds him of Zidane, the buzz of working at Salford and his pending Old Trafford return

“I’m not sure you can train it – I think it’s just in you,” Paul Scholes says of the fundamental qualities that made him the most decorated English footballer: calmness and composure. Those asking after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat last month where the country’s Rodri, Modric or Kroos was, could just as easily have wondered: “Where is our Scholes?”

Well, the midfield past master is here, at a special free school in Stretford, Greater Manchester – like the one his son, Aiden, attended – learning how the funds from a charity match will help. He’s wiping a mild sweat off his brow after playing football with a class of kids. And here he is, eulogising Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United’s young midfielder who many believe could fulfil that role the triumphant Spaniards call pivote.

From a pair of Spurs youngsters to Brighton’s new Gambian acquisition, 10 players who could become household names

By Sam Hammond for WhoScored

The Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall agreed an £8.5m move from Djurgården in February, before officially joining Tottenham this summer. Bergvall is an all-action midfielder, well suited to a No 8 role in Ange Postecoglou’s fluid Tottenham system. The 18-year-old, already capped once for his national side, is more than capable of winning back possession in the middle of the park, before playing the right pass for a further advanced teammate. Bergvall has impressed in pre-season and provided a smart assist for compatriot Dejan Kulusevski against Bayern Munich last weekend.

• Bayern Munich defensive duo arrive in deal worth £60m
• Luke Shaw sidelined for start of season with calf injury

Manchester United have laid down an early marker for the season by completing the £60m double transfer deal of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

The United manager, Erik ten Hag, had made it plain to the board that he needed to reinforce his squad after last season was blighted by injuries. And the coach has had his wishes granted with De Ligt and Mazraoui swelling his options.

• Defender, 26, ends five-year stay at Old Trafford
• I’m excited for what’s coming,’ says Wan-Bissaka

West Ham have signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United for a reported transfer fee of £15m. The 26-year-old defender, who made 190 appearances over five seasons for United after joining from Crystal Palace for £50m in 2019, has agreed a seven-year contract with the Hammers.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in London and I’m excited for what’s coming,” he said. “I was born here and I know the ins and outs of London, which plays a big part in my life, so to be back playing in this city means a lot to me.”