FootyChatter.com

Transfer news, done deals, analysis and gossip Man Utd make RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko their number one striker choice Analysis: Sesko - Europe's top scorer aged under 23 Chelsea agree deal for Ajax defender Jorrel Hato for an initial fee of £37m I Hato - a versatile talent Granit Xhaka joins Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen I Is Xhaka a shrewd signing? Bayern Munich sign Luis Diaz from Liverpool for £65. 5m Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Sarah Rendell, Karan Vinod and Ijeoma Osadebe There is less than an hour until kick-off at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong where the first oversees north London derby will take place. We will be bringing you updates fon a separate live page from 12: 15 (BST) but here is the team news. Arsenal starting XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Norgaard, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Havertz Spurs starting XI: Vicario, Porro, van de Ven, Romero, Spence, Bergvall, Sarr, Bentancur, Odobert, Johnson, Richarlison Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Chelsea will be a dark horse, they can beat anyone on their day. However, I doubt they'll have the consistency to mount a full title challenge. Solidifying the top four will be good, considering they can't rotate in the UCL like last year. They'll do well in UCL too. Matt I don't think Chelsea will contend for the title. Despite signing eight players, they don't have the strength of Arsenal, City or Liverpool. The team will take time to gel. I would put them in the top six at a stretch. Chris Matthew Hobbs BBC Sport Jorrel Hato’s

switch from centre-back to left-back at Ajax in 2024-25, and a subsequent

increased output in terms of creativity, has seen him likened to Real Madrid’s

Trent Alexander-Arnold and there are some similarities in their respective

skillsets. Like the

former Liverpool defender, Hato is calm and composed on the ball. The teenager

completed 1, 352 passes last season, the second-most of any Eredivisie

full-back, while his pass success rate of 89. 3% was the highest of any

full-back in the Dutch top flight despite him regularly taking up more advanced

positions – 48% of his open-play touches were in the opposition third of the

pitch. Chelsea boss

Enzo Maresca is known to want defenders who can progress the ball, dictate

tempo, and play under pressure and Hato, like Alexander-Arnold, fits that

bill. Hato’s

utilisation at full-back also saw him record a career-best six assists, Of Eredivisie

defenders, only Utrecht’s Souffian El Karouani recorded more (8). While the

tactically-versatile Netherlands international has added end product to his

game, he is not entirely alike Alexander-Arnold. A comparison

of their metrics from 2024-25 shows similar output in terms of goals and

assists but the Englishman was far more prolific at creating chances and

passing into the box – a by-product Alexander-Arnold spending time in midfield –

while Hato is the more natural defender, winning far more duels on the ground

and in the air. New Chelsea signing Jorrel Hato has been compared to Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say With Jorrel Hato on the brink of becoming Chelsea's eighth signing of the summer, we want to know what you think of the Blues' title chances. Following on from their Club World Cup triumph, are Chelsea genuine title contenders? What have you made of their business so far this window? Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Matthew Hobbs BBC Sport Jorrel Hato has already amassed 111 senior appearances at the age of 19 Chelsea have agreed a £37m deal to sign Ajax defender Jorrel Hato – and it is a signing that makes sense for the dynamics of Chelsea’s bloated squad. The Blues boast seven centre-backs in their current squad but only Levi Colwill, who played regularly last season, and Benoit Badiashile are naturally left-sided. Badiashile’s 2024-25 campaign was disrupted by a hamstring injury in December although a tally of just three Premier League starts suggests that head coach Enzo Maresca wants a more trusted option to compete with Colwill in the heart of defence. Hato also offers versatility having spent large parts of last season at Ajax playing at left-back and with Ben Chilwell firmly out of favour, the 19-year-old can also offer competition to regular left-back Marc Cucurella with a Champions League campaign to come. In 2023-24, Hato played 80% of his football at centre-back, most commonly in a 4-2-3-1 formation. However, the arrival of head coach Francesco Farioli at Ajax ahead of the 2024-25 campaign saw Hato switched to left-back where he played 94% of his minutes last season, primarily in a 4-3-3 formation. Hato has already played 111 competitive games for Ajax’s first team, including 96 in the last two seasons - 94 of which were starts.  His Ajax debut aged just 16 years and 335 days in 2023 made him the third-youngest player to feature for the club in Eredivisie after Clarence Seedorf and Ryan Gravenberch. He also made his Netherlands debut less than a year later. Hato has been nearly ever-present for Ajax since making his first appearance. Of players from Europe’s top six leagues born after 1 January 2003, Hato has played the most minutes at club level in all competitions since the start of the 2023-24 (8, 347), ahead of Jude Bellingham (7, 988) and Lamine Yamal (7, 506). Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport football news reporter Chelsea have agreed a deal for Ajax defender Jorrel Hato for an initial fee of £37m, subject to the Dutch club's supervisory board approval. The 19-year-old Dutchman is expected to sign a seven-year contract lasting until 2032 and will complete a medical, having been given the green light to travel to west London. Chelsea consider Hato a talented young option to add competition to the backline, where he is capable of playing at either left-back or in central defence. Hato made his senior debut for Ajax in February 2023 at just 16 years and 335 days old, making him the third-youngest player ever to feature in an Eredivisie game for the club He has made 75 appearances for the Eredivisie side and made his senior debut for the Netherlands in 2023. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Just joining us? Don't worry, here's a quick recap of what we've covered so far this Thursday morning. .. Let's hope for some more activity as the day goes on, but don't forget to keep sending in your views by clicking 'Get Involved' at the top of the page. Sweden international Julia Zigiotti Olme has signed a two-year deal with Women's Super League club Manchester United. The contract also has an option to extend a further year. The midfielder, who competed at Euro 2025, joins from Bayern Munich. She said: “I am so happy to be here and so happy to get started and to join this family. I have been watching Manchester United in the last couple of years and, having seen what they have been doing, I am very impressed. "They are a team that fits me and my style, meeting the players has been great. They were like a family and it was a fantastic way to start. ” Nizaar Kinsella & Simon Stone BBC Sport Rangers are close to completing a loan deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur forward Mikey Moore. The move is subject to a medical and will include an extension to Moore's contract in north London that would allow him to spend the season at Ibrox. The 17-year-old made 19 first team appearances last season and was on the bench in May's Europa League final win over Manchester United. When asked about Moore's future, Spurs manager Thomas Frank said on Tuesday: "It is very important [he goes on loan]. Mikey is a big talent. I'm really excited about his future here at Tottenham. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Isak was probably told at the end of last season that Newcastle would be looking to sign elite players such as Mbeumo, Delap, Ekitike and Sesko to move the club forward. All those targets have turned the club down, so now Isak feels he needs to move on too. Tim Sutton, Devon According to the Mail, Newcastle have added Fulham's Brazilian forward Rodrigo Muniz to their list of targets. They report that the Magpies are looking to add another attacker to the squad after Swedish striker Alexander Isak agreed a contract with Liverpool. Given how late we are in the transfer window there's only one sensible solution to the Isak saga. Tell him he's staying and agree he can leave next summer allowing the club to plan properly for his departure. He's put the club in a bad position. Steve Graham, Huddersfield Alexander Isak is training individually at Real Sociedad’s facilities as he recovers from a minor thigh injury, according to Sky Sports, external. This is amidst the growing uncertainty over his Newcastle future. The Sweden striker, who missed the club’s pre-season tour of Singapore, has told Newcastle he’s open to exploring his options this summer after interest from Liverpool. Newcastle are reportedly aware of Isak’s location, with the forward working alongside his own staff at Sociedad’s training ground when it is empty. If Isak is sold, Sociedad stand to benefit - they’re due 10% of any fee above €70m, plus an additional 2. 5% through Fifa’s solidarity payments. Timely reminder or not from Rasmus Hojlund, Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim appears to have indicated that he could leave the club before the end of the transfer window. While he was quick to praise the striker, he certainly didn't make any assurances over the 22-year-old's future. "I'm really happy with Rasmus, but I don't know what is going to happen until the end of the market, " Amorim told reporters. "The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He's connecting really well with the team. He's improving. "Again, I don't know what is going to happen until the market is closed. We suffered a lot because of the lack of goals last season. " You can listen to more from that Amorim press conference on BBC Sounds. #bbcfootball, via Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply) Looking at that under-23 scorers table and seeing Hojlund in sixth, it makes you wonder why United are going after Sesko. Wouldn't it be better to get some players to give Hojlund better service and improve the midfield? Looks like Hojlund is good enough. Guy Man Utd 4-1 Bournemouth Manchester United may be looking for a new striker but it was a good night for their current number nine, Rasmus Hojlund. The 22-year-old Denmark international opened the scoring as Ruben Amorim's side beat Bournemouth 4-1 in the Premier League Summer Series overnight. It was a timely reminder that he still has something to offer at Old Trafford, even if Benjamin Sesko does come in. Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and Ethan Williams were also on target for United in Chicago, while Bournemouth's strike came through a Matthijs de Ligt own goal. #bbcfootball, via Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply) While I’d be happy with Sesko, this feels a lot like the summer United bought Lukaku and Chelsea signed Morata, can’t help feeling Gyokeres is better for United and Sesko a good fit for Arsenal Rich Man United prioritising a £70 million striker after already bringing in two new expensive forwards is incredibly daft. They still need to fix literally every other aspect of their team, and with Cunha and Mbeumo being top-quality additions to the front line, why go for another? Adam As a Gooner, I wish we'd tried a bit harder to sign Sesko. But we'll wait and see. Chris As you've mentioned Ollie Watkins, John, now seems like a good time for this comparison between the Aston Villa striker, Benjamin Sesko and Rasmus Hojlund. .. #bbcfootball, via Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply) United never learn about buying strikers that don’t have Premier League experience. Watkins every day of the week for me. John Simon Stone BBC Sport chief football news reporter in Chicago Benjamin Sesko does not fit Ruben Amorim's preferred template of having Premier League experience. However, he has become one of the most highly rated young forwards in Europe - and his record of 39 goals in 87 appearances for RB Leipzig is impressive. At 6ft 5in he would also bring a significant physical presence to United's front line. Old Trafford sources say they do not have to sell players in order to make more signings, despite spending almost £130m on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer. But they do accept finance will have to be generated - with buyers still to be found for the remaining members of their 'bomb squad', Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia, who were excluded from the current Premier League Summer Series in the United States. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.