Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town are thought to be among a number of clubs considering a move for Chelsea's English striker Liam Delap, 23. (Independent), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column
Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician
Image source, Getty ImagesIn the Premier League last season, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points - the most in an English top-flight campaign since 2003-04 (also 13).
Was the Premier League so competitive in 2025-26 because the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse? It is hard to know for sure.
Given how savvy clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are, the vast amounts of money that enable even bottom-half sides to sign the best talent from abroad and the Premier League's current dominance of the Europa League and Conference League, it would seem to be the former.
However, the fact that promoted play-off winners Sunderland were able to finish above 13 teams in their first season back suggests the league was maybe not as strong as we think.
What we do know is that whether because they got worse or their opponents got better, four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 - champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - took 79 points fewer between them last season.
While Forest's decline was perhaps expected given their incredible seventh-place finish in 2024-25 and their journey to the Europa League semi-finals last season, the others were far more surprising.
Sunderland and Leeds smashed the recent run of promoted sides struggling to compete by taking 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight.
As a result, this season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not.
Will we therefore see a bounce-back to the more 'traditional' order in 2026-27 or are we truly entering a new, fiercely-competitive era of the Premier League?
Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist
Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League opener against Leeds United at the City Ground (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona have been ruled out but he will still have the pick of "23 other fit on-field players" for his matchday squad.
On Savona's road to recovery after undergoing surgery in March: "We did think he would be further on than he is right now. He had a minor set-back with his knee, so he is back working in the gym again." The defender should be back on grass in a couple of weeks.
Glasner is "very ready" to take charge of his first competitive match as head coach: "The players are fit and looking good. We've changed a few things in the way we want to play but the players have adapted really well. We aren't at 100% right now, it just isn't possible, but we feel we are on a good track."
On what he is expecting "very good" Leeds United to bring: "They play very physically, they are top at set pieces, they were second in running distance and they won the most balls under pressure last season."
The two pre-season friendlies at home have shown the fans' "passion and support" for the team. Glasner added: "I've learned that fans don't expect you to win every single game, but they do expect you to fight for every single ball. If we do that, the City Ground will be our fortress."
Glasner is still expecting one or two more incomings before the end of the transfer window.
He explained: "I'm very confident we will get in two more high-quality players. We won't do business just to add numbers. We already know which players we want to bring in, now it is about getting the deals done. We do have other options with the same profile, though, if those deals can't be done."
Glasner said they will be of a similar profile to Xaver Schlager and Ousmane Diomande, explaining he wants two players with "Champions League experience and many caps for their countries that have played at the highest level".
European football chat "makes no sense" at the moment, with Glasner adding: "It also doesn't align with how I am as a person. I'm always very humble, I'm not a loud speaker, and I'm fine with admitting every team is doing a good job at being ambitious and so far we are the team spending the least."
In his opinion, the fans will be "realistic with their expectations as long as they are being told the truth" - and, importantly, he added that his team do have "big goals" for the next few seasons.
Hit play above to hear more from Glasner, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, or listen on BBC Sounds here
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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter
Image source, PA MediaWith Oliver Glasner's arrival, perhaps the expectation was it would trigger another Nottingham Forest overhaul.
It has been relatively quiet so far, with Glasner hoping patience will pay off.
Forest's main signings - Xaver Schlager and Ousmane Diomande - add extra quality and depth, while Schlager played under Glasner at Wolfsburg and is a player the head coach knows and can immediately trust.
Goalkeeper Steven Benda joins as third choice to offer extra cover, but because there has not been a marquee signing to replace Elliot Anderson, there can be a view Forest have fallen short in the window so far.
That should not be the case, with Forest always looking for quality over quantity and Glasner said on Sunday that two or three deals were in the pipeline.
Glasner also dismissed a suggestion on Forest were short on numbers in midfield, pointing to James McAtee and Morgan Gibbs-White as options who could comfortably drop back.
The expensive nature of the market, the World Cup holding deals up and Forest looking to be more precise naturally means transfers have been slower. Add to that clubs know Forest have money to spend.
Any team would be weaker without England's Anderson, who was outstanding for Forest after joining from Newcastle two years ago, but while there are still gaps to fill it should not be panic stations.
What have you made of Forest's summer transfers so far? And what do you expect to happen at Forest before the end of the transfer window?
Last season: 16th.
This season: 8th.
How did a squad with Nottingham Forest's obvious quality end up fighting relegation last season?
Easy - have four managers.
After Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira comes the ambitious appointment of Oliver Glasner.
Glasner is demanding and will have an even more demanding owner in Evangelos Marinakis, but Forest will surely use the £116m from the sale of Elliot Anderson to back their new manager.
Expect plenty of activity before the deadline, with Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande already in for £34m from Sporting.
Morgan Gibbs-White has stayed and will be a key figure again.
The Glasner era - like all other managerial eras at Forest - will not be dull.
Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician
Image source, Getty ImagesTeams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.
Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.
The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.
However, competition has come at a cost.
One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.
While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.
The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.
After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the past decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.
In the past two seasons, promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points - the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.
Relegation battles are now mostly a fight to see who takes the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two accounted for long before the final day - often by promoted sides.
But inspired by the survival of Sunderland and Leeds, promoted trio Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City will all be hoping they have what it takes to match the competitiveness of the Premier League this season.
A new episode of Shut Up and Show More Football is available on BBC Sounds and this week's special guest is former Nottingham Forest midfielder Jack Colback.
Colback, who was part of the Reds' Premier League promotion-winning team in 2022, will be joining BBC Radio Nottingham's commentary team for some of this season's fixtures, including Saturday's season opener against Leeds United.
Speaking about Forest's ambitions for the 2026-27 season, Colback said: "From the owner's point of view, he will be very ambitious. Bringing in Oliver Glasner just shows how much he wants to move this club forward.
"The league positions nowadays can be a bit confusing because you can be not far from finishing eighth or 17th at times.
"European football, as good as it was, felt like a bit of a hindrance for them. It was amazing for the fans to get to the semi-final, but it was difficult for them to keep their league form up.
"I do think there should be optimism this season. The owner will certainly want to be up there competing for Europe again."
Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.
Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds
Fancy testing your football prediction skills? With the new season under way, BBC Sport has just the thing to keep you entertained every week.
After the success of our World Cup Predictor game, we've rebranded it for the club season as Match of the Day Predictor.
It's simple to play - just predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.
And don't worry if you've joined late - players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.
Once you've submitted your predictions, you'll also be able to see what others think the outcome of the match will be.
You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or click here to play
Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesThere is great love for Taiwo Awoniyi.
He has done a lot of work off the field with Nottingham Forest - and of course a lot of good work on the field as well.
Since he has been at the club, he has done everything with a massive smile on his face. That is what has endeared him to the Nottingham public.
He obviously had some real problems while he was at the club as well, none more so than at the back end of the 2024-25 season when he collided with the goalpost in a game against Leicester City at the City Ground.
It was then he had to be put into an induced coma as he recovered from a ruptured intestine - but there were lots of other injury problems as well.
Yet, whenever Forest needed him and needed a goal, he was on the pitch and able to deliver in those crucial moments, such as the day they secured Premier League survival against Arsenal.
But that wasn't the only goal he scored in that fight against relegation, he got a couple against Southampton in that run as well.
He scored twice against Chelsea, twice at Stamford Bridge in big games. One of those braces was in the 2025-26 season and those goals were huge in terms of Forest staying up.
He has this knack of being in the right place at the right time.
He scored 23 goals in 103 appearances for the club. Forest secured him as their first signing after promotion to the Premier League for £17m four years ago - and he has delivered those memories.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis has led the tributes to him - and he goes to Coventry City with everybody's blessing.
There is a hope that he has a fabulous season with them, apart from when he faces Forest.
Subscribe to BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds.
Image source, NOTTINGHAM FOREST FCNottingham Forest have announced a new front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2026-27 season, with owner Evangelos Marinakis stating the deal is "another important step in the continued growth of our club".
Marex will become the club's principle partner, global markets partner and exclusive provider of foreign exchange and other financial services - and their branding will appear on the front of all men's and women's kits.
"Marex is an ambitious, global business with a strong reputation for excellence and performance," Marinakis said after announcing the multi-year partnership.
"Those qualities reflect our own ambitions for Nottingham Forest. We look forward to working together and building a successful relationship."
The club added that information will be circulated "in due course" for supporters wishing to have the new sponsor branding printed on their already purchased shirts.
Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician
Image source, Getty ImagesLast season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.
While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.
Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.
But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).
The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.
While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.
Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.
Nick Mashiter
Football reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesNottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner is hopeful of up to three new signings before the end of the transfer window.
The former Crystal Palace head coach expects Forest to be busy in the final two weeks of the window, after a 2-0 friendly win over Ligue 1 side Stade Brest at the City Ground.
Chris Wood's penalty and Luca Netz's goal earned Forest victory on Sunday in their final pre-season game.
Summer signing Xaver Schlager started but with just the midfielder and Ousmane Diomande as new arrivals Glasner is eager for more.
He said: "We have two or three additions in the pipeline, let's say like this.
"It's always two clubs, the player and the agent and as soon as these four parties find an agreement we will have another player.
"I'm very pleased so far. We brought two top players in with Schlager and Diomande. I think everybody can see the impact Schlager can have in our game.
"Diomande is just at the beginning of the pre-season, after a longer break after the World Cup, so he will need a little bit of time to be fully fit.
"Having two players from top five leagues, both played more than 100 games, for their country, playing Champions League football, that will give us quality and experience. So far everything we wanted to do we already did."
Glasner, though, declined to elaborate on Forest's work in the final weeks of the window.
"It just makes it more expensive," he added.
The Austrian also confirmed there was never any chance of Morgan Gibbs-White leaving the City Ground after Elliot Anderson's £116m move to Manchester City.
"It was clear after selling Elliot Anderson that none of our starters will leave the club. That's a commitment from the ownership and no player has asked to leave the club," he said.
"[Gibbs-White leaving] was never a topic. We didn't have to talk about it – it was a non-verbal agreement. We looked each other in the eye, because we want to be successful. If we want to strengthen the squad it makes no sense to sell starters."
Glasner rested many of his stars on Sunday, including Gibbs-White and new defender Diomande after a behind-closed-doors friendly with Coventry on Saturday, which Forest won 2-0.
It gave an insight into the manager's thinking ahead of Saturday's Premier League home opener against Leeds.
Only Wood, Nicolas Dominguez, Schlager and Callum Hudson-Odoi may be viewed as in contention to start.
Arnaud Kalimuendo started on the right with Zach Abbott, Jair Cunha and Morato making up the back three.
"We played very well, created some good chances and always being compact. I'm very pleased what I could see," said Glasner, who confirmed Ryan Yates is expected to miss Saturday's opener.
Nottingham Forest have joined the race to sign Liam Delap from Chelsea, with the 23-year-old English striker keen to stay in the Premier League. (Talksport), external
AC Milan manager Ruben Amorim has excluded Youssouf Fofana from his plans for the season, with Forest and Crystal Palace now interested in the France midfielder, 27. (Football Insider), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesNottingham Forest concluded their pre-season schedule with a 2-0 win against Brest at the City Ground.
Oliver Glasner's side opened the scoring against their Ligue 1 opponents through a Chris Wood penalty after January signing Luca Netz was bought down in the penalty area.
Defender Netz then converted Nicolas Dominguez's clever, first-time pass to double Forest's lead before half-time.
Image source, Getty ImagesNottingham Forest have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Steven Benda on a free transfer after his departure from Fulham.
The 27-year-old has joined on a one-year deal with the Club holding an option for a further year.
After progressing through the Swansea City academy, Benda has spent the past three seasons at Fulham and was loaned to both Milwall then Feyenoord in the 2025-26 campaign.
Forest Chief Football Officer, George Syrianos, said: "Steven is an experienced player who we feel will add depth and competition to our current group of goalkeepers.
"Steven is someone who we know will work hard every day to push his teammates to keep standards high at the training ground, and we are sure he will fit in with the strong culture we have at the Club."
Image source, Getty ImagesNottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner says he was really pleased with the "winning mentality" that his players showed in the 2-1 friendly win against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Winger Dan Ndoye gave the Reds the lead in the fifth minute, before the German side levelled through Patrik Schick.
The second-half was well-contested and moments before added time substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo headed home from Luca Netz's delivery to secure the win for Forest.
"It was a very good test for us," said Glasner. "Murillo got minutes, Callum Hudson-Odoi got minutes and what I was really pleased with was in the last 30 minutes of the second half, we really controlled the game.
"We created some good opportunities and played well. For me, the best thing I could see was that we wanted to win the game and showed the winning mentality."
The friendly was also Glasner's first game at The City Ground after joining the club earlier this summer.
"It was a great experience, I really enjoyed it," he added. "There were so many children here and they made it a fantastic atmosphere.
"I was getting goosebumps before the game and then I thought that it's just a friendly.
"There was so much passion and we really enjoyed it, so I want to say thank you for the support in this first game, but we still have a long way to go."
It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.
In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.
In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.
Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.
Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.
Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.
An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.
Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.
Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.
Image source, Getty ImagesBBC Sport football reporter Nick Mashiter has been answering some of your latest transfer window questions.
Malcolm asked: Nottingham Forest seem to be a bit thin on the ground for goalkeepers, unless there are any coming up through the ranks?
Nick replied: Forest do have Matz Sels and John Victor, but another goalkeeper would be useful for boss Oliver Glasner, just to add some cover.
After the exits of Stefan Ortega and Angus Gunn, any injury to Sels or Victor would leave Forest struggling for senior cover.
Victor himself is only just returning from the serious knee injury he suffered back in January.
Sels is currently expected to start the 2026-27 season as Forest's number one, with the Reds taking on Leeds in their Premier League season opener on 22 August.
The club triggered Sels' 12-month extension in July and told Club Brugge he was not for sale when the Belgian side made an approach.
Aaron Bott, who is 21 years old, regularly trains with the first team and featured on the bench in the Europa League last season, so Forest do have a young option regardless.
Image source, Getty ImagesOusmane Diomande will offer "fantastic experience" to Nottingham Forest, says sporting director George Syrianos.
The 22-year-old defender has joined from from Sporting Lisbon and is Oliver Glasner's second signing of the summer after Xaver Schlager joined on a free transfer.
Diomande has made more than 150 senior first-team appearances, including 15 appearances for his national team, Ivory Coast.
Since his Portuguese Primeira Liga debut in February 2023, only two players have completed more passes than Ousmane Diomande (5,354), while he has a pass completion rate of 92.5%.
"I am very happy to be here," said Diomande. "It is a historic club, and it motivates me to join such a club.
"I believe we can achieve very good things this season and I am looking forward to meeting the players and head coach.
"I will give my best and all I can to help the team. I cannot wait to meet the supporters at The City Ground and together we can have a good season."
Sporting director George Syrianos, added: "We have been very clear on the profile of player we want to add to the squad, so we are excited to welcome Ousmane to the club.
"He has fantastic experience for a defender of his age. Playing a crucial role in title winning teams and going into the latter stages of the Champions League puts him in a great position to integrate well here at Forest.
"Ousmane is a powerful, commanding defender, and arrives here with a winning mentality. He shares the same ambition for success we have, and we are excited to see the impact he can have in a Forest shirt."
Manchester City are aware of interest from Nottingham Forest in their Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 28, who was signed from AC Milan last summer for £46m. (Sky Sports), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
