Premier League news latest (2024)

News

• Kompany named Bayern Munich head coach
• Barcelona confirm Flick
• Bompastor appointed Hayes' Chelsea successor
• City to allow Alvarez to compete at Olympics if selected
• Maatsen left out of Netherlands' Euros squad

Features

• Why Barcelona have appointed Flick
• Explaining Grealish's difficult season
• Why Champions League finals keep ending 1-0

Olympiacos have won their first European trophy after victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

Ayoub El Kaabi scored the game’s only goal in the 115th minute to secure a 1-0 extra-time win.

The victory sees Olympiakos become the first Greek side to win a major European trophy, achieving the feat at the OPAP Arena, home to the club’s rivals AEK Athens.

“I’m really proud of my guys," Olympiacos striker Stevan Jovetic told TNT Sports. "You saw the atmosphere here, I think we did great all year and we deserved it. I want to compliment Fiorentina, two years in a row in the final, two years in a row in the final, amazing team, shame for them, they gave their best and I want to wish them all the best.

"I think it (the party tonight) is going to be amazing, I can’t wait."

Burnley minority shareholder JJ Watt says he does not begrudge Vincent Kompany the opportunity to take charge of a club of Bayern Munich's stature and confirmed the recruitment process for his successor is already underway.

The 38-year-old was today confirmed as Bayern's new head coach on a three-year deal.

"We wish Vince nothing but the best," the former NFL star said in a video posted on X. "Like I told him on the call, when Bayern Munich calls you, you answer that call one hundred times out of one hundred times. I don't blame him one bit for taking the call. I don't blame him one bit for taking the opportunity and wish him nothing but the best.

"I thank him for an unbelievable Championship season, one of the best in history and hope he has much more success moving forward.

"All I can say is that we have already begun working extremely hard to make sure that we find the right person to take this project into its next phase. It doesn't necessarily mean the biggest name, it doesn't mean anything other than the fact we make sure we find the exact right fit for what we are trying to do and trying to build at Burnley."

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Marco Reus says there is “nothing better” than playing his last game Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final against Real Madrid on Saturday.

The 34-year-old forward, who turns 35 on Friday, announced in May that he will conclude a 12-year spell with Dortmund and leave the club at the end of the season.

Reus played the entirety of Dortmund’s last Champions League final, the 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2013.

He told UEFA.com: "I would say there is nothing better than playing your last game in a Champions League final and winning it," Reus told uefa.com.

"Starting with a Champions League final at Wembley in 2013 and finishing with one in 2024 for your last game, there are worse ways to end a Dortmund career.

"The last final at Wembley was 11 years ago and it's a different opposition, different players as well, so it's not about revenge, it's just about the anticipation.

"Now the objective is to win the trophy because we cannot imagine how things could be the very next day here. It's just about the next 90 minutes, possibly 120 minutes, which will decide."

The Athletic reported that St. Louis City have had preliminary conversations with Reus over a possible move to the MLS club.

West Ham United are close to signing Flamengo centre-back Fabricio Bruno.

Nothing is finalised but a deal which would see the 28-year-old move to the London Stadium for an initial €13.5million plus €1.5m in add-ons and sign a five-year contract is progressing. He was left out of Flamengo’s squad for their 3-0 Copa Libertadores win over Millonarios on Tuesday due to the discussions.

The defender would become Julen Lopetegui’s first signing after the Spaniard was confirmed as West Ham’s new head coach earlier this month. West Ham are also close to signing Wes Foderingham on a free transfer with the goalkeeper set to leave relegated Sheffield United upon the expiration of his contract at the end of next month.

Additional reporting: Mario Cortegana

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Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was left “in shock” after he was allegedly headbutted by an Arsenal season ticket holder inside the Emirates Stadium, he told a court on Wednesday.

Scott Law, 43, from Waltham Abbey, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault, following the incident on September 3 last year. It came at the end of a match between Arsenal and Manchester United that the home side won 3-1 and where Keane was working as a pundit for Sky Sports.

Minutes before Arsenal’s late victory, Alejandro Garnacho had a goal disallowed following a VAR check for what United thought was the winner.

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Brentford winger Michael Olakigbe will spend the 2024-25 season on loan at League One side Wigan Athletic.

The 20-year-old, who joined Brentford from Fulham in July 2022, spent the second half of last season on loan at Peterborough United in League One, where he made five appearances.

Olakigbe made his Premier League debut last season, coming on as a substitute during a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last September. He has made 12 first-team appearances for Brentford.

The youngster signed a new contract until June 2028, with a club option of a further year last November, and was named as one of The Athletic's breakthrough football stars of 2024 in January.

Chelsea have announced a new “strategic growth plan” which will see the women’s side sit alongside the men’s team in the club’s sporting structure.

The women’s team had previously sat beneath the men’s, and the new structure will see the club provide dedicated resources, management and commercial leadership to focus solely on the women’s team.

Chelsea state this will enable the club to “harness the full potential of the opportunity for women’s football” and “help attract new investment into Chelsea Women”.

Under the new structure, Clearlake Capital, Chelsea’s owners, will continue to be the controlling shareholder in Chelsea Women and will continue to invest in the squad.

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Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of former Lyon head coach Sonia Bompastor as Emma Hayes’ successor.

The Athletic reported in February Chelsea had offered Bompastor a contract after she was identified as the chosen candidate to replace Hayes.

The 43-year-old joins on a four-year deal after a compensation fee was paid to Lyon.

Camille Abily and Theo Rivrin are joining Bompastor from the Lyon coaching staff too, with interviews underway for other backroom coaching roles at Chelsea.

General manager Paul Green said: “The sporting directors and I conducted a thorough and considered recruitment process to identify Emma’s successor. Sonia’s vision, coaching philosophy and winning mentality made her the outstanding candidate."

Franck Haise is close to becoming the new head coach of Nice after the INEOS-owned club reached an agreement with Lens for his appointment.

Nice have been searching for a new head coach following the departure of Francisco Farioli, 35, who will join Ajax on June 11. They are now expected to appoint Haise from their Ligue 1 rivals but a deal has not yet been finalised.

53-year-old Haise, who was appointed by Lens in 2020, has an impressive track record. He took Lens from Ligue 2 to this season’s Champions League, and he was awarded manager of the season in 2023 after a remarkable campaign that saw the northern French club finish second behind Paris Saint-Germain.

Vincent Kompany has been confirmed as the new head coach of Bayern Munich.

The 38-year-old has signed three-year contract through to 2027.

The Athletic reported last week that the Belgian was close to being appointed by the Bundesliga club, with a compensation package agreed between the clubs for Kompany, whose deal with Burnley was set run through to 2028.

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The Carabao Cup will use a new seeding mechanism to keep Champions League and Europa League teams apart in the third round of next season’s competition.

The move is designed to help ease fixture congestion, with the third-round cup fixtures now being spread over two weeks (September 18 and September 25).

This means that Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will be prevented from drawing Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

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Manchester City will allow Julian Alvarez to represent Argentina at the Olympic Games in Paris if he is selected.

Alvarez has already been called up to Argentina’s preliminary 29-man squad for this summer’s Copa America, which runs from June 20 to July 14.

The Olympic men’s football tournament runs from July 24 with the final on August 9 — a week before the 2024-25 Premier League season begins.

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Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman has confirmed his 26-man squad for this summer’s European Championship in Germany.

Left-back Ian Maatsen is the headline omission having originally been named in Koeman’s 30-man preliminary squad earlier this month. The 22-year-old Chelsea defender scored two goals and contributed two assists whilst on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

He has played every minute of the German club’s route to the final of the Champions League since joining in January.

Full squad below

West Ham United goalkeeper Nathan Trott has signed a two-year contract extension until 2026.

The 25-year-old's previous deal was set to expire this summer, but West Ham have activated the two-year option in his contract.

Trott has been on loan at Danish side Vejle Boldklub since 2022, where he has kept 24 clean sheets across 56 appearances. The goalkeeper — who has also had loan spells at AFC Wimbledon and French club Nancy — will not return to Vejle ahead of the new season.

Despite interest from FC Copenhagen, Trott intends to continue his development with another loan spell in England.

Trott joined West Ham in 2016 having been recommended by ex-forward Clyde Best. The former England Under-20 international made his first-team debut against Doncaster Rovers in 2021.

Liverpool youngster Lewis Koumas has received a first senior call-up for Wales.

The 18-year-old striker will be part of Rob Page's 25-man squad for friendlies with Gibraltar and Slovakia next week.

Koumas, who has previously represented Wales at Under-21 level, enjoyed a breakthrough season at Anfield. He scored on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the FA Cup in February.

Meanwhile, Liverpool trio Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch have been confirmed as part of the Netherlands’ squad for the Euros. They all made the cut after head coach Ronald Koeman trimmed his provisional squad down to 26 players for the tournament in Germany.

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has admitted Julian Nagelsmann’s decision to leave him out of Germany’s preliminary 27-man squad for this summer’s European Championship has left him “bitter”.

The 35-year-old defender enjoyed an impressive season for his club, playing a pivotal role in Dortmund’s path the final of the Champions League, where they will play Real Madrid on June 1.

However, despite his club form, the centre-back will not get the opportunity to represent hosts Germany at Euro 2024.

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Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has been omitted from Poland’s preliminary squad for this summer’s European Championship in Germany as he continues his rehabilitation from injury.

The 26-year-old missed Aston Villa’s final two games of the Premier League season after picking up an injury in training prior to their 3-3 draw with Liverpool on May 13.

Cash — who played every minute of Poland’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar — will not travel to Germany after being left out of head coach Michal Probierz’s 29-man training squad on Wednesday.

Full squad below

• Why Barca chose him
• Why they told him no in April
• What fans can expect
• Xavi’s warning — and latest on troubled finances

Hansi Flick is Barcelona’s new manager — Pol Ballus has everything you need to know.

Barcelona have confirmed the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new head coach on a two-year contract.

The 59-year-old German succeeds Xavi after the decision was made to part ways with the former club captain following the end of the season.

Flick, who won the treble with Bayern Munich in 2019-20, has been out of work since being sacked by Germany in September, with this role a first outside of his home country in his career.