Tottenham and Chelsea both suffered big injury blows, Manchester United moved closer to a deal for Benjamin Sesko, and Thomas Partey completed a controversial move to Villarreal.
Five Lionesses are up for the Ballon d’Or, and Crystal Palace’s Europa League dreams hang on a momentous day in court.
Maddison and Colwill set for long spells on the sidelines
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill are both set to miss a significant portion of the new season after their respective clubs confirmed both sustained anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
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Maddison missed the end of the 2024-25 campaign with a knee injury, but returned last month to feature in pre-season under new boss Thomas Frank.
Chelsea FC has released the following update regarding Levi Colwill.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 7, 2025
England international Maddison continued his comeback with a substitute appearance in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle in South Korea on Sunday, but collapsed in pain with no one around him and subsequently left the pitch on a stretcher in the 86th minute.
Maddison is set to undergo surgery in the coming days, while Chelsea confirmed Colwill has already undergone a successful operation after sustaining his injury in training at Cobham earlier this week.
United closing in on Sesko
United are closing in on a deal for Sesko
United are closing in on a deal for Sesko(Andrew Milligan/PA)
Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Benjamin Sesko after agreeing a deal worth up to £73.7million with RB Leipzig, the PA news agency understands.
The talented 22-year-old striker has been the subject of a tug of a war as the Red Devils and Newcastle both attempted to bolster their attacks ahead of the new season.
Sesko indicated to United that he favoured a move to them over the Magpies and PA understands they have now agreed a deal with Leipzig worth 76.5m euros (£66.3m) plus a potential 8.5m euros (£7.4m) in add-ons.
The Slovenia international has been granted permission to travel to Manchester to undergo a medical and complete the move.
Villarreal sign Thomas Partey and condemn ‘violence in all its forms’
Villarreal have condemned “violence in all its forms” in a social media statement after signing former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey.
The 32-year-old Ghana international, whose contract with the Gunners expired at the end of last season, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with five counts of rape against two women, as well as a charge of sexual assault against a third.
pic.twitter.com/VJjfIMPrtA
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 7, 2025
The alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022, when he was an Arsenal player. Partey was not asked to enter any pleas and was granted conditional bail.
Villarreal announced on Thursday afternoon that they had reached an agreement with the former Atletico Madrid, Real Mallorca and Almeria player, who will join his team-mates at the training ground on Friday, but did not specify the length of contract he has signed.
Palace prepared to plead their case
Crystal Palace will plead their case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport today, with their European fate set to be confirmed on Monday.
The Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League by European football’s governing body UEFA on July 11 after it determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence at Palace and French club Lyon.
Palace fans have protested the demotion decision
Palace fans have protested the demotion decision(Yui Mok/PA)
The FA Cup winners – who face Premier League champions Liverpool in Sunday’s Community Shield – appealed against the decision to the CAS, and will present their arguments in front of a panel.
Nottingham Forest have taken Palace’s Europa League place, and the Eagles are seeking to take either Lyon’s or Forest’s spot in the second-tier competition in their appeal.
Five Lionesses nominated for Women’s Ballon d’Or
Five of England’s European Championship-winning squad have been nominated for this year’s Women’s Ballon d’Or.
Captain Leah Williamson is joined by Lionesses team-mates Lucy Bronze, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Hannah Hampton after they clinched back-to-back European titles with victory over Spain in Basel last month.
12 nominees across six #ballondor categories.
Congratulations to our #ThreeLions and #Lionesses 🏴👏 pic.twitter.com/v5A9HOindV
— England (@England) August 7, 2025
Four English players have been nominated for the Men’s Ballon d’Or, with Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer and Declan Rice all on the list.
Midfielders Scott McTominay and Caroline Weir have also become the first Scotland players to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or for 38 years – Real Madrid’s Weir is the first Scot to be nominated in the women’s category, introduced in 2018.
Sapsford earns Dundee United Conference League draw
A 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐲 performance leaves it all to play for at Tannadice 🧡
🟢 2️⃣-2️⃣ 🍊 | #SKRUTD | #UECL pic.twitter.com/JC86T7oz0C
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) August 7, 2025
Zac Sapsford was the Dundee United European hero again as Jim Goodwin’s side secured an impressive draw against Rapid Vienna in Austria.
The Australian created a first-half equaliser for Max Watters and scored a well-taken late leveller of his own as a 2-2 draw kept United well in the hunt for a place in the UEFA Conference League play-offs.
United survived some late scares – including a disallowed goal in stoppage-time – to keep the tie level against Rapid, who reached the quarter-finals of the same tournament last season.
Martin Boyle double gives Hibernian control of Conference League qualifier
Victory in Belgrade! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/bCZVctpv2i
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) August 7, 2025
Martin Boyle brought up his century for Hibernian as the Edinburgh club marked the week of their 150th anniversary with a memorable 2-0 victory away to 10-man Partizan Belgrade.
The Serbs had Vukasin Durdevic sent off in the 34th minute for a second bookable offence and David Gray’s side took full advantage to put themselves in command of this Conference League third qualifying round tie at the halfway stage.
Captain Boyle scored his 100th goal for the Hibees in the 40th minute before notching his second of the evening from the penalty spot midway through the second half.
What’s on today?
The EFL Championship gets underway with Birmingham hosting Ipswich, while St Johnstone travel to Ross County in the Scottish Championship.
Three Premier League teams are hosting friendlies as Chelsea face Bayer Leverkusen, Brentford take on Borussia Monchengladbach and Newcastle welcome Espanyol.
Inter Milan also travel to Monaco for a friendly.