Aina’s signing follows the capture of midfielder Harrison Reed, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, right back Kenny Tete and midfielder Mario Lemina and left back Antonee Robinson while winger Anthony Knockaert’s loan move was made permanent.
Transfer news LIVE: Liverpool continue pursuit of Thiago… ‘There are lot of people putting ideas into his head’: Roy… ‘This has got ‘problem’ written all over it’: Gary Neville… ‘He scores as if you were writing a textbook’: Rio Ferdinand…
Yes, it was ‘pretty seismic’, he admits, coping with the sudden death of his father in his teenage years and yet he realises others from less privileged backgrounds have lived through similar tragedies.
09:15
Benrahma closes in on Palace move
Crystal Palace are in pole position to sign ?20m-rated Brentford star Said Benrahma this summer. The winger was also absent during the Bees’ 1-0 defeat at St Andrew’s.
‘Everyone has their own journey. Mine has been a privileged one, I have had a lot of opportunities and I know footballers, friends of mine, who have had difficult upbringings and had to go through similarly tough things.’
The last thing Michael Doughty is searching for is sympathy.
It’s true, the League Two title winning celebrations were ‘a bit strange’ for Swindon Town in lockdown, but, as he says, ‘there are bigger things going on in the world’.
09:37
Top six transfer targets
Should Man City sign another centre-half after the arrival of Nathan Ake? Could Liverpool make a surprise move for Patson Daka before the window closes?
Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph suggests a top-four push is not… Eden Hazard hits the gym amid fitness questions after the… Lionel Messi set to make first appearance for Barcelona… Conor McGregor is released without charge after spending 48…
‘It’s been a big part of my life in the last couple of years,’ he says. ‘Running trainers are made with synthetics and at the end of their life they take hundreds if not thousands of years to biodegrade.
We’ve already seen some high-profile moves this summer, like Kai Havertz’ ?89m move to Chelsea and Donny van de Beek arriving at Manchester United for ?40m, while other major deals like Lionel Messi to Manchester City are off the cards.
‘He scores as if you were writing a textbook’: Rio Ferdinand… ‘It would be ridiculous to suggest there would not be a… ‘I still think he’s got a lot to prove’: Gary Neville says… ‘If I was him, I would make the same decision’: Gareth…
Aston Villa set to lodge ?18m bid for Werder Bremen forward… Premier League snub EFL’s plea for a share of Fulham’s ?34m… Neymar reveals he is ‘super happy’ as the PSG star returns… ‘Man United tried to sign me… but I could never leave…
‘You’re always looking to see if there’s somebody that can bring something extra and help the guys already here, so we’ll keep working in that regard but the most important thing is to help the guys we’ve got take the next step.’
‘He scores as if you were writing a textbook’: Rio Ferdinand… ‘It would be ridiculous to suggest there would not be a… ‘I still think he’s got a lot to prove’: Gary Neville says… ‘If I was him, I would make the same decision’: Gareth…
‘The period between Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar we had Ricardo, Fabien Barthez, Mark Bosnich, Roy Carroll, Tim Howard, Massimo Taibi, many goalkeepers over a five to six-year period and there was inconsistency that certainly didn’t help.’
Transfer news LIVE: Liverpool continue pursuit of Thiago… ‘There are lot of people putting ideas into his head’: Roy… ‘This has got ‘problem’ written all over it’: Gary Neville… ‘He scores as if you were writing a textbook’: Rio Ferdinand…
And, of course, while the step from the straw hats of elite public school at Harrow to the muck-and-nettles of lower-league football was something of a culture shock, playing professional sport is ‘the best job in the world’.
Doughty, just talking to be clear, is not an archetypal footballer. He is the eldest son of former Nottingham Forest owner, multi-millionaire venture capitalist Nigel Doughty and, when not creating chances and scoring goals from midfield at Swindon, he runs a business producing ‘the world’s most sustainable trainers’, made from natural materials and fully recyclable.
What the Premier League ‘top six’ still must do this transfer window
With just over three weeks remaining in the transfer window we’re starting to approach crunch time. The ‘top six’ in English football live and die by their deals, as Sportsmail examines what is still needed.
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‘I have such fond memories and definitely during last season, a successful season with Swindon, a club where I’d had a kind of on-off love affair, in the moment of celebration I did think, ‘yeah, he would have liked to have seen that’.
The Old Trafford legend told Sky Sports: ‘The idea that Dean Henderson would come into Manchester United and replace David de Gea as No 1 goalkeeper straight away… it won’t happen, I can guarantee it won’t happen.