Crystal Palace
Tension on the Pitch: Palace and Forest Draw at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park: a tense draw as on-field football replaced the summer legal battle between rivals….
Selhurst Park hosted a match that felt like a sequel to a summer off-field dispute. The Eagles looked to get their own back after Forest’s complaint saw them relegated from the Europa League, and the fixture was billed as El CASico, as they’re calling it.
Security was increased, with a visible Met Police presence and heightened player protection. Behind one goal Palace supporters displayed a graphic banner depicting the Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and repeatedly chanted “F*** UEFA, F*** John Textor, F*** Marinakis”. Supporters of Europa League Forest were seated quietly at the other end and largely said little, apart from the occasional remark that Marinakis is “one of own”. Marinakis did not remain in view in the director’s box; cameras instead found England manager Thomas Tuchel among the stands.
The match itself was competitive and, at times, unrefined. Sarr brought a moment of relief for Palace when he swept home from Daniel Munoz’s cut-back to score Palace’s first home league goal of the campaign. The goal provided the clearest example of Palace’s attacking quality during a game in which neither side moved freely through the lines.
Both clubs arrived under pressure. Palace had opened their Conference League campaign with a nervy 1-0 play-off win at home to Fredrikstad on Thursday, the club’s first match in Europe in its long history. Eberechi Eze did not play that night and is now an Arsenal player, a departure that represents a £67.5million loss for Palace. For Forest, confidence from a win over Brentford was tempered by Nuno Espirito Santo’s admission in a press conference that he and Evangelos Marinakis do not speak as they used to, leaving Nuno’s position under threat as Forest prepare for European football.
Glasner’s selection decisions underlined Palace’s thin resources. Justin Devenny started and academy players Kaden Rodney and Rio Cardines were named, while Forest’s bench included Douglas Luiz, Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee. Nuno’s first substitutions removed Ndoye and Hudson-Odoi, the pair who had combined for Forest’s second-half equaliser.
By the final whistle the legal drama had faded into the background and the match finished as a draw, a fair result on the day. That’s not to say Palace have forgotten about the summer they were relegated without playing a game.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace Move Closer to Deal for Zavier Gozo
Crystal Palace are advancing on a deal for Zavier Gozo after the winger’s strong season for Real Salt Lake.
Crystal Palace are said to be moving towards the signing of Zavier Gozo, with talks over the Real Salt Lake winger described as advanced. The 19-year-old American is expected to cost in the region of $15 million, or £11.1 million, as the Premier League club look to secure one of the more sought-after young attackers linked with Europe this summer.
According to the report, Aston Villa and Atlético Madrid were also among the clubs to show interest, but Palace have emerged as the leading contenders for his signature. Gozo’s rise has accelerated quickly since his breakthrough 2025 campaign, when he established himself as a regular starter for Real Salt Lake and finished the season with 31 appearances and seven goal contributions.
He has carried that form into the current season, producing six goals and four assists in only 16 appearances. That output earned him a place in the 2026 MLS All-Star selection and has strengthened the sense that a move away could now be imminent.
If the transfer is completed, Gozo would arrive at a club already familiar with USMNT centre-back Chris Richards. The defender was central to Palace’s Conference League-winning run, though he missed the final through injury, and would offer a useful reference point as Gozo adjusts to English football.
The winger would also be entering a Premier League environment that already includes several Americans, among them Antonee Robinson at Fulham, Tyler Adams at Bournemouth and Brenden Aaronson at Leeds United. The draft also notes that Richards, Robinson and Adams have become permanent fixtures in Pochettino’s XI and featured for the USMNT on home soil this summer.
Palace finished 15th last season and saw Oliver Glasner leave at the end of the campaign. Under Pierre Sage, and with Europa League football ahead in 2026-27, the club are aiming for a stronger year. Gozo, who last represented the U-23 side during the November international break, has not yet made his senior USMNT debut but will be hoping to push into Pochettino’s plans for September and October, when Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada are next on the schedule.
Analytics & Stats
One priority signing each Premier League club should target before the window closes
A club-by-club look at the main transfer priority every Premier League side still needs to address.
With less than a month left in the transfer window, Premier League clubs are still expected to be busy. Incomings and outgoings remain likely across the division, and every side still appears to have at least one clear gap to fill before the deadline.
Arsenal may be attracting attention with their pursuit of Vinícius Júnior, but their bigger need is in central midfield. Declan Rice carried too much of the load last season, while Martín Zubimendi faded after the break and Myles Lewis-Skelly is not yet fully trusted there. Another box-to-box midfielder would help enormously.
Aston Villa could soon be short at left back if Lucas Digne leaves, which would leave Ian Maatsen as the only senior option. Bournemouth need more depth in wide areas, Brentford still require a more natural left back, and Brighton & Hove Albion must replace the goals lost with Danny Welbeck’s move to Chelsea.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have done plenty of work already but still have not addressed the goalkeeper position. Robert Sánchez improved in 2025-26, yet the club still look in need of a top-class solution.
Elsewhere, Coventry City are close to signing Carl Rushworth permanently and would then turn to left back. Crystal Palace need centre-back reinforcements after losing Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix, while Everton must add a defensive midfielder after Idrissa Gana Gueye’s departure.
Fulham will look for winger depth after strengthening up front, Hull City want more options in attack, and Ipswich Town are still waiting for a central midfielder. Leeds United may also need another striker to cover for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury record.
Liverpool’s most pressing issue is out wide, Manchester City need a right back, Manchester United still want a more destructive midfielder, and Newcastle are alarmingly short at left back. Nottingham Forest must replace Elliot Anderson in midfield, Sunderland need more balance on the left side, and Tottenham Hotspur have already moved aggressively to rebuild after last season’s collapse.
Arsenal
Premier League’s longest-serving managers and the rapid reset shaping 2026/27
A summer reset has left the Premier League with a long list of new managers and just one clear outlier.
The Premier League remains a ruthless place for managers, and the 2026/27 season begins with that reality clearer than ever. A summer of upheaval has left dugouts across the division occupied by a fresh wave of appointments, while one club is still waiting to name a new head coach.
At the top of the list, Mikel Arteta stands alone as the league’s longest-serving manager. Appointed by Arsenal on Dec. 22, 2019, he has outlasted every other current rival and remains comfortably ahead of the pack. Behind him comes Unai Emery, who has been in charge of Aston Villa since Nov. 1, 2022, followed by Daniel Farke, who took over Leeds United on July 4, 2023.
Further down the rankings, the turnover becomes even more obvious. Régis Le Bris and Fabian Hürzeler both arrived in July 2024, while Frank Lampard, David Moyes, Sergej Jakirović, Keith Andrews and Michael Carrick all joined their clubs during 2024 and 2025. The list then tightens further still, with a cluster of appointments made only months before the new campaign.
There are notable cases throughout. Roberto De Zerbi, hired by Tottenham Hotspur on March 31, 2026, sits just outside the top 10. Michael Carrick is inside it after first being named interim Manchester United boss in January and then permanently hired in May. At the other extreme, Álvaro Arbeloa is the latest arrival, taking charge of Fulham on July 7 after an unsuccessful spell as Real Madrid boss.
A number of other clubs have also changed course recently, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Over half the division has turned to new managers in 2026 if Newcastle United are included, with the club still yet to appoint Eddie Howe’s successor.
For now, Arteta remains the benchmark for staying power in a league that rarely gives managers much time.
