Premier League
Mbappé’s Real Madrid Rift and the Six Clubs Linked as Potential Options
Mbappé says he is “fourth-choice”, deepening a Real Madrid rift and prompting transfer speculation..
Kylian Mbappé’s recent public comments have intensified speculation about his future at Real Madrid. The forward declared he is “fourth-choice” at the club and suggested the team lost its playing style and structure in the second half of the season. He also referred to his “great relationship” with Xabi Alonso.
After two seasons at the Bernabéu, Mbappé remains a complex figure at a club that long pursued him under Florentino Pérez. He is on course for back-to-back Pichichi trophies as La Liga’s top scorer, but he has yet to secure a major team honor for Madrid. The player’s goals have not erased questions around chemistry with the other attacking stars.
Tensions escalated this month following a controversial trip to Italy with his girlfriend Ester Expósito and reports of a training-ground bust-up with a member of Arbeloa’s coaching staff. On Thursday night he was substituted on in the second half to boos and whistles, and an online petition demanding his sale has gathered millions of signatures.
If Real Madrid were to consider a departure, six clubs have been suggested as plausible destinations in recent coverage. Paris Saint-Germain featured in that list after a previous long pursuit and a contract episode that made him the world’s highest-paid player. He left PSG two years later; PSG have since reached back-to-back Champions League finals and that era appears closed.
Liverpool was long touted as an option. The club will need attacking reinforcement with Mohamed Salah departing, and Hugo Ekitiké is unavailable while recovering from an Achilles injury. The finances required for Mbappé would likely be prohibitive for the 2024–25 Premier League champions, who spent heavily last summer and have other areas to address.
Manchester City could potentially absorb the wages but would need to break their transfer record and may prioritise midfield options. A swap involving Erling Haaland was mentioned as one possible structure. Chelsea could become more attractive should they appoint Xabi Alonso as manager; Mbappé and Alonso had a good relationship at the Bernabéu and Mbappé stayed ‘Team Xabi’ in the locker-room split. Chelsea’s finances are described as precarious, although co-owner Todd Boehly is viewed as opportunistic. London life may appeal more to Mbappé, but a lack of Champions League football would be a deterrent.
Fixtures
GW10 Calvert-Lewin injury doubt: hold or move to Evanilson?
Hold Calvert-Lewin if the fitness update supports a start and your cover works. For a fresh forward purchase, we prefer Evanilson at £6.4m.
Keep Calvert-Lewin if the final fitness update supports a start and you have cover you trust. For a fresh forward purchase, we prefer Evanilson. You can buy the Bournemouth forward without taking on Calvert-Lewin’s unresolved foot problem, while an existing owner has more reason to wait before spending a transfer.
Calvert-Lewin costs £6.1m and carries a foot-injury flag ahead of Leeds’ home match against Spurs. Evanilson costs £6.4m, has no current injury flag, and visits Ipswich in GW10. That £0.3m difference is a buying-price comparison: check your own selling value before planning the switch.
Calvert-Lewin owners can wait for the fitness update
The current flag gives Calvert-Lewin a 75% chance of playing. Treat that as unresolved availability, with no guarantee of a start or a full match. Owners should wait for the final update before deciding whether their squad needs a replacement.
Leeds host Spurs in GW10, visit Chelsea in GW11, then host Coventry in GW12. You can retain Calvert-Lewin for the two home fixtures if his fitness allows it, with a separate lineup decision for Chelsea away. Selling him before the injury picture clears could mean spending a transfer on a forward you would want to start again in GW12.
Check the substitute who would cover him. A playable bench option makes a hold easier to accept, but you still face the risk of Calvert-Lewin appearing for a short spell and blocking an automatic substitution. Managers who need him to complete their XI have more reason to consider a sale if the final update leaves his participation in doubt.
Evanilson is our preference for a new purchase
Evanilson offers a route into Bournemouth’s attack at £6.4m. After Ipswich away, he faces Nottingham Forest at home in GW11 and Fulham away in GW12. A new buyer can assess that run without inheriting an injury decision before the first match.
His season-to-date attacking rate is 0.55 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes, compared with Calvert-Lewin’s 0.48 xGI/90. Evanilson averages 83.7 min/match; Calvert-Lewin averages 85.9 min/match. Those are played averages, so Calvert-Lewin’s figure does not tell you how long he will play while managing the foot problem.
The difference in xGI/90 supports a preference for Evanilson, rather than a claim that he will outscore Calvert-Lewin this week. Both forwards have offered attacking involvement. For a new purchase, we favour Evanilson’s combination of availability and the upcoming fixtures; an owner considering a sale must weigh the transfer cost too.
Check the next three lineups before switching
Compare your XI with Calvert-Lewin available, your XI with him absent, and the team you could field after buying Evanilson. You can test those future lineups in We Play FPL before using a transfer. Include the GW11 and GW12 selections so you can see whether the move improves more than the immediate injury cover.
Use the switch to solve a starting-XI problem. If a positive fitness update lets you start Calvert-Lewin with confidence, keeping him preserves a transfer for another position. If he cannot play and your substitute would leave you short, Evanilson is a sensible replacement, provided you can afford him and have room within the club limit.
Make the final call before the GW10 deadline on Friday 6 November at 18:30 UTC. Our preference is to hold a fit Calvert-Lewin as an owner and buy Evanilson for a vacant forward slot. An unresolved injury that leaves your XI exposed is the reason to turn that buying preference into a sale.
International
Rashford omitted as Tuchel names England group for November break
Tuchel leaves Rashford out as England prepare for decisive November internationals.
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed his 25-man England squad for the November international break, and Marcus Rashford is not part of it.
There had been an expectation that the Manchester United winger might return to the group, but his name was missing when the squad was announced on Friday. Rashford has featured for United since the last international window, coming off the bench for one minute in the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and then starting the 2-0 loss to Atlético Madrid. He has not been involved since.
The reason is his ongoing hip issue, which has now kept him out of United’s last four matches in all competitions. With doubts still hanging over his fitness, Tuchel has opted to go in another direction for England’s crucial Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain.
Rashford is understood to be stepping up his recovery, but reports indicate he will not be ready to play until after the international break. That has left England looking to alternative wide options, with Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze, Barcelona’s Anthony Gordon, Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha and Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers included instead.
England’s situation in Group 3 leaves little margin for error after the loss to Spain in the previous break. Tuchel’s side are locked in a direct battle with Croatia for second place, and a draw would be enough to secure that position. There is still a route to first as well, though it depends on England overturning Spain. The Three Lions are currently four goals better off than the world champions.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Leeds United)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter Milan), Ben White (Arsenal)
Arsenal
Arteta’s Konsa concern eases Arsenal wait ahead of Hull City
Arteta has confirmed Ezri Konsa had issues against Slavia Prague, with tests due before Hull City.
Mikel Arteta has admitted Ezri Konsa is carrying an issue after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Slavia Prague, leaving the defender’s availability in doubt ahead of the meeting with Hull City on Saturday.
The Arsenal manager did not offer a reassuring update after the final whistle, saying the summer signing was withdrawn because of a problem and because of the heavy load he has been asked to manage in recent weeks.
“He is obviously playing a lot. He’s played so many games in the last few weeks,” Arteta said of Konsa.
“He had some issues and we decided to take him off.”
Konsa is now set to undergo further checks before Arsenal face Hull City, and any sign of a genuine injury would likely lead to a cautious approach from Arteta. With the November international break approaching, the club may have some breathing space if recovery is required.
The defender has already passed the 1,000-minute mark in all competitions during his debut Arsenal campaign, having featured in all but two of the team’s matches in 2026-27. Those two absences came in August, before his move from Aston Villa was completed.
His impact has been immediate, with Konsa emerging as Arsenal’s strongest summer addition and one of the standout new arrivals in the Premier League. He has filled the role left by William Saliba without disrupting the team’s rhythm.
If Arsenal do need to manage his minutes, Mosquera is available to step in alongside Gabriel, while Saliba is also back in contention after missing the start of the season with a back injury. The French defender travelled to Czechia and was an unused substitute, though a recall straight into the XI may be considered too soon.
Declan Rice also remains central to the discussion around Arsenal’s workload. He again influenced the win in midweek, but his minutes have been watched closely after a demanding run that included last season, the 2026 World Cup and the current campaign.
Arteta brushed aside concerns when asked about Rice completing the full 90 minutes. “The game required it, and he did,” he said. “He was as well rested against Fleetwood so he had a very good week to recover before Liverpool.
“It’s his second game in a week and not the fifth one. We expect our players to be able to do that and I think he had some very good moments throughout the game.”
