Like Wolfgang Wolf managing Wolfsburg or Arsene Wenger taking charge of Arsenal, perhaps Romelu Lukaku’s imminent arrival in Rome is striking a blow for nominative determinism in football. When Roma secure his services on a year’s loan, it may seem a triumph for the Giallorossi’s negotiating skills and an extension to the strange on-off relationship between Lukaku and Jose Mourinho. Yet for Lukaku and Chelsea, trapped in a loveless marriage during which neither has been able to formalise a lasting parting of the ways, it represents a failure on both fronts. Even as Chelsea have sold a host of players this summer, it is ever likelier that they will not recoup a transfer fee for a man who cost them a then club record £97m. Chelsea, it feels, have been doubly culpable in the last two summers, first being too generous and too willing to loan him out to Inter for a relatively small sum last year and then overpricing him 12 months on, when cash-strapped Italian clubs were unlikely to pay £40m and Lukaku had little interest in moving to Saudi Arabia. It was a sign he still has footballing ambitions. The wrong ones, perhaps. Lukaku’s flirtation with Juventus cost him a chance of a return to Inter; he has often had the feel of an outsider everywhere he has been but there was a sense of belonging among the Nerazzurri as a catalyst in their first Scudetto in 11 years. A willingness to join their enemies led Javier Zanetti, whose loyalty to Inter was established over 858 appearances, to accuse him of betrayal. So Roma it is, as the short-term replacement for Tammy Abraham, whose cruciate ligament injury will sideline him for much of the season. The odd, interconnected history of the supposed new Didier Drogbas continues: neither Lukaku nor Abraham has actually assumed the Ivorian’s totemic role at Stamford Bridge, the destiny that seemed to await each when he debuted at 18. When Lukaku makes his Roma bow, they will have played for a combined total of seven other clubs on loan when owned by Chelsea. Each has missed a decisive penalty in a Super Cup; Lukaku at least scored in a Club World Cup final but Abraham, with 18 goals in a breakthrough season under Frank Lampard, has arguably had the better Chelsea career. Tellingly, Mauricio Pochettino seemed to have little interest in resurrecting Lukaku’s. Meanwhile, he appears to be a curiously unfulfilled figure. A move to Mourinho’s United was supposed to be the end to his days as a wanderer, rendering him an iconic figure for an elite club. So, four years later, was his return to Chelsea. And, had he gone back to Inter this year, that could have been his mantle. Instead, he is forever a staple of transfer market discussion. And a player with a remarkable 355 goals by the age of 30 – 280 in club football, 75 for his country – now feels defined by those he didn’t score: the four misses in 45 minutes by a semi-fit Lukaku as Croatia held on for a stalemate that brought Belgium’s Golden Generation to an undignified end, the late header that Ederson somehow saved in the Champions League final. It may be harsh or recency bias: time can supply more context. For now, however, Lukaku can be portrayed as a nearly man, a player who has lost more finals than he has won, one who has a solitary league title since leaving Anderlecht as a teenager, who, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic – another sizeable Mourinho striker – is among the most prolific forwards never to win the Champions League. Strikers can require a selfish streak but Lukaku may end up defined by individual exploits: he could join Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei and Lionel Messi in the select group who score a century of international goals. At club level, meanwhile, Chelsea may deem him Thomas Tuchel’s folly, the most damaging part of their Champions League-winning manager’s legacy, his huge salary making him the hardest player to shift. For Roma, where the wider perception of Mourinho is a manager in decline, raging against the brightest of lights dying out, Lukaku might be a boost to the ego. Lukaku spent some of an injury-hit affected 2022-23 on the bench but in his previous campaign in Serie A, two years earlier, he was the division’s best player. In his first spell at Inter, he delivered 23 and 24 league goals in two seasons, adding 11 assists in the second. Even last year, he was directly involved in a goal every 100 minutes in Serie A. For Roma, whose tally of 50 Serie A goals was both meagre and their lowest in 26 years, he shapes up as their ideal acquisition. For them, Lukaku could be forgiven for a few big-game misses in exchange for a consistent return in lesser matches. There is something poignant in Mourinho bringing together another band of thirty-somethings, chasing figures from his past as he bids to recreate it. The previous times he and Lukaku linked up, it was with more of a promise of greatness and, while the Belgian scored 25 goals in their first year together at Old Trafford, their finest exploits came without the other. For now, though, Lukaku is a coup for Mourinho and Roma offer an escape from Chelsea for him. Read More Romelu Lukaku, a chessboard and the Jose Mourinho phone call that lured him to Roma Chelsea transfer news: Brennan Johnson, Romelu Lukaku, Trevoh Chalobah and more The answers to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter quiz Chelsea’s Academy stars can rise to Carabao Cup challenge – Mauricio Pochettino Romelu Lukaku, a chessboard and the Jose Mourinho phone call that lured him to Roma Roma set to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on season-long loan

Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes has been given permission to travel to Manchester City for a medical after Wolves agreed a club-record £53million deal. After overcoming some minor sticking points in final negotiations over an initial £47.3m deal late on Wednesday night, both clubs were able to come to an agreement which involved a bigger fee. The PA news agency understands there are no add-ons included but there is a 10 per cent sell on fee on any profit City make on the 25-year-old. Nunes became Wolves’ record signing when he joined from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £38m last summer on a five-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. He made 34 appearances last term, scoring one goal and proving one assist. However, on learning of City’s interest Nunes absented himself from training in an attempt to force through a move. In a separate deal, City’s 21-year-old midfielder Tommy Doyle is set to undergo a medical for a season-long loan at Molineux, with Wolves having a £4.2m option to buy and City retaining a 50 per cent sell-on fee on any profit made on the player. The England Under-21 international is the grandson of Manchester City greats Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe and impressed on loan at Sheffield United last season, scoring four goals and providing seven assists in 38 appearances as he helped the Blades earn promotion to the Premier League. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Champions League is back and the draw will take place later today to decide the 2023/24 group stage. Four English clubs are in the draw: the reigning champions Manchester City, along with Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United. For the final time before the competition takes on a new format next season, 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four. Each group will contain one team from each of the four seeded pots, and clubs from the same national league will not be drawn together in the same group. Pot 1 will consist of the Champions League winners, the Europa League winners and six domestic champions of the highest ranked leagues. The remaining pots will be decided by Uefa’s club coefficient rankings. The final will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium on 1 June 2024. When is the Champions League draw? The draw for the group stage will take place in Monaco on Thursday 31 August, at 5pm BST. How to watch on TV and online The draw will be televised live in the UK on TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) for subscribing customers, and will be available on the TNT Sports app. You can also live stream the draw for free on the Uefa website and YouTube channel. Which clubs have qualified? There are 32 clubs qualified for the Champions League group stage: England: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United Spain: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Union Berlin Italy: Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan, Napoli France: Lens, Paris Saint-Germain Portugal: Benfica, Porto, Braga Netherlands: Feyenoord, PSV Austria: Salzburg Scotland: Celtic Serbia: Red Star Belgrade Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk Belgium: Antwerp Switzerland: Young Boys Turkey: Galatasaray Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk What are the Champions League group stage dates? Matchday 1: 19/20 September 2023 Matchday 2: 3/4 October 2023 Matchday 3: 24/25 October 2023 Matchday 4: 7/8 November 2023 Matchday 5: 28/29 November 2023 Matchday 6: 12/13 December 2023 Read More When is the Champions League group stage draw? On This Day in 2016: David Luiz returns to Chelsea Rangers fail to qualify for Champions League after thrashing by PSV Eindhoven Is PSV vs Rangers on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch On this day in 2015: Manchester City sign Kevin De Bruyne for club-record fee Chelsea’s Academy stars can rise to Carabao Cup challenge – Mauricio Pochettino

What the papers say With the transfer deadline looming, Premier League sides are making their final moves as the clock ticks down to September 1. According to the Daily Mail, one of the big moves could see a star name leave the Premier League, with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad gearing up for a £118million bid for Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, 31. The Daily Star reports that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would be “furious” if the move went ahead. The Daily Mirror reports Manchester United are keen to nab a midfielder before the transfer window closes, with Sofyan Amrabat, 27, their prime target. The Daily Mail reports Fiorentina have turned down a £1.7million loan deal but would consider a deal with an obligation to buy. One player who could be on his way out of Old Trafford is English defender Teden Mengi. Luton are close to signing him, according to the Daily Mail. Tottenham’s move for Wales forward Brennan Johnson, 22, from Nottingham Forest has stalled, according to The Independent. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, 25, has emerged as a new target. Social media round-up Players to watch Callum Hudson-Odoi: Nottingham Forest are close to a deal for the England winger, 22, from Chelsea, according to the Guardian. James McAtee: Manchester City’s England Under-21s midfielder could return for a second loan spell at Sheffield United, who are leading the chase for him, according to Football Insider. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

David Luiz rejoined Chelsea from Paris St Germain in a £32million deal on this day in 2016. The Brazil international returned to familiar territory as then Blues boss Antonio Conte shuffled his pack with full-back Marcos Alonso also arriving from Fiorentina as midfielder Juan Cuadrado joined Juventus on loan. Luiz, then 23, had initially joined Chelsea from Portuguese side Benfica in a deal worth up to £25million in January 2011. He had arrived at Stamford Bridge on the same day as striker Fernando Torres, who cost the reigning champions £50million – a record transfer fee between British clubs – when they lured him away from Liverpool. The defender made 143 appearances in his first spell and won the Champions League, Europa League and the FA Cup before Paris St Germain paid £50million for his services in June 2014 with then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho preferring to use Gary Cahill and John Terry at the heart of his rearguard. Luiz’s time in France proved hugely successful as PSG dominated on the domestic front, but after two seasons at the Parc des Princes, he could not resist the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with English football. Speaking as his return to the Blues was confirmed, he told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted to return to Chelsea. We had a fantastic story during my first time at the club and I want to help the team and Antonio Conte achieve a lot of success. “I always had a wonderful relationship with the fans and I am looking forward to wearing the blue shirt at Stamford Bridge once again.” Over the length of his three-year contract, Luiz added a league title, an FA Cup and another Europa League trophy to his tally before making a shock – and for some, controversial – £8million move to derby rivals Arsenal in August 2019 after indicating his desire to leave. Luiz spent two seasons at the Emirates Stadium and, now 36, is currently playing his club football with Flamengo in Brazil’s Serie A. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

In the biggest non-surprise of all time, Kirk Ferentz's favorite game is a 6-4 win over Penn State. Is this the type of play that Iowa plays winning football in 2023?

College football fans will have to wait to see any implications the conference realignment might have on the College Football Playoff.

Mauricio Pochettino praised the performances of the players given their full Chelsea debuts in the narrow Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon, but would not be drawn on reports that the club are on the brink of signing Manchester City’s Cole Palmer. It took a first Chelsea goal from Enzo Fernandez in the second half to finally see off the challenge of the League Two side and seal a 2-1 victory, after Noni Madueke had equalised from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. Earlier, James Tilley’s penalty had given Johnnie Jackson’s side a shock lead after goalkeeper Robert Sanchez raced from his goal and collided with Harry Pell. The young trio of Mason Burstow, Ian Maatsen and Diego Moreira all started for the first time in an unfamiliar Chelsea line-up, but it took the introduction of Nicolas Jackson and Fernandez for the hosts to finally settle the tie, with a noticeable difference in the manner of their threat once the pair were brought on in the second half. Jackson provided the kind of incisive running between the lines that had been missing in the first half, whilst it was a first goal in blue for World Cup-winner Fernandez that finally broke Wimbledon’s resolve 18 minutes from time. Madueke, Chelsea’s best player in the first period before Pochettino turned to his bench, levelled from 12 yards after he had been tripped in the box by defender Alex Pearce. Pochettino was asked afterwards about the impending arrival of Palmer, with Chelsea and City reportedly having agreed a £40million fee for the forward, but he refused to comment, preferring instead to praise his team’s progression to the third round. “I don’t know anything at the moment,” he said. “I cannot talk about players that don’t belong to us. What I can say is nothing at the moment. The club didn’t tell me. I don’t want to talk about a player that has still not signed. “Maybe yes, maybe no (there will be more transfer business). Maybe you know better than me what is going on.” Of the performance against the Dons, he added: “It was tough. That’s the beauty of the competition, of the cups. I think for the circumstances we have in the squad at the moment, many players that were involved today, I’m happy with the performance. Many players that made their debut here and it’s tough first time. “Many positive things. Of course, we have a squad and players that were rested and were on the bench in case we needed. They were fresh to go into the game and of course to help the team achieve what we wanted. “That’s the beauty of the competition for any club, (when you’re) a Premier League club it’s always difficult to play a team like this, that belongs to this level in League Two. Always the motivation and the desire. It wasn’t a penalty for me, (but) that is the beauty of the competition, these things can happen.” The manager added that Marc Cucurella, who played 90 minutes at left-back despite reports that the club are in negotiations over a sale to Manchester United, remains a part of his plans until the club informs him otherwise. “I don’t know anything (about Cucurella). All the players that are involved every day on the training ground with us are in our plans. Then, things happen, it’s the decision of both the club and the player, and if something happens in the next few days, we will communicate to you.” AFC Wimbledon boss Jackson reflected on a brave performance for his side and took pride in having forced Pochettino to turn to his expensively-assembled bench to seal the win. “So proud of my players,” said Jackson. “We pushed them all the way, gave them a proper game. We’ve said all week that we weren’t just coming for a day out, we wanted to go toe-to-toe with them. A bit gutted we haven’t pushed them all the way to penalties, but I have to be proud of everyone. “We knew they were on the bench and to be honest I think their manager was hoping he doesn’t have to use them, so I think it’s testament to my team that we got them to a position in the game where he’s had to make those changes, bringing two hundred million pound players (Fernandez and Moises Caicedo) onto the pitch.”

Treble-winners Manchester City will travel to Newcastle while holders Manchester United will host Crystal Palace in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The pairings were among the pick of the ties as the sides that qualified for Europe this season entered the competition for Wednesday’s draw. Record nine-time winners Liverpool were handed a home tie against Championship Leicester and Arsenal will cross London to face Brentford. The Premier League’s bottom side Everton, who needed two late goals to see off League Two Doncaster, were given an away tie at Aston Villa. Other intriguing ties pitted Chelsea, who had to come from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon, against Brighton and Salford, who beat Leeds on penalties, against Burnley. Fulham, who saw off Tottenham, will host Norwich while fellow top-flight sides Wolves, Luton and West Ham will travel to Ipswich, Exeter and Lincoln respectively. Sutton, the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, were drawn away at Port Vale. Carabao Cup third-round draw Ipswich Town vs Wolves Exeter vs Luton Town Aston Villa vs Everton Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Port Vale vs Sutton United Bradford vs Middlesbrough Bournemouth vs Stoke City Lincoln City vs West Ham United Brentford vs Arsenal Chelsea vs Brighton Salford City vs Burnley Fulham vs Norwich City Blackburn Rovers vs Cardiff City Liverpool vs Leicester City Newcastle United vs Manchester City Mansfield Town vs Peterborough Read More ‘We were just boring’ says Blades’ assistant boss Stuart McCall after cup exit Burnley counting cost of Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest Lukas Jensen the hero as Lincoln blunt Blades with shootout victory Carabao Cup draw LIVE: Manchester United, Arsenal and more discover third round fate Enzo Maresca hails Jamie Vardy as Leicester continue flying start to season Gary O’Neil expects Matheus Nunes to remain at Wolves with no fresh Man City bid

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany felt his side paid a price for their 1-0 Carabao Cup win at Nottingham Forest after Hjalmar Ekdal sustained a serious-looking knee injury. Substitute Zeki Amdouni volleyed home a last-minute winner to settle a largely forgettable tie and clinch Burnley a third-round clash at Salford. But Vitinho, Aaron Ramsey and Ekdal were all forced off through injury, with the latter carried off on a stretcher following a second-half goalmouth scramble. When asked about his players’ injuries, Kompany said: “One I think will be bad. It looked like it. I’ll take anything positive on that of course. “In terms of Viti (Vitinho), we hope he’s not too bad. Certainly, it cost us a little bit this game. “From what I’ve seen and watching the images, it looks knee for both (Vinho and Ekdal). There’s different degrees, it could just be a strain, but for Ekdal – we hope it’s not too bad. He was in a lot of pain. “I really hope he’s not too bad, but there was a cost to this game for sure.” Switzerland forward Amdouni, signed from Basel in July, was a 78th-minute replacement for Jay Rodriguez and fired home his first goal in English football in his third appearance for the Clarets. “He’s got a real goal threat,” Kompany added. “I hope that’s one of many for him. That’s one exciting thing about our squad. I’m not saying in year one you’re going to be bursting the net every week. “But in the future, potentially in our squad there’s a real goal threat. How long it will take I don’t know. Some guys are always dangerous on the pitch.” Neither side created a scoring chance worthy of note before Amdouni’s late intervention and Forest boss Steve Cooper said his side “got what they deserved”. He said: “We feel really short with our performance levels, both collectively and individually and certainly with the ball. “I didn’t think we were going to concede a goal. The game had 0-0 written all over it. It wasn’t a great game obviously. Technically we were miles off it today.” The introduction of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White midway through the second half failed to spark Forest in to life. Johnson has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham but Cooper insisted that was not why the Wales forward started on the bench. “I know there’s a lot of speculation about him, but it’s not really affecting us at the moment and until we get told different we’ll deal with it and it’s business as usual,” he added. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘We were just boring’ says Blades’ assistant boss Stuart McCall after cup exit Brydon Carse targets red-ball cricket with England after impressing in T20 win Beto and Arnaut Danjuma spare Everton’s blushes in late cup win at Doncaster

Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said he was bored watching his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to League One Lincoln. The Premier League side suffered a 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss at Bramall Lane after a drab 90 minutes ended goalless. Defeat continued a poor start to the season for the Blades, who have lost their opening three Premier League games. They made nine changes for this match, but McCall said none of those players who came in pushed their case. “A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there’s no getting away from it,” he said. “Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to. “If I’m being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn’t do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat. “We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton. “There’s no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull. “We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that. “We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can’t afford many of them.” Lincoln were worthy of victory, which came after Lukas Jensen saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through. Boss Mark Kennedy was in philosophical mood after a first victory at Bramall Lane in 40 years. “There’s only two things human beings fear when they’re born, that’s noise, and falling,” he said. “All the other fear some idiot puts in your head. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. “So go and embrace the moment, go and enjoy the day. “And it’s nights like this that me personally and the players…live for. That’s what you get up for in the morning, win, lose or draw. “You want to get your head out there, stick your chest out and sometimes you win and the rewards are incredible, the highs are high, the lows are so low, but for me that’s what you get up for, that’s what I come to work for every day.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Burnley counting cost of Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest Brydon Carse targets red-ball cricket with England after impressing in T20 win Beto and Arnaut Danjuma spare Everton’s blushes in late cup win at Doncaster

Defending champions Manchester United will host Crystal Palace in the third round of the Carabao Cup while treble winners Manchester City face a tricky trip to Newcastle. In the three other all-Premier League ties, Brentford host Arsenal, Chelsea take on Brighton and Aston Villa meet Everton, who overcame Doncaster Rovers 2-1 on Wednesday night. The lowest ranked team left in the competition, Sutton United, face a trip to Port Vale. The ties will be played around 25 September. There have already been a few shock results in this year’s competition with Leeds United being dumped out of the tournament by Salford City and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs losing to Fulham in the second round. Take a look at the full Carabao Cup third-round draw below. Read More Same old Spurs? Ange Postecoglou’s first trophy chance ends in penalty agony