The £100m spending spree has lost its novelty value. When it may only yield a solitary player, when the biggest buyers’ summer expenditure could be double or even triple that, when £100m was far less than promoted Nottingham Forest paid out last summer, it may not feel like such an extraordinary event after all. But the £100m loaning spree represents an altogether newer development. The dynamic is different, too: the nine-figure sum may reflect the purchase prices of the players being borrowed, not the amounts their temporary employers will have to fork out to acquire their services for the season. Leeds United spent well over £100m buying players last season. The chances are that, by the time the window closes, they will have loaned out some £100m of signings – in terms of transfer fees paid rather than resale value now – this year. Which, in part, reflects the reality they could not sell them all, and perhaps any, for similar sums now. But Rasmus Kristensen, who cost around £10m, has joined Roma. Marc Roca, an £11m addition, headed to Real Betis for the season. The £13m defender Robin Koch has sealed his move to Eintracht Frankfurt. The £18m centre-back Diego Llorente is back at Roma, where he spent the second half of last season. The £25m Brenden Aaronson has gone to Union Berlin for the campaign, trading the Championship for the Champions League. Between them, they cost around £77m of Leeds’ Premier League revenue. Another loan or two – and if, for different reasons, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and Georginio Rutter might be expected to either be sold or stay but could yet prove contenders – then maybe Helder Costa and Dan James could take the total over £100m. All of which would reflect a shift in the transfer market. Relegated clubs have long been raided for players, sometimes for cut-price fees, but they tended to be bought, not borrowed. So far, Leeds’ only sale is Rodrigo, a scorer of 13 Premier League goals last season leaving – albeit in his thirties and with a lone year left on his contract – for just £3m. But they have been busier in a newer market: for loanees. It highlights several elements. Premier League clubs have had increasing difficulty selling to mainland Europe for meaningful fees in recent seasons; Championship clubs with footballers acquired for the top flight and caps for major countries stand still less chance of trading on their preferred terms. Perhaps Leeds came to that pragmatic conclusion early in the window; certainly opportunistic continental clubs realise they can acquire high-calibre players for nothing more than their salary and the occasional loan fee. In addition, there seems a recognition that players who signed up for a newly promoted outfit – as Koch and Llorente did in 2020 – or one who had just dodged the drop, as Leeds had when Aaronson, Kristensen and Roca joined in 2022, would not be expected to brave the EFL. With a dramatic drop in income, even with parachute payments softening their fall into the lower leagues, Leeds needed to reduce the wage bill. In some circumstances, it can be more of a priority than the prospect of transfer fees. Leeds will not recoup £77m for the quintet, but there are different tales among them: with Koch entering the last year of his deal, his Leeds career is in effect over; Llorente signed a new deal until 2026 in December, when demotion was a possibility and shortly before being loaned out; Aaronson, a 22-year-old, with four years left on his contract, could yet have plenty of Premier League football ahead of him at Elland Road. If part of the gamble is that Leeds can come back up, perhaps allowing them to inject loanees back into their squad with their (supposedly) greater quality in 12 months’ time, there is also the prospect that if they do not, then they are sent out for a further year elsewhere in 2024 because there are no buyers. It underlines an economy of risk: if some purchases don’t just lose some but all of their transfer value when a club is relegated, the money spent by the bottom-half Premier League clubs is likelier to end up wasted. In the meantime, there is a logic to Leeds’ actions, disposing of players who may not want to play in the lower divisions early in the window, to rebuild around their core of Championship stalwarts, young players and Brits, to giving new manager Daniel Farke something of a clean slate. For now, their squad is looking slender. There is a way to alter that. Because the recent history of the Championship shows one of the keys to exiting it in the right direction is to make astute loan signings – as Burnley did with Nathan Tella, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ian Maatsen, Sheffield United with Tommy Doyle and James McAteer or Luton with Ethan Horvath, Marvelous Nakamba and Leeds’ Cody Drameh last season – from Premier League clubs. If the age-old wisdom was to neither a borrower nor a lender be, Leeds may hope it will pay to be both. Read More Harry Maguire’s fall from grace shows Manchester United captaincy is a hospital pass Looking back with pride and forward with anticipation – Friday’s sporting social NBA star Russell Westbrook joins Leeds United ownership group It’s done – Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas take minority stake in Leeds

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Manchester City host Liverpool in the first match of the Premier League‘s return following the international break. The two old rivals clash at the Etihad Stadium in what should be a fantastic contest between the teams sitting first and second in the table. It’s no surprise that Pep Guardiola’s side sit top of the tree but they only have a one point lead over the Reds and could finish the day as low as third should Arsenal prove victorious against Brentford in the late kick off. Defeat is not on Guardiola’s mind though. His City team have a strong record at home against Liverpool and beat them 4-1 here last season. Liverpool, meanwhile, are on the rise following a poor season in 2022/23. They’re unbeaten in five league games since a 2-1 defeat to Spurs in September. Though the Reds have not won at the Etihad in the league since 2015, Jurgen Klopp is hoping to make things ‘uncomfortable’ for City in the hopes of grinding out a positive result. Follow all the action below plus get the latest odds and tips for the match right here:

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Brentford B have announced the signing of Romeo Beckham from Inter Miami on a one-year deal following an impressive loan spell. The 20-year-old son of David Beckham – who is co-owner of Inter Miami – spent the second half of last season on loan with Brentford’s B side but has now put pen to paper on a permanent contract, with the option of a further year. Beckham helped the Bees lift the Premier League Cup last season and featured 15 times, scoring a late goal against National League side Wealdstone in the Middlesex Senior Cup. Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane will be hoping the youngster can continue where he left off in west London. He told the club website: “We added Romeo to our squad in January and he’s been fantastic for the group. “He’s had a terrific end to the season in terms of his recent match against Manchester City where he showed what he’s learned during his loan with us. “We’ve continued to develop him in and out of possession and we look forward to him coming back in good spirits to continue working with him next season.” Read More George Saville will never complain about lack of recognition for his hard work David Brooks accepts people will start to doubt Wales following Armenia defeat Legendary commentator Martin Tyler steps down from Sky Sports role after 33 years

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Julen Lopetegui has parted company with Wolves just days before the start of the new Premier League season. Here, the PA news agency looks at what went wrong for the Spaniard. Wasn’t the appointment of Lopetegui considered a coup and wasn’t he doing well? Yes, when Wolves brought in the former Spain and Real Madrid manager last November, with the team in the relegation zone, it seemed the club had made a smart appointment. Given that Lopetegui had initially turned them down too, they had shown great determination to recruit him. He repaid them by comfortably guiding the club to survival. It was not spectacular but he steadied the ship and form in the spring was a clear uplift on the football of his predecessor Bruno Lage. So, the foundations were there to build on. Where did it start to go wrong? At the end of last season there were rumblings that the club would need to match Lopetegui’s ambition in order for him to stay on, despite having signed a three-year contract when he arrived. That meant strengthening a squad that fell short in many areas last term, particularly in the goal-scoring department. Yet, with the club also concerned about balancing the books, it appears they were unable to satisfy him and relations soured. What have been the problems with the squad? Wolves signed 10 senior players last season and brought in a further two on loan. Having posted a loss of £41.6million in their last set of financial results, this obviously suggested some sales would be required to prevent further deficit and to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations. Subsequently captain Ruben Neves left for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a club record £47million and Raul Jimenez also moved on, with Matt Doherty the only notable arrival on a free transfer. What was said about the situation? Lopetegui voiced his frustration over the summer, saying that transfer activity had been a “big disappointment” and he was unable to enact his ideas. “We were excited by this new plan, but now we don’t have this plan because we don’t have any new players,” he said. Wolves chairman Jeff Shi put out his side of the story in an open letter to supporters last week. “We are also working hard to make sure the club have a long-term robustness and sustainability,” he wrote, adding that it was important to “maintain a sustainable balance of both sporting performance and financial strength”. It seems this only succeeded in bringing matters with Lopetegui to a head. What happens next? Given his track record and reputation, Lopetegui is not likely to have trouble finding his next job. Clubs will need to be wary his services come with high demands, however. Wolves are reportedly lining up former Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil as his replacement. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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