Aston Villa's £18m Bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis Rejected by Southampton

Aston Villa have seen an £18 million bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis knocked back by Southampton, according to The Athletic, as the Midlands club brace themselves for the likely departure of Ezri Konsa to Arsenal.

Konsa is closing in on a £51m move, plus add-ons, to the Emirates, and Villa have already started moving through their shortlist of replacements. Harwood-Bellis is understood to be one of three names under consideration by Unai Emery, with Villa testing Southampton’s resolve early.

They are not alone. Benfica have also had an opening offer – around £17m – rejected, underlining just how firm Southampton’s stance is on the defender’s value.

Wright fumes over Lewis-Skelly saga

Away from centre-backs and bids, Arsenal have another battle on their hands – this time off the pitch and involving one of their brightest prospects.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, despite making it clear he wants to stay at Arsenal. The noise around his future has infuriated club legend Ian Wright.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Wright tore into how the situation has been allowed to escalate.

“I don’t know where that’s coming from because I know for a fact that’s not coming from his team,” he said. “It’s not coming from his mum. Arsenal fans need to chill out with his mum saying that she’s touting him about. Myles has already said he’s happy to say. Why have Arsenal not just said he’s not for sale?

“He’d be a great signing for Manchester United, of course he would. Look what he’s doing.”

New season, new rules

While clubs haggle over fees and futures, players and managers are also getting to grips with a fresh batch of rule tweaks.

• If play is stopped for an injury, the affected player must now leave the field for at least one minute – previously it was 30 seconds. The idea is to cut down on time-wasting and encourage quicker restarts.
• Second yellow cards can now fall under VAR’s gaze, but only in very specific circumstances. A review is allowed when a player receives a clearly wrong second booking, not for incidents where they might have been fortunate to avoid another yellow.
• Set-pieces are being tightened up as well. A five-second countdown will apply to throw-ins and goal-kicks. Delay beyond that and the restart is flipped: a throw-in goes to the opposition, and a delayed goal-kick can hand the attacking side a corner.
• Substitutions must be brisk too. Players have 10 seconds to leave the pitch when being replaced. If they overrun, the incoming substitute will be forced to wait until the next stoppage, after a minute has elapsed.
• Some of the experimental ideas seen at the World Cup, though, will not be coming to the Premier League.
• Matches will not be split into quarters for hydration breaks as they were in North America. Drinks breaks will only be sanctioned if the temperature at kick-off exceeds 30 degrees Celsius.
• VAR’s remit will not extend to overruling incorrectly awarded corners, despite the obvious benefit of replays. The protocol on mistaken identity for diving also remains narrow: a wrongly booked player can be corrected, but the decision to caution for simulation itself cannot be reviewed or overturned.
• There had been confusion after Switzerland’s Breel Embolo was sent off against Argentina for simulation at the World Cup, earning a second yellow card, but that was judged to be a misinterpretation of IFAB guidance.
• Talk of red cards for players covering their mouths has not materialised into law. The existing three-step discrimination protocol inside stadiums remains in place for player-reported abuse.

Gyokeres shuts down exit talk

At Arsenal, transfer speculation has also swirled around Viktor Gyokeres, who has been linked with Barcelona. The Swede, though, insists his attention is fixed firmly on the season ahead.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I’m looking forward a lot, it’s going to be nice to start a league campaign again and to start against my old club.

“It’s a great way to start at home so I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t played against them so of course it’s going to be nice to see a few of them that are still there and meet the fans as well.”

For now, that sounds like a striker planning his next game, not his next move.

Keane unconvinced by United’s title credentials

Over at Old Trafford, the focus is on the balance of the squad. Even with Carlos Baleba on his way in, Roy Keane is not buying the idea that Manchester United’s midfield is ready to power a title charge.

“If you’re on about winning the league, I think it’s (United's midfield) short. United’s big problems are still going to be defensively,” he said on the Stick to Football podcast.

“That midfield and going forward, there is a big goal threat at United, they were very good last year with it, especially when Carrick took over they were a real goal threat.

“But the issue is at the back, the full-backs and the two centre-halves are still a big issue. But on paper, they [the midfield] jump out as really good players. But is there a league-winning midfield there? Probably not. No, I don’t see it.”

The message is blunt: United might score plenty, but Keane still sees cracks where it matters most.

Curtis Jones closing in on Inter switch

In Italy, Inter Milan are moving to strengthen their own midfield options with a move for Curtis Jones.

Reports there say the Liverpool midfielder is due to land in Italy today for a medical. Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claims Jones has agreed a five-year contract, with Inter tabling an offer in the region of £30m.

Jones is into the final year of his Liverpool deal and there has been no progress on an extension, clearing the way for a switch to San Siro.

Barcelona look beyond Alvarez

Barcelona’s search for attacking reinforcements has taken another twist. Their pursuit of Julian Alvarez has been dropped, with Atletico’s hardline stance forcing sporting director Deco to scan the market for other options.

Speaking about the need to replace Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, Deco laid out the scale of the task.

“We've lost two players in attack, Lewy and Ferran. I think we have solutions to cover Ferran with the signings we have made. Replacing Robert is much more difficult. It's really tough to replace a player like him.

“We have some internal solutions, but we have to look [what's available]. There is a lot of noise. I think there will be more movement, we are still working hard.”

Barcelona know they need goals. Finding them without Lewandowski is another matter entirely.

Arsenal push for Konsa as Villa dig in

Back in the Premier League, Arsenal’s defensive rebuild continues to revolve around one name: Ezri Konsa.

With William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both ruled out for the start of the season with long-term injuries, Mikel Arteta wants a right-sided defender who can cover multiple roles. Konsa, 28, fits the bill, comfortable at centre-back and right-back, and has emerged as Arsenal’s preferred target.

Talks with Aston Villa are described as “advancing” by The Athletic, with dialogue even at ownership level to bridge the gap in valuations.

Arsenal are understood to be willing to go to around £40m. Villa value Konsa closer to £60m. Personal terms are not expected to be a problem.

If Arsenal get their man, Villa will need to move quickly for a replacement. Their first bid for Harwood-Bellis has already been turned away.

The next few days could decide how both back lines look when the season kicks off.