It is all change at Liverpool heading into the 2026/27 season.

Parting with Arne Slot at the end of May following a hugely disappointing league campaign after their title triumph 12 months earlier, Andoni Iraola is now the man in charge following such a successful spell at Bournemouth.

On the pitch, the Reds have lost Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian brought down the curtain on his time at Anfield after nine incredible years on Merseyside.

Salah may not have been at the peak of his powers last term but what he contributed in the final third game after game will be dearly missed following an incredible 380 goal contributions in 442 games for the club.

Liverpool now need to find their Salah successor and the hope will be that the club can do just that before the summer transfer window draws to a close on September 1.

Salah successor?

Action Images/REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Liverpool are one of five clubs eyeing up a move for Bournemouth ace Rayan, according to The Sun.

The Brazilian only joined the Cherries from Vasco da Gama in his homeland back in January but it was sufficient time to make a huge impression in the Premier League.

Joining for an initial £24.7m with £5.6m in potential add-ons, the 19-year-old chipped in with five goals and two assists in 15 games as Bournemouth secured a place in Europe for the first time in their history.

The right-winger was such a hit for Bournemouth that five of Europe’s biggest clubs are now plotting a move for the Brazil international.

As well as interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all keen on Rayan, described as a ‘world-class talent’ by Cherries teammate Marcus Tavernier.

Liverpool are said to be adopting an active stance in the race for Rayan, with a figure of £60m being discussed.

The Sun report that a bid in the region of £85m would represent exceptional value to Bournemouth’s owners.

Rayan reunited

A potential move to Liverpool would see Rayan reunited with former Bournemouth boss Iraola.

The youngster flourished under the 44-year-old and the pair reuniting could work wonders for the player as Liverpool bid to find Salah’s long-term successor on the right flank.

Rayan might be known for his attacking play but it is his desire to work on his defensive play that really went down well with Iraola.

“And the other day, watching Rayan one against one against [Jeremy] Doku, accepting, celebrating defensive plays, I was almost crying, because it’s what they need,” he told the Daily Echo in May.

“It’s because I know Rayan is going to score goals all his life, and Junior Kroupi, his finishing is ridiculous. And sometimes training is he scores goals and players basically stop and clap.

“It’s like he has talent, it’s a natural thing, but they have to make a bigger step in to being more complete, especially without the ball and this.

“And I think they’ve been much better than I expected, honestly. With Junior, with Rayan, sometimes I was thinking it’s going to be difficult to get it right, and but they’ve done incredible steps to become more complete and to earn also these minutes.”

Former England striker Gary Lineker’s tweet about Gianni Infantino from 2016 has resurfaced this week, just as FIFA’s top dog unveils plans to make billions by selling stakes in the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, the controversial proposal has sparked a wave of backlash from football fans and governing bodies.

Recently appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is among those to publicly criticise Infantino, while UEFA has issued an explosive statement condemning the way Sepp Blatter’s successor has monopolised the working-class game. But they are just two of the thousands who have grown weary of FIFA’s direction, particularly over the course of this summer.

Claims of corruption have come thick and fast throughout the World Cup, with alleged favouritism towards Argentina and the decision to rescind Folarin Balogun’s red card at the request of Donald Trump emerging as the two main flashpoints. But it seems Lineker was well ahead of the curve in seeing this coming.

Gary Lineker’s Tweet About Gianni Infantino in 2016 Resurfaces

Even 10 years ago, Lineker had doubts about Infantino, 56, who is already a Swiss millionaire before profitting from his leadership over football. The former Tottenham and Barcelona striker had his reservations about whether he would be any better than Sepp Blatter in the 2016 FIFA election, writing on X (see the full post below):

Football fans have been left stunned by how well Lineker’s predictions have come true. Blatter was ousted after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against him over a $2 million payment to UEFA President, Michel Platini, as well as allegations of selling World Cup TV rights to former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner for below their true value.

The same claims of corruption are now being made against Infantino, whose money-hungry ways have led European lawmakers to prompt an investigation into him, his management of football, and his relationship with the White House.

Gianni Infantino’s Astonishingly Still Set For Re-Election

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Infantino has the formal endorsement of more than 200 FIFA members for re-election as the body’s president despite the climate of unrest that has swirled since the World Cup’s conclusion.

The Guardian reported just last week that only a handful of Fifa’s 211 member associations are still to send letters of support for Infantino, who is on course to be voted into a fourth term by a landslide at its congress in March. A small number of European associations are among the outliers, with Germany the highest-profile FA yet to provide official backing.

Candidates must be put forward by 18 November, before which time letters can also be withdrawn or transferred to a different contender. But Infantino is currently the only runner and some FAs feel they have, nonetheless, come under persistent pressure from within FIFA to confirm their allegiance. In theory, that should not be permitted under FIFA’s ethics code, but makes it incredibly difficult for the current leader to be dislodged.

WWE has revealed Roman Reigns‘ post-SummerSlam schedule, which has seemingly hinted at the possible outcome of this weekend’s match against Seth Rollins.

Reigns puts his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against his old foe, with the two once again meeting, only this time, with bigger stakes than ever before.

Reigns initially won the title back at WrestleMania, defeating CM Punk, before successfully defending his title against his cousin Jacob Fatu.

With an eagerly anticipated match-up at SummerSlam on the horizon, and Reigns’ schedule after the Premium Live Event revealed, it looks like the ending of this weekend’s clash may have already been spoiled.

Roman Reigns Takes on Seth Rollins at SummerSlam

Once again, the two former Shield members meet in the ring. A historic rivalry, and one which may be settled this weekend, as Rollins looks to take back his title.

The Visionary has been looking to regain gold ever since he was forced to relinquish it due to injury. Since then, Reigns has only kicked on, as he became champion in a legendary clash with CM Punk. It was so good that The Tribal Chief received his first-ever five-star match from Dave Meltzer.

What makes this weekend’s tussle all the more interesting is that the pair haven’t met one-on-one since Royal Rumble 2022. That night, Reigns retained the Universal Title. However, what bodes well for Rollins is, in one-on-one matches, he holds a slight edge, with five wins and four losses in their 10 matches.

Roman Reigns Post SummerSlam Schedule Revealed

Reigns’ next few months of appearances have already been revealed by WWE‘s social media page. He has already been confirmed to be at the Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam, which may be a sign that he will successfully retain his title and defeat Rollins. One quote tweet even said: “He shows up on Raw after SummerSlam lmaooo it’s so over for us.”

Outside the immediate aftermath, he is also set to appear two more times in August, on the 17th and the 28th, the latter being a double taping of Raw and SmackDown in Cleveland, Ohio.

However, the activity soon fades away, as he is only set to feature once in September. That event being in Mexico City on the 14th for Raw. Furthermore, he is only scheduled twice in October, though, one appearance will be at Money in the Bank. In the lead-up to the big event, he will be on Raw that same week, as it takes place in St Louis, Missouri.

With the news, some fans are fairly disappointed as it looks like Reigns is set to once again keep his championship. In addition to this, he also doesn’t seem to be too active after August, which also isn’t ideal.

He appears in the movie Street Fighter, which comes out in October. All the press for the movie may be a factor leading to this inactivity.