Crystal Palace are intent on hijacking Leeds United’s move for Southampton midfielder Shea Charles, according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.

Charles enjoyed an impressive season in the Championship for the Saints in 2025/26, despite Tonda Eckert’s side’s failure to secure promotion, scoring six goals and providing two assists in 38 appearances across all competitions. This form has prompted widespread interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Leeds, Fulham and now Palace.

Leeds have had a £25million bid rejected for Charles, and this came after they’d had an initial offer turned down.

While the Yorkshire club are expected to maintain their pursuit of the Northern Irishman, Palace have now entered the fray, as they look to add midfield recruits to Pierre Sage’s squad.

Crystal Palace join race to sign Charles

Palace’s window kicked into gear earlier this week, when the Eagles announced that they’d sealed a deal for Celta Vigo centre-back Oscar Mingueza.

While the South London club will look to build on this impressive acquisition, a large part of their summer could be about replacing their prized possession, Adam Wharton.

Palace are braced for offers for Wharton, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all linked with the England international.

It appears the Selhurst Park hierarchy are already making succession plans for Wharton’s inevitable departure, whether that be this summer or in the near future. Crook reports that the South Londoners have joined the race for Charles, who is seemingly a top target for Leeds.

The Whites have had multiple proposals rejected for the Championship star, while Fulham are also understood to be in the mix to land the player.

Southampton are resigned to losing the former Sheffield Wednesday loanee having missed out on promotion, and a bidding war could ensue now that several clubs are attempting to hijack Leeds ‘ pursuit.

Crystal Palace will need further midfield signings to replace Adam Wharton

via Reuters

Daichi Kamada signed a new one-year contract extension at Palace earlier this week, following speculation suggesting that his time in South London was set to come to an end.

If Wharton does go this summer, the Japan international’s presence should help alleviate some of the issues this departure would cause. Charles would also help guide Palace in their post-Wharton era, although at least one or two more fresh faces in the middle of the park are needed.

The 22-year-old “exciting” Saints star is an astute player, but he has no Premier League experience or experience at the top level in general, and thus, it would be a huge risk for Palace to place all their eggs in this basket.

Palace were linked with Hayden Hackney before Everton signed the Middlesbrough man, which suggests that they are aware of their need for greater pedigree in this position.

The Ballon D’or returns later this year for the 70th edition of the award, but there are some changes to be aware of.

The most glamorous and coveted individual award in football will be leaving Paris for the first time in 70 years.

Here is everything you need to know about the award — when it’s happening, who’s in the running, and how to watch the ceremony unfold.

When is the Ballon d’Or 2026?

Ballon d’Or 2026 Date and Time

• Monday, October 26, 2026
• London, England
• 7pm GMT (TBC)

The 70th Edition of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place on 26 October in London, a Monday evening. It marks the first time the gala has been staged outside of France’s capital.

An exact start time hasn’t yet been confirmed by organisers, but recent editions offer a useful guide. The 2025 ceremony kicked off at 7 PM UK time, with a red carpet preceding it by roughly an hour. If 2026 follows the same template, expect coverage to begin in the early evening.

Here is how a 7pm London start would translate elsewhere:

These times remain as an estimate, with times awaiting confirmation via UEFA.

Ballon d’Or 2026 Venue

London will host the ceremony for the first time in the award’s history, breaking a run that has seen the gala held at the Theatre du Chatalet in Paris since 2019, before which it rotated between Parisian settings including the Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower.

The choice of London pays tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, the English winger who became the award’s inaugural winner in 1956. Organisers have confirmed the move is temporary, with the ceremony expected to return to Paris in 2027.

The precise venue within London is yet to be announced at the time of writing. UEFA has framed the move as part of a broader push to expand the global reach of the award.

Ballon d’Or 2026 Nominees

France Football typically unveils the official 30-man shortlist in August, with the full nominee list and individual category contenders confirmed closer to the ceremony itself. Shortlists for the Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or, plus the Kopa and Yashin trophies, are expected as October approaches.

The voting process itself is notably broad. The winner is chosen by a panel of journalists rather than fans or players, with one journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations casting a ranked vote. Crucially, the award judges a full season rather than a calendar year, and the 2026 eligibility window runs from the start of the 2025-26 season through to the conclusion of the summer’s World Cup, meaning this year’s tournament in North America carries heavy weight in the final reckoning.

For a deeper breakdown of who’s currently leading the race, see our Ballon d’Or 2026 Power Rankings.

A handful of names dominate early conversations. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane enjoyed a phenomenal season, scoring 61 goals whilst winning the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga, and a strong World Cup campaign would only sharpen his case. Lamine Yamal finished runner-up in 2025, with the breakout star playing a big part in Barcelona’s success, although a hamstring injury has clouded his World Cup fitness. Reigning winner Ousmane Dembélé remains a serious contender after another top campaign, winning the Champions League once again. Alexia Putellas and Lyon’s Melchie Dumornay are among frontrunners following Aitana Bonmatí’s injury-affected season.

How to Watch the Ballon d’Or 2026

Broadcast details for 2026 haven’t yet been finalised at the time of writing, but again, we can make a fair guess from recent years. The ceremony is usually streamed live and free on the official ballondor.com website, alongside a network of regional broadcast partners across dozens of countries. In the US, the ceremony has previously aired via Paramount+ and CBS Sports.

Hosting duties have in recent years gone to broadcaster Kate Scott alongside 1987 Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit, with past trophies handed over by previous winners. Whether that pairing returns for the London edition — and who takes presenting duties for a ceremony staged in England for the first time — remains to be seen.

Manchester United have turned their attentions elsewhere after turning their back on the signing of Ederson from Atalanta.

United set out their stall at the start of the summer transfer window to add two new central midfielders to Michael Carrick’s squad ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season.

Now, with United back in pre-season training, no new signings have arrived at Old Trafford. Furthermore, United have missed out on a number of players understood to be targets of theirs.

Man Utd have missed out on a number of high-profile targets this summer

The number one transfer priority heading into the summer was Elliot Anderson, but United missed out on the Nottingham Forest and England man, with rivals Manchester City securing a £116million deal for him.

United were also linked with Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United, but saw the Portuguese move to Tottenham in an £85million move instead. Sandro Tonali was another linked with a move but he also made the move to Spurs.

Before the World Cup got underway, United agreed a deal with Atalanta to sign Ederson – a late call-up to the Brazil squad for the tournament – for £38million, but before that could be confirmed, the deal collapsed, seemingly over problems with the player’s medical tests.

That has led to United changing their plans and now, as with Fernandes, it looks like they have earmarked a player who was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season in Joao Gomes.

United opened talks with Gomes this summer, but looked to have missed out on another target because agent Jorge Mendes was in talks over taking his client to Atletico Madrid instead. That move did not come to fruition and United are now back in the market for the Wolverhampton Wanderers man.

Gomes only missed three Premier League matches for Wolves in 2025/26, with the game at home to Manchester United being one of them.

How much a move for Joao Gomes could cost Man Utd

Atletico had appeared set to confirm a €45million (£38million) deal for Gomes, which would be the same price United were willing to pay for Ederson. United have opened talks once more with Wolves for the 25-year-old, who has been described as “insane” by the official Wolves podcast.

They may not have it all their own way when it comes to landing his signature, however, with Liverpool also in talks with Wolves over a deal.