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Football gossip: Martinelli, Zubimendi, Wan-Bissaka, Ouattara, Palhinha, Dedic, Willock

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Arsenal have received an offer from Galatasaray for Gabriel Martinelli, Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi could also leave the Gunners for Chelsea and Newcastle push for Benfica defender Amar Dedic.

Galatasaray have submitted a 45m euros bid (£38.4m) to Arsenal for 25-year-old Brazil forward Gabriel Martinelli. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Arsenal are open to selling Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi for at least £77m, with Chelsea a strong contender to sign the 27-year-old. (Teamtalk), external

Aston Villa have held talks with West Ham to sign right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 28, with the DR Congo defender valued at £25m. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Ipswich are set to complete the signing of 20-year-old Ivory Coast-born right-back and midfielder Abdoul Ouattara from Strasbourg. (Sky Sports), external

Aston Villa have offered Bayern Munich a loan with an option to buy their Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha, 31, but a permanent transfer is the preferred option for the German club. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Newcastle are pressing ahead with talks to sign right-back Amar Dedic from Benfica, with the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, 23, valued at around £25m. (Mail), external

Hull City are confident they can finalise a deal for Augsburg midfielder Mert Komur despite having a £10.2m bid rejected for the 21-year-old German. (Teamtalk), external

Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock is open to joining Besiktas, with a 20m euros (£17m) deal possibly enough to secure the 26-year-old Englishman. (Foot Mercato – in French), external

Brighton and Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba, 22, is a target for Newcastle as they look to replace Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes, 28, and Italian 26-year-old Sandro Tonali. (Mail), external

Hull City are close to completing a deal to re-sign Joe Gelhardt from Leeds permanently after the 24-year-old English striker spent the past two seasons on loan at the Tigers. (Sky Sports), external

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Eddie Jones says he shows videos of geese flying in formation to coach his Japan side

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Eddie Jones has revealed an interesting method he uses to coach his Japan side – watching videos of geese fly in formation.

Japan are facing Australia in a two-Test, home and away series this month, and Jones’ side were beaten 35-32 by the Wallabies in Osaka last weekend.

The former England coach has made five changes for the second Test in Townsville, Australia on Saturday, including picking university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and giving Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at centre.

Jones said Japan’s support play “wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked” in the opening game, so he has turned to nature to get his point across.

“The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier,” the Australian said.

“The ball carrier is king, and then everyone else has got to follow after that.

“The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it’s the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does.”

Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.

With his geese videos in hand, Jones said Japan have “set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week”.

He added: “We’re very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game.”

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Ruby Evans: British gymnast on coping with fame and followers

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For someone who routinely sails through the air, her feet are firmly on the ground.

She says she is not driven by medals. Improving as a gymnast is her biggest motivation.

But asked if she’s targeting gold at the LA 2028 Olympics, she smiles.

“Maybe,” she adds. “If I’m good.”

For individual success at an Olympics, she will need to showcase two vaults with different entries on to the vault.

So that is her current focus in training.

“Maybe if I get a second vault, I’d have quite a good chance,” she added.

“But it’s in gear two. It needs to get to gear five.”

At the Europeans, Evans and her team are focusing on a strong performance in Sunday’s women’s team final as that will set them up for October’s World Championships – and with it a chance of Olympic qualification.

As ever, there’s likely to be a lot of attention on Evans – she’s been showing she is someone worth keeping an eye on.

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Fulham fans: How are you feeling about the 2026-27 season?

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A headshot of Alvaro Arbeloa

Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa joined Fulham this summer Denis Doyle/Getty Images

The new Premier League season is almost upon us and we want to gauge the mood among fans of every club going into the 2026-27 campaign.

It is the time of year when a new signing can mean optimism abounds. Alternatively, a less-than-impressive pre-season and a lack of transfer activity can leave supporters fearing the worst.

Let us know how you feel about your club’s prospects this season via our simple poll below and, as has become tradition, George Caulkin will analyse the results and report back with The Athletic’s hope-o-meter, a not particularly scientific reflection of fans’ hopes and fears for the coming season.

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