Yes, I would hold this week.

The 2-0 loss at Hull was unexpected, and plenty of managers are sitting on two or three United players. That does not mean you have to move this week.

Ipswich at home is still a good fixture and a good chance for Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo to respond.

If they blank again, the exits are clean: Bruno (£12m) into Cole Palmer (£9.5m) or Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m); Mbeumo (£8m) into Morgan Rogers (£7.5m) or Phil Foden (£7m).

However, I would give them this game against Ipswich first before making any decision.

Andy Reid has enjoyed hundreds of special moments at Nottingham Forest. Now he is relishing helping the next generation to forge a few of their own.

Shortly before his 15th birthday in 1997, a boy who developed his love for the game by kicking a ball around the streets of Dublin, arrived in Nottingham hoping to turn dreams into reality.

Three decades later, aged 44, Reid can reflect on 290 appearances — plus 42 goals — over two spells for the club who persuaded him to reject interest from Arsenal and Manchester United by making him feel “wanted”.

His career included spells with Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and Blackpool, as well as 29 caps for the Republic of Ireland. But it is at the City Ground where Reid — who took on the new role of head of football development this summer — feels at home.

“I like to go to the stadium when it is empty, I like to have a little walk around when there is nobody else there,” he tells The Athletic. “It is special for me when I walk into the directors’ box because, on the day that I signed, me, my dad and my mum — who have both passed away now — were standing in there, looking out.

“You know when you walk up the steps and the pitch just opens up in front of you… My dad (Bill) was a semi-pro player, with St Patrick’s Athletic (in Dublin). He just said to me: ‘If you cannot play on that, son, you cannot play on anything.’

“When I walk up those steps, every time it feels special. I think about the times I had on that pitch and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I love it. It is a place that means a lot to me.”

Andy Reid during his Nottingham Forest playing days (Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

Reid is from an era that saw Michael Dawson, Jermaine Jenas and David Prutton come through the academy. He seems an astute choice to fill the void left when former head of football development and talent management Craig Mulholland left for the Scottish FA last season.

Reid’s task is to help oversee the development of the next generation of boys and girls, as well as their coaches — with the ultimate goal of unearthing the next Ryan Yates or Zach Abbott.

His enthusiasm for the job is evident in the way he talks. Reid frequently makes the point that overseeing all the teams who operate at the Nigel Doughty Academy (named in memory of the club’s former owner) is a team effort. He works alongside head of academy Chris McGuane and Amber Wildgust, the head of women and girls football. And he is proud to have the opportunity to help others follow in his footsteps.

“It comes with a sense of responsibility,” he says. “We have that proud record (stretching back to 1941) of having an academy graduate in every matchday squad. That comes with pressure.

“I was fortunate to have a reasonable career, with some really special moments. I want these players to know what those moments feel like. What does it feel like to score a goal at the City Ground? What does it feel like to even walk out onto the pitch?

“That was the motivation for me. The money, the cars, all the other things that go with it — for me it was about training every day, stepping onto the pitch, to see what you can achieve.

“That is what we try to impress on the lads — this is a real opportunity for you to grab hold of something. If you can do that, it can give you a fantastic life.”

Forest have invested heavily at the training ground, where there has been a further round of improvement, including a new, two-storey academy building. It is a close-knit environment, with academy players and the first team working yards apart.

“It is a really good visual,” says Reid. “Our coaches say: ‘Do you want to get across there?’ It is not a mile down the road; it feels achievable. And we have really good examples of players who have come through. A young player can say: ‘I want to be the next Brennan Johnson.’

“Somebody we use as an example for determination, work ethic and drive is Ryan (Yates). We want to have really creative players, we want to have players who have hunger and desire. If you could bottle the mentality that Ryan brings…”

Ryan Yates in action for Nottingham Forest (David Rogers/Getty Images)

Every player in the Forest academy has to pick a ‘mirror’ player as part of their individual development plan — somebody they believe they share a similar skillset with. It can be anyone.

“We get some interesting choices — some of them are very ambitious. But that is what they should be,” says Reid. “Things have moved along massively when it comes to the level of player we are signing. We are spending £40million ($54m) on signings. So the level of player we need to develop has to go up.

“We have to be innovative. We want to develop players we can send across to the head coach and say ‘there you go’. We have a proud tradition of that and we will strive to continue it. These players have to be special.

“We have shown that there is a pathway with Zach (Abbott). He played a lot of games in the Europa League. His attitude and quality have driven him forward.”

Reid credits former manager Paul Hart as a major influence. Hart, 73, coached him in the academy and for the first team from 2001-2004.

“We joke about some of the battles we had when I was a kid,” he says. “He had to put up with my antics. But he saw something in me that I was always very grateful for. He had a brilliant way of getting the best out of players.

“I’ve definitely evolved. You will have seen me play and perhaps even seen me train, and I was a moany so-and-so. When I bump into my old coaches, they always chuckle. (They say:) ‘It is not as easy as you thought, is it?’ But all my experiences have brought me to where I am.”

Reid has regular conversations with new head coach Oliver Glasner and remains in daily contact with James Holland, the transition coach.

“I asked questions about how he (Glasner) wants to play, how he wants to go about things and what his expectations are of somebody in my position, (such as:) ‘What type of players do you want us to put forward to you?’,” Reid says.

“One of the key attributes that players need, if they are going to be successful, is the ability to learn and take on information. It is not the player with the most ability that always gets to where he wants. If you are going to step onto that pitch against Manchester United, you need to be clued in.

“Not everyone is going to get into the first team. So we need to give them an education where, if we sell them or they move on, they are prepared.”

At the core of it all, however, is the search for those special moments.

“You have somebody who has been going to watch football since they were a kid, perhaps with their grandad and their dad. Then their grandad might pass on, maybe their dad too, but they still have those memories of going to the game together. These are the moments that football gives you,” says Reid.

“Our football club is special, because it is ours — mine, the fans’, the coaches’, the players’. Our club. You get an emotional attachment. Other clubs are the same. But ours is just a little bit more special, isn’t it?”

It is early days, but Brighton & Hove Albion look eager to prove they can cope without Danny Welbeck’s goals after last season’s top goalscorer moved to next opponents Chelsea this month.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side followed up their 4-0 hammering of Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium in their opening 2026-27 Premier League fixture at the weekend by thumping Tromso there by the same scoreline last night (Thursday). The result meant they cruised into today’s league-phase draw for the UEFA Conference League in Monaco, following last week’s goalless first leg in Norway.

The exit of 35-year-old Welbeck — part of a summer cull of senior pros — felt, at the time, like a severe blow to the club’s domestic and European ambitions. After all, he scored 13 league goals in 2025-26, the best return of his career, to spearhead a second successive eighth-placed finish under Hurzeler.

While his former club were sending Tromso back to the Arctic Circle with the icy chill of a comprehensive defeat, Welbeck was quick off the mark on his Chelsea debut, scoring in a 2-0 win against Luton Town of League One in the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge. The decision not to grant his desire to double the length of his contract from one year to two may yet backfire but, for now, goals are flying in from all areas for Brighton.

Charalampos Kostoulas, one of the No 9 options for Hurzeler, made the breakthrough midway through the first half with a crisply-struck right-footed drive. Maxim De Cuyper, deployed again on the left flank, doubled the lead after 33 minutes and right-back Mats Wieffer added the third five minutes later; snail-like stuff by comparison to the four-goal rush to stun Villa in 31 minutes on Sunday.

Maxim De Cuyper, better known as a full-back, has scored in back-to-back games for Brighton (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Central defender Olivier Boscagli — playing at left-back again with Ferdi Kadioglu on the bench after a slight injury — joined the fun with four minutes of the 90 left. The Frenchman scored his first goal for the club since a free transfer move from PSV of the Netherlands last summer via a deflected shot.

Kostoulas’ impact has been a slow burn since the 19-year-old Greek prospect’s £30million move from Athens’ Olympiacos last summer. He seized his chance on his first start since February (and fifth overall for Brighton) with his third goal for the club. Most of his game time so far has been accumulated in 24 appearances off the bench.

What about Hurzeler’s other options to spearhead the attack?

Georginio Rutter was ruled out of last night’s match with an unspecified injury while Canada international Promise David was signed too late on loan from Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise — in a deal with a £22million obligation to buy at the end of the season — to be eligible for the tie.

“I hope he is an option for Sunday,” Hurzeler told The Athletic of the 25-year-old after the match. “He is training with us. He’s had a good training week. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play.”

Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson are both still recovering from long-term injuries.

Kostoulas’ countryman Tzimas has not played since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee against Aston Villa last December; Ferguson is working his way back from ankle surgery which cut short the Republic of Ireland international’s loan to Roma in February.

“Stefanos is still a few weeks away,” said Hurzeler. “We have to be very patient with him. He won’t return in the next one or two months. We see progress with him, we see his development, but these injuries are always difficult to handle and manage. First of all, it’s very important that we don’t take any risks, because he has a long and successful career ahead of him.

“It’s quite similar with Evan. We see the progress, the development, but we have to be patient as well. He can be back faster than Stef, but let’s see how soon. I don’t want to give a clear schedule of when he can be ready to play.”

Hurzeler’s attacking choices have been further complicated by a thigh injury sustained in training on Wednesday by Jack Hinshelwood. His place in the No 10 role last night was taken by Matt O’Riley, who made his first start for the club in just over a year.

Hinshelwood, who scored twice against Villa, has been a revelation since Hurzeler pushed him further forward from midfield into the position of support striker in his 4-2-3-1 formation.

Kaoru Mitoma is another big player missing as the Japan left-winger recovers from hamstring surgery which kept him out of the recent World Cup. De Cuyper, better known as a left-back, is masking Mitoma’s absence. The Belgium international has made a strong start to the campaign after representing his country at the finals in North America.

He scored against Villa, and also provided the cross which led to the first of Hinshelwood’s goals. And on Thursday, De Cuyper’s pressing to turn over possession created the opportunity that Kostoulas converted. He was sharp again with the pressing intensity Hurzeler demands from his players, robbing centre-back Leon Hien inside the Tromso penalty area to slot home his second goal in as many games.

“He understands the game so well,” Hurzeler said of the 25-year-old. “And if you understand and you are quick in your head, then you might anticipate some actions and can anticipate some movement from the opponent. On top of that, he can accelerate two or three metres in front of the opponent, which is very useful, and he can finish well with his right or left foot. He showed at the World Cup that he is able to attack the box well in different positions.

“Hopefully, regarding the whole team, we can maintain these standards, this intensity, because Sunday is a big challenge for us. We have to play with a lot of courage and intensity to manage the game well.”

The test against Chelsea on Sunday will be on a different level to what Hurzeler’s side have faced so far, but eight goals scored in two home games across all departments of the team so far is an encouraging response to losing Welbeck.