Afcon 2027 qualifying draw: Ghana to face Ivory Coast, Nigeria get Tanzania
Ghana will face fellow West African heavyweights Ivory Coast in qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Roma set the pace in Italy’s latest market moves, tying down Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante on new contracts while stepping up their pursuit of Crysencio Summerville with a formal €46 million bid to West Ham. The push came after Gian Piero Gasperini urged the club to move faster in the market following Zeki Celik’s transfer to Juventus.
Juventus were busy too, though with less certainty. Their hopes of landing Randal Kolo Muani remain alive, and Richarlison has emerged as another attacking option as he enters the final year of his Tottenham contract. Talks with Parma over Mateo Pellegrino are continuing, but Juventus also had an early preseason setback when new signing Jeff Ekhator was injured on his debut.
Fiorentina completed one of the window’s bigger confirmed deals, agreeing a move for Christ Inao Oulai from Trabzonspor worth €25 million plus €4 million in add-ons. Trabzonspor will retain 10 percent of any future sale. Oulai arrived in Italy to complete the switch, and Fiorentina also unveiled Arthur Atta after his move from Udinese.
Away from Serie A’s biggest clubs, Chelsea moved closer to selling Trevoh Chalobah to Como in a £27 million deal expected to be completed soon. Napoli, forced to adjust after Alessandro Buongiorno’s injury, turned toward Tiago Gabriel and into competition with Milan for one of the league’s defensive targets. Serie A also confirmed rule changes for the 2026-27 season, with new VAR powers, measures aimed at cutting time-wasting, and amendments involving DOGSO cards.
| Pos | Team | Played | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 44 | 85 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 38 | 42 | 78 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 65 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 10 | 60 |
| 6 | Bournemouth | 38 | 4 | 57 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | -6 | 54 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 6 | 53 |
| 9 | Brentford | 38 | 3 | 53 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 38 | 6 | 52 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | -4 | 52 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 49 |
| 14 | Leeds | 38 | -7 | 47 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | -10 | 45 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | -3 | 44 |
| 17 | Tottenham | 38 | -9 | 41 |
| 18 | West Ham | 38 | -19 | 39 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Wolves | 38 | -41 | 20 |
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| E. Haaland (Manchester City) | 27 |
| Thiago (Brentford) | 22 |
| O. Watkins (Aston Villa) | 16 |
| João Pedro (Chelsea) | 15 |
| M. Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) | 15 |
| D. Calvert-Lewin (Leeds) | 14 |
| V. Gyökeres (Arsenal) | 14 |
| D. Welbeck (Brighton) | 13 |
| E. Kroupi (Bournemouth) | 13 |
| J. Mateta (Crystal Palace) | 12 |
| B. Mbeumo (Manchester United) | 11 |
| B. Šeško (Manchester United) | 11 |
| H. Ekitike (Liverpool) | 11 |
| Richarlison (Tottenham) | 11 |
| Z. Flemming (Burnley) | 11 |







