Friday’s briefing: Ange Postecoglou pulls no punches in first Forest interview

Ange Postecoglou pulled few punches in his first press conference as the new Nottingham Forest boss.

Chelsea were hit with 74 charges related to alleged breaches of agent regulations by the Football Association.

New Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma can not wait to get going in the Premier League, while former Manchester United number one Andre Onana headed for Turkey.

Ange Postecoglou: I knew Tottenham axe was coming

New Nottingham Forest boss Postecoglou said he knew he was going to be sacked at Tottenham even before they won the Europa League.

The Australian was back in work after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo at the City Ground, less than three months after leaving Spurs.

Postecoglou was sacked by the north London club just 16 days after finally ending their trophy drought when they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final – paying the price for a 17th-placed finish in the Premier League.

“I knew it was coming so it wasn’t a surprise,” Postecoglou said ahead of his first game in charge of Forest, which is at Arsenal on Saturday.

“I knew it was coming a fair way before the final, but we won it and had the parade and had a great three days. I didn’t want to tarnish that, but I knew it was done.”

Chelsea facing FA charges

Chelsea are expecting to receive a fine rather than a points deduction or transfer ban after their owners self-reported information which led to the Football Association charging the club with 74 alleged breaches of its rules.

The Blues are alleged to have breached the FA’s rules governing agents, and the investigation is believed to centre on alleged irregular payments made as part of some transfer deals during Roman Abramovich’s tenure as owner.

Chelsea’s current ownership – which includes businessmen Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali – uncovered incomplete financial information as part of the due diligence they conducted as they sought to buy the club from Russian billionaire Abramovich in 2022.

They passed this information to UEFA, the Premier League and the FA once the takeover was complete. UEFA agreed a resolution with Chelsea to pay 10 million euros (£8.6m) in July 2023.

The PA news agency understands Chelsea are unlikely to dispute the FA charges and expect any sanction imposed by an independent commission would be financial, in light of what the club describe as their “unprecedented transparency” with the authorities.

The breaches are primarily understood be tax-related matters which the club have since settled with HMRC.

Gianluigi Donnarumma relishing Premier League chance

Gianluigi Donnarumma is keen to test himself in the “best league in the world” after swapping European champions Paris St Germain for Manchester City on transfer deadline day.

Donnarumma, 26, spent his first full day at City on Thursday, having travelled for international duty with Italy shortly after wrapping up a deal understood to have been worth 35million euros (£30.4million) and signing a five-year contract.

“(It’s) a new chapter in my life and my career,” said Euro 2020 winner Donnarumma, who lifted the Champions League last season along with his fourth Ligue 1 title at PSG.

“Playing in the Premier League with Manchester City is a great emotion for me and I’m ready for this challenge.

“I’ve always dreamt about playing in the Premier League as it’s the best league in the world.”

Andre Onana completes Trabzonspor loan switch

Goalkeeper Andre Onana has completed his season-long loan move from Manchester United to Turkish club Trabzonspor.

The 29-year-old joined United from Inter Milan in 2023 for an initial 51million euros (£43.8m), plus a potential 4m euros (£3.4m) in add-ons.

However, a string of errors quickly led pressure to mount on Cameroon international Onana – who had ended his first season with an FA Cup winners’ medal, only for more issues to follow under Ruben Amorim last term.

A hamstring injury prevented Onana from being involved with the team during pre-season and he made an error in his first game of the campaign as the Red Devils suffered a humiliating Carabao Cup exit at Grimsby.

Onana’s future at Old Trafford looked more uncertain after United made the deadline-day signing of Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

What’s on today?

Friday night’s Sky Bet Championship action sees Ipswich take on Sheffield United, with both clubs struggling for form.

In the Women’s Super League, Manchester City host Brighton, while Arsenal travel to London rivals West Ham.

There are plenty of Premier League clubs holding pre-match press conferences. Liverpool boss Arne Slot and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe are first up in the morning, while Enzo Maresca, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta are all part of a busy afternoon schedule.