Enzo Fernandez has been left out of Chelsea’s squad for their last two games and Blues boss Xabi Alonso has discussed the midfielder’s future ahead Tuesday’s transfer deadline

Xabi Alonso has said that keeping Enzo Fernandez out of the Chelsea team is ‘for the best’, while suggesting Robert Sanchez could be shown the exit door. The Argentine midfielder has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge over recent days.

Manchester City have emerged as suitors and Enzo Maresca’s side are expected to lodge a big-money bid soon despite having already signed Elliot Anderson and Ayoubb Bouaddi to bolster their midfield.

In the meantime, Fernandez has been exiled from first-team action. He was left out of the side that took on Luton Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup in midweek, while he was also sidelined for the clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

Asked why he was left out once again, Chelsea boss Alonso said: “We assess what’s best for the team. We need the team to be focused.”

Meanwhile, another absentee was goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, the Spaniard having lost his starting berth to summer arrival Emi Martinez. And asked about the stopper, the Chelsea boss was somewhat cryptic. He said: “We will see. Sometimes you have to take tough decisions.”

Alonso’s comments on Fernandez come after he made a similar claim in the week. Asked about Fernandez’s situation, the Spanish coach said: “I have said we need the players that are in the best situation to play.

“We need to take everything into consideration — players that are in a good moment, players that are not feeling that energy to play. For me, it is very important that they feel this desire to play and to have good preparation.”

Asked if Fernandez had lost the desire to play, Alonso replied: “We talked, and we decided for [Luton] it was better not to be part of the squad. He is a top player.”

Fernandez, 25, signed for Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 and he has gone on to make 170 appearances for the club and scored 31 goals. He still has six years left to run on his deal in West London.

It has previously been suggested that Chelsea will only sell for around £120m. Should Fernandez move to the Etihad, he would become the latest high-profile midfield addition of the summer after Anderson and Bouaddi.

City’s spending is also not expected to stop there either. They are also in pole position to seal a deal for Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, with the two clubs now in talks to find an agreement.

Asked this week if more additions could be on the way, City boss Maresca said: “We have experienced players, for sure we have leaders. Now we need to wait 4-5 days for when the transfer window closes also to see if we can add one or two more captains to Ruben [Dias] and Erling [Haaland], at the moment they are the two captains. It’s a young squad and also we have some experienced players.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Essential 26/27 Sky Sports Bundle

Advertisement

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£51

£35

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky’s Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season, with more than 1,500 games from the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts.

This introductory offer saves £384 compared to the standard price, with every package also providing 100 regular channels alongside free Netflix and discovery+ subscriptions.

Advertisement

By KATHERINE LAWTON, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 14:24 BST, 30 August 2026 | Updated: 14:28 BST, 30 August 2026

The Met Office has issued yet another yellow weather warning for Wales as the end of the summer holidays comes to a very wet and stormy end.

The thunderstorm warning, covering the whole of the country on Sunday, is the latest in a series of weather warnings issued by forecasters which have disrupted the August bank holiday weekend for many.

Some local events organised for the last bank holiday of what has been a very dry and warm summer were cancelled on Saturday due to the severe weather with flash flooding seen in parts of Bridgend where water poured through the roof of a McDonald’s restaurant.

The latest warning covers the whole of the country from midday on Sunday until 11.59pm with the Met Office warning the public to expect heavy and thundery showers, frequent lightning, and gusty winds. Full details here.

Swansea look set to seal another signing before Tuesday’s deadline

Swansea City are close to sealing a move for Huddersfield Town midfielder Tom Iorpenda.

The highly-rated 21-year-old enjoyed a largely successful spell on loan at League Two side Notts County last season, where he made 53 appearances for the Magpies as they eased their way to promotion.

He now looks set to make the step up to the Championship, with Swansea close to sealing a move ahead of Tuesday night’s deadline.

It’s been suggested the Swans will pay an initial £750,000, with around £250,000 in add-ons.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Follow Wales Online’s Swansea City FB page for more news and analysis

Should a move be completed, he would become the ninth new arrival of what’s been a busy summer, and will also add further depth to City’s midfield options.

The departure of Ethan Galbraith to Stoke City, and the return of Malick Yalcouye to parent club Brighton and Hove Albion, meant a central option in the middle was a key priority for Vitor Matos this summer.

Having previously missed out on Andre Almeida and Ousseynou Fall Seck, the club recently moved to tie down Stephen Eustaquio in an eye-catching move from FC Porto.

They have now moved to further strengthen their hand, in a move that will further boost the feel-good factor around the club, which has of course been buoyed further by a strong start to the season.

Swansea’s 3-0 demolition of Derby County on Saturday was their second away win of the campaign, and leaves them with seven points from their opening three games.

There could yet be more arrivals through the door. Another centre-back could potentially be in the mix, despite the recent arrival of Sunderland’s Jenson Seelt on loan.

Departures may well be on the cards too.

Questions are still hanging over the futures of Florian Bianchini and Zeidane Inoussa, neither of whom were involved at the weekend.

Despite weeks of speculation, however, there’s a growing feeling that star striker Zan Vipotnik is now likely to stay.

*Follow all of our social channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Swans news. Sign up to our daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here. Our Swansea City correspondent Tom Coleman is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here, on Instagram, on TikTok and on Facebook.

Emergency services were called to Swan Lane Mills on Saturday, August 29, after the man was seen on scaffolding surrounding the building.

Video from the scene showed fire crews outside the mill with an aerial ladder platform deployed.

The incident attracted a crowd of onlookers, with one witness telling The Bolton News at the time that the man appeared to be “dancing away” on the scaffolding.

Greater Manchester Police has now confirmed that the man was brought down safely.

A GMP spokesperson said: “This looks to be mental health related.

“The man was on scaffolding but safely brought down.”

Fire crews had attended the scene while efforts were made to bring the man down from the structure.

The former cotton mill was once recognised as the largest cotton spinning mill in the world and remains one of the borough’s prominent surviving industrial buildings.

The site has been surrounded by scaffolding while work has been taking place at the historic complex.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday called on leaders of Muslim countries to stand together against Israel and the United States, imploring them to “know your real enemy.”

The U.S. news network NBC said a team of its journalists was attacked by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, while a British activist was set to appear in an Israeli court after Israeli settlers seized him and turned him over to police. Also Sunday, an Israeli airstrike on central Gaza killed at least two Palestinians, including a three-year-old boy, hospital authorities said.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Iran’s Supreme Leader urges regional unity against US and Israel

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a plea for Muslim cooperation and unity in a letter to religious leaders from Islamic countries attending a conference in Tehran, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported, urging cooperation and unity between them.

He called the U.S. and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations.

“My enduring and repeating advice to rulers of Islamic nations,” he wrote, “is to know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it.”

Khamenei still has not been seen publicly since his father and other senior leaders were killed in the war’s opening strikes on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked.

He has routinely opposed U.S. military presence in neighboring nations. The war has exposed deep divisions in the Muslim world after Iran struck targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries during the fighting and restricted movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

NBC says crew attacked by settlers in West Bank

Settlers attacked an NBC crew in the central West Bank Saturday, as they were interviewing a Palestinian woman who said she’d been driven out of her house by settlers, the network said.

NBC’s American correspondent Matt Bradley, two other crew members and the woman they were interviewing were all treated for injuries sustained during the attack, NBC said. There were no further details on their injuries.

The assault was caught on video and shared by NBC, with footage showing masked settlers approaching the crew with sticks and beating the crew’s vehicles.

Israel’s military said it was “aware of reports of Palestinian injuries, including a Palestinian woman who sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was evacuated by the Red Crescent for medical treatment.” It did not comment on the attack on the NBC crew.

It was the latest in a growing wave of violence by West Bank settlers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare condemnation of the violence on Saturday. The Israeli leader has come under heavy U.S. criticism for the settler attacks.

Robert Guanco died and six other people were injured in the tragic incident.

The man who was killed after a wooden sign fell onto people at the Big Church Festival has been named.

Robert Guanco, 41, died and six people were injured after the huge sign reading ‘Everything’s Unmissable’ toppled at the Christian gathering in West Sussex on Friday afternoon.

Four of the injured were taken to hospital but no more information is available on their condition at this stage, reports the Mirror.

The pastor was described as a “faithful servant of God” by the Jesus the Living Water Church he served in Eastbourne.

One bystander explained how he and his wife were walking just a few paces behind when the sign came crashing down. They joined around 50 other people to lift it off those trapped underneath.

The organisers cancelled the festival, which was scheduled to run until Sunday, following the tragedy.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, said she was “sad and shocked” and offered prayers for Mr Guanco’s family, those injured and others affected.

Andy Ollerton was walking “just a few paces” behind “when a huge overhead sign came crashing down on the people in front of us”.

The theologian and author explained on Instagram: “We rushed with others to lift the sign off them and then administered first aid with others as best we could until the paramedics arrived but tragically, one of those people, we’ve now heard, lost his life.

“So, we’re absolutely reeling, devastated, as you can imagine, and in a bit of shock as well. I am sure many others who witnessed it were too.”

Mr Ollerton said many people would have questions about the incident, adding: “Why did this happen? Why did this happen at human level?

He said the crowds remained calm and respectful while BCF took “decisive action in difficult circumstances”. Festivalgoers were first alerted to the incident when God TV announced that its livestream had been paused due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

South East Coast Ambulance Service were called out just after 3.30pm and treated six people at the scene.

A spokesman said: “Four of those patients were taken to a local hospital for further treatment, including two patients with more serious injuries and two patients with less serious injuries. Our thoughts are with the family of the man who sadly lost his life, and with everyone affected by this tragic incident.”

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.

Redheads Mac N Cheese, which has become a firm favourite with food lovers in Newcastle after establishing itself at the city’s iconic Grainger Market, has brought its famous cheesy creations to Bramham Park for the festival.

The Newcastle business has become a familiar face at festivals across the country, but Leeds Festival remains one of the biggest dates in its summer calendar.

Redheads Mac N Cheese (Image: Charlie Watson)

And festivalgoers have been turning out in their thousands to get their hands on the North East favourite, with queues stretching for hours at the Redheads stand.

The team said the demand this year has been particularly impressive, with one queue lasting nine hours.

“It’s been absolutely mad – we’ve had a queue lasting nine hours!” the Redheads team said.

“This is our sixth year in the main arena and it’s always one of the highlights of our summer. We love coming back and seeing so many familiar faces, especially our regular customers from the North East.

Redheads Mac N Cheese (Image: Charlie Watson)

“Some of our Geordie customers even pack their loyalty cards and bring them all the way to Leeds with them, which always makes us smile.

“But it’s not just our hometown crowd anymore. Every year we see more and more people from Yorkshire becoming Redheads regulars, and it’s brilliant to see our Mac n Cheese getting so much love over here.”

For the team, Leeds Festival isn’t just about serving food – it’s also an opportunity to soak up the atmosphere while some of the biggest names in music perform just metres away.

“We absolutely love coming back every year,” they added. “There’s such a great vibe, and we get to watch some incredible acts while we’re serving.

“Not many people can say they’ve been serving Mac n Cheese while Fontaines D.C is performing just a stone’s throw away!”

Redheads has become a staple of Newcastle’s food scene, with its Grainger Market roots helping it build a loyal following across the North East.

For hungry festivalgoers, it seems a trip to Leeds Festival isn’t complete without a taste of the North East’s cheesy favourite.

The 48-year-old male pedestrian was hit by the car on Linlithgow’s Main Street.

A man has died after a hit and run in the early hours of this morning in Linlithgow.

The 48-year-old male pedestrian was struck by a grey Renault Clio on the town’s Main Street at around 12.20am on Sunday morning, August 30.

Emergency crews scrambled to the scene but sadly the man could not be saved and was pronounced dead by medics. His next of kin have been made aware.

Police Scotland has launched a desperate appeal to trace the occupants of the Clio.

Inspector Thomas Mallinson said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who has died.

“We are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this crash and trace the occupants of the car.

“We are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed what happened to contact police.

“In addition, anyone with dash-cam footage from around the time of the incident is asked to get in touch as this may be able to assist our investigation.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting reference 0078 of 30 August, 2026.”

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.