Premier League

Liverpool "fully expect" star forward Mohamed Salah to remain at the club through the 2024 summer transfer window, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Ornstein added the 31-year-old "has given no indication of wanting to exit."

Salah's contract runs through the 2024-25 season, so absent an extension this would be the last opportunity for Liverpool to recoup a sizable fee for one of their greatest ever goalscorers.

Salah was a highly coveted target for Al Ittihad amid the spending frenzy by Saudi Pro League clubs last summer. The club was reportedly prepared to pay as much as £150 million, only for Liverpool to hold firm.

The circumstances will be a little different this time around to the point where, despite Ornstein's report, a transfer is much more plausible.

Salah's contract is one factor. Liverpool have been content to let a lot of players leave on free transfers, but in those cases they weren't forgoing the likely fee they'd collect by selling the decorated Egyptian now. Even if he were to go for £50 million — to pick a very conservative figure — that's a lot of money that can go toward his replacement.

The Reds are also bringing in a new manager, Arne Slot, which presents the ideal time to make a change as big as selling on a foundational star such as Salah. While Slot will be expected to hit the ground running, there won't be same kind of all-or-nothing urgency like there was ahead of what proved to be Jürgen Klopp's farewell campaign.

Then there are the recent developments: Salah's dip in form and his touchline exchange with Klopp in the club's 2-2 draw with West Ham.

Salah's goal return (17) is on pace to be his lowest in the Premier League and he has two goals and zero assists in his last eight PL appearances. He might've been upset to start from the bench against West Ham, but the move was warranted based on his performances of late.

And downplaying his interaction with Klopp became impossible when in the mixed zone he cryptically said after the match, "There is going to be fire today if I speak."

For Liverpool, there's a level of risk in running it back with Salah because his sluggish second half could point toward a more broad decline — look at how quickly Sadio Mané fell off after signing with Bayern Munich in 2022. And managing a fading star can present a challenge, especially for a first-year coach.

Chief executive of football Michael Edwards and incoming sporting director Richard Hughes appear content to maintain the status quo. We'll see if that position stays the same once the transfer window is open.

Liverpool FC has reached a verbal agreement to make Feyenoord manager Arne Slot the team's next head coach, per Fabrizio Romano and Paul Joyce.

Slot is set to replace Jürgen Klopp, who has led Liverpool since 2015, at the end of the season.

Slot joined Feyenoord in 2021 and has since led the Dutch club to a Eredivisie title and Dutch Cup victory.

Slot confirmed to ESPN Thursday that he wanted the Liverpool job, per ESPN's Mark Ogden.

"It seems clear to me that I would like to go to Liverpool," Slot said, per Ogden. "Now I'm waiting to see whether the clubs reach an agreement. I'm very confident in that."

Feyenoord originally turned down an initial compensation fee for Slot worth $9.6 million, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein and Adam Crafton.

The terms of the final agreement were not immediately clear, but are expected to be around $12.4 million, per Liverpool.com's Liam Prenderville.

Slot was under contract with Feyenoord through 2026, but his deal does not include a release clause that would cost Liverpool additional money, Prenderville noted.

Liverpool previously pursued Xavi Alonso, who turned down an offer from Liverpool in order to stay with the Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, per The Athletic's Ornstein and James Pearce.

Klöpp announced his impending departure from Liverpool in January by stating that he was "running out of energy," per ESPN's Tom Hamilton.

The Liverpool manager, who led the club to the Premier League title in 2020, said he would take at least a year off of coaching and would "never manage a different club in England than Liverpool," per Hamilton.

Klöpp's departure will likely spark a wave of turnover for both the Liverpool and Feyenoord coaching staffs.

Slot plans to bring Feyenoord assistant Sipke Hulshof to Liverpool, and is considering bringing head of performance Ruben Peeters and analyst Etienne Reijnen with him as well, according to the Mirror's Kieran King.

Nottingham Forest issued an official statement calling attention to "three extremely poor decision" in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Everton.

The club referenced three penalty shouts that were waved away during the match and implied VAR official Stuart Attwell was motivated to rule against Forest because he's "a Luton fan."

Keith Hackett, who once led Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), explained in 2016 the Premier League put measures in place to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

"At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited, he said. "They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they've played the game and with the addresses where they are residing."

Attwell is purportedly a Luton Town supporter, so he didn't have a direct conflict in Sunday's fixture between Everton and Nottingham Forest. Luton did at least have some interest in the result of the match with the three clubs in question all in the middle of a relegation fight.

With Nottingham Forest losing, 18th-place Luton Town is still just one point from safety.

It's one thing to broadly criticize the officiating in Everton's win. Most notably, Ashley Young's challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 55th minute looked to be worthy of a penalty, and Forest were denied an opportunity to level the score.

Opening questioning Attwell's credibility was a step too far from some, though.

This reflects a wider concern expressed by Nottingham Forest throughout the season.

The Athletic's Paul Taylor wrote in January how "there is far more than a sense of injustice motivating the club's hierarchy as they find themselves again asking questions of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL)." That was after Brentford's Ivan Toney scored a controversial goal that saw him move the ball from its spot on a free kick.

Forest's indignation rose to the fore again in March when the referee mistakenly gave possession to Liverpool following a stoppage in play late in the second half. Darwin Núñez subsequently scored a winner for the Reds minutes later.

It's unclear what "options" Nottingham Forest has at its disposal to address Sunday's situation. PGMOL could acknowledge an error was made regarding any of the penalty decisions if such a conclusion is warranted, but the result itself won't be overturned based on past precedent.

Arsenal remains within striking distance of Manchester City in the Premier League title race, but a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich potentially exposed how much work is still ahead for manager Mikel Arteta to make the club a serious threat in the Champions League again.

The two sides played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie. On Wednesday, Joshua Kimmich's header in the 63rd minute was enough to propel Bayern to the semis.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz has had his moments this season. His nine goals and five assists in the Premier League are already his most in a single season since coming to England in 2020-21. The club, meanwhile, has the second-highest goal tally in the PL.

However, the Gunners were badly missing the cutting edge with Havertz leading the line, which has occasionally been the case when the German lines up as the central striker. Gabriel Jesus' introduction in the 68th minute did little to change things.

Not surprisingly, supporters used Wednesday's defeat to renew calls for reinforcements in the summer:

Especially if Arsenal fail to overtake Manchester City in the Premier League, Wednesday's match will sting even more in retrospect. Bayern Munich is as vulnerable as it's been in years, yet Arsenal could hardly muster anything in the final third with the tie hanging in the balance.

Heading into last summer, Arteta and his staff had a clear target in mind when it came to the transfer market. They knew Declan Rice was exactly the kind of player they needed in the midfield, and he has been worth every penny so far.

Looking ahead to the next window, there isn't the same kind of obvious answer to what remains a glaring issue. It's easy enough to say Arsenal could use a traditional centre-forward, but identifying one who seamlessly fits into Arteta's system is much more difficult.

Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar will have their work cut out for them.

The Premier League will use semi-automated technology to help determine offside calls for the 2024-25 season.

In a statement issued by the Premier League on Thursday, clubs unanimously voted to approve the change and it's expected to be ready for use after one of the fall international breaks.

"The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters," the statement said.

The Athletic's Matt Slater and Ed Mackey noted the Premier League believes the semi-automated technology will save 31 seconds per decision.

There's also a hope it will "bring an end to situations where play continues after a possible offside, because the assistant referees have been instructed to keep their flags down, before then being brought back some time later after an attack has ended."

Semi-automated technology was used at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It was described at the time as a natural extension of VAR technology.

The technology utilizes cameras positioned on the roof of the stadium that can track the ball and 29 different data points, including limbs and extremities, of each individual player to calculate their exact position on the pitch.

The assistant referees will wear an earpiece with a voice that will be used to tell them if the semi-automated technology has determined an offside violation occurred, allowing them to raise their flag immediately to stop play from continuing.

According to Slater and Mackey, the Premier League will maintain the manual VAR system of crosshair placement as a backup measure, or in the event of a situation with a lot of players bunched together that makes it difficult for the semi-automated technology to get a clear read on a particular situation.

The 2024-25 Premier League season is scheduled to begin on Aug. 17 and wrap up on May 25. The current season will conclude on May 19.

The Soccer Tournament is going to feature teams captained by former NFL star J.J. Watt and former U.S. women's national team forward Kealia Watt.

It was announced on Wednesday the power couple, who also own a stake in Premier League club Burnley, will captain the men's and women's team in the $1 million winner-take-all seven-on-seven Soccer Tournament.

"It's really exciting for both Kealia and I to headline Burnley's men's and women's teams at TST," J.J. said in a statement. We've called some friends and are planning on bringing the best teams we can to compete. We are both highly competitive individuals, so we'll be giving it our all in claret and blue! It's going to be a proud moment for me, captaining the Burnley men's team. The club and town have an important place in my heart, so I want to represent Burnley well. Now it's all about preparing so we're ready to go."

Kealia also issued a statement, including being able to be part of the first iteration of the women's tournament:

"We're delighted to announce our involvement in TST. Having the opportunity to represent Burnley on the pitch and compete against clubs from around the globe will be incredibly special.

"I'm also looking forward to making history with the inaugural women's tournament. This is an important addition and I'm pleased to see TST's commitment to an equal prize for the winning men's and women's teams. I'm looking forward to playing in the Burnley shirt and reuniting with some of my former team-mates."

The Soccer Tournament was established in October 2022 by TBT Enterprises, the organization that developed the Basketball Tournament.

The soccer version follows a similar format to the Basketball Tournament. It features 32 teams competing seven-on-seven with two 20-minute halves and a version of the Elam Ending with a target score time.

After the end of the second half, the teams play an untimed period in which the winner is determined by the first one to reach a predefined target score. The target score is one more goal than the team that is leading at the end of regulation.

For instance, if one team holds a 5-3 lead at the conclusion of the second half, the first team to reach six six goals will win. If the score is tied at the end of the second half, the first team to score during the untimed period wins.

Games are contested on a smaller field and some traditional soccer rules, including slide tackles and punting/dropkicks by goalies, are prohibited.

Newtown Pride FC defeated Toronto Athletic FC 2-0 to win the inaugural tournament last year.

The 2024 Soccer Tournament will take place from June 5 to 10 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

Arsenal offered an update on Frida Maanum after she collapsed off the ball during the 95th minute of the club's 1-0 triumph over Chelsea in the Conti Cup final, saying she's "conscious" and in "stable condition," per multiple reports.

"She will continue to be monitored closely by our medical team," an Arsenal spokesperson told ESPN's Emily Keogh.

Maanum was administered oxygen on the pitch and treated for eight to nine minutes before eventually was taken off on a stretcher. She was replaced by Alessia Russo.

"Of course, it looks very scary when Frida goes down. It's very easy to have the focus and emotions drawn at that point," head coach Jonas Eidevall told reporters. "But the reality is we have an excellent medical team, and they're going to look after that situation and we need to focus on football, and we were able to do that."

"The first thing after the game, we don't care about winning we care about how is it with Frida?" he added. "And so happy that she's doing well. That's much more important than this."

Maanum's best friend, Stina Blackstenius, scored the game-winning goal for the Gunners in extra time.

"I think it was written in the stars that her best mate went and scored the winner for her," Russo told reporters. "Frida is a massive player and plays with every single bit of her body, she did that again today and we just hope she is OK."

Maanum, 24, has made 28 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this season.