Transfer news: Strand Larsen signs new Wolves deal; what next for Rashford?

Wolves have made some notable moves this summer as they prepare for the upcoming Premier League season, balancing key departures with exciting arrivals and contract extensions.

The biggest outgoing story was the sale of Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha to Manchester United for around £62.5mi.

Cunha’s exit leaves a gap in Wolves’ attacking options, marking a significant shift in the squad dynamic.

Alongside Cunha, defender Rayan Ait-Nouri also departed for Manchester City, signalling a broader reshuffle within the team.

To reinforce their frontline, Wolves secured the signing of young Spanish forward Fer López from Celta Vigo. The 21-year-old impressed in La Liga last season with four goals in 20 appearances and has now committed to a five-year deal at Molineux for a fee reported to be around £19m.

As mentioned, Wolves have moved quickly to retain Norway striker Jorgen Strand Larsen on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell. Larsen’s consistent performances and goal-scoring ability have convinced the club to secure his services long-term, providing stability while retaining his firepower.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed that Jorgen Strand Larsen has signed a permanent contract, keeping him at Molineux until 2029.

The Norway striker joined Wolves on a season-long loan from Celta Vigo in July 2024.

During his debut Premier League season, Strand Larsen made a significant impact, scoring 14 goals in 35 appearances. Notably, he became the first Wolves player to score in four consecutive victories, contributing to the club’s historic six-match winning streak.

“It’s been a good first season in the Premier League,” Strand Larsen said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’ve been able to take the steps quite earlier than I’ve done before. Previously, when I moved to a new country, I’ve needed more time to get into it and score goals.”

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Right, let’s start with some news headlines…

Can we admit that Manchester City (as great as they have been) are now just an average side? How many players from City get into Newcastle or Villa? Do we consider them still as a favourite for the title, or lucky if they get European football this season?

Graham (Everton fan, who would only take Haaland)

As ever, we are always interested to read your views on this page so please get in touch with your opinions on all things football, especially transfer-related.

Graham, an Everton fan, has been in touch with a comment that allows us to neatly bridge the switch in focus from Manchester City’s Club World Cup exit to general transfer chat.

He raises the talking point – which City player would you be happy to see play at your [Premier League] club?

Over to you Graham…

Bournemouth

• Adrien Truffert -from Rennes – £11.4m (£14.4m)

Brentford

• Michael Kayode – fromFiorentina – £14.8m

• Caoimhin Kelleher – from Liverpool – £12.5m (£18m)
• Romelle Donovan – from Birmingham City – £3m

Brighton

• Charalampos Kostoulas -from Olympiakos – £29.8m (£31.5m)
• Diego Coppola – from Hellas Verona – £8.5m

Burnley

• Bashir Humphreys – from Chelsea – £12m (£14.7m)
• Marcus Edwards – from Sporting – £8.5m
• Jaidon Anthony – from Bournemouth – £7.5m
• Zian Flemming – from Millwall – £7m
• Max Weiss – from Karlsruher – £4.3m
• Quilindschy Hartman – from Feyenoord – Undisclosed
• Axel Tuanzebe – from Ipswich – Free

Chelsea

• Liam Delap – from Ipswich – £30m
• Estevao Willian – from Palmeiras – £29m (£48.5m)
• Dario Essugo – from Sporting – £18.5
• Mamadou Sarr – from Strasbourg – £12m

Crystal Palace

• Walter Benitez – from PSV Eindhoven – Free

Everton

• Charly Alcaraz – from Flamengo – £12.6m (£15.2m)

Leeds

• Jaka Bijol – from Udinese – £15m
• Lukas Nmecha – from Wolfsburg – Free

Liverpool

• Florian Wirtz – from Bayer Leverkusen – £100m (£116m)
• Jeremie Frimpong – from Bayer Leverkusen – £29.5m
• Armin Pecsi – from Puskas Akademia – £1.5m
• Milos Kerkez – from Bournemouth – £40m

Manchester City

• Tijjani Reijnders – from AC Milan – £46.3m (£60m)
• Rayan Ait-Nouri – from Wolves – £31m (£36.3m)
• Rayan Cherki – from Lyon – £30.5m (£35.6m)
• Marcus Bettinelli – from Chelsea – Nominal

Manchester United

• Matheus Cunha – from Wolves – £62.5m

Newcastle

• Antonio Cordero – from Malaga – Free

Sunderland

• Enzo le Fee – from Roma – £19.3m

Tottenham

• Mathys Tel – from Bayern Munich – £29.8m (£34.1m)

West Ham

• Jean-Clair Todibo – from Nice – £36.3m

Wolves

• Fer Lopez – from Celta Vigo – £19.6m (£21.3m)

Right, let’s switch focus now to the summer transfer window.

We will kick off with a rundown of the deals that each Premier League club has completed so far before assessing the key news stories of the day so far…

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Defeat to Al-Hilal in the last 16 of the Club World Cup brought down the curtain on a gruelling and challenging season for Manchester City which began 325 days ago with the Community Shield against Manchester United on 10 August.

It’s not gone quite to plan for manager Pep Guardiola, with City losing 17 games in all competitions, which is at least five more than in any other season since his appointment and the club’s highest total since 2008-09.

While City have scored 130 goals in 61 fixtures, the defensive lapses exposed in their Club World Cup exit have become increasingly common.

They conceded 78 times this term, comfortably their worst record under Guardiola. That is 32 more than they shipped in the Treble-winning campaign of 2022-23, when they played the same number of matches.

With over £100m invested in new signings this summer, and an additional £140m spent in January, the eight-time Premier League champions will expect a substantial improvement next term.

Home nation players will have to step up their warm-weather training, Kevin, if they want to make an impact in the next three World Cup tournaments.

After the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the next two tournaments will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (2030) and Saudi Arabia (2034).

The 2030 tournament will also include three matches in South America to mark 100 years since the first staging of the World Cup.

The thing the CWC has taught us is that England are getting nowhere near winning the WC in 2026 with the heat and weather conditions [in North America]. May as well can Tuchel now and start building for 2030!

Kevin F

While Manchester City’s pre-season schedule is currently fluid, shall we say, we do know that they will return to Premier League action away at Wolves on Saturday, 16 August (17:30 BST).

Speaking post-match, both captain Bernardo Silva and head coach Pep Guardiola spoke about wanting to challenge for the Premier League title next season.

City failed to win the league for the first time since 2020 last season but their pursuit of a fifth title in six years will kick off in just over six weeks’ time.

Following their exit from the Club World Cup, the Manchester City website says the players will now be given some time off before returning to training.

“City exit the Fifa Club World Cup at the Round of 16 stage,” said the club’s website.

“The players will have a break before returning to training at the City Football Academy ahead of the 2025/26 domestic season.”

Bernardo Silva said the players were not bothered about taking more vacations after their defeat by Al-Hilal but it looks like they may get a bit more time to relax before the season begins…

The rule at Man City continues to be that when Rodri doesn’t play, they are very vulnerable.

Rob

Midfield lynchpin Rodri also got some much-needed minutes under his belt following his return to the side after missing the majority of last season recovering from an ACL injury.

The Spanish international made his first start since September in Manchester City’s 5-2 win against Juventus in their final group game of the Club World Cup.

And he was introduced as a second-half substitute for Ilkay Gundogan as part of a triple change as Pep Guardiola’s side searched for an equaliser in normal time of their last-16 defeat against Al Hilal.

Erling Haaland delivered the goal that took the game to extra-time two minutes after Rodri was introduced, but the rest of the tie did not go to script.

Rodri was later substituted himself as City chased another equaliser in extra time.

There has been no official confirmation from the club as to whether Rodri had suffered an injury or was just replaced by Phil Foden in a tactical switch.

But manager Pep Guardiola will be keen to make sure his key midfielder continues his recovery before their first Premier League game against Wolves on 16 August.

So what will Pep Guardiola’s key takeaways be from this Club World Cup.

The Manchester City boss has been afforded a chance to work with new signings in competitive fixtures.

One of those, Rayan Cherki, a £30m capture from Lyon, gained his first taste of silverware-chasing football with City on the global stage.

And while the Club World Cup didn’t end as planned, it offered an early glimpse of what the French playmaker could bring to Pep Guardiola’s evolving midfield.

From slick touches to bold attacking intent, Cherki’s performances across the group stage gave City fans reason to be excited. Here’s a look at the numbers behind his debut tournament.

Note – Stats derived from Squawka

So what’s still to come at the last 16 stage of the Club World Cup..?

The final two matches of the first knockout round are still to take place, involving three European heavyweights and Mexican side Monterrey:

Tuesday, 01 July

• Real Madrid v Juventus (20:00 BST, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami)

Wednesday, 02 July

• Borussia Dortmund v Monterrey (02:00 BST, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)

Manchester City may have gone out but, as mentioned, Chelsea are still flying the flag for English football and the Premier League.

The Blues face Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.

Here’s a look at the rest of the draw:

• 4 July: Fluminense v Al-Hilal (20:00 BST)
• 5 July: Palmeiras v Chelsea (02:00 BST)
• 5 July: PSG v Bayern Munich (17:00 BST)
• 5 July: Real Madrid/Juventus v Borussia Dortmund/Monterrey (21:00 BST)

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City have been left counting the cost of their surprise Club World Cup exit to Saudi side Al-Hilal.

If Pep Guardiola’s team had reached the quarter-finals they would have earned an additional £9.5m in prize money, with that total rising to £53.8m had they gone on to lift the trophy in the final.

But, despite that disappointment, it has still been a very profitable few weeks for the club, who have been able to significantly boost their income at a time when most of their domestic rivals are kicking their heels (or, depending on your viewpoint, getting some much-needed rest).

City earned the most prize money in the group stage as they were the only side to win all three matches, and will depart the US having banked approximately £37.8m. That includes a participation fee, believed to be £27.9m, which Fifa base on “sporting and commercial criteria”.

Chelsea are now the only remaining Premier League club in the competition. They surpassed £40m in prize money following their win against Benfica in the round of 16.

Would the 100-point Manchester City team of 2017-18 (Kompany, Otamendi, Walker, Fernandinho, Aguero) have lost against Al-Hilal? Would the Treble-winning City team of 2022-23 (Stones, Ake, Grealish, Mahrez, Alvarez) have lost against Al-Hilal? Other teams have improved but for years City have failed to replace too many players with successors of equal or better quality and let too many good young players leave. A rebuild has started but it took a collapse in form to trigger it. Who made these decisions? City raised the bar but have fallen off their perch.

Al, Yorkshire

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport

If there’s any solace for Manchester City in the wake of their shock early exit from the Club World Cup, it’s that the squad now has a chance to recharge ahead of the new season. The 61 games played by City since August equals their most in a season since Pep Guardiola became manager in 2016.

Only three top-flight clubs in Europe have played more often over the past 11 months, albeit Chelsea will also overtake City this weekend.

Chelsea, of course, had the luxury of fielding vastly different line-ups in Europe throughout 2024-25 compared to domestically.

Manchester City, with a smaller squad, have four of the 15 outfield players currently with Premier League clubs to have played more than 100 games over the past two seasons: Tijjani Reijnders (107), Ilkay Gundogan (105), Phil Foden (102) and Bernardo Silva (101). In addition, that quartet were regular starters for their country at Euro 2024 and, with the exception of Gundogan, continue to play international football.

Only two outfield players in Europe’s major leagues can top the 4,861 minutes racked up by City’s recent signing Tijjani Reijnders for AC Milan last season, while Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland all rank in the top 13 among Premier League players.