Watkins Heads to Saudi Arabia as Celtic's European Misery Continues

The summer transfer window continued to reshape the Premier League on Wednesday, with Aston Villa confirming the sale of Ollie Watkins to Al Hilal and moving quickly to identify Nicolas Jackson as his successor. It is a significant reshaping of Unai Emery's attack, with a proven Premier League striker departing for Saudi riches and a Chelsea forward arriving to fill the void.

Off the pitch, Raheem Sterling was charged with dangerous driving following a motorway crash in May, with a court appearance scheduled for next month. At governing body level, UEFA moved to formally close its standoff with FIFA, withdrawing the threat of a competition boycott after receiving assurances that Infantino's plan to sell a stake in the World Cup has been shelved for good.

In Europe, Celtic's chronic struggle at Champions League qualifying level continued — a sixth consecutive elimination, this one at the hands of LASK, with captain Callum McGregor offering a blunt assessment of his teammates afterwards. Domestically, the Carabao Cup second round produced comfortable progress for Newcastle and a 6-0 thrashing of Birmingham by Brentford, while the draw for the third round handed Liverpool a home tie against Tottenham.