Sam Allardyce set to be named new England manager

The FA is set to name Sam Allardyce as England manager, with the incumbent Sunderland boss having seemingly pipped Hull City’s Steve Bruce to the post. According to the Guardian, the FA held a meeting at Wembley on Wednesday morning, in which a three-man panel were expected to recommend Allardyce for the position. Official confirmation should follow swiftly.

Allardyce has enjoyed a long managerial career, though one in which he has made a name as a Premier League mid-table specialist. He had his greatest success while in charge of Bolton Wanderers, leading them to top-flight promotion and then continental football in an impressive eight-year spell to 2007. Since then he’s taken charge of a string of other clubs, and most recently guided Sunderland to safety after replacing Dick Advocaat last October.

This will certainly be Big Sam’s toughest task to date, though he certainly seems to have the steely temperament the job demands.

Minnesota United keeper Sammy Ndjock got things quite badly wrong in a pre-season friendly against Bournemouth:

Mario Götze’s return to Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich is officially official. (FC Bayern)

Real Madrid’s teenage forward Borja Mayoral will spend the season on loan at Wolfsburg. (Real Madrid)

Former Arsenal and Barcelona man Alex Song has joined Rubin Kazan. (Rubin Kazan)

Croatian winger Marko Pjaca has arrived at Juventus ahead of a medical. (Juventus)

Manchester United are getting closer to completing their move for Juventus’ Paul Pogba. (Guardian)

Liverpool have reportedly agreed a fee for Georginio Wijnaldum with current club Newcastle. (Sky Sports)

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City’s interest in Leroy Sané, but Schalke’s demands remain too high. (Man City)

Celtic avoided further embarrassment by beating Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps 3-0 in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier. (BBC)

Katelyn Burns’ vital look at homophobia in American soccer. (Unusual Efforts)

Felix Keith on José Fonte’s remarkable rise. (These Football Times)

Paolo Bandini evaluating Pep Guardiola’s first game in charge of Manchester City. (ESPNFC)

Please don’t take anything in this section too seriously, for your own sanity.

Real Madrid could offload Toni Kroos to move back in for Paul Pogba. (Daily Mirror)

Madrid defender Raphaël Varane has rejected a proposal from Manchester United. (Football España)

Manchester United are in the race to sign Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus. (Football Italia)

Atlético Madrid are the only club who’ve so far made a bid for Gonzalo Higuaín, according to Napoli. (Sky Sports)

Chelsea want Benfica defender Victor Lindelöf. (The Sun)

Jordan Ayew could be offered a route out of Aston Villa by Hamburg. (Daily Mail)