Fulham

It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.

In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.

In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.

Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.

Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.

Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.

An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.

Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.

Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.

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Former Bristol City and Fulham defender Joe Bryan has announced his retirement from football.

The 32-year-old left-back made 464 career appearances for six clubs, including 44 in the Premier League for Fulham, and scored two of his 32 goals in the 2020 Championship play-off final.

He was released by Millwall in the summer and has opted to hang up his boots.

"Whilst not the perfect ending everyone hopes for, I am at peace with the decision to retire and move into a new phase of my life," Bryan wrote on social media, external.

Bryan emerged from the academy at his hometown club Bristol City, spent loan spells at Bath City and Plymouth Argyle, and went on to play 230 times for the Robins in both the Championship and League One.

He helped City reach the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2017-18, scoring against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

In August 2018, Bryan was close to joining fellow Championship side Aston Villa but instead chose to join Fulham in the Premier League.

He stayed with them for five years, through two relegations from the top flight, and played 119 times.

After a loan spell in France with Nice, Bryan joined Millwall in 2023 and played 81 times for them in the Championship.

Adam Blackmore
BBC Radio Solent sports editor

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BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore has covered Shea Charles abundantly as a commentator and reporter...

Shea Charles is a professional, focused, and polite young man. He has an unassuming nature and is a great advert for modern academy players.

On the pitch he has developed a lot in the last two years; his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday in 2024-25 was the making of him.

He went from being a boy with the weight of expectation on his shoulders to a man who'd grown through the need to play a big role in a struggling team, starting 42 league games for the Owls.

When he came back to Saints you could see that confidence in how he carried himself and in his new-found determination to get on the ball and make things happen. He has a huge amount of natural ability, cruises around the pitch, and also a very handy knack of timing his runs into the box to score important goals, highlighted by his late strike that dumped Arsenal out of the FA Cup and the remarkable fourth goal in Southampton's incredible 4-3 comeback win at Leicester last season.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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"Shea has been so, so impressive during my time working with him. I have never seen anyone better on the ball than this kid."

It was in 2021 that the Northern Ireland youth coach Gerard Lyttle said he had never seen a youngster as comfortable on the ball as Shea Charles.

Back then, the teenager was still playing at centre-back and had yet to make a senior appearance for club or country, but he was standing out to his coaches.

Five years later, midfielder Charles has become the most expensive Northern Ireland player in history after he completed a £30m transfer from Southampton to Premier League side Fulham.

From when he joined Manchester City's academy as a seven-year-old, Charles' potential was clear and he quickly progressed through the ranks.

His breakout year came in the 2021-22 season, when he helped City win the Premier League 2 title as an 18-year-old playing alongside the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Nico O'Reilly.

He was handed a first Northern Ireland call-up for June's Nations League window in 2022, and he made his international debut as a late substitute against Greece before he had even made a senior appearance at club level.

It helped that Charles was learning from some of the best in the world. At Manchester City he had been training with the likes of Rodri and Fernandinho and was finally handed a Premier League chance in May 2023, by which stage he had six international caps under his belt.

• Read more on Charles' rise

While learning from the best players in the world was beneficial, it did not offer a natural path of progression to the first team at Etihad Stadium.

So, a month after making his City debut, Charles signed a four-year contract with Southampton and subsequently made 32 appearances as Saints won promotion back to the Premier League.

Instead of contributing in his club's top-flight return, his development continued with a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday, where he became a fan favourite and drew links to Arsenal.

With Southampton back in the Championship after their relegation, Charles returned to St Mary's last season.

He contributed some big moments and chipped in with his biggest return in front of goal with six strikes in the campaign. While Southampton missed out on the Premier League, O'Neill was adamant that Charles has what it takes to play in the top flight. It was a matter of when, not if.

"Shea can play in the Premier League, there's no doubt about that," said Charles' international boss before June's friendlies with Guinea and France.

With 35 international caps under his belt and a host of clutch moments to his name at the age of 22, Charles could be one of the surprises of the season as he aims to have a breakout Premier League campaign at Craven Cottage.

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"I hope to really kickstart my Premier League career here," says Fulham's newest signing Shea Charles.

The versatile midfielder has left Championship club Southampton and penned a five-year contract at Craven Cottage, with a club option for a further year.

Charles made 38 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring six goals and registering two assists, as Tonda Eckert's side narrowly missed out on Premier League promotion.

"I am buzzing to finally get it over the line," Charles told FFCtv, external. "The club has got a really good foundation from the bottom to the top.

"It is a great club with a really good vision, the manager explained that to me. It is a massive privilege to be here.

"I hope to really kickstart my Premier League career here, at such a good club as well. It is perfect for me and hopefully perfect for the fans as well."

Director of Football Operations Tony Khan added: "I am thrilled to welcome Shea Charles to Fulham! He is an exciting young player.

"He has quickly gained important experience in both domestic competitions and at international level, as the youngest ever captain of Northern Ireland.

"This is an excellent opportunity for him to join Fulham and continue his development under Alvaro Arbeloa's leadership."

The transfer makes Manchester City academy graduate Charles the most expensive Northern Irish footballer of all time.

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We asked for your views on Southampton midfielder Shea Charles, who Fulham have agreed a deal worth up to £30m for.

Here are some of your comments:

Tom: Heard incredibly positive things from Sheffield Wednesday fans about the season he spent on loan there. Excited about this one, and I'm glad to see us doing our business early, and on players under 30!

Alexander: He is a great signing - a proven player originated from Manchester City. He is a great replacement for Sasa Lukic and if he proves well this season his value would be even greater than what Fulham spent.

Laurence: Exciting times. Good new manager and a crop of good new players coming in and coming through. New senior squad players are noticeably at the younger end of the spectrum. It is a welcome investment in the future and bringing down the average age of what was becoming an elderly squad.

Maurice: Replacing Lukic is quite a hard act to follow but I hear he is much more attacking, creative, young and energetic. He should be a good addition. Quite pricey for a Championship player, though. Presumably Alvaro Arbeloa rates him highly, and he will fit into his new system. Best of luck!

Matthew: We have gone from a safe approach under Marco Silva, with an aging roster just a couple of years ago, to a youth movement under Arbeloa now. This will either be feast or famine at Craven Cottage.

CJ: I think it is a great deal for our club. Charles is a brilliant player, a clinical finisher, and a hard-worker. Knowing that other clubs were interested and we got him is a great feeling. I think he could be the signing of the season for Arbeloa. The start of an era.

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The Premier League season is yet to get underway, but the second-round Carabao Cup draw has already been made.

As many as 11 Premier League teams are in the draw, with the format regionalised into northern and southern sections before round three.

Here is who the Premier League clubs have drawn:

Stoke v Hull

Newcastle v West Bromwich Albion

Nottingham Forest v Leeds

Preston v Everton

Ipswich v Leicester

Birmingham v Brentford

Fulham v AFC Wimbledon

Chelsea v Luton

Tottenham v Charlton

Plymouth v Coventry

All ties are to be played week commencing 24 August.

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After Fulham released striker Raul Jimenez at the end of June and Harry Wilson left on a free, it's left some fans questioning what positive business will take place before the transfer deadline.

The Cottagers have agreed a deal worth up to £30m for Southampton midfielder Shea Charles.

Subject to a medical, the 22-year-old will move to Craven Cottage on a five-year contract and become the most expensive Northern Irish footballer of all time.

So Fulham fans, what do you think? Is Charles the right signing?

Get in touch with your views here

Hector Fort has been told he can leave Barcelona this summer, with Fulham and Everton among the clubs interested in the Spanish right-back, 20. (TeamTalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Crystal Palace beat Fulham 2-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Cottagers' training ground Motspur Park on Friday evening.

Antonee Robinson gave Alvaro Arbeloa's side the lead, but Palace turned the game around with goals either side of half-time from Ismaila Sarr and Matheus Franca.

Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios were given their first Fulham minutes since their signing on Monday from Arbeloa's former side Real Madrid, while Adam Wharton, Chadi Riad and Jorgen Strand Larsen made their first Palace appearances of pre-season following their World Cup exploits.

Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic is undergoing a medical at Ipswich Town as the clubs near an agreement over a permanent transfer.

The Cottagers are looking to sign a replacement and are now believed to be in pole position to sign Southampton's Shea Charles, although a fee has yet to be agreed.

Fulham are closing in on the signing of £30m-rated Southampton and Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles, 22. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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The 2026-27 Premier League season has not yet kicked off, but it has already made history.

Nine clubs are set to begin the campaign with a new permanent manager - the highest number ever for the top flight's opening weekend.

The scale of turnover has dramatically reshaped the Premier League's managerial landscape.

The upheaval did not begin this summer. The 2025-26 Premier League season featured 11 managerial changes, with Forest among the clubs to make multiple appointments during the campaign.

The average tenure of a top-flight boss now stands at about 20 months, illustrating just how fleeting life in one of football's most demanding jobs can now be.

Recent history also suggests changing manager offers no guarantees. During the 2025-26 season, several clubs that switched coaches continued to struggle. Forest employed three managers during the campaign, Tottenham changed head coach twice, while Chelsea also altered direction before the season ended.

Others, however, did enjoy an immediate uplift. Michael Carrick averaged 2.6 points per game across his first five matches as Manchester United boss, while Liam Rosenior collected the same return after taking charge of Chelsea. Rosenior's tenure ultimately proved short-lived, though, with the Blues winning just one of his final eight Premier League matches before he was dismissed.

• Read more on a summer of change

Research discussed in the Financial Times,, external external, drawing on findings from Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, argues that player quality and spending remain stronger predictors of results than managerial changes alone.

Sports consultancy Twenty First Group says coaches often succeed or fail according to the environment they inherit as much as their own abilities.

Since the Premier League began in 1992, only six managers have won the title in their first season in charge of their club.

Mourinho became the first to achieve the feat with Chelsea in 2004-05, before Carlo Ancelotti repeated it with the same club in 2009-10.

Manuel Pellegrini guided Manchester City to the title in his debut campaign in 2013-14, Claudio Ranieri masterminded Leicester City's remarkable triumph in 2015-16, Conte won the league in his first season at Chelsea in 2016-17, and most recently Slot led Liverpool to the championship in his maiden campaign in 2025-26.

With almost half the division beginning the campaign under new leadership, the Premier League enters one of its most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.

Katharine Sharpe and Simon Casson
BBC Sport senior journalists

The 2025-26 Premier League and Championship seasons included the introduction of squad-cost ratio rules on a shadow basis, testing to see how a spending cap for squad costs set at a percentage of a club's total revenues might work.

These SCR regulations have now been permanently implemented for the 2026-27 season, replacing previous profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Uefa has a 70% SCR cap for European competitions, so Premier League clubs who qualified for Europe fall in line with this limit.

Clubs who did not qualify for Europe, and so are only taking part in domestic competitions, are capped at 85% of their total revenue.

However, clubs can spend above the 85% limit by using a multi-year rolling allowance of 30%. This allows them to invest ahead of revenue and variance or sporting underperformance.

Every club will start this coming season on 85% + 30% allowance, so effectively 115%.

If a club spends 105% on their squad in 2026-27, it means they have used 20% of their allowance, and for 2027-28 their maximum spend before potential sporting sanction is 95%.

If a club spend less than 85%, they can increase the allowance again to the maximum of 30%.

Spending above 85% but under the allowance results in a financial penalty, whereas going over both the 85% and the allowance will land the club a fixed six-point deduction which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the 115%.

'Anchoring' was also trialled in 2025-26, which meant any club's spending could not exceed a multiple of income earned by the bottom-placed club - however this was rejected at a vote of Premier League clubs.

SCR was approved by a vote of 14 clubs to six, and was introduced alongside sustainability and systemic resilience (SSR) regulations.

SSR involves three tests that are applied throughout the season:

Working capital test - assesses short-term cash resources

Liquidity test - assesses medium-term liquidity and resilience

Positive equity test -assesses long-term financial health

The aim of the SCR and SSR regulations is to stop the richest owners providing endless funds to their clubs to sign new players, as any money injected this way does not count as seasonal revenue.

They will also aim to prevent clubs from overspending and accruing unmanageable losses.

Read more about the rules here

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Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa says Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios are "ambitious and talented players", having worked with them both during his time as a coach at Real Madrid.

The new signings have penned five-year deals at Craven Cottage, with a club option for a further year.

"I know Gonzalo [Garcia] very well," Arbeloa told Fulham's website, external. "I have had many years working with him. This is a very young player with a lot of ambition and capacity.

"He has pace, quality and everything that I need from a striker, so we are very lucky to have him in the team. It is going to be a good season for him and the fans will enjoy watching him.

"I also know Cesar [Palacios] very well. He is the type of player that you buy a ticket to watch. He is like a magician, he has that type of talent. He is a player that is very different and works really hard.

"They are both young, ambitious and talented players. They are two great signings that I think will raise our level, for sure."

Fulham posted a video of the duo reuniting with their former coach, external at Motspur Park on Wednesday afternoon.