Italy lost a coach before it got one: Pirlo's Russian deal collapsed the whole operation

Andrea Pirlo was all but done for the Italy job after the fiasco of failing to qualify for the World Cup. Then somebody thought to look at his commercial ties with Russia. Pirlo is a global ambassador for the Russian betting company Fonbet, and his connection to United FC president Sergey Lomakin became a political story rather than a football one. The result: the candidacy is wobbling, and with it the position of Paolo Maldini at the federation, who proposed him. Maldini turned down both Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte as alternatives, and accepted a technical role himself only on condition that he had genuine influence over the choice. If that influence disappears, there is speculation he will walk too. Italy did not qualify for the World Cup, and now it cannot even pick a coach without a scandal.

John Stones to Inter: ten years at Manchester City end with a free transfer

English defender John Stones is a step away from Inter, having agreed verbally with the Italian champions and said no to Juventus, Chelsea and Arsenal. It is a two-year deal worth 4 million euros a season, with only the medical left. Stones has been a free agent since his Manchester City contract expired on 30 June, leaving behind a decade in which he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and the Champions League. Under Cristian Chivu he will replace Stefan de Vrij, who left for Greece. At 32, Stones is still a player who can operate in a back four or a back three, and who can step into midfield as though he belonged there. Inter get him with no transfer fee - that is the move everyone else missed while they were thinking about it.

Manchester United signed a fourth reinforcement - a 20-year-old goalkeeper

Manchester United announced the signing of Keith Margetson, a 20-year-old goalkeeper arriving from Swansea City at the end of his contract, with a development fee. Margetson is the son of former England goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson, had been at Swansea since he was fifteen, and spent last season on loan at Welsh side Connah's Quay Nomads, where he made 34 appearances and helped them qualify for the Europa League. This is the club's fourth summer signing, after Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow. United are still looking for a third midfielder - the target is Manu Koné of Roma - and a left-back, since Tyrell Malacia left and Patrick Dorgu will play further forward. When one of the richest football institutions in the world has a backup goalkeeper as its main news of the week, that says more about the state of things than any statement could.

Vardar travelled to Riga 3-2 down: „Nothing is finished”, says Omeragić

In Skopje, Vardar wasted their chances, made defensive errors and paid for it with a 3-2 defeat to Latvia's Riga in the first leg of the second qualifying round for the Conference League. The return is at the Skonto Stadium in Riga, and captain Azer Omeragić previewed it before the official training session: „Nothing is finished, because we still have a second half against this opponent. We will fight on the pitch, we will play for the shirt and the colours of Vardar.” The rhetoric is familiar to anyone who follows a Macedonian club in Europe - fight, shirt, colours. The question is simpler than that: did the red and blacks actually learn the lessons of their own mistakes in Skopje, or will they just repeat them in Latvia? A one-goal gap is the shortest distance in European football, and also the most expensive when you have already played with it twice.

Churlinov officially at Pogoń: the Macedonian winger's signature was „kidnapped” from a rival

Macedonian international Darko Churlinov has signed for Polish top-flight side Pogoń Szczecin, a deal until June 2028 with an option for another year. He arrives from Turkey's Kocaelispor, and the way the transfer happened is the story. Churlinov already had a hotel booked and was on his way to a medical at rivals Widzew Łódź when Pogoń's management moved at lightning speed and snatched the signature at the last moment. Owner Alex Haditaghi later explained publicly: „We spotted Darko a year and a half ago, when he scored a goal against us that ultimately stopped Pogoń qualifying for Europe.” Churlinov is a talent built in Germany, with appearances for Stuttgart, a second-division title with Schalke 04 and a Championship title with Burnley. For Macedonia he has 42 caps and 5 goals, and he is the youngest debutant in the history of the senior national team. When a Polish club pays in speed rather than in money for a Macedonian player - that is a compliment we rarely receive.