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Sheffield United will be deducted two points at the start of their next season ‘in the jurisdiction’ of the English Football League (EFL), with a further suspended two-point deduction ‘until the end of that same season’.

The EFL announced the future points deduction and £310,455 fine after the club “defaulted on a number of payments to other clubs” during the 2022-23 campaign, over a period in excess of 550 days.

Sheffield United are currently on course to return to the EFL — which governs the Championship, League One and League Two — next season as they are currently at the foot of the Premier League table, with 16 points from 31 matches.

Premier League clubs have unanimously agreed in principle to introduce new financial fair play regulations from next season at a meeting in London on Thursday.

The profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) that have capped how much money clubs can spend over the last decade are set to be scrapped from the start of the 2025-26 season and replaced with a similar "squad cost control" rule to the one UEFA adopted in 2022.

The new system, which must still be fully ratified at the Premier League's annual general meeting (AGM) in June, will work as a shadow to the existing PSR regime next season.

There were actually two votes at Thursday's shareholders' meeting. The first, which received unanimous backing, was to progress discussions on the finer details of the Premier League squad cost rules, with a view to adding the new regime to the rulebook this summer. The second, which was supported by a strong majority, was on how the new regulations would be phased in.

Under the proposed new regime, clubs will only be allowed to spend a set percentage of their annual turnover on the wage bill for the first team and its coaching staff, plus the amortised costs of their transfer fees and all agents' fees.

Contrary to recent reports, clubs that breach the Premier League's rules will still be subject to points deductions.

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Sean Dyche hopes Everton’s latest “head-scratching” points deduction for profitability and sustainability (PSR) breaches will galvanise the club and propel them to Premier League safety.

After their latest deduction, which the club are to appeal, Everton are 16th in the table, two points ahead of Luton Town in 18th.

Everton recorded their first win in 14 games as they edged past Burnley on Saturday, and now Dyche wants to focus on results after being reassured there will be no further deductions this season.

He said: “The league table changes and we’re very confident, and we’ve been told, it won’t change again as regards anything this season, so our focus is on the next round of games.

“I’ve spoken to the players and staff to remind them of the truth of the moment, which is to focus on the games in hand.

“It (Monday’s deduction) is unexpected in the sense we thought it had been dealt with but it obviously hasn't been, and (there is) time to possibly appeal so the club is looking into that but the last response was what's done is done.

“The last time we got a knock everyone pulled together. The fans were terrific in a new reality and it rounded the wagons for us. Everyone said: ‘Hang on, the badge is more important than anything’ and I still feel the same. Myself, the players, the fans all pulling together and making sure we look after the club.

“Front foot mentality is an important factor.”

Dyche admitted, though, that he remains confused by the process behind his side’s two point deduction.

“I don't think it’s just Evertonians,” he added. “I travel a lot and the number of football fans in general who come up to me and say ‘What's that all about?’... There are lots of people, including ourselves at times, scratching our heads about the whys and wherefores but it has to be parked again and there are a lot of games coming thick and fast.”

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed training on Thursday with a knock which Dyche said is unlikely to mean he misses Monday’s game against Chelsea.

Midfielder Amadou Onana, who missed the win over Burnley, was back in training, and the Dyche said he also expects to have new father Idrissa Gueye back in the squad for Monday, along with on-loan attacker Arnaut Danjuma.

Ruben Amorim insists there is no agreement in place for him to become Liverpool’s next manager.

Reports earlier this week suggested that the Sporting Lisbon head coach had verbally agreed a contract to succeed Jurgen Klopp this summer.

Senior Anfield figures were adamant that is not the case and now Amorim has denied he has held direct talks with Liverpool over the vacancy.

Read more from Amorim below

Sky Sports and the BBC have extended their broadcast deals with the Women’s Super League (WSL) by a further season.

The two UK broadcasters last signed a three-year deal with the WSL ahead of the 2021-22 season, which was due to conclude at the end of this campaign.

Sky will show up to 44 WSL matches during the 2023-24 season, while the BBC has the rights to 22 games — both the same number as the previous agreement, which The Athletic reported was worth an estimated £7million per year.

The FA Player will continue to show a selection of matches.

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Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico has received medical clearance to return to football 11 months on from his life-threatening accident.

The 30-year-old completed tests with PSG doctors on Saturday and has been declared ready to train and play competitively again. He is not expected to wear protective headgear upon his return to competitive action as doctors have not recommended so.

Rico has undergone satisfactory tests in Seville, at the French Football Federation (FFF) and finally at PSG in which his cardiovascular system, his neurological capacity and his cervical vertebrae were checked.

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Gary O’Neil has been charged by the Football Association (FA) following his complaints at the decision to disallow Max Kilman’s would-be equaliser against West Ham United on Saturday.

The Wolves defender thought he had earned a share of the points with his 98th-minute header only for the video assistant referee (VAR) Tim Robinson to advise on-field official Tony Harrington to review his initial call before he subsequently chalked off the goal.

It was deemed that striker Tawanda Chirewa was obstructing the view of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from an offside position when the ball went in, a call that O’Neil would later say was “possibly the worst I’ve ever seen”.

O’Neil called the decision “terrible” and “scandalous”, adding that West Ham boss David Moyes agreed with him.

“My view, David Moyes’ view and (Lukasz) Fabianski’s view is that it’s a terrible decision, scandalous, horrendous — I don’t understand it,” said O’Neil.

“I can’t think of an explanation, to be honest. It’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever witnessed.”

The FA has confirmed that O'Neil has been charged in relation to his actions after the game and has until Monday, April 15 to respond.

Virgil van Dijk has called for "perspective" from fans in his latest programme notes after Liverpool dropped points in the Premier League title race at Manchester United on Sunday.

Second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo put United in command at Old Trafford before Mohamed Salah's 84th-minute penalty salvaged a draw for the visitors.

Liverpool return to action tonight at home to Atalanta in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

"I know everyone, including myself, was disappointed that we didn't win at Old Trafford on Sunday, but the situation also requires some perspective," said Van Dijk in his programme notes ahead of tonight's game.

"We are still joint-top of the Premier League on points, we have one trophy in the bag and another to play for in this competition."

The Netherlands international went on to admit Liverpool need to "do better" if they are to mark the end of manager Jurgen Klopp's reign at the club with silverware.

He said: "The key now is to carry on giving all that we have on both remaining fronts. So we should not be overly critical of ourselves, but if we are able to recognise at the same time that there are certain things that we need to do better, it will give us the best possible chance of achieving our objectives.

"At moments like this, there are responses that you have to look for in yourself and in others. The first is the immediate reaction and I can tell you that, to a man, we all recognised the need for improvement in certain areas straight away. It was not something that anyone needed to be told – we all knew it."

Van Dijk was critical of his side's lack of cutting edge in front of goal in the wake of Sunday's draw, describing the performance as "wasteful" in his interview with Sky Sports.

The result hands the initiative in the title race to Arsenal, who are top on account of their superior goal difference, with eight games remaining in the season.

Liverpool continue their quest for a second Premier League title at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday, before travelling to Italy for the return leg against Atalanta on Thursday, April 18.

Teenager Mark O'Mahony has been rewarded for his progress at Brighton by a new three-year contract.

The 19-year-old forward's deal takes him through to June 2027.

O'Mahony was included in a Premier League matchday squad for the sixth time this season for last week's 0-0 draw at Brentford.

Although yet to make his senior debut for Roberto De Zerbi's side, he has scored ten goals in 11 appearances for the under-21s in Premier League 2 this season.

Technical director David Weir said: “Mark has done really well since joining us in January last year and we’re very happy with his progress.

“We’re pleased to see him commit his future here. His form for the U21s has seen his regular involvement with the men’s first-team squad, and this new contract is recognition of that.”

O'Mahony, signed from Cork City, made his debut for Republic of Ireland under-21s in last month's 7-0 win over San Marino, having previously represented his country's under-19s.

Leeds United’s appeal against an award of £24.5million ($31m) in compensation to their former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin has been withdrawn from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

CAS confirmed to The Athletic that Leeds’ bid to contest an order from FIFA that they pay an eight-figure sum to Augustin over his aborted transfer to Elland Road in 2020 would not be ruled upon by its judiciary.

FIFA ruled in March 2023 that Leeds were liable for £24.5m owed to Augustin after partially accepting a claim from the former Paris Saint-Germain player that the English club were in breach of a contract agreed with him.

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Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna was pleased with his side’s performance despite their goalless draw against Watford last night.

A win would have taken Ipswich top of the Championship after Leicester City’s 1-0 loss against Millwall and Leeds United’s goalless draw with Sunderland on Tuesday.

But McKenna's side failed to break down a stubborn Watford side at Portman Road, registering only four shots on target.

“First half, we created a couple of what would have been really good goals for us but it just wasn't our night in terms of going into the back of the net,” McKenna said.

“It was a really good performance and it didn't look like it was the 41st game or the 14th game. We just played as us and that's what we want to do.

“We know it'll take a hell of an effort and a hell of a performance to get anything on Saturday as well, so that is where our focus is.

“Not on anyone else or the table, it is just on trying to get ready for the next game and it certainly takes that in this division and this group have done that really well.”

Ipswich return to action on Saturday when they host Middlesbrough.

Thomas Tuchel said something in the aftermath of the game that resonated about how Arsenal are trying to handle the extra challenges Champions League football brings. “It is the most beautiful competition but the most difficult competition that we play,” he said.

Arsenal are still getting to grips with it, which is not altogether surprising considering this is broadly a new team taking big steps in this compellingly beautiful and difficult land.

Mikel Arteta’s side look all grown up in the Premier League right now, but they are still growing up in the Champions League. They are trying that bit too hard to impress, doing silly things at times — there is still a touch of a teenager galavanting around town about these turbulent games.

After the slog of Porto in the last round, Bayern Munich showed up to remind Arsenal that the European learning curve exists on a different plane from whatever is happening in the domestic scene.

More from Amy Lawrence below

777 Partners’ intended takeover of Everton now faces a further delay after the American firm asked for more time to complete key elements of the deal.

It emerged last month that the Miami-based group’s takeover had been granted conditional approval by the Premier League, subject to certain conditions being met.

One of the league’s stipulations was that 777 would need to repay a loan of £158million ($198.2m) from fellow U.S. investors MSP Sports capital to the club by Monday, April 15.

But 777 has now asked MSP to extend the repayment deadline on its loan, casting fresh doubt on the takeover.

That is despite 777 saying last month that it was “confident in its ability to fund both the transaction and the club’s three-year business plan… as part of its ongoing process of regulatory approval”.

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David Moyes has confirmed that Jarrod Bowen will not be available for West Ham United’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Bayer Leverkusen today.

The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Bowen, 27, was to miss out on the game in Germany after sustaining an injury in Saturday’s 2-1 in over Wolverhampton Wanderers which saw him withdrawn after 54 minutes.

“Jarrod isn't with us, he's twisted his knee and there's some sort of damage,” Moyes said. “We can't give any dates of when he might be back, unfortunately.

“Kalvin Phillips has picked up a problem and will be missing. It looks like he's tweaked his hamstring a bit, but we don't think it's a long-term problem.”

Bowen is West Ham’s top scorer this season with 19 goals and has been near-ever present for the east London club, featuring in 40 matches.