After a summer bursting with unexpected plot lines, a familiar story. As a host of intriguing new characters are added to the cast list, the main man reasserted his dominance. As the Premier League returned, so did Erling Haaland. Perhaps it was the most crushingly predictable start to a season imaginable. For now, Manchester City are top of the table and Haaland is the top scorer. Fast forward nine months and each statement may remain true.

There was, though, something devastatingly awesome amid the sense of the normal. Haaland’s defence of his Golden Boot began within 185 seconds of the opening whistle. He is a fine first-time finisher, but this was a different kind of first touch: his first of the top-flight campaign entered the Burnley net. His second goal arrived before half-time, too, a goal with a devastating blend of power and accuracy. None of which spared him an animated tongue-lashing from Pep Guardiola as they made their way off at half-time but, along with a Rodri goal, it proved too much for Burnley.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kane’s transfer to the Bundesliga champions was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.

The England captain is quickly closing in on his move to Bayern Munich after completing the first part of his medical with the Bundesliga champions.

Kane is expected to be registered for Bayern in time to play in the DFL Supercup tomorrow.

The Premier League is back! The new season gets underway tonight with newly-promoted Burnley hosting the reigning champions Manchester City at Turf Moor. It’s been two months since the conclusion of the 2022/23 season saw City defeat Inter Milan and claim a treble of trophies in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping to repeat that success in this new campaign but City have been updating their squad this summer. Captain, Ilkay Gundogan, has moved to Barcelona, and Riyad Mahrez has joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have since joined up with the champions and could feature in their first league game for the club this evening.

The Brazil international will end his five-year stay at Old Trafford and join the Turkish club, providing he passes his medical, agrees personal terms and gets international clearance.

Fred, who had also attracted interest from Galatasaray and Fulham, has scored 14 goals in 213 games for United, was a first-choice under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, even as a squad player, made 56 appearances under Erik ten Hag last season.

Manchester United have delayed their announcement of whether Mason Greenwood has a future at the club as they consult with members of their women’s team, among others, until after the start of the season.

United have conducted a thorough investigation into the forward over the last six months and had intended to announce their decision at some point before Monday’s opening game against Wolves.

The Carabao Cup holders intend to talk to stakeholders including the club’s commercial partners, fans and the women’s team – three of whom, Mary Earps, Ella Toone and Katie Zelem, are at the World Cup, which finishes on 20 August– and explain their findings.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he cannot just “slap money on the table” as he attempts to find the last piece of his jigsaw for the new season.

The Magpies, backed by their majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have invested a net £95milion in Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento at the expense of the departed Allan Saint-Maximin this summer but Howe is keen to add one more player to his resources, with central defence a remaining focus.

However, the 45-year-old knows the club may have to be “creative” to get another deal over the line in an attempt to plot a path through Financial Fair Play regulations, with loans and staggered payments among the options.

Chelsea remain confident in their pursuit of Moises Caicedo despite Liverpool‘s interest and Brighton’s deadline, believing they have a superior offer to the player and that they can trump the Anfield club on price.

The Blues are also seeking to offer the Seagulls players in exchange to break the deadlock in negotiations, with the south-coast club already accepting a larger offer from Liverpool, as confirmed by Jurgen Klopp,

The player himself has made it clear his preference is Stamford Bridge, and no terms have actually been agreed with the Anfield hierarchy. The situation is nevertheless complicated because Brighton set a deadline of Thursday evening for an auction.

If David Moyes’ era of annual top-eight finishes feels like a distant time to Everton, they had a reason beyond nostalgia this week to remember their most successful manager of the past three decades.

When the Scot signed Edson Alvarez for West Ham, it left Everton alone: They are the sole Premier League club not to buy anyone this summer (Wolves have not purchased anyone new but were compelled to buy Matheus Cunha as part of his loan deal). And, as Everton finished 17th, escaping relegation despite a return of under a goal and a point per game, it is an understatement to say they needed reinforcements more than most.

Sean Dyche enters his first full season in charge looking prophetic; sadly for him. “I’ll be very surprised if they say, ‘Here’s another war chest, sign who you like’,” said Dyche an hour or so after keeping them up in May.

Veteran manager Roy Hodgson cannot wait to get another Premier League campaign up and running with Crystal Palace.

Hodgson may have turned 76 earlier this week on August 9, but has no intentions of taking things easy just yet after agreeing to stay on in charge at Selhurst Park.

The former England boss returned for a second spell at his boyhood club in March following the departure of Patrick Vieira.

Having safely guided the Eagles clear of a relegation battle at the time into the safety of a mid-table finish, Hodgson is ready to attack the new campaign head on as Palace begin life without Wilfried Zaha, who completed a summer move to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

“I wanted to carry on because the club asked me to carry on,” said Hodgson, who has also managed Switzerland and Finland, counting Inter Milan, Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom among the many clubs of which he has taken charge during a lengthy coaching career.

“Basically, because I so much enjoyed last season working with the team that I was able to work with for the last 10 games, the opportunity to carry on working with them was one that I certainly had no intention of resisting.”