West Ham United have signed of Brazil defender Igor Julio on a season-long loan from fellow Premier League club Brighton. The 27-year-old centre-back has made 37 league appearances for Brighton since joining from Fiorentina for 14.5m in 2023, but has been limited to just one Carabao Cup appearance this season. Crystal Palace had considered signing him earlier on deadline day as they looked to replace Liverpool-bound Marc Guehi, but the Eagles pulled the plug on that move when Igor opted to move to West Ham.
City appeared poised to bounce back from their 2-0 home loss to Tottenham last Saturday after Erling Haaland capped his 100th Premier League appearance with his 88th goal in the division. However, City failed to put the game to bed, and James Milner's penalty restored parity in the 67th minute. Brighton were not content with a point, though, and Brajan Gruda capitalised on more defensive frailty from City as he secured the points in the 89th minute,
Both Manchester City and Brighton will be looking to bounce back from defeats when they meet on the south coast on Sunday. City had produced an opening-day performance at Wolves that pointed to them being strong contenders to regain the Premier League title. However, they were insipid at home to Tottenham last week, slumping to a deserved 2-0 defeat. It has been a frustrating start to the season for Brighton, who conceded a late equaliser against Fulham in their opener before being punished for profligacy in a 2-0 loss at Everton.
For Everton, the end of last season was all about Goodison Park. With the club's Premier League status secure there was room for sentiment. Everton said goodbye. Now, it's hello time. The first league visitors to the Hill Dickinson Stadium will be Brighton & Hove Albion, who know a thing or two about moving home themselves. After a defeat and a draw respectively on opening weekend, Everton and the Seagulls will be desperate to leave their mark on a historic day.
