BEN RYAN, who famously led Fiji to Olympic gold in Rugby Sevens, has been appointed to the new role of Director of Elite Performance by Brentford.

PETR CECH has stepped down from his role as Technical and Performance Advisor at Chelsea after three years. The 40-year-old was appointed in June 2019 to “provide advice on all football and performance matters throughout the club.”

FORMER QPR boss Mark Warburton has been appointed as the new assistant manager of West Ham. The 59-year-old replaces Stuart Pearce, who announced he was leaving to pursue his own managerial ambitions at the end of last season.

JUAN FLORIT, the Head of Projects at La Liga, tells TGG about the 10-year plan to improve Spanish Academies, which are already regarded as among the very best in Europe.

ON September 20th, TGG will be holding its first in-person event for three years. The Youth Development Conference will feature top speakers giving insights into the latest innovations and best practice in Academies - from both England and beyond.

CARDIFF CITY boss Steve Morison has bolstered his backroom staff with the appointment of Graham Stack as Goalkeeper Coach and Patrick Wilson as Head of Performance.

ENZO MARESCA is returning to Manchester City to become Pep Guardiola’s assistant after Juanma Lillo left to become Head Coach of Al-Sadd Sports Club in Qatar.

BURNLEY'S Academy is set to be demoted to Category Two status and West Brom's placed into 'special measures' following a meeting of the Professional Game Board last week - but Nottingham Forest have been granted a one-year Category One licence pending a further inspection by auditors.

GARETH PROSSER has been appointed as the new Academy Director of Everton. The move reunites him with Director of Football Kevin Thelwell, with whom he worked at both Derby and Wolves.

JAY SPEARING is returning to Liverpool after nine years to become a player-coach with their Academy.

PREMIER LEAGUE 2 will change to an Under-21 competition from next season. PL2 has been for U23s since the start of the 2016/17 season, but the Premier League said the rule change would “reflect the reality of the players in the competition”, whose average age is 19.

RUBEN SELLES has been appointed First Team Lead Coach at Southampton after long-serving trio Kelvin Davis, Dave Watson and Craig Fleming were sacked by the club.