Romelu Lukaku is on the verge of leaving Manchester United for Inter Milan in a £72 million deal, sources have told ESPN FC.

Lukaku had been in Belgium since Monday and travelled to Milan on Wednesday evening to undergo a medical and seal the move. Lukaku's agent, Federico Pastorello, played a key role in brokering the agreement that is set to see the striker's two-year stay at Old Trafford come to an end.

Inter submitted a fresh offer -- made up of £60m in up-front payments and another £12m in add-ons -- after a day of talks in London on Wednesday.

Pastorello posted a photo on social media of him and Lukaku on a plane that said "Ready to take off .... direction Milano!"

View this post on Instagram

Ready to take off .... direction Milano ??!!! ⚫️? @inter ... stiamo arrivando .... @romelulukaku #interfc #romelulukaku

A post shared by Federico Pastorello (@fedepastorello) on Aug 7, 2019 at 3:23pm PDT

Lukaku's former club Everton are due a £5m payment as part of the deal.

The Belgium international has angered United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer after ruling himself out of all six preseason games with an ankle injury. Lukaku was also reprimanded for posting preseason running data on Twitter before failing to report for training at Carrington on Tuesday.

Sources have told ESPN FC that United have not ruled out replacing the 26-year-old with Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic but there is an acceptance it may prove difficult with time running out before Thursday's transfer deadline. Solskjaer is comfortable with promoting 17-year-old Mason Greenwood into a more prominent role to make up for Lukaku's absence.

Lukaku will leave United having scored 42 goals in 96 games following a £75m move from Everton in 2017.

With the Premier League transfer window closing at 5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET on Thursday, clubs across Europe are scrambling to get their business done -- here are some of the biggest storylines. Click here to view all the latest transfers and keep up to date with the latest gossip below.

- Lukaku closes on £72m Inter move
- David Luiz to force Arsenal transfer
- Barca's Coutinho going nowhere
- Man City sign Cancelo; Danilo to Juve

TOP STORY: Mandzukic to Man United?

Manchester United will need a striker once Romelu Lukaku's move to Inter Milan has gone through, and Sky Italia reports that they have set their sights on Mario Mandzukic.

Mandzukic, 33, isn't one for the future but he's a quality player with plenty of experience that would allow Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood to develop. In fact, sources have told ESPN that United may not even make a move for anyone as they trust 19-year-old Greenwood to fill in.

United have already spent £80m on Harry Maguire and £50m on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while Mandzukic is a cheaper option than Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams who would cost £81m. The Sun reports that Williams is an option though.

Transfer Tracker | Rumour Rater | W2W4 on Deadline Day

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09.44 BST: Tottenham are closing on two deals today. Paulo Dybala could be set to arrive for €70m, while Giovani Lo Celso looks a bit further along as the Telegraph is reporting that the midfielder is having a medical. He could cost around €60m.

09.37 BST: Borussia Dortmund defender Omer Toprak is set to join Werder Bremen, according to reports from Deichstube in Germany.

The 30-year-old wants more playing time and is prepared to see his salary halved from €5m per year.

Dortmund could receive a €5m transfer fee in return and get another player off their payroll. Felix Passlack, Alexander Isak, Abdou Diallo, Sebastian Rode, Jeremy Toljan and Andre Schurrle have already left Dortmund this summer, while Shinji Kagawa and Maximilian Philipp are also on their way out.

09.24 BST: Shock late move for Manchester City here in the goalkeeping department. Former England goalkeeper Scott Carson is set to join on a season-long loan from Derby, says the BBC.

Ederson is the undisputed No. 1 with Claudio Bravo his backup. But the 33-year-old former Leeds, Liverpool, andWest Brom stopper will be third-choice.

09.05 BST: West Ham have signed Switzerland international striker Albian Ajeti from FC Basel on a four-year deal.

09.03 BST: Swiss outlet Blick claims AS Monaco are interested in Xherdan Shaqiri and Liverpool would want €36m for the midfielder.

Shaqiri has been a great backup for the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, but the Switzerland international wants to play a more important role.

08.57 BST: Southampton striker Charlie Austin has been pushed down the pecking order after the arrival of Charlie Adam, so West Brom and Bristol City are trying to land him on loan, according to Sky Sports.

08.42 BST: Everton are exploring the possibility of signing Marcus Rojo from Manchester United after being knocked back in their approach for Chris Smalling, with a source telling ESPN FC a deal is "unlikely as it stands, but you never know."

08.28 BST: Sampdoria forward Dennis Praet will join Leicester for a fee in the region of £12-14m, a source has told ESPN.

Leicester have plenty of money to spend after selling Harry Maguire to Man United but there's no sign of a replacement centre-back just yet.

08.23 BST: Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy is set to join Brighton on loan from Huddersfield, a source has told ESPN.

Huddersfield were relegated from the top-flight last season and Mooy was one of their star players, so it makes sense that a Premier League club are interested. We're just surprised that they are letting him depart on loan.

08.15 BST: And more from the BBC, as they report that Juventus forward Paulo Dybala is close to a move to Tottenham for €70m.

08.00 BST: Arsenal are on the verge of signing Chelsea's David Luiz, says the BBC.

Even though Chelsea are in the middle of a transfer embargo and can't sign a replacement, the two clubs have agreed a fee of £8m which will see Luiz sign a two-year deal to reunite with Unai Emery -- his former manager at PSG.

07.46 BST: Bayern Munich's hopes of signing Manchester City's Leroy Sane may have been ended by injury, according to reports in Germany and the UK.

Sane has been a target for Bundesliga champions Bayern all summer, although City's asking price of £135m has been prohibitive.

Even so, a deal still appeared possible as both clubs would not totally break off contact, but the 23-year-old Germany international suffered a knee injury in Sunday's Community Shield against Liverpool at Wembley.

According to German daily Bild and British paper the Daily Mail, the injury could be worse than initially feared amid concerns that Sane may have suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage.

That would rule him out for much of this season, and scupper any potential transfer for a year.

07.00 BST: Celtic and Arsenal have agreed a Scottish transfer record fee of £25 million for Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney, the BBC reports.

The player is set to travel south ahead of Thursday's Premier League transfer window deadline to complete the deal.

06.47 BST: What the latest on Neymar? Well, he's still at Paris Saint-Germain. BUT, there have been reports that Real Madrid could use Luka Modric as a makweight in a deal to lure the Brazil star to Spain.

06.02 BST: Leeds United full-back Tom Pearce is booked to have a medical at Wigan on Thursday morning, that's according to Phil Hay at the Athletic.

05.56 BST: More on Brian Rodriguez's move from Penarol to MLS pace-setters LAFC. Reports had put Rodriguez's transfer fee at $11.5m, but a source with knowledge of the deal has told ESPN FC that the transfer fee was "closer to $8m."

05.37 BST: Philippe Coutinho's chances of returning to the Premier League this transfer window appear slim. Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde confirmed as much late on Wednesday night in the U.S., telling reporters: "Of course I am counting on him. We don't know what's going to happen, but he's with us."

05.23 BST: BBC's David Ornstein says that Ryan Sessegnon's move to Tottenham is a done deal. Spurs will reportedly pay £25m plus Josh Onomah to land the Fulham starlet.

03.49 BST: Speaking of Lukaku, Fabrizio Romano has posted a video of the striker arriving in Italy. It's fair to say that the Inter fans are pleased to see him...

Romelu Lukaku has just arrived in Milano! More than 200 Inter fans here to wait him at 2am. @SkySport ⚫️?? pic.twitter.com/Iapb9c0Ioy

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 8, 2019

03.00 BST: Rise and shine football fans, Deadline Day has officially begun!

- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- ESPN fantasy: Sign up now!
- When does the transfer window close?

PAPER ROUND (By James Capps)

Spurs set to seal Lo Celso deal

Reports in the Guardian claim Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a €60 million fee with Real Betis for midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, with a deal expected to be finalised before the transfer deadline.

With moves for Philippe Coutinho and Paulo Dybala reportedly hitting trouble, talks with the 23-year-old are set to go smoothly on Thursday, after the Argentine was withdrawn from his side's preseason friendly squad on Wednesday evening.

Lo Celso had only joined Betis on a permanent basis in April after enjoying a fruitful season-long loan spell from Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 16 goals in 45 games for Los Verdiblancos.

The Argentina international will be the second major addition to the Spurs midfield this summer, following the £54m acquisition of Frenchman Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon at the start of July.

PSG keen on Milan's Donnarumma

Paris Saint-Germain are plotting a move for AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, according to reports at Calciomercato.

After the permanent departure of Kevin Trapp to Eintracht Frankfurt, Paris sporting director Leonardo is back in the market for a new shot-stopper, with the Brazilian said to be unconvinced by his most senior keeper, Alphonse Areola.

In fact, the Italian publication claims PSG offered Areola as a makeweight in a player-plus-cash deal for Donnarumma, but that offer was rejected by the Rossoneri.

There are several other obstacles in the French giants' way, with the youngster believed to be reluctant to make the move, while senior members of the Milan board are also said to be strongly opposed to another sale of an academy product, following Patrick Cutrone's move to Wolves.

Tap Ins

- Brighton are preparing to break their transfer record on deadline day, with the Mirror reporting that the Seagulls have made a £28m move for Genk midfielder Sander Berge. Graham Potter's side will need to fight off interest from Sheffield United and Lazio for the 21-year-old Norwegian's signature.

- Leicester City are set to seal an £18m deal for Sampdoria midfielder Dennis Praet, according to reports in the Telegraph. The Belgian is set to travel to the midlands overnight for talks with Brendan Rodgers' side, who have so far signed three players this summer.

- The Daily Mail claims Premier League duo Southampton and Crystal Palace will go head-to-head for the deadline day capture of Spurs full-back Kyle Walker-Peters on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old impressed Palace boss Roy Hodgson when his side met Spurs in the FA Cup last season.

Mike Hesson has parted ways with Kings XI Punjab after a ten-month tenure as coach of the IPL franchise.

Hesson announced his decision to step down through a post on Twitter on Thursday.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Kings XI franchise," his tweet said, "and wish to thank them for the season I had in charge. Whilst disappointed not to be able to build on the work we did this year, I'm sure success isn't too far away for them. I wish them all the best for the future."

A message from me regarding @lionsdenkxip pic.twitter.com/xOGfEw4LBq

— Mike Hesson (@CoachHesson) August 7, 2019

Hesson's departure from the IPL comes at a time of significant coaching changes at the international level in the aftermath of the men's World Cup.

Hesson, who had coached New Zealand between 2012 and 2018, replaced Australian Brad Hodge as Kings XI coach in October last year. He took up the IPL role five months after stepping down as New Zealand coach, and his stint with Kings XI was his first in a T20 franchise league. During his tenure, Kings XI finished sixth in IPL 2019, winning six of their 14 games, with R Ashwin as captain.

Hesson had quit as New Zealand coach less than a year before the 2019 World Cup, with a view to taking a "break from the rigours of international cricket". Under him, New Zealand became a dominant Test team and also made the World Cup final in 2015. In 59 T20Is under Hesson, New Zealand won 30 and lost 24.

Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20 Blast with Birmingham Bears after fracturing his ankle during warm-ups on Sunday and faces a tight schedule to be fit for the start of the Australia season.

Agar, who plays for Western Australia and Perth Scorchers, picked up the injury ahead of the match against Yorkshire and it was subsequently found that he suffered a small fracture to his right ankle along with ligament damage.

The Australian men's domestic season starts on September 21 when Western Australia host Victoria in a Marsh One-Day Cup match at the WACA which leaves Agar six weeks to recover.

Paul Farbrace, Warwickshire's sport director, said: "We're obviously very disappointed to lose Ash after he made such a great impression on and off the field. He will soon return to Australia to start his rehabilitation programme and we all wish him the very best."

Before joining Birmingham he had been part of the Australia A squad for the one-day leg of their tour and bowled with the World Cup squad to help them to prepare to face Shakib Al Hasan.

He took six wickets in four matches for Australia A before collecting three in his first four T20 Blast matches where he also produced some handy performances with the bat from the middle order.

Agar last played for Australia during last year's T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE although was part of the one-day squad for the South Africa one-day series last November without getting a game.

When he was dropped for the next one-day series, against India in January, he took a swipe at the selectors for a lack of communication. "I got told pretty much just keep trying to get better," he said. "That's what I was told. I guess I mustn't have run the drinks well enough last time, because I didn't really get a crack at that before."

He then suffered an injury mid-way through the Big Bash which ended his season and he lost his Cricket Australia contract in April but selection for the A squad showed he remained in the selectors' thoughts.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has cranked up its search for the senior team coach, with the side's next assignment - a one-off Test against Afghanistan - less than a month away. The board's shortlist included Mike Hesson, Grant Flower, Paul Farbrace, Russell Domingo and Chandika Hathurusingha, after Andy Flower declined the board's offer a second time. The BCB may be in a race with other subcontinent boards, with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan also looking for a head coach, and ongoing issues between Hathurusingha and Sri Lanka Cricket.

Farbrace, it is understood, is out of the running after he declined the BCB's offer to take things further.* It is the second time the former England assistant coach has done so; he was among those being discussed for the role even though he had declined the board's offer in March last year. The BCB eventually appointed Steve Rhodes then, with whom it parted ways immediately after the World Cup.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, is a frontrunner, with BCB president Nazmul Hassan and some directors expressing interest. However, Domingo, who coached South Africa from 2013 to 2016, was the first coach to be interviewed as the board began its process in Dhaka on Thursday. Grant Flower, who was Pakistan's batting coach, and Hathurusingha remain on the periphery of the board's interest.

Hathurusingha, who coached Bangladesh from 2014 to 2017, is known to be a favourite of the BCB president and a few directors, even though he quit to take up the Sri Lanka job in October 2017. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that Hathurusingha's ongoing struggle with Sri Lanka Cricket, which resulted in his suspension this week, has resulted in a difference of opinion between the Bangladesh board directors over his prospects. Still, the BCB will reportedly conduct a telephone interview with Hathurusingha, which doesn't rule him out of contention.

The, BCB, meanwhile, was impressed with Domingo's presentation during the interview.

"We have started working with our shortlisted coaches," the BCB's media committee chairman, Jalal Yunus, said. "We have just conducted an interview with Russell Domingo, the former South Africa coach. He is a real professional. He is well qualified. He gave us a presentation about what he thinks about Bangladesh cricket. It was satisfying for the BCB.

"We will interview the rest of the coaches on our shortlist. We have two more to interview in the next few days, and then we will choose between these coaches."

Additional reporting by George Dobell.

*08.15 GMT, August 8: The article was updated when news of Farbrace's decision came in.

Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have been dropped from the PCB's annual central-contracts list for the 2019-2020 season. The board has trimmed the pool from 33 to 19, reducing the number of categories from five to three. Only three players - Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah - have been included in the top-most bracket. The players' performances and prospects were taken into consideration under the new system, which sees a significant increase - in the range of 25-40% - in the financial value of the annual contracts.

Malik, who recently retired from ODIs, and Hafeez were in categories A and B respectively last year. Other important demotions include Mohammad Amir and Fakhar Zaman, who were in categories A and B respectively last year and are now in Category C category, and Test specialist Azhar Ali, who averaged 28.23 last year, and was demoted from category A to B.

Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, and Mohammad Abbas, meanwhile, have been promoted from category C to B. Asad Shafiq was retained in B.

Amir's demotion comes in the wake of his retirement from Tests while Malik's decision to only play T20Is may have played a part in his omission. Asif Ali, who has been among Pakistan's major investments in the recent past, was left out along with Junaid Khan, Hussain Talat, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Nawaz, Ruman Raees, Rahat Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Sahibzada Farhan, and Saad Ali.

The PCB's new annual contracts will be valid from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, with Pakistan playing 42 days of international cricket, including 32 in Tests, in the next 12 months. Although the focus of the shortlisted pool has been around backing young players, the PCB, commenting on the exclusion of Malik and Hafeez, said both players 'will remain available for selection'.

At age 38, Hafeez's prospects on the international circuit appear somewhat bleak. At the World Cup, the bowling allrounder scored only 253 runs at an average of 31.62 in eight innings and took two wickets in seven innings. In Tests, over the past 12 months, he has amassed only 200 runs in nine innings while his performance in ODIs - 507 runs in 18 matches, at an average of 33.80 - has been lukewarm at best. In the shortest format, though, he has been prolific, averaging 81 in six innings since August last year.

Given the PCB is without a selection committee at the moment - chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq had decided against renewing his contract once his stint ended in July - the list of contracted players was drawn up by the PCB director Zakir Khan (international cricket operations), Haroon Rasheed (domestic cricket operations), Muddasir Nazar (director, National Cricket Academy), and Wasim Khan (managing director, PCB).

"We have significantly increased the financial value of the 2019-20 retainers across each category," Wasim said in a statement. "This is over and above what had been agreed in the current agreement, which is due to run until 2021.

"The PCB have set high standards and targets in its strategic plan for the upcoming season. We want to attach a high value to receiving a central contract. We have complete faith and confidence that these players will set up and produce on-field performances that will help us collectively achieve our objectives and targets."

Category A (PKR 1.1m) : Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah
Category B (PKR 750,000) : Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz
Category C (PKR 550,000): Abid Ali, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood and Usman Shinwari

Out: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Bilal Asif, Saad Ali, Mir Hamza, Umaid Asif, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Nawaz, Rumman Raees, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Rahat Ali, Usman Salahuddin
Players who were demoted: Fakhar Zaman (B to C), Mohammad Amir (A to C), Hassan Ali (B to C)
Players who were promoted: Haris Sohail (C to B), Imam-ul-Haq (C to B), Mohammad Abbas (C to B), Wahab Riaz (C to B), Shaheen Afridi (E to B), Mohammad Rizwan (E to C) (edited)

Mahela Jayawardene and Tom Moody, head coaches of Khulna Titans and Rangpur Riders, have slammed the constant changes to the Bangladesh Premier League's rules and regulations. Their criticisms follow the BPL governing council's announcement of August 4, which said that existing teams require a fresh franchise agreement to be part of the next four-year cycle as BPL franchise owners. One of the key issues affected by this announcement is also the transfer of players, like Shakib Al Hasan's recent move to Rangpur Riders from Dhaka Dynamites.

BCB director Mahbubul Anam, at a press conference on August 4, stated that player deals will become null and void because the franchises haven't signed the new deal with the BCB yet. "Since we have not yet made a new agreement for the new cycle, we cannot endorse whatever deals that have been struck by the franchises for the seventh edition," he said.

But according to a May 11, 2019, letter sent to the franchises, the BCB told them to "take necessary preparation" for the upcoming edition. According to multiple franchise officials, the renewal of their franchisee agreement is a mere formality, which they would have done in the background, while preparing for tournament.

Moody, who coaches Riders stated that "the consistency of the playing conditions and the rules set out for the franchises" was one of the most important elements in a T20 league, while Jayawardene said that changing the rules every year was "not healthy" for franchise cricket.

The timing of the governing council's announcement has irked most teams, who signed up local and foreign players for their four direct signings, and were planning to speak to existing and prospective sponsors. It has also brought into question the manner of functioning of the BPL governing council. Their press conference on August 4, which was attended by BCB director Mahbubul Anam, governing council chairman Sheikh Sohel and BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick, was called four days after Shakib Al Hasan left Dhaka Dynamites to join Rangpur Riders.

The Dynamites team also expressed its disappointment at not having been informed of the transfer by the player. The Dynamites franchise is owned by Beximco, where BCB president Namzul Hassan and Mallick are both employed. Their current coach is Khaled Mahmud, the BCB director. Shakib has played for the Dynamites since 2016, coincidentally, after having moved there from the Riders.

BPL's current rules suggest that Shakib, one of the league's "icon" players, is free to move. This rule was changed to reflect this a few seasons ago, and previously Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim also moved to move to the Riders and Rajshahi Kings, respectively, in 2016. Under the same rule, Khulna Titans and Comilla Victorians have reportedly roped in Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur for the 2019-20 edition.

"If we see things constantly changing on a whim the integrity of the tournament can be questioned both locally and internationally." Tom Moody

Moody, who guided the Riders to their maiden title in 2017, said that constant rule changes could bring the integrity of a tournament into question, locally and internationally.

"Having been involved in many T20 leagues over the past 12 years it has become very clear that one of the most important elements is the consistency of the playing conditions and the rules set out for the franchises," Moody said. "It is not important only for the franchises or the management, it is crucial for the fan base to have an understanding of what playing group not only local but international they are following. It gives them a loyal fan base. If we see things constantly changing on a whim the integrity of the tournament can be questioned both locally and internationally."

Jayawardene, who has been the Titan coach since 2017, said the constant changes were not fair on teams.

"Having long-term planning is important because what I felt when you keep changing rules every year and even while the tournament is on it is not healthy for any franchise cricket. If you see all the other tournaments around the world they always have consistent set of rules which guides all franchises and it is quite fair for everyone," he said.

Moody and Jayawardene are not the first to question the procedures and the fairness of rules in the BPL. The tournament has seen several modifications of rules and regulations, and playing conditions, and has faced issues of conflict of interest since its inception. Board officials either directly owning or indirectly connected with franchises is one of the issues. Apart from Hassan and Mallick's links with Dynamites, the Titans chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed is a BCB director, while chief selector Minhajul Abedin ran the Chittagong Vikings franchise last season.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Tiger Woods is used to seeing a big crowd of spectators surrounding the first tee box and lining the fairway ropes when he begins play in a tournament.

On Thursday morning, he will be greeted by a few volunteers, officials, media and a lot of empty space at Liberty National.

The site of the Northern Trust tournament was hit by a heavy storm Wednesday afternoon, and grandstands, hospitality venues, signage and tents were damaged. Although the grounds crew was working overnight to get the golf course playable, there was enough damage to spectator areas that PGA Tour officials decided Wednesday night to keep spectators from entering until 10 a.m. ET Thursday.

That means players such as Woods, who begins the first round of the FedEx Cup playoff opener at 7:43 a.m., probably will play about nine holes without any spectators on the grounds.

The first round is scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m.

"We're an outdoor sport, so Mother Nature is bound to show up and change our well-laid plans on occasions,'' Julie Tyson, executive director of the tournament, said in statement.

The PGA Tour reported there were no injuries at Liberty National, despite heavy rain and winds that gusted up to 60 mph. The forecast calls for the weather to improve, with a small chance of rain and high temperatures in the 80s over the weekend.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday that the decision not to send former quarterback Kelly Bryant a national championship ring was simple and shouldn't be construed as anything other than Bryant was no longer a part of the team.

"He wasn't on the team. You've gotta be on the team to get a ring," Swinney told ESPN. "I love Kelly and appreciate what he did for us, but he decided to move on."

Bryant, now at Missouri as a graduate transfer, started the first four games last season for Clemson but was demoted in favor of freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence following the Georgia Tech game. Bryant elected to transfer after being told by Swinney that Lawrence would move into the starting role and subsequently left the team in late September. At the time, Bryant called his demotion a "slap in the face."

Swinney said he has not spoken with Bryant since he left Clemson, but looks forward to doing so when the time is right. Bryant told ESPN last month that he still keeps in touch with several of his Clemson teammates and would certainly accept a ring if one was offered.

"Hopefully we'll be able to visit and sit down and have a good conversation, but he's focused on what he's trying to do, and we wish him the best," Swinney said. "He's a graduate of Clemson and always will be and was a heck of a player for us, but my job is to do what's best for the team."

Bryant and Lawrence split most of the reps through the first four games. Bryant passed for 205 yards in a 28-26 road win at Texas A&M the second week of the season. But after Lawrence passed for four touchdowns two weeks later in a 49-21 win over Georgia Tech, Swinney decided to go with Lawrence as the starter and informed Bryant of his decision that next Monday.

"It was close coming out of camp and I was like, 'All right, we've got to take it to the games and see how it plays out,' and after that Georgia Tech game, it was obvious," Swinney said. "Trevor had to have an opportunity to be the guy. I didn't anticipate Kelly leaving. I thought Kelly would stay and keep playing and compete. But he chose to move on. Trevor took it and ran with it and got better and better."

Bryant, who will be a senior at Missouri, was 16-2 as a starter at Clemson after waiting his turn behind Deshaun Watson and led the Tigers to a College Football Playoff appearance in the 2017 season.

After taking over for Bryant as the starter last season, Lawrence led the Tigers the rest of the way to an unbeaten 15-0 record and their second national championship in the past three years. He finished his freshman season with 3,240 passing yards and threw 30 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He's already being mentioned prominently among NFL scouts as perhaps the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft when he becomes draft-eligible.

"It was an emotional time for all of us," Swinney said. "My hope for Kelly is that he has great success at Missouri."

The recency bias -- our tendency to trust the most recent result first -- tends to grab hold after a record-setting season such as Patrick Mahomes' in 2018, so here is your reminder: It is not imperative that you build your fantasy football team around a quarterback via the draft. That might be true on the gridiron, but it's certainly not true in our game, where you can stream quarterbacks.

Mahomes' single-season record-setting 417.1 fantasy points in 2018 might give the impression that quarterbacks can lead you to a league championship, but the only part of that argument that holds water is that Mahomes did so only because of how little he cost you at the draft table: He was the No. 16 quarterback and No. 122 player off the board, on average, in ESPN leagues. Bang for the buck.

The leaguewide single-season record of 8,824.4 fantasy points scored by the position as a whole also might grant said impression, but again, the argument carries little weight because of the distribution of said points across all quarterbacks.

Consider this: If we compared Mahomes' performance to what the NFL's league-average starting quarterback would've amassed in a 16-game schedule, his 2018 was actually only the 10th-best season in the game's history. In fact, Peyton Manning's 2013 actually delivered his teams more points relative to the league average, as did Tom Brady's 2007 and both Drew Brees' and Aaron Rodgers' 2011.

Again, bang for the buck, as while Mahomes' performance was historically great even considering these facts, had you paid a top-quarterback-in-the-game price to acquire him -- as you most certainly will have to this year -- he'd have provided you less of a return than you might think.

There were also a single-season record eight quarterbacks who reached the 300-point plateau in fantasy in 2018, and a record 14 who reached 280, further illustrating how the bar for scoring has been raised across the position's entirety. As their scores increase in the upper tiers, they do so closer to the position's replacement level (defined as the typical performance you could expect from any player freely available on your league's waiver wire in any given week).

That's why the "streaming quarterbacks" strategy has grown in relevance alongside the positional rise in scoring. Because so many quarterbacks can deliver you a lofty fantasy point total nowadays, there's an argument to be made for paying an absolute minimum for them at the draft table, then piecing the position together throughout the year.

How, then, does one employ such a strategy?

Your draft-day approach

To start off, "streaming quarterbacks" should never be misinterpreted as "Take your quarterback last." Quarterbacks still generate more fantasy points than any other position in the game -- nearly five full points more than any other individual spot in a standard (10-team) ESPN league. Deliberately ignoring the position at the draft is a lazy approach that runs the risk of dipping you too deep into the streaming -- or worse, replacement-level -- pool, and it also takes you out of the bargain-shopping market, where you can often find a lot of matchups value.

Mahomes, who is currently going 17th overall in ESPN live drafts, becomes a stronger selection the longer he lingers in the draft, but he's not worth that price because unless he repeats his 2018 performance, he won't provide you enough of a return to justify it. Worse yet, selecting him anywhere close to that soon will make you hesitant to ever bench him, even facing one of the league's toughest defenses while another quarterback on your roster or the free-agent list presents the much better chance at the bigger score.

While that's an extreme example of an unlikely scenario, always be prepared to bench your quarterback if he's not aligned to deliver you a worthy weekly fantasy point total. What if Mahomes looks human in September, directly in advance of a tough Baltimore Ravens matchup in Week 3? It could happen, even if the odds seem awfully low today.

As is, Deshaun Watson should give Mahomes a run for the position's top point total in 2019, and the ESPN projections agree: Mahomes is projected for 332.5 points, Watson 319.6, with the difference being effectively a rushing score and 70 rushing yards, or a pair of passing scores and 125 passing yards. Aaron Rodgers, incidentally, is 8.2 points behind Watson in the projections, and a whopping 17 quarterbacks are projected to score 270-plus points.

Because my research reflects that those in 10- or 12-team leagues should be able to have a relatively easy time drafting a quarterback who can deliver a 17-point weekly average -- there was an average of 13 of them per week who scored that many during the past five seasons -- there's no reason to take a passer projected to average 20.8 points per game before the fifth round, unless you somehow believe Mahomes will repeat.

If Mahomes lasts that long, he's well worth the price, as Watson would be in Round 6, Andrew Luck, Rodgers or Matt Ryan in Round 8 or 9, or Baker Mayfield, Cam Newton or Russell Wilson in Round 10. Be prepared to pounce when a quarterback falls -- if it does happen in your league -- because the best way to employ a streamer's strategy is to pair your play with a more proven option whom you bench when he's on bye or facing a mediocre-to-poor matchup.

Be active with start/sit moves, but know that the fill-ins almost always come at little to no cost, at least in single-quarterback leagues.

Week-by-week streaming planner

During the regular season, the goal is to activate the quarterback who faces the most appealing matchup, whether drawing from an option already on your roster or adding one available via free agency.

Returning to that number 17, which slips to about 14.5 in either a 10-team, two-quarterback league or a 16-team league, that needs be your weekly point-total goal. If the quarterback doesn't have a realistic chance at getting there, move on to one who will, even if that means benching the one you drafted for a waiver-wire add.

Using fantasy points allowed, which we'll provide throughout the season, it's easy to determine which defenses offer the best/worst matchups for your quarterbacks. My weekly Matchups Map provides an even more recent look, using only the most recent five weeks' data in order to account for injuries and team trends.

In the past five seasons combined, there were 90 instances of a completely undrafted quarterback scoring at least 17 points while facing one of the season's eight worst defenses in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. That's an average of barely more than one per week, but if we then raise the bar to include those selected in Rounds 10-16 -- players who are often freely mixed and matched, added and dropped, based upon performance -- then 206 quarterbacks reached that threshold (an average of 2.4 per week).

Here are some specific quarterbacks and their matchups that, at the onset of the season, stand out as likely streaming candidates. Remember that team defensive performance tends to shift dramatically from year to year -- and sometimes even week to week -- so a good Week 8 matchup today might no longer be so when that week comes around.

Week 1: Jameis Winston (SF), Jimmy Garoppolo (@TB), Andy Dalton (@SEA), Nick Foles (KC) and Joe Flacco (@OAK).

Week 2: Josh Allen (@NYG), Jameis Winston (@CAR), Jimmy Garoppolo (@CIN), Andy Dalton (SF) and Derek Carr (KC).

Week 3: Kirk Cousins (OAK), Josh Allen (CIN), Lamar Jackson (@KC), Jameis Winston (NYG) and Kyler Murray (CAR). This shapes up as a fantastic week for streaming.

Week 4: Kyler Murray (SEA), Matthew Stafford (KC), Philip Rivers (@MIA), Marcus Mariota (@ATL) and Eli Manning (WSH).

Week 5: Mitchell Trubisky (@OAK), Kirk Cousins (@NYG), Kyler Murray (@CIN), Nick Foles (@CAR) and Marcus Mariota (BUF).

Week 6: Jameis Winston (CAR), Lamar Jackson (CIN), Kyler Murray (ATL), Sam Darnold (DAL) and Ryan Fitzpatrick/Josh Rosen (WSH).

Week 7: Kyler Murray (@NYG), Lamar Jackson (@SEA), Jimmy Garoppolo (@WSH), Joe Flacco (KC) and Case Keenum/Dwayne Haskins (SF).

Week 8: Marcus Mariota (TB), Kirk Cousins (WSH), Matthew Stafford (NYG), Derek Carr (@HOU) and Jameis Winston (@TEN).

Week 9: Matthew Stafford (@OAK), Kyler Murray (SF), Jameis Winston (@SEA), Kirk Cousins (@KC) and Marcus Mariota (@CAR).

Week 10: Philip Rivers (@OAK), Kyler Murray (@TB), Jimmy Garoppolo (SEA), Sam Darnold (NYG) and Marcus Mariota (KC). This is a remarkably deep week for potential streamers, considering six other teams are on bye.

Week 11: Kyler Murray (@SF), Philip Rivers (KC), Andy Dalton (@OAK), Derek Carr (CIN) and Matthew Stafford (DAL).

Week 12: Sam Darnold (OAK), Mitchell Trubisky (NYG), Matthew Stafford (@WSH), Jameis Winston (@ATL) and Case Keenum/Dwayne Haskins (DET). This shapes up as one of the weaker weeks for streaming, with four teams on bye.

Week 13: Kirk Cousins (@SEA), Lamar Jackson (SF), Nick Foles (TB), Derek Carr (@KC) and Sam Darnold (@CIN).

Week 14: Marcus Mariota (@OAK), Mitchell Trubisky (DAL), Joe Flacco (@HOU), Sam Darnold (MIA) and Philip Rivers (@JAX).

Week 15: Matthew Stafford (TB), Nick Foles (@OAK), Jimmy Garoppolo (ATL), Marcus Mariota (HOU) and Joe Flacco (@KC).

Week 16: Philip Rivers (OAK), Kyler Murray (@SEA), Mitchell Trubisky (KC), Jameis Winston (HOU) and Case Keenum/Dwayne Haskins (NYG).

Week 17: Excluded due to the likelihood of playoff teams resting starters.

As you can see, Winston stands out as an excellent draft-day value, due to his low ADP (166th overall) combined with his extremely favorable first-month schedule, including three straight plus matchups to begin the campaign. He'd be an ideal late-round selection for, say, Rodgers managers, who should be aware he begins the year facing the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos.

Garoppolo and Dalton, too, match up well in the season's initial weeks, making them strong bench picks for streaming purposes.