Chelsea swooped to beat Arsenal to the signing of Ukrainian international winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee that could rise to 100 million euros ($108 million) on Sunday. Shakhtar confirmed that Mudryk will cost the Blues an initial 70 million euros with a further 30 million in performance related […]
Kieran Canning
AFP correspondent.
Gareth Bale retires as one of Britain's greatest soccer exports
Gareth Bale retires with his place as one of Britain’s greatest players secure after a spectacular career at home and abroad. The Welshman was once the world’s most-expensive player when he moved to Real Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 and went on to win the Champions League five times with the Spanish giants. In his last […]
Erling Haaland's return to Leeds leaves Jesse Marsch's team near relegation zone
Erling Haaland lamented not scoring five times in the city of his birth as the Norwegian struck twice in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Leeds to lift them back up to second in the Premier League. Haaland spent his early years in Yorkshire as his father Alfe Inge played for Leeds, but showed no mercy […]
Liverpool agrees to deal for Dutch star Cody Gakpo
Liverpool appears to have won the race to sign Dutch international forward Cody Gakpo after PSV Eindhoven announced an agreement with the English giants. Gakpo, who scored three goals at the World Cup for the Netherlands, had previously been linked with a move to Liverpool’s rival, Manchester United. “PSV and Liverpool FC have reached an […]
Christian Pulisic's Chelsea is back to winning ways against Bournemouth
Chelsea coach Graham Potter praised the Blues’ reaction to a poor run prior to the World Cup as they eased past Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday to end a five-game winless streak in the Premier League. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount struck inside the first 24 minutes to get Chelsea back in the hunt for a place […]
England sends statement with Iran blitz
Bukayo Saka said England sent a statement of what it can achieve in Qatar after crushing Iran, 6-2, on Monday to launch its World Cup in style. The Arsenal winger scored twice on his World Cup debut and Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also struck to end a six-game winless run […]
Players torn between club and country with 'one eye' on World Cup
As Sadio Mane limped off early in Bayern Munich’s routine Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday, the nation of Senegal held its breath. “Sadio, heart of a Lion! All my heart is with you!” Senegalese president Macky Sall tweeted with the African champions’ first game of the World Cup just 10 days away. Mane […]
England: Maddison gets England call for World Cup squad
England manager Gareth Southgate hailed James Maddison as among the best attacking players in the Premier League after the Leicester midfielder was included Thursday in his country’s World Cup squad. Southgate has shown faith in a series of players short on form or fitness and had previously overlooked Maddison. The 25-year-old has only one senior […]
Premier League: Arsenal faces acid test at Chelsea, Son-less Spurs takes aim at Liverpool
Arsenal faces a stiff test of its Premier League title credentials when it travels to Chelsea on Sunday, while Liverpool desperately needs to win at Tottenham to claw back ground on the top four. With just two league games left before a mid-season shutdown for the World Cup, Arsenal is the surprise leader, two points […]
Road to Qatar: Congested schedule and short runway put players at risk of missing out on World Cup
As Manchester United defender Raphael Varane left the field in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, the Frenchman’s face sank into his shirt to hide his tears from the cameras. Within seconds of pulling up at Stamford Bridge, Varane was aware his appearance at the World Cup was in jeopardy. The former Real Madrid center […]
