List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Kyle Walker continues to weigh up his Man City future amid interest from Bayern Munich, Sheffield United & West Ham.

Chelsea have completed the signing of France football international Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, landing the versatile attacker for around a reported £52million. He becomes the first signing for the club since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as the new manager, with both men set to officially join the Stamford Bridge club on 1 July. Nkunku, age 25, came through the ranks at PSG before heading to Leipzig where he scored 23 goals last season. He has won ten caps for the French national team, though missed out on a place at the World Cup in November and December due to a knee injury. “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea,' said Nkunku upon signing. “A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and teammates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch. “Having played in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, I now want to play in the Premier League, one of the strongest leagues in the world. I am very excited for this challenge and will be proud to wear the Chelsea shirt.” Chelsea co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley added: “Christopher has proved himself one of the standout attacking players in European football over the past two seasons and will add quality, creativity and versatility to our squad. “He has demonstrated his ability at the highest level with RB Leipzig and France and we look forward to him joining up with his new teammates ahead of the new season.” Nkunku, who has signed a six-year contract, can play anywhere in the forward lines. Initially a wide attacking midfielder, he has been a regular both as a roving centre-forward and an advanced midfielder for Leipzig, while also playing in support of a striker in the flexible systems of Jesse Marsch and Julian Nagelsmann at the club.

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Wall St looks set to return

Chelsea have completed the signing of France international Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. The 25-year-old made a pre-contract agreement to join the club in December but has now completed the move for a reported £63million. He scored 23 goals in 36 games for the Bundesliga side last season and becomes the first major arrival at Stamford Bridge since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as the club’s new manager. “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea,” Nkunku told the club’s website. “A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and team-mates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

BEIJING U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the spy balloon incident with China "should be closed" in

Egypt hiked the minimum wage for private-sector workers for the second time in six months, as a series

Provides an overview of the United States, including key facts about this north American country.

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There is suddenly a little bit of tension about one of the most ambitious plans in football. High-placed sources say this week brings a lot of discussion between Saudi Arabian representatives and those of top players in order to try and convince them to join the planet’s most disruptive competition. Some involved see it as a key period for the Saudi Pro League in terms of keeping the momentum going by getting truly big players. Interest in Neymar and David De Gea is now well known, but representatives are also looking at Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva, and there are offers for a series of Chelsea players. Among them are N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech. It would represent quite the analgesic for what had been a real headache at Stamford Bridge. Throughout the last few months, the major question at Stamford Bridge, beyond the manager, was who was going to buy the players they needed to sell to trim the squad and meet Financial Fair Play requirements. Everyone “knew they were coming”, to use the industry phrase. Clubs were going to go in low and well under the asking price, as Manchester United have attempted with Mason Mount. Now, a solution has suddenly presented itself. Chelsea could clear a lot of players for big money, allowing Mauricio Pochettino a much cleaner slate to start working with. It has raised a lot of chatter within the game as well as outside. Football officials have privately pointed to the strong relationship between Chelsea majority owners Clearlake and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund [PIF], who have billions of pounds worth of assets managed by the American firm. Many within the game are now asking about Saudi influence on Chelsea but it has long been stressed there was no involvement in Clearlake’s 2022 purchase, and consequently no concern about potential conflicts of interest given the ownership of Newcastle United. The Owners and Directors test would also require that any influence be declared. It is being insisted now at Stamford Bridge that the only discussions taking place are “transactional conversations about players they’re interested in”. Chelsea and the Premier League have been approached for comment. The London club look to have just benefitted from good timing, although the biggest question now is how many players will actually be convinced to move, and “what actually gets done”. Lukaku is already reluctant. Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva would be unlikely to even consider a proposal if it arrives. The very fact such discussions are being had does raise two wider issues for the game. One, in the abstract, is the growing influence of private equity in football. Part of the reason such questions are being asked is that it’s unclear what money funds private equity in such takeovers. The Premier League, for example, doesn’t have to know. There are an increasing number of people in football who see private equity’s influence - going right up to possible deals with Serie A and La Liga - as just as problematic as state ownership, especially with how the potential is there for the two to overlap. There is then the big story of the summer, which revolves around one of the most ambitious and biggest of those states. Offers from the Saudi Pro League are expected to escalate in the next few weeks, as this is viewed as a key stage of the project. Bringing Ruben Neves from Wolves was a coup but they want bigger than that. It is also why there was some disappointment about the “complacency” of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin about the extent the Saudi Pro League’s growth could distort the game. The Slovenian official gave an interview in the Netherlands on the eve of the Nations League final, in which he said the European game should not be concerned about any player exodus. “No, no, no… I think that it's mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football. Why is that a problem for them? Because they should invest in academies, they should bring coaches, and they should develop their own players." “The system of buying the players that almost ended their career is not the system that develops football. It was a similar mistake in China when they all brought players who are at the end of their career.” “Tell me one player who is top, top age and who starts his career and went to play in Saudi Arabia? But it's not about money only. Players want to win top competitions. And top competition is in Europe.” That question is something currently being tested, but a growing view is that Ceferin is wrong to make the comparison to China. Saudi Arabia has a much more developed football culture, with a good level of quality, and part of this project is improving that. There is then the wider issue of the football authorities' general lack of regulation and foresight on the influence of states and private equity groups. The next few days will nevertheless tell a lot, but this is really about the next few years. Read More First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything Sportswashing is about to change football beyond anything you can imagine The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Saudi Arabia can help Chelsea solve headache — but talks raise issues Carabao Cup 2023/24 fixture dates and schedule revealed Chelsea fixtures released for Premier League 2023/24 season

Grab Holdings Ltd. is preparing its biggest round of layoffs since the pandemic, as the internet company faces

Swiss watch exports jumped again in May as deliveries to the US rebounded and demand for luxury timepieces

Borussia Dortmund are hoping to finalise a club-record move for Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez. West Ham had considered him as potential Declan Rice replacement, but he does not want to move to England at this point.