List of All Articles with Tag 'll'

West Ham United are insisting the total value of Arsenal's bid for Declan Rice must meet £100 million, as a second bid was rejected on Tuesday afternoon. The latest offer was £75m up front, with £15m in add-ons but West Ham did not see those as achievable. Arsenal will go back in with another bid and the feeling is they are getting closer as Mikel Arteta wants business done and his squad set before the summer tour. There is the possibility that Manchester City come in but their business is currently dependent on what players leave, allowing Arsenal an opening. Should they be successful, Arteta could well oversee over £200m of expenditure, as the club aims to bring in Rice, Chelsea's Kai Havertz, Southampton's Romeo Lavia and Ajax's Jurrien Timber. Some of that will be offset by sales, as Arsenal are prepared to listen to offers for a few players, including Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun. Should Rice join the Gunners, the England midfielder would become the club’s record signing, beating the £72m Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe in 2019. The 24-year-old lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in Prague on 8 June before owner David Sullivan said he believed that was the skipper’s last outing for the Hammers. Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season, with manager Mikel Arteta and football director Edu having identified the players they want to add to once again challenge Manchester City. Read More Romeo Lavia: Arsenal face four-way battle with Premier League rivals for £45m midfielder

Perhaps it was the most successful unsuccessful season ever. Kalvin Phillips has ended his first year at Manchester City with a historic haul of medals. Yet his three trophies outnumbered his two league starts. In all competitions, he only began four games, City lost two of them and the first of those defeats – to Nathan Jones’ Southampton – ended up costing them the quadruple. A year like no other at least ended on a personal high, Phillips scoring his first England goal in the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia. Then he reflected: “I came to Manchester City to win trophies and we won the trophies but I didn’t play as much as I wanted to do.” If the last part is an understatement, it has only stiffened his resolve. Phillips is adamant he does not want to quit City. To walk away now, he believes, would be to admit defeat. He could attract interest – maybe from Newcastle or West Ham – but he hopes to sit out the summer transfer market. “My intention is to stay there,” he said. “We have just won the treble, so there is no reason for me to leave other than if I am not playing. I will obviously have to think about it. I cannot give it 12 months and say, ‘I am not playing so I am going to leave’. As you have seen with many players at City, it can take quite a while to cement yourself into the team.” The decision is not just his. Pep Guardiola made it public that Phillips came back from the World Cup overweight. While the former Leeds man was understudying one of the world’s best defensive midfielders, in Rodri, it was damning that Guardiola also preferred Ilkay Gundogan in the holding role. Some of Phillips’ cameos were so brief – his last four substitute appearances in the Premier League lasted a grand total of 17 minutes – to suggest he was not trusted. City’s £42 million outlay to Leeds bought them an expensive fringe player. “I will definitely speak to Pep,” Phillips said. “I don’t know whether it will be in the summer because everyone enjoys their downtime and everyone wants their space away from football so I’ll probably leave it until I go back for pre-season.” Guardiola can exile some players but persevere with others. City have their own version of second-season syndrome, where players improve after a year to get used to his methods and tactics. Rodri is a case in point; so are Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish. Nathan Ake’s breakthrough year was his third. Phillips has been consulting some of those who did not enjoy an immediate impact. “I just know how difficult it is to understand the way Pep wants to play and how quickly you need to adapt to play in his system,” he said. “I spoke to quite a few of the players about it. Nathan Ake being one, Jack [another]. They all said the same, they all said the first 12 months were the hardest of their City careers but after that it… it doesn’t become easy, but easier.” A fundamental difference is that, without necessarily flourishing, Phillips’ predecessors featured far more in their debut campaigns than he has; each commanded more of their manager’s faith. Guardiola’s history as a holding midfielder adds intrigue: there are some he feels are naturals for his demands – like Sergio Busquets and Philipp Lahm – and others, such as Rodri, who are grooved into the role. Phillips’ time under Marcelo Bielsa, one of Guardiola’s managerial heroes, was expected to stand him in good stead. Instead, he has required another vast learning curve. “I am on the brink of almost getting it,” he said. “Obviously there is a little bit of work in pre-season and hopefully [I will] be alright.” His has been an ill-fated first year in one respect – sidelined at the end of his Leeds career with a hamstring problem, then requiring shoulder surgery when he went to City – and a fortunate one in another, with three medals from minimal contributions. If staying at City comes with some risks, particularly to his place in Gareth Southgate’s plans, leaving may seem like giving up. A player who worked his way up from being a Championship midfielder to one bought by Pep Guardiola has made his decision. “I’m just going to go away for the off-season and enjoy myself with my family and girlfriend and friends,” he said. “And then come back fighting.” Read More The no-impact substitute: Kalvin Phillips’ ongoing humiliation gives Man City a problem Pep Guardiola: It’s up to Kalvin Phillips to show he deserves a Man City future Man City’s Premier League coronation shows how far their rivals have fallen

USMNT interim head coach B.J Callaghan praised Gio Reyna after having back-to-back impressive performances that helped the U.S. to their second consecutive Nations League title.

Sarah Jessica Parker sounds excited about Kim Cattrall's return to the "Sex and the City" franchise in a cameo she described as "sentimental."

Parents of two of the three children killed during the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville expressed their pain and loss in filed declarations asking the court to deny Freedom of Information Act requests for the release of the school shooter's writings.

The 2023 NBA Draft is drawing closer and we are still looking for clarity around the No. 2 overall pick, currently held by the Charlotte Hornets.Oddsmakers shifted odds in a big way on Monday night into Tuesday morning, installing guard Scoot Henderson as the heavy favorite to be selected second...

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes and enter an agreement

England’s Rachel Daly says happiness has been a key factor in her form as she prepares for this summer’s World Cup on the back of a superb 2022-23 season. Following a move from the Houston Dash to Aston Villa last summer shortly after helping England win the Euros, Daly went on to score 30 goals in all competitions for her new club. That included a haul of 22 in the Women’s Super League which gave her the Golden Boot as Villa achieved a fifth-placed finish, while she also netted five times for her country across the season. The 31-year-old said: “I’ve had a pretty good year, it’s been a good year for me. “I think I can put it down to my happiness, the way Carla (Ward, the Villa boss) has given me freedom at the club to play my own sort of game, the team around me has been brilliant and Sarina (Wiegman, the England manager) again at international level. I’d say it’s probably the best season I’ve had in my career.” Daly joined Villa having spent a decade playing for teams in the United States, apart from a loan spell in the WSL with West Ham in 2020-21. She added: “A lot has changed for me personally since the last tournament. I'd say it's probably the best season I've had in my career Rachel Daly “Moving home – I’ve been away for 10 years, so I think mentally I’m in a way better place. I needed to be home and playing in this league was something I wanted to do and revisit again. “A different position for me in terms of internationally to club level. A lot has changed for me, but I think you can all tell that I’m playing with a smile on my face and enjoying my football, so long may that continue.” Daly, Wiegman’s starting left-back throughout the triumphant Euros campaign but recently used in attack by the Dutchwoman, was listed as a forward when England’s 23-player squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way on July 20, was announced last month. Regarding positions, Daly said: “That’s Sarina’s decision, and I’ll respect whatever she chooses and I’m ready to play wherever I’m needed.” Daly said there was a “complete healthy competition” between her and fellow England strikers Alessia Russo and Bethany England, adding: “There’s no ‘I’m the best’, we’re all great friends. The competition is we’re pushing each other and we’ll continue to push each other.” Asked if she felt the England number nine position was up for grabs, Daly said: “I think every position is. Nothing’s set until July 22 (when England play their opening group game against Haiti in Brisbane). “But I don’t think anyone is really focusing on that, it’s just, ‘How can we push each other to be the best?’ And whatever Sarina chooses is what she chooses and we all support it.” Daly was speaking at St George’s Park after England trained in front of the media for the first time in their pre-World Cup camp, which got started on Monday, three weeks after the conclusion of the WSL season. Daly said: “For me, it’s perfect and I think the girls agreed on that. We’ve had enough time to have a rest and a holiday and completely switch off mentally and physically. I feel like we’re in a great spot.” Defender Millie Bright, skipper for the World Cup in the absence of ruled-out ACL injury victim Leah Williamson, trained separately from the group on Tuesday, working on an individual programme, as did midfielder Jordan Nobbs. The Lionesses face Portugal in a warm-up match at Milton Keynes on July 1 before flying to Australia four days later.

President Joe Biden huddled in the Oval Office with several of his top advisers in early April as an aide typed prompts into ChatGPT: Summarize the Supreme Court's New Jersey v. Delaware ruling and turn it into a Bruce Springsteen song.

MLB Rumors: Red Sox could reunite with former IF Jose Iglesias after opt-outThe Boston Red Sox have had a much more difficult time filling the shortstop hole left by Xander Bogaerts' departure for the beaches of San Diego than expected.Trevor Story's injury in the preseason put the R...

Sylvester Stallone left a piece of himself behind for Adele.

Swansea City are close to appointing Barnsley’s Michael Duff as new manager. Although the Swans will have to activate a £500,000 release clause to secure the signing. The move would likely see Duff replace Russell Martin, who has been strongly linked with a move away to Southampton. Duff, 45, is seen as a highly progressive upcoming manager who the Welsh club feel completely fits their profile. Duff took Barnsley to the brink of promotion last season, narrowly missing out after defeat to a much wealthier Sheffield Wednesday in the last minute of the League One play-off final at Wembley. The move is seen as at an “advanced stage” with Swansea just needing to activate the release clause.