List of All Articles with Tag 'tb'

RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol is set for a medical at Manchester City in the next few days after the two clubs agreed a 90 million euros (£77.5million) deal. The Bundesliga side were said to be holding out for a fee of 100m euros (£86m) for the Croatia international, but City have been able to push the transfer through at a price that suits them. The 21-year-old is due in Manchester before the end of the week for a medical, the PA news agency understands. Gvardiol would add competition on the left side of City’s defence, having helped Croatia reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and then the final of the Nations League, where they were beaten by Spain. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic is so far City’s only summer signing, with the Croatian having moved from Chelsea in June. City saw captain Ilkay Gundogan leave for Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez last week completed a switch to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ahli in a £30m deal. The Premier League champions will take on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

David Moyes is intent on bringing Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse to West Ham for the new season, but it is understood the club's recruitment team has been attempting to put longer-term options forward. The discussions have fed into reports of growing tension at the Europa Conference League winners, as they still have not spent any of the £105m brought in for Declan Rice, and are the only Premier League club to not yet make a signing. Moyes, buoyed by bringing in the club's first trophy for over three decades, feels he should be backed with targets he wants and has specifically named Maguire and Ward-Prowse. West Ham would be willing to do the deal for the deposed Manchester United captain if they can get him for £20m, but the Old Trafford club are holding out for north of £30m. Maguire himself has up to now been willing to fight for his place, but may have to accept reality if the club accepts an offer. Ward-Prowse is in a different position given Southampton's relegation, and he does have a few suitors. Moyes, of course, admires his dead-ball delivery, in a team that specifically attacks through set-pieces. Read More A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Chelsea have a Conor Gallagher problem and Tottenham could be the perfect solution A thousand matches later and David Moyes finally has his crowning glory

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is approaching the knockout stages and has already provided some astonishing games, goals and upsets. England’s 6-1 thrashing of China, the surprise early eliminations of Brazil, Canada and Germany and an underperforming USA’s narrow escape from Group E have been just some of the stories of the tournament so far. While one of the host nations, New Zealand, failed to qualify for the round of 16, Australia are still going strong and offering plenty for the home fans to cheer about. The Matildas’ opening game against the Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 20 July attracted 75,784 fans, the largest crowd ever to attend a women’s football match in the country and the third-biggest to ever see a game in the history of the World Cup. A crowd of 42,137 had seen the Kiwis’ 1-0 win over Norway a day earlier, setting the equivalent record for New Zealand and revealing the extent of local excitement about the tournament Down Under. While there are no further fixtures scheduled at New Zealand’s Dunedin Stadium in Otago or Waikato Stadium in Hamilton or at the Perth Rectangular Stadium in Western Australia, here is a guide to the remaining venues with Women’s World Cup matches still to play. Brisbane Stadium, Queensland, Australia Also known as Lang Park or the Suncorp Stadium and nicknamed “The Cauldron”, this multipurpose arena in the Brisbane suburb of Milton was opened in 1914 and has a capacity of 56,851. Often used for rugby league and union, it is home to the Brisbane Broncos, the Dolphins, the Queensland Reds and the Queensland Maroons, as well as the A-League football side Brisbane Roar. Upcoming fixtures (all kick-off times given in GMT) Round of 16: England vs Nigeria (8.30am 7 August 2023) Third quarter-final: TBD vs TBD (8am 12 August 2023) Third-place play-off: TBD vs TBD (9am 19 August 2023) Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand’s national stadium was opened in 1900 and has a capacity of 40,536. It is primarily used for rugby union fixtures in winter and cricketing Tests in summer. The Blues, Auckland Rugby and Auckland Cricket all call it home while the all-conquering All Blacks have made it a feared arena for touring sides to visit, having not been beaten at Eden Park since 1994. It is also notable for having hosted the 1987 and 2011 Rugby World Cup finals. Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: Switzerland vs Spain (6am 5 August 2023) Second quarter-final: TBD vs TBD (8.30am 11 August 2023) First semi-final: TBD vs TBD (9am 15 August 2023) Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia Also known as Coopers Stadium, the home of A-League side Adelaide United was first opened in 1960 and is one of the smaller venues hosting games at the the World Cup with a crowd capacity of just 13,327. Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: France vs Morocco (12pm 8 August 2023) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Victoria, Australia The spectacular home of rugby league side Melbourne Storm, Super Rugby team Melbourne Rebels and the A-League rivals Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC was opened in 2010. It has a comparatively low capacity of just 28,870, however, which has proven a source of contention given that it will be hosting what is, potentially, one of the games of the tournament: the round of 16 clash between free-scoring Sweden and the current world champions USA. Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: Sweden vs USA (10am 6 August 2023) Round of 16: Colombia vs Jamaica (9am 8 August 2023) Stadium Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia One of the most impressive venues at this tournament is Stadium Australia, built in 1999 to host the 2000 Olympic Games, with an original capacity of 115,000 that has since been reduced to around 80,000. It is also one of the tournament’s busiest, hosting Australia’s next game as well as quarter-final and semi-final matches before the World Cup final itself on Sunday 20 August. Stadium Australia otherwise ordinarily plays host to everything from Aussie rules football and cricket to rugby league and rugby union matches. Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: Australia vs Denmark (11.30am 7 August 2023) Fourth quarter-final: TBD vs TBD (11.30am 12 August 2023) Second semi-final: TBD vs TBD (11am 16 August 2023) Final: TBD vs TBD (11am 20 August 2023) Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Also known as the Allianz Stadium, the Sydney Football Stadium was built in 1988, played a key role in the 2000 Olympics and has been completely revamped in time for this World Cup, reopening last summer and now boasting a capacity of 38,841 Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: Netherlands vs South Africa (3am 6 August 2023) Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand Affectionately known as “The Cake Tin”, the home of rugby sides the Hurricanes and Wellington Lions and A-League outfit Wellington Phoenix was built in 1999 and has a capacity of 31,089. Upcoming fixtures Round of 16: Japan vs Norway (9am 5 August 2023) First quarter-final: TBD vs TBD (2am 11 August 2023) Read More Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: Latest scores and updates as Germany battle for knockout spot Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s World Cup group tables and standings: How can each team qualify? When does USWNT play next? World Cup schedule and route to the final Germany suffer Women’s World Cup elimination after South Korea draw Women’s World Cup group tables and standings: How can each team qualify?

Southampton boss Russell Martin says James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia will be involved in Friday night’s Sky Bet Championship opener at Sheffield Wednesday “as it stands”. Both players have been linked with an exit from St Mary’s this summer following last season’s relegation from the Premier League, with Ward-Prowse linked with Fulham and West Ham and Lavia attracting bids from Liverpool. But a transfer for either men have yet to materialise and Martin will utilise them at Hillsborough. “Both will be involved tomorrow night, as it stands, I dont know what will change between now and then,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “Do I think they will be Southampton players at the end of the window? I have not got a clue. What I hope, what I think, is probably very different. “It would be pointless for me to come out and say, ‘I think they will be here, I don’t think they’ll be here’, because ultimately I have no control over that. “If they are both not here, or one is not here it is because the club and the player think they have something which is beneficial for everyone. “That will be the case, that is why it has dragged on and why it will probably continue to drag on. But while they have been here, both have been great and both will be involved tomorrow night. As it stands.” Kamaldeen Sulemana is injured and will miss the trip to South Yorkshire, while Sekou Mara is a doubt. Read More Football rumours: Harry Kane will not sign new Tottenham deal Women’s World Cup LIVE: Scores, updates and latest news Josko Gvardiol close to making £77.5m move to Manchester City

Former NFL star Tom Brady has become a minority owner of Championship club Birmingham City. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, recognised as one of the sporting greats, has partnered with the club’s holding company Knighthead Capital Management LLC and becomes chairman of a new advisory board. The club say Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club, including working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, wellness, and recovery systems and programs”. He said on the club’s official website: “Birmingham is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me. “BCFC is built on teamwork and determination and I’m excited to work alongside the board, management and players to make our second-city club second to none. “I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham.” Brady has partnered up with Knighthead Capital on several other ventures and new Blues chairman Tom Wagner is looking forward to Brady’s “direct impact”. He said: “Tom Brady joining the Birmingham team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world class. “Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise. As chair of the advisory board Tom will have a direct impact on the club. The men’s, women’s, and academy teams are going to benefit from the knowledge. “The goal that Tom has committed to own is to make Birmingham a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness, and recovery across the world of football. “A commitment to Blues fans was made on Monday May 8 2023, to add experts from the world of sport and football to the team, putting in place the building blocks for future success. With Garry Cook as CEO, Hope Powell as women’s technical director and now Tom Brady we are off to a fast start. “Success does not come overnight. It takes time. But when you have great leaders in place everything becomes possible.” Read More A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market Liverpool left with midfield muddle – but Reds have reason for optimism A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market Liverpool left with midfield muddle – but Reds have reason for optimism

New faces, same issues. Pre-season is not the proving ground, more the moment to set the tone of what’s to come and, where needed, prune and alter approaches. For Liverpool, this summer is shaping up to be more of a change than manager Jurgen Klopp had expected, but perhaps just enough of the same remains to serve as a reminder that alterations were required before and that is still the case now. On the one hand, that isn’t unexpected. Defensive issues plagued the season in 2022/23, even among the improvement of the final third of the campaign, and while the new in-possession shape has brought definite improvements on the ball, it was still jarring and lacking cohesion by late May. Fast forward a few mostly meaningless games and that same mix of output remains on show – and that’s all the more the case after a totally new midfield trio looks to be in place once the 23/24 Premier League season starts. Wednesday’s friendly 4-3 defeat with Bayern Munich showed the good and the bad of the past few months, in the most relevant and difficult encounter of the summer for the Anfield club: great interplay at times, plenty of players in goalscoring areas, ragged running back against transitions and a mix-up in responsibilities inside the defensive third. New signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister look increasingly likely to start the campaign as the two advanced midfielders, left and right-sided respectively. The former appears to have brought more of his A-game so far, showing good ball-carrying and chance creation, but sheer numbers probably dictate they’ll both be in the line-up anyway – six senior midfield options have left since last season, with just those two through the door so far. Behind them, Curtis Jones once more operated as the No.6, the stand-in replacement for the departed Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, having starred for two or three months last term in the left-sided role now occupied by his new Hungarian teammate. Between the trio, the build-up approach, playing from deep and manipulation of the ball around a press can at times look exceptional. Jones in particular can be seen taking more risks in individual movements than his predecessors did, but against that comes his lack of natural positional awareness and lesser tenacity in ball-winning. Certainly, the latter is a big trait currently missing in the Reds’ heart of operations, along with aerial ability and overall aggression to get goal-side against counter-attacks or direct balls over them from deep. Of more importance remains the ability for the team to organise itself after Trent Alexander-Arnold roves centrally or beyond the midfield line, in his still-new, impactful style. Two of Bayern’s goals came in this regard while he was still on the pitch; one more came down that side after the new vice-captain departed. It’s clearly an area that Klopp and his coaches have not yet reached a consensus on, or else been able to transmit to the players who is responsible for each area according to different phases of play: the person covering centre-back if the right-sided defender is pulled across, where Alexander-Arnold himself is most effective getting back to and where the left-back needs to track if runners are both centrally and on his side. Andy Robertson has been a victim of this indecision and lack of clarity more than once, and the same proved true against Bayern, missing a tackle and tracking a runner in the wrong area before a goal ends up being scored from his side of the box. And yet so much of this is a knock-on from the No.6, the defensive midfielder. Jones has impressed on the ball and has the diligence to fight for a place in the team, yet again, and his summer with the England U21 team saw him get game-time in that role. But runners surging past him, still-to-improve tackling technique and just the natural inclination to be in place against the best central passers and runners are, naturally, not going to be his forte. Should he remain in place for the opening league match of the season, Chelsea vs Liverpool could be an epic opener for the top flight: both have clear attacking excellence, but neither have secured the ball-winner in the middle they desire. It could be that Romeo Lavia or an alternative arrive at Anfield between now and then, leaving Klopp to decide between the lack of cohesion between three new signings who have never played together – but one has natural defensive tendencies – or three players who are new to their roles in this team, but one who at least has had a regular role over the past few months. Either way, it won’t be perfect. And either way, the set-up doesn’t yet look fully prepared for the rigours of bigger challenges ahead– just as was the case three months ago, albeit with very different faces in place. Read More Jurgen Klopp wanted a midfield change at Liverpool – instead he got a revolution Man United join Romeo Lavia chase as midfield transfers look set to shape the market Klopp hits out at the Saudi Arabian transfer window length: ‘Not helpful’ Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Liverpool transfer news: Lavia, Andre, Doucoure, Thiago and more

The final day of group stage action takes place in the Women’s World Cup as Colombia, Germany and Morocco all hope to reach the last-16. Colombia have the best chance after their shock victory over Germany in their previous outing. Manuela Vanegas scored a dramatic 97th-minute winner to put the South America side top of Group H and needing just a point to ensure they progress to the knockout rounds. They take on Morocco who have hopes of causing an upset of their own. The African side currently sit third in the table on the same amount of points as Germany. To have any chance of making it out of the group they need to defeat Colombia, by a big margin and hope the Germans drop points. Meanwhile, Germany have the easiest task on paper. South Korea are bottom of the group having lost their opening two fixtures. A win for Alexandra Popp and co. should be enough to get them through thanks to their healthy goal difference yet they may have to settle for second place. Check out our best bets and predictions for Thursday’s matches. Elsewhere, Lauren James shone again on with two stunning goals as England put in their best performance of the Women’s World Cup so far earlier this week to sweep aside China 6-1 and march into the last 16. The Lionesses are now preparing for a clash with Nigeria for a place in the quarter-finals. Follow all the latest news and match updates below: Read More Genius Lauren James takes over Women’s World Cup — but England must learn from rivals Sarina Wiegman’s brave England switch solves key Women’s World Cup problem USA’s narrow escape spells the end of Women’s World Cup dominance

What the papers say Manchester United have joined Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in the race for Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia, according to the Independent. Liverpool had their bid rejected by Southampton and United look like they will swoop in to try and lure the 19-year-old to the club. Aston Villa look to be interested in American Tyler Adams and are willing to reach Leeds’ £25million release clause to free up the 24-year-old midfielder, the Daily Mail says. The Telegraph reports that Bournemouth look like the favourites to sign Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott, beating Wolves to matching the £25m transfer fee. Turkish club Besiktas are in talks with former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose contract with Liverpool expired this summer, according to the Daily Express. The Manchester Evening News says the confirmation of Manchester United’s big-money capture of Rasmus Hojlund could be delayed after the 20-year-old arrived in the north west later than planned. Social media round-up Players to watch Kylian Mbappe: The 24-year-old told Chelsea he would be open to playing with them but only for one year and only if they agree to let him move to Real Madrid on a free transfer next year, Spanish media outlet Sport says. Gianluca Scamacca: The Evening Standard reports that Inter Milan are raising their bid to £21.5m for the West Ham striker.

Srettha Thavisin, a property tycoon seeking to become Thailand’s next prime minister, is set to unveil a new

Former Northwestern University offensive lineman Ramon Diaz is suing the school and its recently fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald over allegations of racism and hazing during his time on the team -- joining a succession of similar accusations against the university's athletic programs.

Hunter Dekkers, the starting quarterback for all 12 Iowa State football games last season, is among several athletes who have been charged in Iowa district court in Story County in connection with an investigation into alleged student-athlete gambling at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.

Gabriel Jesus will miss the start of the Premier League campaign after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed the forward has undergone a minor operation. The Brazil international missed three months of last season after suffering a knee injury at the World Cup. Jesus impressed following his move from Manchester City last summer but now faces a short spell on the sidelines after going under the knife after “irritation” with the original knee issue. “Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning,” Arteta said after Arsenal’s penalty shoot-out win over Monaco in the Emirates Cup. “He had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it. It is not something major but he looks to be out for a few weeks I think. “It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially the way he played against Barcelona, and he was in good condition and we lost him. “But he has been feeling some discomfort in the last few weeks and we had to look at it, we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible so we decided to do it. “It is something related to the previous injury that he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live