Archive January 28, 2026

The Women’s Super League is approaching the business end of the season and a number of high‑profile names find themselves at a crossroads.

It’s a familiar dilemma – should a player approaching the end of their contract stick with what they know or twist and take on a new challenge elsewhere?

Khadija Shaw is the leading scorer in the WSL this season and reached a century of goals for Manchester City by scoring four against Aston Villa in December.

But despite her helping City to lead a title charge this season, the Jamaica international is into the final months of the contract she signed in 2023.

Fara: “The fact that you are going into the final five months of a contract with your top goalscorer for the past three years is bizarre. That should have been wrapped up ages ago. There will be options for her come the end of the season. Every team across Europe and the world will want to sign her.

“Name a better goalscorer in Europe at this moment – I reckon you can’t.

“If she was doing the same at Barcelona, she would get the recognition [she deserves]. But because Man City haven’t won for a long time, that’s why she doesn’t get the recognition.

“Twist – go and win some trophies somewhere else.”

Ellen: “The reason Man City haven’t pushed Chelsea as much as they would have liked to in recent seasons is because Shaw has been injured. She creates goals and she scores goals. They have to sign her.

Considered one of the best midfielders in the world, Georgia Stanway joined Bayern Munich from Manchester City in 2022 but will leave the German club upon the expiry of her contract at the end of the season.

The 27-year-old, who has won two European Championships with the Lionesses, is permitted to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club this month, with Arsenal among the suitors.

Ellen: “Not surprised [about the rumours linking Stanway to Arsenal. I thought she would stay at Bayern for another couple of seasons but she wants to try another challenge.

“She would offer something different in Arsenal’s midfield and it would be an exciting opportunity for her. Bring her back to the league. Twist.”

Fara: “Stanway loves to make challenges and is a smarter player than we give her credit for. At Bayern, she controls central areas and gets goals. She would be a fantastic signing. A potential replacement for Kim Little in the long term.

Two-time European Championship winner and England international Ella Toone was set to become a free agent this summer until Manchester United triggered a one-year extension on her contract earlier this month.

The 26-year-old joined the club as part of its inaugural senior squad in 2018 and remains one of United’s most important players on and off the field.

Ellen: “It’s clever from the club. They’ve lost some massive players in previous seasons on free transfers. They want to keep her and this means other clubs would have to pay big money to get her out of the contract.

“She is a phenomenal talent and United through and through. You want her in the WSL but she wants to play in the Champions League. United are bringing in a lot of new faces as well, so it feels exciting for her. Twist, maybe?”

Fara: “Miss Manchester United. You need players who know the club inside out. They need someone who really understands what it means to represent the club. It’s key for them to re-sign Toone and hopefully she stays there and has that legacy with United.

After two seasons in Spain with Barcelona, Lucy Bronze returned to England with Chelsea in 2024 and helped them to win the WSL, Women’s FA Cup and League Cup.

Now 34, Bronze’s two-year deal with the champions is about to run out but she remains a serial winner, having won five Champions League titles across her career as well as Euro 2022 with England.

Fara: “Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor knows how important Lucy’s mentality is and what her levels are. I would suggest Sonia offers her a new contract.

“We have played with Lucy and you know how competitive she is. She wouldn’t want to take a bit-part role. She would want to end her career at the top, competing in every minute of every game. Stick.”

Ellen: “Chelsea have brought in Ellie Carpenter but they seem to be working well together. Bronze still wants to play – she looks fit and she wants to dominate all the trophies.

England Test captain Ben Stokes and all-rounder Moeen Ali will be part of the England Lions coaching staff for their series against Pakistan Shaheens in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Stokes is currently recovering from an adductor injury he sustained in the fifth Test against Australia earlier this month, while Moeen takes on his first coaching role with the Lions.

Moeen and Stokes, who will continue his injury rehabilitation in the UAE, will assist head coach Andrew Flintoff for a three-match T20 series and five 50-over matches against Pakistan’s second string.

Moeen played 298 matches for England before retiring from international cricket in 2024, but announced on Monday he was cancelling plans to retire from domestic cricket and signing for Yorkshire.

Elite national pace bowling lead Troy Cooley, who rejoined the England set-up last week, former South Africa batter Neil McKenzie, ex-England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, former Durham seamer Neil Killeen and Amar Rashid, brother of England spinner Adil, make up the rest of the coaching party.

Jordan Cox and Dan Mousley will captain the respective T20 and 50-over squads on the Lions’ first away white-ball series since touring Sri Lanka in 2022.

The pair are joined by fellow full internationals Saqib Mahmood, who is named in the T20 squad, and Matthew Potts, who will play in the 50-over matches.

Essex seamer Sam Cook, who won his one Test cap against Zimbabwe last summer but missed out on the Lions touring party that shadowed the Ashes squad, is named in both squads.

The highly regarded James Rew, Asa Tribe and James Coles also feature in the squads, while Scott Currie has been selected after being ruled out of Scotland’s T20 World Cup squad.

“It’s exciting to have such a strong England Lions squad selected,” said ECB men’s performance director Ed Barney.

“This group brings a real blend of proven performers, exciting talent who have performed over the winter and retains an eye on future best.

“With limited 50-over cricket on offer, this series combined with tours over the remainder of 2026 will give players the opportunity to develop and deliver as we build towards the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup in South Africa.”

Rashid has previously coached England pathway cricketers and joins the Lions coaching staff for a spell before returning to the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA), which has produced a number of players for county sides.

“We’ve seen just what Amar is capable of as a coach and it comes as little surprise to us that his skills have been recognised by those running the Lions set up,” said SACA founder Tom Brown.

“At SACA we are enormously proud of the opportunities we have created in the professional game for not only our South Asian players, but for our coaches too.”

Lions T20 squad: Jordan Cox (Essex, capt), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Luc Benkenstein (Essex), James Coles (Sussex), Sam Cook (Essex), Scott Currie (Hampshire), Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire), Dan Mousley (Warwickshire), Matt Revis (Yorkshire), Will Smeed (Somerset), Nathan Sowter (Durham), Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire), Asa Tribe (Glamorgan)

Former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury will face Arslanbek Makhmudov in the UK on 11 April as he ends his latest spell of retirement.

The fight, which will be broadcast on Netflix, will be Fury’s first since he lost his rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024.

The Briton, 37, retired a month after that defeat but announced his return to boxing earlier this month.

“Excited to be back,” Fury said.

“Heart’s always been and always will be in boxing. Someone go tell the king that the ace is back!”

Fury, who announced his retirement for the first time in 2022, has not fought in the UK since December 2022 when he beat Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to retain the WBC title.

The Morecambe fighter has 34 victories from 37 fights – winning 24 by knockout – losing two and drawing one.

He has enjoyed two stints as world champion, beating Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO belts in 2015 and claiming the WBC title in 2020 with victory over Deontay Wilder, but has never reigned as undisputed champion.

Aryna Sabalenka is two wins away from continuing her reign of dominance at the Australian Open with a third women’s title in four years.

The world number one, champion in 2023 and 2024, has lost just one of her past 25 matches at Melbourne Park.

Having been denied a third consecutive triumph by American Madison Keys in the 2025 final, Sabalenka has not dropped a set on her way to this year’s semi-finals.

Across the sport’s two hard court Grand Slam tournaments, the two-time defending US Open champion has lost just twice in 45 matches on her favourite surface.

She is undoubtedly the favourite – but three fellow top-15 players are looking to spoil the party.

Svitolina, through to her first Australian Open semi-final at the age of 31, will hope to defeat Sabalenka for the first time since 2020 and reach a first career Grand Slam final.

Formerly known for her defensive style, Svitolina returned after having daughter Skai in 2022 as a different player, doubling her career total of semi-final appearances over the past three years thanks to a more aggressive approach.

“Since I came back after pregnancy, for me it’s been all about trying to find those opportunities to take the initiative and strike first,” Svitolina said.

Discussing how she will approach her meeting with Sabalenka, she added: “It’s no secret that she’s a very powerful player.

Big-serving Rybakina would appear to provide the biggest threat to Sabalenka – should they meet in the final – as the only remaining player to boast a positive head-to-head against her.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion has maintained momentum following a strong end to last season, which included victory over Sabalenka to win the WTA Finals.

Rybakina, runner-up three years ago, has won each of her past eight matches against top-10 ranked players – and owns the most wins on the tour since the end of Wimbledon last year (36).

“I still have a lot of things to improve but the most important is that I’m trying to stay aggressive whenever I get the chance to step in, maybe risk a little bit,” Rybakina said.

Pegula is through to her third major semi-final, with each appearance coming since she turned 30 in 2024.

Seeking to reach her second Grand Slam final after finishing runner-up to Sabalenka at the 2024 US Open, Pegula said she now feels well-equipped to handle the latter stages of tournaments after feeling “helpless” in past quarter-finals.

“I think I was happy that I was there and then put a little bit too much pressure on myself to get to that next match,” Pegula said.

“But I think I’ve become a better player and I just know how to be in this position more. I think I have more tools.

While results might suggest she has enjoyed relatively serene progress, Sabalenka admitted she was “emotionally all over the place” earlier in the tournament.

It has been an issue which has, at times, derailed her pursuit of the sport’s biggest prizes and she has worked with a psychologist to improve that aspect of her game.

Sabalenka lost two Grand Slam finals last year, first to Keys in Melbourne before committing 70 unforced errors in the French Open showpiece against Coco Gauff.

Squeezing through two tight tie-breaks against Anastasia Potapova in the third round was something Sabalenka accepted that she may not have had the mental resilience to achieve five years ago, when she would likely be “focusing too much on the way she feels”.

Even so, Sabalenka’s impressive level of consistency at recent major tournaments – she has reached the semi-finals at 14 of the past 17 majors she has contested – means she is at home at the business end of Grand Slams.

Not least when competing on hard courts, on which she has won her past six major semi-finals.

“It’s unbelievable what I was able to achieve. What’s really helping me to be there all the time is the focus that I’m having,” Sabalenka said.