Nottingham Forest have completed the signings of Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee on five-year contracts.
England Under-21s winger Hutchinson joins from Ipswich Town for a fee of £37.5m, while Forest have paid Manchester City close to £30m for midfielder McAtee.
Their arrivals at the City Ground come just a day after manager Nuno Espirito Santo questioned the club’s activity in the transfer market.
“I’m really excited to be here and can’t wait to get started. I’ve played at the City Ground a few times and it’s always felt like a hostile atmosphere, so I’m looking forward to playing here with the fans behind us,” said 21-year-old Hutchinson.
“I’m going to give it my all and I’m looking forward to the challenge as it’s a new chapter for me, but I feel ready.”
McAtee, 22, said: “I feel ready for a new challenge and the club had a great season last year so I want to help build on that and show what I can do.”
Forest will play in the Europa League this season, and on Friday Portuguese boss Nuno suggested his squad may be ill-equipped to handle the demands that a return to Europe for the first time in 30 years may bring.
The East Midlands club are also in advanced talks for Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo before Sunday’s Premier League opener at home to Brentford, with the three deals worth close to £90m in total.
They have been looking for reinforcements after selling Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for a club-record deal of an initial £55m, and have already signed Dan Ndoye from Bologna.
Hutchinson – who scored in England Under-21s’ extra-time final victory against Germany in June at the European Championship after being set up by captain McAtee – joined Town from Chelsea for £20m last summer after spending 2023-24 on loan at Portman Road, helping Ipswich into the Premier League.
He scored three goals in 31 league games last season but was unable to stop Kieran McKenna’s side dropping back into the Championship.
Nottingham Forest have completed the signings of Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee on five-year contracts.
England Under-21s winger Hutchinson joins from Ipswich Town for a fee of £37.5m, while Forest have paid Manchester City close to £30m for midfielder McAtee.
Their arrivals at the City Ground come just a day after manager Nuno Espirito Santo questioned the club’s activity in the transfer market.
“I’m really excited to be here and can’t wait to get started. I’ve played at the City Ground a few times and it’s always felt like a hostile atmosphere, so I’m looking forward to playing here with the fans behind us,” said 21-year-old Hutchinson.
“I’m going to give it my all and I’m looking forward to the challenge as it’s a new chapter for me, but I feel ready.”
McAtee, 22, said: “I feel ready for a new challenge and the club had a great season last year so I want to help build on that and show what I can do.”
Forest will play in the Europa League this season, and on Friday Portuguese boss Nuno suggested his squad may be ill-equipped to handle the demands that a return to Europe for the first time in 30 years may bring.
The East Midlands club are also in advanced talks for Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo before Sunday’s Premier League opener at home to Brentford, with the three deals worth close to £90m in total.
They have been looking for reinforcements after selling Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for a club-record deal of an initial £55m, and have already signed Dan Ndoye from Bologna.
Hutchinson – who scored in England Under-21s’ extra-time final victory against Germany in June at the European Championship after being set up by captain McAtee – joined Town from Chelsea for £20m last summer after spending 2023-24 on loan at Portman Road, helping Ipswich into the Premier League.
He scored three goals in 31 league games last season but was unable to stop Kieran McKenna’s side dropping back into the Championship.
Brentford have completed a club record deal of up to £42.5m to sign Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth.
The Burkina Faso forward joins the Bees on a five-year contract with the option of a further year.
The 23-year-old, who scored nine goals in 37 games in all competitions last season, is viewed as a replacement for Bryan Mbeumo, who moved to Manchester United in July.
“We’re really happy to get Dango in,” said Brentford boss Keith Andrews.
“He’s someone that we were aware and surprised could be available and, once we knew that signing him might be a possibility, we really focused on trying to get him.
“We liked his Premier League experience, even at his young age, and he just hasn’t found the rhythm yet because of a lack of consistent game time.”
Sources close to Ouattara, who joined Bournemouth in January 2023 from French side Lorient, told BBC Sport he was keen to move as he had struggled to carve out a prominent role at the Cherries.
Andrews believes he could prove to be a valuable acquisition for Brentford.
“He suits the way we want to play – he has something that we were lacking in the forward line, and he will complement what we already have in the building,” added the former Republic of Ireland midfielder.
“The fans will love him – he’s the type of player that they will get off their seat for.”
Nottingham Forest previously held an interest in Ouattara, but instead opted to sign England Under-21 winger Omari Hutchinson for £37.5m from Ipswich.
It remains unclear whether Ouattara’s arrival will pave the way for striker Yoane Wissa to leave Brentford.
On Thursday, Andrews said Wissa would not play in their Premier League opener at Forest on Sunday amid doubts about his future.
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Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist
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The Hundred men’s competition, The Kia Oval
Oval Invincibles 226-4 (100 balls): Cox 86* (29)
Welsh Fire 143 (93 balls): Bairstow 50 (28); T Curran 4-15
Oval Invincibles won by 83 runs
Jordan Cox lit up The Hundred as Oval Invincibles smashed the record for the competition’s highest total by piling up 226-4 in an 83-run victory over Welsh Fire.
Cox crashed 86 not out from just 29 balls in a thrilling display of six hitting at The Oval and the Invincibles comfortably passed the previous record score – Manchester Originals’ 208-5 against Northern Superchargers in 2022.
England right-hander Cox hit 10 of the innings’ 17 sixes in front of a jubilant home crowd.
Openers Tawanda Muyeye and Will Jacks laid a platform of 76 in 39 balls before Cox, after a steady start, exploded into life by hitting four sixes in one set of five balls from Hundred debutant Ajeet Singh Dale.
The seamer then dropped Cox on 45 but the only further catching opportunities came for those in the stands.
Cox put on 97 in only 39 balls with Sam Curran who made 34, while Jacks’ 38 from 28 was the next highest score.
Invincibles’ dominance continued into the chase as Stephen Eskinazi was caught off Jason Behrendorff’s first ball and Cox then produced one more special moment by clinging on to a spiralling catch running back from mid-on to dismiss Steve Smith for seven.
Fire were bowled out for 143, making it the third-biggest defeat in The Hundred, although by hitting eight further sixes they ensured the match featured the most sixes in one match in the competition.
Cox creates carnage at The Oval
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The 17 sixes hit by Invincibles is the most in a Hundred innings across its four previous seasons. Cox’s 10 also equalled the individual record held by Liam Livingstone.
Remarkably, he took only eight runs from his first eight balls before flogging Singh Dale over the leg side for his first three boundaries.
A wide and a dot ball followed after which Cox, who was left out of England’s white-ball squads on Friday, played an audacious reverse scoop over third man to the seamer’s final ball.
From there the hitting was relentless. If Invincibles bowled short Cox whipped the ball over fine leg or powered it over extra cover. When the seamers went full they were hit at a strike-rate of 308.
“None of the bowlers seemed to be able to calm themselves down and it multiplied,” former England bowler Steve Finn told BBC Two. “The way Jordan Cox played was freakish.
“It wasn’t bludgeoning. It was timing the ball.”
After Curran was caught, Donovan Ferreira emerged and crashed his first ball for six.
The 200 was reached in 91 balls and when Tom Curran flicked the 96th for four a new highest Hundred score had been reached.
There was still time for two more Cox sixes – one a glorious checked drive – but Muyeye perhaps summed up his side best.
What is happening on Sunday?
The highlight of Sunday’s action is the cross-Pennine derby between Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers.
The women’s game at Old Trafford begins at 11:00 BST and the men’s 14:30.
Birmingham Phoenix also host London Spirit on Sunday.
The women’s game is at 14:30 and then men’s 18:00.
EXCLUSIVE: Former glamour model Katie Price has found herself at the centre of another legal row as her ex-husbands unite to block a new tell-all documentary from airing
Katie Price is set to open up on her relationships in a new TV documentary (Image: Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)
Katie Price is at the centre of a new legal row with her ex-husbands over a planned tell-all documentary. The show, due to air next year, is set to spill the beans on her relationships, according to TV insiders.
Kieran Hayler, 38, and Alex Reid, 50, are consulting lawyers to try to block the film from featuring them. The pair are in contact via an intermediary as both are said to be aghast at the prospect of Katie talking.
A source said: “They feel like they have been backed into a corner and have no choice. They just want her to stop trashing them, and can’t believe she is being given a platform.” It comes after Katie was left unable to complete basic functions after latest facial surgeries.
READ MORE: Princess Andre says she’s ‘independent’ from parents as she breaks silence after Katie Price rowREAD MORE: Katie Price reaches out to Harvey’s lookalike half-brother but fears ‘he’s too scared’
Katie’s ex husband Kieran is urging Sky to reconsider airing the show(Image: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
Lawyers for Katie’s first husband, Peter Andre, were already on “red alert” even before news of the planned documentary surfaced last week.
It comes as Peter, 52, released a statement blasting his ex-wife’s “lies”. Asked about the show, an insider close to the Australian singer said: “His lawyers will be keeping a close eye on all things moving forward in terms of what Kate says or does.”
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The three-part series is reportedly being made by Louis Theroux’s production company Mindhouse and put out by Sky. A strongly worded legal letter is being prepared on behalf of Kieran and Alex, urging the broadcaster to reconsider airing it.
A spokesman for Kieran said: “We are keeping all our options open. I can confirm Alex Reid is on the same page.” A TV insider claimed this week that the autobiographical show would “likely spill the beans on [Katie’s] many flings and love affairs” and would be the “most authentic version of her story”.
But a source close to Kieran said: “Enough is enough. They want to move on with their lives, and they can’t trust anything that comes out her mouth.”
Katie and Kieran were married from 2013 to 2021. They had two kids, Jett, now 12, and Bunny, 11. Former cage fighter Alex wed the ex-glamour model in Las Vegas in February 2010. They separated in January 2011.
Alex sued his ex for breach of confidence, misuse of private information and breach of contract after she disclosed to pals videos and photos of him performing a sex act.
Alex is joining Kieran in the legal letter(Image: PA)
High Court judge Mr Justice Warby branded Katie’s behaviour “persistent, flagrant, arrogant, high-handed and inexcusable”. She was told to pay £25,000 in damages and £150,000 in costs.
Reality TV star Alex said it had an impact on his career, adding: “She was saying the most disgusting things about me… It was affecting me working continually because people were laughing at me.”
Katie was married to Peter from 2005 to 2009, and they have Junior, 20, and Princess, 18. She has been in the spotlight recently around the launch of her eldest daughter’s ITV show, The Princess Diaries. Her claim last week that Princess lives with her seemed to enrage Peter.
Accusing his ex of repeated lies, he said: “Junior and Princess came into my care in 2018 and remained with me until… adulthood. In 2019, the family courts issued a legally binding order to enforce this arrangement.”
He also reminded fans of court cases in 2011 and 2015, saying they showed Katie had made false claims. Yesterday a source said: “Pete felt he had to do this for the sake of not only him, but his wife [Emily], Princess and Junior. He has received so many messages of support from people who are glad he has called such behaviour out.”
Katie’s ex Peter Andre hit out this week in a statement (Image: WireImage)
In response, mum-of-five Katie – who also has son Harvey, 23, with football coach Dwight Yorke – said: “I know I will always be seen as a sinner. That’s fair. I allowed myself to fall into a reliance on drugs and alcohol. At times I was not the mother I should have been while I struggled with mental illness.
“I have been at times a poor friend, an awful sibling, and an untrustworthy partner. I’ve self-medicated, been unfaithful, damaged myself and those that I love.”
Princess, meanwhile, says Katie and Peter’s feud does not trouble her, as she loves them both. When a fan asked if she was affected by her parents not getting on, she replied: “To be honest it doesn’t. At the end of the day, they broke up when I was two years old so I don’t even have any memory of them being together.”
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She added: “I love my mum and dad and that’s all that matters.” Katie has claimed she was banned from Princess’s 18th birthday party filmed for her show and that her daughter’s management team thought she was trash.
A source said Katie was not banned but had missed the party due to being abroad. Sky did not respond to a request for comment.
READ MORE: Rare luxury watches made out of rubbish shoppers ‘couldn’t be happier with’
Pep Guardiola praises the impact of new signings Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and James Trafford as Manchester City get their Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-4 Manchester City
