Category Sports News

Florian Wirtz set for Liverpool medical, Martin Zubimendi’s Arsenal delay explained, Manchester United might use Joshua Zirkzee in Victor Osimhen offer.

Florian Wirtz is set for a Liverpool medical after they agreed a deal in principle with Bayer Leverkusen for the 22-year-old Germany midfielder, worth £127m including add-ons. (Fabrizio Romano)

Arsenal have agreed a fee of about £59m with Real Sociedad for Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 26, with the move to be completed after 1 July to help with meeting Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. (AS – in Spanish)

Manchester United are evaluating an offer for Napoli’s Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, 26, using Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, as part of the deal. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian)

RB Leipzig’s 22-year-old Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko – a reported target for Arsenal – rejected a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. (Star)

Leipzig are holding firm on receiving the full release clause for Sesko, now understood to be more than £65m. (Independent)

Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, is on the verge of a £45m move to Liverpool after Bournemouth agreed a deal to sign France left-back Adrien Truffert, 23, from Rennes. (Telegraph – subscription required)

Newcastle United have opened negotiations with Burnley about signing English goalkeeper James Trafford, 22. (Times – subscription required)

Gianluigi Donnarumma wants to stay with Paris St-Germain despite Manchester United and Inter Milan enquiring about the Italy goalkeeper, 26. (ESPN)

Brighton will accept a bid of £50-60m for 23-year-old Brazil forward Joao Pedro, who is a target for Newcastle United. (Football Insider)

Chelsea are open to offers for Benoit Badiashile, 24, and fellow France defender Axel Disasi, 27. (Football Insider)

Inter Milan are keen on signing 21-year-old Paraguay midfielder Julio Enciso from Brighton this summer. (Teamtalk)

Third T20, Utilita Bowl, Southampton

England 248-3 (20 overs): Duckett 84 (46), Smith 60 (26); Rutherford 1-20

West Indies 211-8 (20 overs): Powell 79 (45); Wood 3-31

England won by 37 runs; win series 3-0

Ben Duckett’s inventive 84 helped big-hitting England blast their way to a record score on home soil as they wrapped up a series clean sweep with a 37-run victory over West Indies in the third T20.

Duckett’s knock came off 46 balls as he shared a 120-run stand with fellow opener Jamie Smith, who made a 26-ball 60, as the pair provided the backbone of England’s total of 248-3.

Skipper Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell continued the momentum as they peppered the boundary to finish unbeaten on 35 and 36 respectively, as a dispirited West Indies bowling attack ran out of ideas.

England’s total was their highest in T20s on their own turf, eclipsing the 234-6 they made against South Africa at Bristol in July 2022, and was their second highest anywhere.

West Indies gamely approached the chase as Rovman Powell cracked an unbeaten 79 while captain Shai Hope smeared three sixes in his 45 as the tourists finished on 211-8.

It helped ensure the margin of defeat for the tourists was more modest than might have been anticipated as left-arm quick Luke Wood finished the pick of England’s bowlers with 3-31.

A quick pitch and an England team rediscovering their white-ball swagger, up against a demoralised West Indies bowling attack, proved to be an heady cocktail for the Southampton crowd as they lapped up an evening of audacious run-scoring.

England’s openers bristled with intent from the get-go, as the right-left hand combination of Smith and Duckett wreaked havoc.

Duckett liberally sprinkled runs to all angles, with his innings full of nifty reverse sweeps, deft cuts and clever scoops.

Alzarri Joseph stuck a paw out to a brutal Duckett drive on the up when he was on 37, but such was the ferocity of the strike it still flew to the boundary leaving the West Indies quick with a bruise but nothing more.

Six overs in, England were 83-0 and it already felt the like the match was over as a contest as the shoulders of those wearing maroon started to droop.

The diminutive Duckett dovetailed well with the taller Smith, as West Indies’ attack struggled to find the right length against England’s innovative strokeplay.

Thrust up the order by Brendon McCullum to open in place of Phil Salt, who is absent on paternity leave, Smith has taken to the role like the manor born as he used his levers to good effect.

Three consecutive sixes spanked off the bowling of Gudakesh Motie will have had the England coach purring before Smith dropped one inside the ropes to the biggest boundary and into the hands of Shimron Hetmyer.

A century beckoned for Duckett, and the opportunity to join Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan as one of only three English players with hundreds in all three formats.

However, the 30-year-old misjudged a sweep and was bowled behind his legs by left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein with the milestone tantalisingly within his grasp. Duckett thumped his pad with his bat in frustration.

If England were ruthless West Indies were rudderless as this match marked the end of a pretty chastening tour.

A 3-0 drubbing in the one-day international series was followed up by the same scoreline in the three T20s which have followed.

Indeed, this is the first time West Indies have been ‘double’ clean swept by England in both a ODI and T20 series since 2012.

Here they were again cumbersome in the field and struggled to know how to contain England with the ball. Romario Shepherd’s economy rate was 19 across two overs and Hosein, their most economical bowler, still went for 10.50 an over.

Evin Lewis pumped Luke Wood’s for six off the first ball of West Indies’ innings, but there was an end-of-term feel to the early part of the chase.

Certainly the callous disregard for anything tossed up by spinners Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid and Bethell early in the innings suggested some of their top order were already in the departure lounge.

West Indies skipper Hope, and the man he succeeded in the form of Powell, at least showed some fight during what always looked to be a forlorn effort.

It does not help their cause that one of their best players – and one of the best T20 batters in the world – has seemingly turned his back on them.

Nicholas Pooran, who was not part of this tour, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday at the age of 29 and has prioritised franchise paydays.

England captain Harry Brook: “I’m very pleased. The lads have put a really good shift in. To top off the series like we have tonight is really pleasing.

“I like the depth in the batting, it gives the lads at the top permission to go out there and get us off to a flier like they did today.”

West Indies captain Shai Hope: “We haven’t really put a complete game together in this series. We just need to find ways to do it. We need to keep chipping away and try to get as good as we can.”

England head coach Brendon McCullum talking to Sky Sports: “It’s been a really good two weeks. We have seen a clear blueprint of how Harry Brook wants this cricket team to run.

“I have let Harry find his way [with captaincy]. He doesn’t like to make things complicated. He likes to keep it simple. His calmness and ability to keep it simple rubs on other guys. He has captained a lot of sides growing up. He’s got great friendships.

Wales winger Sorba Thomas says Belgium will not relish a visit to Cardiff for the return World Cup qualifier after Monday’s dramatic and pulsating game in Brussels.

Belgium were leading 3-0 inside 27 minutes at the King Baudouin Stadium but Craig Bellamy’s side staged a tremendous comeback to level the game.

Kevin De Bruyne’s late winner broke Welsh hearts to secure a 4-3 victory for Belgium and inflict a first defeat under Bellamy, who was “beyond proud” of his players for their efforts.

“That’s a team that’s top 10 in the rankings and people were saying ‘little old Wales’ – we took the game to them,” Thomas said.

“They are going to be shaking in their boots when they come to Cardiff to play us, because we’re not the same Wales they played all them many years.

“We’re hungry, we’re a young group and I thought when it went to 3-3 it was in our hands.

Belgium, who have played two games less than Wales, will travel to Cardiff for the return on 13 October.

Thomas said Belgium did not show Wales “that much respect” after going 3-0 in front and the home side thought “that the game was done”.

But Thomas added: “To be honest, when they went 3-0 up we still had belief.

“If you look at the game, every time they scored we literally went down the other end and almost got a chance.

“I think going in at half-time 3-1 they probably thought the game was done. I think they relaxed and they underestimated us.

“The second half showed there was only one team in the game and that was us.

The result leaves Wales second in Group J, a point behind North Macedonia who won 1-0 in Kazakhstan – Belgium are third, three points further back but with those two games in hand.

Thomas’ first senior goal for Wales came only a few days after he completed a move from Huddersfield Town to Stoke City.

“For me personally it’s been one heck of a week, secured my future and got my first Wales goal,” said Thomas, Wales’ player of the game in Brussels.

“I’m pleased but I wish the result would have gone our way.

After a busy 10 days and £400m spent the transfer window has officially closed for Premier League clubs – a week before it opens once again.

This summer has seen an unusual, two-part transfer window to allow clubs to sign players for the Fifa Club World Cup which begins on Sunday, 15 June (01:00 BST).

A second will open on Monday, 16 June, before closing on Monday, 1 September at 19:00 BST for Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership clubs.

Fifa rules state a transfer window cannot last more than 16 weeks in a calendar year, hence the split this summer.

Manchester City and Chelsea are the two Premier League clubs competing at the Club World Cup in the United States, but any team from a league with sides at the tournament could participate in the window.

Premier League clubs have already spent £400m in initial transfer fees before the new season. That dwarfs the tallies of top-flight clubs in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Saudi Arabia.

There’s still a long way to go to match last summer’s final tally of £1.98bn spent by Premier League clubs on player transfers, while the record outlay of £2.36bn was set in summer 2023.

Chelsea begin their Club World Cup campaign against Los Angeles FC on 16 June, while City play Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June.

Both sides have new faces in their touring party, with City landing Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri for £31m and bringing in goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as cover.

They also announced the signing of attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon before the deadline for an initial fee of £30.45m.

Chelsea have spent more than any other club so far, splashing out initial fees of £89.5m on Liam Delap (£30m), Dario Essugo (£18.5m) and Mamadou Sarr (£12m), while Estevao Willian (£29m) will join after agreeing a move a year ago.

Manchester United are not in the Club World Cup but have made the most expensive move yet, spending £62.5m on Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.

Bournemouth to the Bernabeu is not a well-trodden path in football history but Real Madrid have spent £50m on Cherries centre-half Dean Huijsen.

The Spanish giants activated his release clause, with the Spain international having as many as seven offers on the table, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle.

Real, of course, also chose to spend £10m to bring forward the long-awaited signing of Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold so he could feature in the United States.

The 26-year-old would have been able to leave Liverpool on a free transfer when his contract expired on 30 June.

But Real moved early thanks to the financial incentive of the winner of the 32-team tournament potentially earning up to £97m in prize money.

Liverpool replaced Alexander-Arnold with Dutch full-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, while the Bundesliga side took goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford.

The Bees in turn signed Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, while across the city Everton turned forward Carlos Alcaraz’s loan move from Flamengo into a permanent one.

Jobe Bellingham has joined Borussia Dortmund from Sunderland on a five-year contract until June 2030.

Sunderland say the fee is a club record, believed to be 32m euros (£26.96m) plus 5m euros (£4.2m) in add-ons.

The 19-year-old midfielder has played for the Black Cats since 2023, making 90 appearances, and helped them secure promotion to the Premier League last season.

Bellingham began his career at Birmingham City, coming through the academy before playing two years of senior football for the club.

In a statement, Bellingham said he is proud of the “strong” relationship he has with Sunderland supporters.

“I will always represent Wearside in all that I strive to achieve for the rest of my career, wherever that may be,” he said.

Later on Tuesday Dortmund named Bellingham in their squad for the Club World Cup, which begins on Sunday.

Dortmund’s opening group game is against Brazilian side Fluminense on 17 June at 17:00 BST.

Bellingham had been named in the England squad for the European Under-21 Championship, to be held in Slovakia from 11-28 June.

But head coach Lee Carsley had said he would release players so they can compete at the Club World Cup in the United States.

Bellingham is following in the footsteps of older brother Jude by moving to the Bundesliga, as the England midfielder – who also came through the Birmingham City youth system – spent three years with Dortmund before joining Real Madrid in 2023.

He added in his farewell to Sunderland fans: “I hope that I have made you proud along the way, and in return, you have made me the player that has reached the heights I find myself at today.

“I will love and remember you fondly for the rest of my life.”

A “free and expressive” Emma Raducanu began her grass-court singles campaign with an impressive straight-set victory over Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa at Queen’s.

The Briton needed just one hour and five minutes to breeze past world number 112 Bucsa 6-1 6-2 and clearly relished the occasion in front of a home crowd at the west London tournament.

“Going on to the court laughing at certain shots, or I’m smiling if I have pulled off a great shot, it does help relax you,” Raducanu said.

“I play my best when my personality is put on the court and I can express myself, and I feel like sometimes when I’ve been constrained to play a certain way, it hasn’t necessarily worked.

“I just need to be free and expressive, and then certain moments of creativity can come up.”

For now at least, victory places Raducanu above compatriot Katie Boulter in the live rankings and could spell the end of Boulter’s almost two-year reign as British number one, depending on how they each perform this week.

Boulter booked her place in the last 16 earlier on Tuesday but is defending ranking points at the tournament, the first women’s Tour event at Queen’s since 1973.

She overcame a stern test against Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic, winning 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 in the end, after Heather Watson beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-3 to set up a last-16 meeting with fourth seed Elena Rybakina.

Raducanu has experienced a difficult 12 months.

Left feeling “wary” after being targeted by a stalker during a match in Dubai, she has also had a period of uncertainty with frequent changes to her coaches and a series of back problems that have at times kept her sidelined.

But the 2021 US Open champion has started this grass-court season with a more familiar and stable set-up, including the return to her team of coach Nick Cavaday.

She has also been “managing” the back issues and looked physically and mentally at ease in her maiden singles match at Queen’s.

Raducanu has played down her expectations at the tournament but, having got a feel for the grass alongside Boulter in their doubles victory on Monday, quickly made herself at home to the delight of a partisan crowd.

Cries of “Emma, we love you!” could be heard from fans throughout, while Raducanu returned the love by cheering and smiling towards the crowd after winning points and signing the camera lens “home turf” with a smiley face after her victory.

The heavily scrutinised Raducanu would surely benefit from a run at a tournament where she has quickly become comfortable, but tougher tasks lie ahead.

She will next face Rebecca Sramkova, who beat reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-4 6-3.

Boulter navigated a tricky match filled with twists and turns against Tomljanovic in her first singles match of the season on grass.

The 28-year-old came through a tense deciding set to book a last-16 meeting with fifth seed Diana Shnaider.

But, having slipped in the rankings this year while Raducanu has quietly crept back up, Boulter could end the tournament having lost her status as Britain’s leading woman, which she has held since June 2023.

The two have paired up for the doubles event at Queen’s and Boulter said she is happy to see Raducanu pushing her for top spot in the singles.

“Obviously, it holds a massive privilege being that person, but as I have said for the last two years which I have held that position, I’m not focused on necessarily that. I’m focused on myself and keeping my ranking up where I want it to be,” Boulter said.

The pair are on opposite sides of the draw at Queen’s, meaning they could not meet until the final.

But Raducanu will need to equal or better Boulter’s run to regain her status as British number one, a position she held following her 2021 US Open win until Boulter took over.

The 22-year-old was keen to play down the significance of the rankings.

“The tournament is still young and Katie can go on a rip this week as well. Honestly, it’s nice in a way having something to chase at one, but we have such a great relationship that it’s a very healthy competition,” she said.