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What can we expect in the WSL transfer window?

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

The Women’s Super League transfer window has opened again for the summer and there could be plenty of movement after Euro 2025.

A number of big-name stars are playing in Switzerland, but will any of them be switching clubs?

What moves should we look out for?

After a dramatic deadline day loan exit from Manchester City to Arsenal in January, England international Chloe Kelly is likely to make that move a permanent one.

European champions Arsenal have held positive discussions with Kelly’s representatives for some time now and the forward has made it clear how happy she is at the club.

“They took me from a really dark place and gave me an opportunity, but we achieved incredible things together, so let’s see what happens,” said Kelly, when asked about her future on Tuesday.

Kelly might not be the only addition for Arsenal this summer as they are looking to strengthen their defensive options.

Liverpool’s Taylor Hinds is a target and the Reds vice-captain is yet to agree a new deal on Merseyside, despite being offered a contract extension.

Arsenal are also interested in Liverpool sensation Olivia Smith, but they are not the only ones with Chelsea and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) clubs keen.

Liverpool do not wish to sell the Canada international, who they signed for a club-record £210,000 last summer on a three-year deal, but they will have to fight to keep hold of her.

WSL champions Chelsea are also expected to be active in the window and have been interested in USA teenager and Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes for a while. However, reports suggest they will face competition from OL Lyonnes.

There have been discussions between Chelsea and OL Lyonnes about a potential swap-deal involving Blues full-back Ashley Lawrence and Australian Ellie Carpenter.

Newly-promoted side London City Lionesses are looking to mark their mark in the window and have had discussions with Norway defender Ingrid Engen, who confirmed her exit from Barcelona this month. She has also been heavily linked with sister club OL Lyonnes.

Which clubs are expected to be active?

London City Lionesses owner Michele Kang intends to be very busy during the window, also overseeing business at Washington Spirit and OL Lyonnes.

She wants to back London City in the market and admitted their promotion to the WSL makes recruitment “much easier”.

“A lot of top players didn’t want to join a Championship team. Now we are in the WSL I think it is going to be easier to recruit,” she told BBC Sport in May.

Manchester City need to bridge the gap extended by rivals Chelsea and Arsenal last season and are expected to strengthen.

They are in the market for a midfielder, as well as more defensive cover.

Everton, under the new ownership of the Friedkin Group, are confident of adding several new additions, with manager Brian Sorensen describing their summer as “active” in an interview with the Athletic last month, stating up to eight new players could join.

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner promised fans a “big summer” in terms of recruitment as he looks to build a squad capable of competing in the Champions League this season.

After sealing European qualification in May, he said: “The next step is that we have to recruit the right way. In order to go into the depths of the Champions League – and from our perspective actually qualify for the group stages – we have to add the quality of depth.

“Champions League gives you that. People want to come to a Champions League team. Hopefully it opens that market for us.”

It could be a tricky few months for Liverpool as they hope to agree contract extensions with regular starters Hinds, Fuka Nagano and Ceri Holland, as well as fend off interest in Smith.

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Celta star Lopez set for Wolves medical before £19m move

By in News, Sports News
Images courtesy of Getty
Nick Mashiter
Football newscaster for BBC Sport
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Fer Lopez, a Celta Vigo attacker, is scheduled to undergo a medical at Wolves ahead of a $ 19 million move to Molineux.

The 21-year-old will undergo tests on Wednesday, which are anticipated to mark Vitor Pereira’s first summer signing.

Lopez, who briefly attended Suffolk school in 2018 and trained at Norwich’s academy, enrolled at Celta’s academy as a 10th grader.

A versatile midfielder who can fill a variety of roles in the front three and the No 10 slot, like Lopez, was a requirement for Wolves.

In October of this year, he made his senior debut for Celta, making 20 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals.

In order to raise nearly $100 million this summer, Wolves have already sold left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester City and forward Matheus Cunha to Manchester United.
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A port CEO panned Trump’s tariffs. Then a Chinese envoy’s wife sent praise

By in News, World News

The Port of Los Angeles’ head received an email with effusive praise from a prominent city resident as he prepared a flurry of media interviews to warn of the harm caused by tariffs passed by President Donald Trump last month.

Wang Wei, the ex-wife of Chinese Consul General Guo Shaochun, requested that Port of Los Angeles CEO Gene Seroka know that she found his opinions “practical, well-reasoned, and very convincing.”

In an email on May 6, Wang wrote, “I was pleasantly surprised to see your interview on Fox News this afternoon, where you shared your insights on the effects of the US-China tariff conflict on port trade.

“Later, I looked up YouTube and discovered that you’ve recently been interviewed by a number of major networks, including CNN and CNBC, etc. I was just aware of your celebrity status and business acumen,” Wang continued.

“Thank you for standing up and making a difference in terms of US-China trade development and exchange.”

The following day, Seroka thanked Wang for her message.

He declared, “We will continue to support world trade.” We need to do so much together, they say.

The emails, obtained by Al Jazeera through a public records request, offer an unusual insight into the Chinese lobbying for Trump’s trade war, which has targeted Beijing most frequently.

Trump’s administration has accused protectionism and “unilateral bullying,” while the most severe of his tariffs, which have been halted as Washington and Beijing work toward a comprehensive trade agreement.

Trump addresses the former Republican senator from Georgia, David Perdue, as he prepares to swear in at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2025.

State and local authorities, such as the Port of Los Angeles, a self-supporting division of the City of Los Angeles, are more likely to see the advantages of business between the parties, despite the US government’s growing skepticism of China’s rise as it attempts to halt its expansion.

The busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere, the Port of Los Angeles, announced that cargo had decreased by 35% from the previous year during the week of Wang and Seroka’s email exchange.

Seroka, who has repeatedly claimed in interviews that “no one wins” from a drawn-out US-China trade war, claimed his conversation with Wang was typical of his job as port CEO.

I have a wide range of international business relationships because I have lived in China and other Pacific Rim nations. One of many, he said, “is Ms. Wang Wei, who is also engaged in Port of Los Angeles business promotion.”

China’s Embassy in Washington, DC and Los Angeles did not respond to requests for comment.

emailA more pragmatic, pro-business perspective of ties is widely held at the state and local levels despite the tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Events like the US-China Sister Cities Summit held last year in Tacoma, Washington state, demonstrate how diplomatic relations between lower-level officials of the nations are not uncommon.

Washington has been critical of this engagement, though.

The US National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) warned in 2022 that China intended to “interpret” local government relations with local officials and legislators in order to “influence US policies and advance PRC geopolitical interests.”

More recently, the NCSC has issued warnings about China’s efforts to recruit current and former US officials through posing as consulting firms or think tanks.

A former Western diplomat in China told Al Jazeera that while foreign diplomats frequently speak with local officials and businesspeople about government policy, it is unusual for their families to voice their opinions.

Under the condition of anonymity, the ex-diplomat said, “Spouses or other family members of diplomats don’t typically speak with host country counterparts on policy issues, unless there happens to be an established personal relationship.”

Family members may discuss policy in private social settings with other diplomats and/or host nation representatives, but, in my opinion, it’s unusual for a spouse to discuss a policy issue with a counterpart in the host country, even privately.

A former US diplomat in China shared a similar opinion.

The ex-diplomat, who requested anonymity, told Al Jazeera, “It would be very uncommon from almost any country in the world to have a consul general’s spouse make that comment.”

“China can be a little different sometimes. Although occasionally, a Chinese diplomat’s spouse is also a government official. They may act in this way in those circumstances. Otherwise, it would primarily be written in response to comments made on cultural or interpersonal programs.

The former diplomat said that the US government’s warnings about Chinese cooperation with state and local authorities are largely “overblown,” and that “90 percent” of it is unconcerned.

The ‘two-metre Messi-Musiala’ starring at U21 Euros

By in News, Sports News
Images courtesy of Getty
Emlyn Begley
journalist for BBC Sport

When Germany takes on England Under-21s on Wednesday (20:00 BST), they will face a tough challenge in their defense for the European Championship.

The Stuttgart forward, who is 6′ 6″ (1. 98m), has scored four goals in two games against Slovakia.

After his breakthrough season in the Bundesliga, he is also being linked to numerous Premier League clubs.

If Slovenia do not defeat the Czech Republic or if England does not lose to Germany, they will reach the quarter-finals.

If a club didn’t have that [his scoring run] on their radar at the moment, Woltemade recently told Bild of Chelsea links, “it wouldn’t be ideal scouting.”

“I’m not thinking about my future at this time.” I just scored three goals while playing for the under-21 national team, which I enjoy a lot.

Woltemade was given the nickname “two meter Messi-Mussi-Musiala” by Atakan Karazor, the club’s captain, in a February interview.

Woltemades’ summer will be remembered.

In the last month, Woltemade has had a few historic moments.

In the German Cup final, he scored as Stuttgart defeated Arminia Bielefeld to claim its first trophy on May 24.

For his first two senior caps, he then began both of his first two Nations League appearances for Germany against Portugal and France.

And he is now one of the tournament’s oldest players while competing at the European Under-21 Championship a few days later. In the 4-2 victory over the Czech Republic, he scored a hat-trick before scoring again and contributing two more goals.

In Nitra, he will hope to keep that winning streak going against Lee Carsley’s England.

Nick Woltemade ranked highly last season in many different metrics for OptaOpta

Woltemade, who had only two goals in 51 games, started his career with Werder Bremen as a youth player.

He went on a third-tier loan at Elversberg for the 2022-23 season.

Before making a free-transfer to Stuttgart, the striker turned down the offer of a new Bremen contract last summer.

Although he was not selected for their Champions League squad, his time there slowly progressed.

In 33 games (22 starts) for the Bundesliga side, he has scored 17 goals, including in each of his previous four games.

Woltemade has already played 41 Bundesliga games for Bremen, and despite this, the German professional footballers’ union, the VDV, named him the newcomer of the year.

Who else is scoring in the Euro U21s?

William Osula from Newcastle is Woltemade’s current closest challenger for the tournament’s golden boot.

The 21-year-old has scored three goals for Denmark in their previous two games, including a double in a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.

Only two other players, besides Dynamo Kyiv’s Maksym Braharu from Ukraine, have scored twice.

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Kate Garraway suffers further financial setback as she’s locked out of bank accounts

By in Entertainment News, News
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Kate Garraway’s financial situation deteriorated once more this week after she issued a desperate plea on social media.

Kate Garraway suffered a financial setback this week(Image: ITV)

Kate Garraway suffered a financial setback this week after being locked out of her bank accounts. The Good Morning Britain presenter and radio host revealed she couldn’t access her current account and savings account.

The presenter has been open about her financial woes, having previously admitted she had fallen into debt after spending £16,000 a month on care for her husband Derek. He died in 2024 at the age of 56 after a lengthy battle with the long-term effects of Covid.

She previously stated, “I’m doing something similar myself. To pay late bills for my husband’s passing, I recently had to withdraw the amount you can tax-free for my pension.

Because I love what I do, I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m in debt. I’m not a carer who travels miles and uses their own means of transportation to assist someone for the minimum wage. I’m a very well-paid person, so it’s a shame that I couldn’t work.

Derek, Kate's husband, passed away last year.
Derek, Kate’s husband, passed away last year.

She had also been open in her documentary about how they were at a “crunch point” financially. She said: “Derek’s care costs more than my salary from ITV and that is before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids, so we are at a crunch point. I am in debt.

Continue reading the article.

Because I oversee Derek’s care, I can’t even use the money I do have to pay for his recovery because it’s always going on the “basics” of making money to pay it off.

Now she has suffered another financial setback as she was locked out of her accounts. Taking to Twitter, she begged her bank for help, where she wrote: “@Barclays please please get in touch with me – I have not been able to access any of my Barclays accounts current or savings since Friday due to changing my phone handset and can’t get through to anyone on customer service.”#

Kate has experienced yet another setback, and it comes one month later. Her late husband’s company had loan debts of almost £140,000 and a £288, 000 tax bill, according to new HMRC paperwork. HMRC claims Kate does not currently have the money to pay back, but the company no longer has any assets and that she is still making attempts to recover the money.

Continue reading the article.

Kate has received all the requests from Derek’s company’s liquidators, including more, according to a Kate spokesman. She is shocked that they are presenting it in this manner because she doesn’t recognize these figures.

When Derek was forced to no longer run his own business, she was deeply financially strapped, but she is determined to put things right. She keeps in touch with HMRC to make sure Derek’s now-defunct company fulfills her obligations.

Reps Probe ₦1.12trn Anchor Borrowers’ Programme Spending

By in News, Nigeria News

The Anchors Borrowers Programme (ABP) expenditures totaled $1. 11 trillion, according to the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security.

The committee is also looking into the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank’s $ 215 billion investment in agro-businesses as well as the Bank of Industry’s $ 3 billion grant to 22, 120 smallholder farmers through the agriculture value chain financing program.

During an investigation hearing on the alleged misuse of government interventions and agricultural funding by federal government departments, agencies, schemes, and programs, the committee’s chairman, Chike Okafor, expressed concern that of the 24 participating financial institutions (PFIs), only nine of the institutions had evidence to support their claims.

Read more about CBN’s affirmation of the strength of the Nigerian banking sector.

He claimed that one of the committee’s main oversight responsibilities is to ensure the effective implementation of government intervention programs in the areas of food security and nutrition.

He continued, “We are looking into how the Central Bank of Nigeria distributed about 1.1 trillion to 4.67 million farmers who work in maize, rice, or wheat through 563 anchors.

We are aware that you have about 24 participating financial institutions (PFIs) through which to distribute these astronomical sums, The CBN should take note. You have written to 24 of them, which is unusual, but we only have nine of them, as I am aware of. So, take note. Additionally, some of those PFIs have attempted to contact them.

Second, we are looking into how the Bank of Industry, along with NIRSAL, has already disbursed N215, 066, 982, and 074.50 to 22 smallholder farmers through the agriculture value chain financing program.

“One of the Committee on Nutrition and Food Security’s key oversight mandates is to ensure the proper execution of intervention programs by relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and government agencies in the fields of food security and nutrition.” Including investigations into nutrition and food security, monitoring of resource allocation, the development of new laws, and strengthening existing ones, among others.

According to the House’s standing order, “These are fully enshrined in the committee’s jurisdiction.” Please take note that the current administration‘s renewed hope agenda included nutrition and food security as two unrelated issues that cannot be separated.

The establishment of this committee on nutrition and food security is a legislative move to address these issues and promote the development of a food-secured and nourished populace in Nigeria, he added.

Insecurity, according to a NIRSAL Microfinance Bank representative, poses a significant risk to the successful operation of their loan program.

He claimed that they carefully considered laid-down guidelines when determining who was qualified to receive the intervention.

According to Bassey, “We distributed these funds based on those guidelines.” Insecurity challenges are some of the issues they have covered in their writings. A few of them had complained that because of the banditry and herdsmen’s experience, they were unable to return to the farms after investing in agricultural business.

And these prevented them from extending their harvesting and seasonal interventions. Some cited other factors that affected them, such as flooding and drought. A few of them, according to Bonney, actually requested that the loan facility be restructured so they could pay their balances on time.

Sterling Bank, Olushola Obikanye, the group head of Agric Finance and Solid Minerals, reported that they had repatriated 113, 490, 756, and 332.54 to the CBN and were not due under the scheme.

The total funds returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria are therefore the sum of both the returned und returned funds that were disbursed. The total funds repatriated to the central bank stood at ₦113, 490, 756, 332.54. And Sterling Bank is still due under this scheme an outstanding sum of zero naira and zero kobo, he said.