Category News

Grace Geyoro, a France international, was signed for £1.4 million from Paris St-Germain, making her the most expensive female football player in history.

The Women’s Super League newcomers’ $1.1 million signing of Mexico winger Lizbeth Ovalle was less than the $1.5 million the Orlando Pride paid for the player last month.

Olivia Smith became the first £1 million signing since joining Arsenal from Liverpool in July, breaking the women’s world record for the third time this summer.

Geyoro, 28, is Michele Kang’s wealthy American owner’s 16th permanent addition to London City.

Geyoro, who has scored 22 goals for her country and has participated in two World Cups, two European Championships, and the 2024 Olympics, has been captained by France 103 times.

Several well-known players have been signed by London City since obtaining promotion, including 74-cap England forward Nikita Parris, former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem, and Danielle van de Donk from Lyon.

At the age of 15, Geyoro signed for PSG and started playing for the team in almost 270 games. She won three French Cups, won three, and finished twice in the Champions League.

Jocelyn Precheur, the manager of London City, spent two years with PSG before joining Geyoro.

The 43-year-old described Geyoro as “one of the best players on the planet,” saying at a press conference following the announcement of the deal on Friday.

She has a wonderful career, but Precheur criticized her.

“I was immediately aware that having such a talented player would be a great opportunity for the club.”

We have a lot of young, hardworking players. The balance of the squad is crucial to the signing of a player like her.

She is knowledgeable about my playing style. She will greatly benefit the team and our preferred style of play because she is so knowledgeable about the game.

London City are the first women’s football team to join the WSL without any affiliation with a men’s club, indicating a potential new direction for the sport.

The club operates in female sports markets and attracts independent sponsorships with Kang as president.

The Lionesses have been able to create a new structure with a board full of women’s football expertise and facilities designed specifically for women.

Kang benefited from investing in player salaries and transfer fees as a means of negotiating.

Moving to Geyoro is a remarkable statement of intent, as they broke the second-tier transfer record last year when they signed youngster Izzy Goodwin from Sheffield United for a six-figure fee.

She is a top-notch midfielder who elevates the team and makes other teams notice how committed they are to the market.

PSG, one of the other clubs owned by Kang, is weakened by the addition of its weakening factor, which is a significant rival to Lyon.

Expectations and pressure are likely to rise for London City manager Jocelyn Precheur, who collaborated with Geyoro at PSG.

Since joining the club in 2024, he has dealt with a high player turnover, and he is aware of the club’s unmistakable ambitions to win the Champions League.

Men’s one-day international

Scotland 164 all out (24.0): Munsey (59), McMullen (27), Greaves 3-24

Namibia 109 all out (21.2): Green (27), Smit (26), Trumpelmann 3-24, Scholtz 3-25

By 55 runs, Scotland won.

In a rain-shortened World Cup League 2 ODI in King City, Ontario, George Munsey scored 59 runs to help Scotland defeat Namibia.

Ultimately, Ruben Trumpelmann defeated opener Munsey, whose 84-pound haul was crucial to Sunday’s victory over Canada.

As Namibia’s 165-point target was reached, Mark Watt, Tom Bruce, Michael Leask, and Brandon McMullen all added double-figures to their totals.

As Scotland defeated their opponents by 55 runs to restrict their total to 109 all out, Chris Greaves took three wickets, and Brad Currie and Safyaan Sharif took two each.

Zane Green led Namibia in goals with 27, closely followed by JJ Smit with 26.

Despite England’s series defeat against an impressive South Africa, it was really nice to see Jacob Bethell at Lord’s on Thursday with a smile on his face and scoring runs.

The 21-year-old has been subjected to a lot of pressure this summer, which is hardly fair, but at Lord’s he seemed to be really enjoying himself with 58 off 40 balls.

In his only international appearance of the summer, Bethell was dismissed after failing to score in his two previous matches against Headingley on Tuesday and at The Oval in a crucial moment.

He struggled in The Hundred, where it became clear that he was receiving hefty criticism from the opposition and rants about being England’s “Golden Boy,” which was cruel.

Someone should step back a little, Bethell. Even Sachin Tendulkar had to travel and work on his game. Everyone does, too.

Without that knowledge, no one can expect to enter the international game, and no one can prepare for that without playing a lot of cricket.

In some situations, you’ll be aware of your game’s structure and play style.

I’m not suggesting that England should not select Bethell. But let him play because he’s all about it when he’s a youngster.

Why did they select him to lead the T20 tour of Ireland, in my opinion?

Because anything can happen in T20 games, I sincerely hope it doesn’t go wrong.

Rob Key’s comments about Bethell’s leadership qualities, in my opinion, are somewhat absurd.

What leadership qualities might he have demonstrated if, as the Test team’s 12th man, he has been carrying drinks all summer without playing for Warwickshire?

England needs a fifth bowler to help them balance their side.

Without an all-rounder, which this team lack, it is very difficult.

I liked Bethell’s bat-assisted innings, but he and Will Jacks combined to give up 112 runs in 10 overs.

You can’t just play around with part-time bowlers for ten overs, and you can’t even start bowling them at the end of the innings.

By that point, batters are ready, and South Africa’s middle order is pretty brutal.

England were concerned about the breadth of their batting, so they included Jacks at number seven in response to how they batted at Headingley.

Sonny Baker, who had a difficult debut, was dropped for the second ODI because of the team’s composition.

Although Baker was very expensive in Leeds, you can always pick him again 48 hours later if you already have a teammate from two days ago.

Everyone has a right to feel nervous about their debut. Headingley’s pitch was excellent, and the outfield was very quick.

When the first innings started, the ball was moving around at Lord’s. After England won the toss and decided to field, that gave Baker an opportunity to see what he could do.

We made the key point about England’s Champions Trophy campaign in February by stating that they lack the ability to play 50-over cricket.

They hardly ever play it; that is not entirely their fault. These players are almost entirely T20 players right now, but 50-over cricket is a completely different game.

You practice the game format, and you can learn to rebuild your innings, like South Africa did at Lord’s.

When losing quick wickets, England’s players must learn how to pace it and how to restructure it.

Not much has changed in the Champions Trophy mindset over the past two performances.

Yes, West Indies was a weak team, but England did defeat them 3-1.

England’s 50-over game is much better suited for this series against South Africa, which also has some improvement.

Because of their connection to World Cup qualification, these one-day series are significant. The humiliating situation of having to compete against the likes of the Netherlands, Scotland, and the United States could put England in the best possible light.

The top eight, along with hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, are automatically eligible for the 14-team tournament because they are eighth in the International Cricket Council’s one-day standings, which govern eligibility.

Because England will play a tough series in New Zealand following the South Africa series and the T20 tour of Ireland, it is not in a good position.

It will be difficult for them to concentrate on that one-day series because the Ashes are coming up a few weeks later.