Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane is set to complete a free transfer to Turkish club Galatasaray.
The 29-year-old arrived in Istanbul on Thursday ahead of signing a contract with the Super Lig champions.
The Turkish club posted photos on their social media of Sane wearing a Galatasaray scarf on his arrival at Ataturk Airport, saying they have “started transfer talks” with the German.
Over one million supporters tuned in to a live broadcast on Galatasaray’s YouTube channel on Tuesday of a flight-tracker showing Sane’s plane arriving in the city.
The Bundesliga champions were keen on keeping the winger but Sane rejected the offer of a contract extension.
Bayern had included Sane in their 29-man squad for the Club World Cup, which begins on 15 June.
However, he is set to complete a deal with Galatasaray in the coming days, with the Athletic reporting he has verbally agreed a three-year deal with the Turkish club.
Sane, who won six major trophies in four years with City, claimed three consecutive Bundesliga titles during his first three seasons at Bayern before a fourth last term.
Japan has protested to Beijing over what was described as Chinese fighter jets’ “near-miss” manoeuvres near Japanese maritime patrol planes over the Pacific where China’s two operational aircraft carriers were spotted deployed simultaneously for the first time last weekend.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday that a Chinese J-15 warplane from the Shandong aircraft carrier flew within 45 metres (147 feet) of a Japanese P-3C maritime surveillance plane and made other “dangerous manoeuvres” during incidents on Saturday and Sunday.
“We have expressed serious concern to the Chinese side and solemnly requested prevention of recurrence,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
According to Japan’s defence ministry, P-3C aircraft, belonging to Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force based on the island of Okinawa, were conducting surveillance over international waters in the Pacific when they encountered Chinese warplanes.
On Saturday, a J-15 from the Shandong chased a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for about 40 minutes. Then, on Sunday, a J-15 fighter chased a P-3C for 80 minutes, crossing in front of the Japanese aircraft at a distance of only 900 metres (2,952 feet), the ministry said.
“Such abnormal approaches by Chinese military aircraft could potentially cause accidental collisions,” the defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, attaching close-up images of the J-15 jet it took on Sunday. There was no damage to the Japanese planes or harm caused to the aircraft crew, the ministry added.
Hayashi, the top Japanese government spokesperson, said Tokyo will maintain communications with Beijing at various levels and will also ensure the monitoring of airspace around Japan’s territories continues.
The last time a similar incident was reported was more than a decade ago in May and June 2014, when Chinese Su-27 fighter jets flew within 30 metres (98 feet) of Japan’s military planes.
The Kyodo news agency also reported that the Shandong aircraft carrier conducted takeoff and landing drills on Monday to the north of Japan’s southernmost Okinotori Island, inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Liaoning carrier was also spotted inside the EEZ on Saturday before moving outside the zone where it also conducted takeoffs and landings on Sunday.
China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning, arrives in Hong Kong waters, in July 2017 [File: Anthony Wallace/AFP]
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Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist
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“I don’t think he’s the guy,” Rio Ferdinand says of Viktor Gyokeres.
“I’ve watched him probably three times really, really closely. And three times I’ve gone: ‘He ain’t getting that opportunity in the Prem’.”
Gyokeres has scored a phenomenal 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting, also contributing 26 assists for the Lisbon outfit.
The Sweden forward averaged more than a goal per game in the season just gone, with 54 in 52 appearances.
Yet former Manchester United captain Ferdinand is not convinced Gyokeres, who has been strongly linked with the Red Devils, is a good fit for his old club.
Top clubs, however, are circling for the former Brighton player after an outstanding couple of seasons with Sporting, where he played under United boss Ruben Amorim.
Sporting club president Frederico Varandas says they have not received an offer for the striker and they are also not prepared to let him leave for a rumoured ‘gentleman’s agreement’ of £59m.
In addition to his 39 goals in Portugal’s Primeira Liga in 2024-25, Gyokeres helped himself to another six in the Champions League – including a hat-trick against Manchester City.
However, doubts remain over Gyokeres’ ability to transfer his prolific form in Portugal to the Premier League.
Six-time Premier League winner Ferdinand, speaking on his own podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents, asks: “Is there enough – after he’s physically matched – to get him a goal?”
Gyokeres has gone from leaving Brighton without playing a single minute of Premier League football to becoming one of Europe’s most prolific marksmen – via loan spells in the Championship at Swansea and Coventry, and in Germany with St Pauli.
Arsenal, who are seeking a clinical finisher to end a five-year wait for a major trophy, have also been linked along with Juventus and Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.
@OptaAnalyst
The one that got away?
Brighton have developed a reputation as masters of the transfer market, renowned for developing young talent and selling them on for hefty fees.
In January 2019, they signed Alexis Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors for an undisclosed, but reportedly small fee. The midfielder went on to win the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 before joining Liverpool in a £55m deal in 2023.
Midfielder Moises Caicedo signed from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in 2021. Two years later he joined Chelsea in a deal worth a British record £115m.
Gyokeres, however, is different.
Having failed to make the grade, Brighton allowed him to join Coventry for a small fee in July 2021 after an unspectacular return of three goals in 19 Championship appearances during a loan spell with the Sky Blues.
Two years later he went to Sporting for £20.5m after scoring 38 times in 91 league games across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
While playing in Lisbon, Gyokeres has scaled new heights and he is reportedly now valued by the Portuguese champions at £67m.
He has also performed on the international stage as part of an exciting attacking line-up for Sweden, alongside Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski.
Gyokeres scored nine goals in six games for his country – including four in one match against Azerbaijan – in the 2024-25 Nations League.
But it is not just his goals that have earned him attention.
Gyokeres is known for his intelligent movement and intense work-rate, while his blend of physical strength, technical skill and tactical awareness have earned him admiring glances from clubs.
He is a creator as well as a goalscorer, with a lot of his chance creation coming from his love of running with the ball.
Is Gyokeres the one that got away as far as Brighton are concerned?
“Players develop at different rates,” Brighton’s long-serving chief executive Paul Barber told The Athletic last November.
“In 2021, when Viktor was transferred to Coventry, his pathway here wasn’t clear and, with his contract running down, he wanted a permanent home.
“We have to accept the decision to sell for what it was at that time – right for the player, and right for the club.
‘Viktor, pass the ball. Pass’
Gyokeres’ former team-mates and coaches remember a young boy who cried when he lost. They talk about a “stubborn kid” who was “wild, really aggressive” and would occasionally come to blows with team-mates.
“I remember the older players were sometimes telling him to calm down a little bit, because he was always going all-in,” Magni Fannberg, who handed Gyokeres his first-team debut for Swedish club Brommapojkarna in 2015, told the Times.
There are stories about Gyokeres’ single-mindedness, focus and drive.
Gustav Sandberg Magnusson, who played with Gyokeres at Brommapojkarna, adds: “There was one training session I was screaming at him, ‘Viktor, pass the ball. Pass’. And he didn’t [look at] me. I was so frustrated.”
David Eklund, academy scout at the club, tells BBC Sport: “He was never a superstar like Dejan Kulusevski [another Brommapojkarna youth product]. But he scored goals. That’s it.
“He had a strong mentality but he’s a really nice guy. He always worked hard and had the idea of being a top player, training every day. He wanted to prove people wrong.”
Dennis Lawrence, who was part of Mark Robins’ backroom staff at Coventry when Gyokeres was there, says: “I had to laugh the other day when I saw he scored a free-kick for Sporting. At Coventry, he would try free-kicks [in training] and I would say, ‘No, you’re not on free-kicks, Viktor’.
“But his mentality is, ‘no, I know I can do this.’
“And he’s scoring these incredible free-kicks now. He’s got that ability to focus on and achieve anything he wants.”
It all started on the gravel pitches of his local grassroots club in Stockholm, IFK Aspudden-Tellus. Gyokeres was five at the time and he credits his father, Stefan, in his development.
“Making that journey together helped me a lot. We’d share good and bad moments,” says Gyokeres, who has since gone on to make a big impression – on and off the pitch.
Getty Images
Will Gyokeres flourish in a tougher league?
Take a glance at the list of leading goalscorers in Europe’s top leagues in 2024-25 and the usual suspects are there.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe managed 31 in his debut season in La Liga, Mohamed Salah contributed 29 goals as Liverpool claimed the Premier League crown, while Robert Lewandowski finished on 27 during Barcelona’s title-winning season – one more than England captain Harry Kane’s tally for Bayern Munich.
Gyokeres, who is 6ft 2in (1.89m), managed 39, though the Primeira Liga is not considered one of the top five leagues in Europe.
The question for suitors is whether he could be quite so prolific in a stronger league. He has just turned 27 and is still to play a single game in Europe’s top five divisions – hence Ferdinand’s comments.
It is perhaps worth noting 35% of his goals in 2024-25 came from penalties, as he successfully converted all 19 of his spot-kicks.
Should he move to Old Trafford he may have to rely more on open-play goals as he would be unlikely to dislodge Bruno Fernandes as penalty-taker.
United’s captain rarely makes a mistake from 12 yards, scoring 38 of 42 spot-kicks since joining, excluding shootouts.
Bennedict Mathurin has put on a game-changing performance in game three of the NBA Finals to help the Indiana Pacers out-duel the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.
Fuelled by a near triple-double from Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 22 points with nine rebounds and 11 assists, and a career playoff-high 27 points from reserve Mathurin, the Pacers showed a tremendous collective effort in Wednesday’s Game 3.
The Pacers bench outscored Oklahoma City’s reserves 49-18 and Indiana wore down NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 24 points included just three in the fourth quarter.
“So many different guys chipped in,” Haliburton told broadcaster ABC. “Ben Mathurin was amazing off the bench tonight. He just stuck with it. We just had guys make plays after plays.”
Pascal Siakam scored 21 points for Indiana, and TJ McConnell added 10 points and five steals off the bench to help the Pacers improve to 10-0 since March 11 in games immediately after a defeat.
Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin shoots against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals series [Abbie Parr/AP]
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle lauded the contributions of Mathurin and McConnell.
“Those guys were tremendous,” Carlisle said. “TJ just brought a will, competitive will, to the game. Mathurin jumped in there and immediately was aggressive and got the ball in the basket.
“This is the kind of team that we are,” Carlisle added. “It’s not always going to be exactly the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that. But this is how we’ve got to do it, and we got to do it as a team.”
In 22:24 minutes on court through the second and fourth quarters, Mathurin was brutally efficient, making two of his three three-point attempts and seven of eight free – throws, adding in four rebounds an assist and a blocked shot for good measure.
“Just staying ready,” Mathurin said after the game. “Whenever my number is called, go into the game and do the right things and try to help my team win — that’s the whole mindset.”
Mathurin is playing in the playoffs for the first time, after watching the Pacers’ run to the Eastern Conference finals from the bench in the wake of season-ending surgery in March of 2024.
Carlisle said , the 22-year-old Canadian was looking ahead.
“He was with the team. He just wasn’t playing,” Carlisle recalled. “He took a lot of notes, a lot of mental notes, and he may have written some things down.
“He’s putting a lot of work to be ready for these moments, and tonight he was an absolute major factor.”
Mathurin said he was “fortunate to learn a lot” in what was an unfortunate situation last year but he admitted that it wasn’t easy.
Playing in the finals, in front of the intense fans in Indianapolis, “is a dream” but one he doesn’t want to get caught up in.
“I’m not trying to live in my dream,” he said. “I’m trying to live in the present and make sure the dream ends well, which means winning the next game and winning a championship.”
The Pacers will try to stretch their lead in the best-of-seven championship series when they host game four on Friday before the series heads back to Oklahoma City for game five on Monday.
🏆 GAME 3 FINAL SCORE 🏆
Tyrese Haliburton leads a late @Pacers charge at home to take a 2-1 series lead!
Kitty Scott-Claus, who appeared in the third series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, has lost eight pounds after making some radical lifestyle changes
Pride month is in full swing, and drag queens, the so-called ‘ambassadors’ of the LGBTQIA+ community, are already busy entertaining crowds. In fact, today, I’m sitting with Kitty Scott-Claus who has just spent the weekend ‘shouting in a mic’ at Mighty Hoopla.
“I love to be the loudest person in the room,’ Kitty jokes. She adds: “It’s so annoying, I hate myself.”
Being an entertainer is just one of the many hats Kitty wears. She was a finalist on 2022’s Celebrity MasterChef and is now gearing up for a return to the West End this summer with her upcoming role in The Diana Mixtape, embodying once again Lady Di, a character with which she won the notably difficult ‘snatch game’ challenge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
With her honest humour and infectious charisma, it didn’t take long for Kitty to earn her place as one of the UK’s most beloved Drag Queens. But her journey started from ‘real humble beginnings’, she reveals.
Kitty says: “I feel like, especially this year, this pride month, I feel so reflective of my journey, and how far I’ve come, and thinking ‘oh my god’ from where I started.
Kitty competed on the third series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, in addition to competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars
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“I started doing drag at a bar in Camden and we were playing to like three people.” Kitty has since put her Bachelor’s Degree from the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, in musical theater to good use.
Keeping herself booked and busy, the media personality has not tired yet from the wigs and make up. “Drag gives you the opportunity to be beautiful on the days where you don’t necessarily feel beautiful,” she reveals.
She further shares: “Drag for me, I feel like I’m Barbie and I feel like it doesn’t matter what the situation is, I just put on the outfit, and then I become that thing. So when I was in Masterchef, I put on my Masterchef’s outfit, I feel like it’s a good analogy for life.”
And while many drag artists keep their art completely separate from their real lives, Kitty embodies her real personality in and out of her work attire. “I don’t really have a drag persona, I’m the same in drag or out of drag, it doesn’t matter if I’ve got a wig on or not, I’m always going to be an attention seeker,” she says.
Nevertheless, Kitty also enjoys being able to enter public spaces as herself, or rather, himself – Louie Westwood, even though ‘the gays know’. She explains: “It’s fabulous, because you get to do that double life thing.
“In the words of Hannah Montana, you get the best of both worlds.” While being confident and admitting to always being happy with their appearance, Kitty also acknowledges the pressure of being scrutinised by TV views.
But that wasn’t the motivation for Kitty to lose an impressive eight stone. She recalls: “I was so happy with the size I was and I never thought, because I’d grown up being a bigger individual, I’d grown up being plus size, I never thought in a million years I could be the size I am now, that just never crossed my mind.
Kitty Scott-Claus discusses the importance of Pride month
“I’d grown up being bigger, I just didn’t think that it was possible.” Upon starting working out with a personal trainer suggested by her Drag Race castmate, Ella Vaday, Kitty got a taste for a healthier lifestyle.
Kitty further shared her weight loss journey, revealing how she achieved her transformation: “The biggest thing for me was finding an exercise routine that works for you and that you enjoy. I think if you enjoy it, you don’t feel like ‘all right, I’ve got go and work out now’.”
The drag artist admitted that going to the gym has become her ‘zen time’, a place where she can be by herself and listen to her music. In addition to the gym, Kitty also goes swimming.
“I really love swimming and that’s completely disconnected from everything, I don’t have a phone, I don’t have music with me, I don’t have any distractions,” Kitty says. “It’s me and the pool.”
Diet and making radical changes to her lifestyle have also contributed to Kitty’s transformation. She further debunked rumours accusing her of relying on diabetes medications that have been made popular by celebrities in recent years.
Kitty won RuPaul Drag Race’s “snatch game” challenge by embodying Princess Diana
“A lot of it is diet, and I feel like especially losing weight in 2025, the world is so hot on Ozempic and Mounjaro, and everyone is so quick to say you’ve just done Ozempic, you’re in the public eye, you have a blue tick, this is how you’ve done it,” Kitty admits. “And it’s like no, I’m in the gym every single day, and I love it, and I’ve changed my diet, I don’t drink anymore, I’m sober.”
She adds: “Completely 180 of what my life was and I’m eight stone down and I’ve never been happier. I’ve never felt more confident.”
Running is another activity Kitty ‘absolutely loves’ doing. In fact, she loved it so much, she ran this year’s London Marathon, dedicating the 26.2 mile race to the late The Vivienne.
‘Vive has left such a lasting legacy and it’s such a powerful message that she’s left behind, and it’s going to inspire queens from now for generations to come,” Kitty says. “She’s so missed by everyone and I love her.”
James Lee Williams, known professionally as The Vivienne, was the winner of the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. She tragically passed in January at the age of 32 from a cardiac arrest.
Despite the joy and colour brought by a month promising rainbows and acceptance, the versatile drag artist acknowledges more unfortunate events that have impacted the community this year. This includes the UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex, excluding transgender women.
‘It just reiterates how important it is to have pride and to have pride month,” Kitty reacts. “And I mean, I’m coming to this speaking as a cisgender man about the legislation rules about trans and what is a woman.
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“I think it’s ridiculous and it’s so stupid, like, mind your own business let live, let people live their truth, protect the dolls, that’s what the most important thing is.”
Tyrese Haliburton praised a team effort from the Indiana Pacers after they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Haliburton scored 22 points and made 11 assists and nine rebounds as the Pacers overturned a five-point deficit going into the fourth quarter in game three of the best-of-seven series.
The Pacers bench outscored the Thunder by 49-18, with reserve Bennedict Mathurin contributing 27 points at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Mathurin said: “The main thing is you have to be resilient. You have to be the aggressor in order to win games.”
The Pacers, who went into the game after a 123-107 defeat in game two, extended a run of not losing consecutive games since March.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, scored 24 points for the Thunder but only three in the fourth quarter.
Jalem Williams top-scored for the visitors with 26 points, while Chet Holmgren scored 20 points and made 10 rebounds for a Thunder side that gave up 19 turnovers which led to 21 points for the Pacers.
“In the fourth quarter I just thought they really outplayed us on both ends,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
