Category Sports News

Aston Villa show Jadon Sancho interest, Newcastle make Burnley’s James Trafford their top target and Liverpool consider Anthony Gordon move.

Aston Villa have become the latest club to show an interest in signing England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, from Manchester United following his loan at Chelsea. (Teamtalk)

Newcastle United have made Burnley and England goalkeeper James Trafford, 22, their top target this summer. (Times – subscription required)

Liverpool are not looking to sell Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 28, and have received no offers, despite reported interest from Barcelona and Saudi side Al-Nassr. (Times – subscription required)

But should Diaz leave, Newcastle’s £80m-rated England winger Anthony Gordon, 24, is being seriously considered by Liverpool as a replacement. (Teamtalk)

Arne Slot’s Liverpool could also compete with Arsenal to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, with the 22-year-old Slovenia striker the subject of a £67m bid from the Gunners. (TBR Football)

Harvey Elliott is most likely to join a Serie A club if the English midfielder, 22, leaves Liverpool this summer. (Football Insider)

Everton would have to match Thierno Barry’s release clause of 40m euros (£33.7m) to sign the French striker from Villarreal. (Teamtalk)

Chelsea are unwilling to pay the £25m AC Milan want for their 29-year-old France goalkeeper Mike Maignan. (Standard)

Brentford will look to appoint Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna if current manager Thomas Frank leaves to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham. (Football Insider)

West Ham have contacted Club Brugge about signing 24-year-old Nigeria midfielder Raphael Onyedika, but face competition from AC Milan. (TBR Football)

Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t accomplished many things, but his most recent success was against Germany.

Ronaldo’s record-setting goalscoring debut in the Nations League semi-final in Munich came when he faced the winner, putting an end to a long wait.

The 40-year-old scored 137 goals in 220 games and 937 goals totaling all of football.

These three totals are all men’s records.

However, Ronaldo has never had a worse international performance than that of any other team.

Portugal last defeated Germany at Euro 2000, losing all five of his previous five games against them. That is now five instead of six.

England now has three draws against Ronaldo, which is the record for the nation Ronaldo has played against most. Although this is necessary, the biggest caveat in the world.

Ronaldo has lost four games to France, the most of which he has lost to since Germany.

However, his Portugal side won the Euro 2016 final most famously, and there have been three draws (including a penalty shootout defeat).

Ronaldo only scored once in those five meetings, which spanned 450 minutes, in addition to Ronaldo’s poor goalscoring record against Germany. That’s now two every 540 minutes, or one every 270 minutes.

Ronaldo has scored 85 goals for Portugal since turning 30.

Only five other players, in contrast, have ever scored more than 85 goals.

In other words, in the second half of his international career, he has scored more goals than current stars like Harry Kane and Neymar have, for example. Legends like Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Diego Maradona, and Gerd Muller have.

It’s difficult to describe in words. Roberto Martinez, the Portugal boss, said that he views each day as an opportunity to improve.

When you have success, you wake up and have less hunger, according to the human race. not Cristiano.

While Bernardo Silva, his countryman, stated: “It’s his ambition to keep going.

Being unable to eat every day is never easy.

After Sunday’s Nations League game against either France or Spain (20:00 BST), it is unclear where Ronaldo’s club’s future will lie.

Ronaldo’s contract with Saudi club Al-Nassr expires this summer, but he has been playing there for two and a half years.

He declared on social media that this chapter was over after their season finale. The narrative ? Still being written. grateful to everyone.

Many people assumed Ronaldo was leaving Al-Nassr as a result.

Ronaldo’s participation in this summer’s Club World Cup was discussed in Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president.

Al-Nassr would have to meet the qualifications to join another team, even if it was only on a temporary contract.

The most closely linked Brazilian team was Botafogo.

Ronaldo must score 63 more goals to become the first player to ever surpass 1,000.

Pele and Romario, two legendary Brazilians, both claimed to have scored more than 1, 000 goals, but neither were acknowledged as such.

Wales vs. Liechtenstein: World Cup qualifier

Cardiff City Stadium Date: Friday, June 6th Kickoff: 19:45 BST

When Wales players were last together in March, David Brooks accepted the praises when he scored the 96th-minute equalizer in North Macedonia, keeping Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten start as head coach.

For entirely different reasons, Brooks received more congratulations when the Wales squad regrouped for this week’s World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium.

The couple’s baby is due on November 1 and their baby is expected to be born in a couple’s home earlier this week.

Given that questions were raised about whether this time would ever come, Brooks, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, finds the news particularly encouraging.

“I wanted to start a family for all of my life.” The 27-year-old claims that her wife and I both wanted children at some point.

You have those conversations, of course, and there are never any guarantees that I’ll be able to have children once I’ve been diagnosed. There was a chance it wouldn’t have been possible.

“But I think it came naturally,” I think. I was obviously very happy after receiving treatment because everything returned to normal. Although there were some tears, we are anticipating it a lot.

In October 2021, Brooks was diagnosed with Stage Two Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 24.

The attacking midfielder went through “dark times,” but he was declared cancer-free in May 2022 after receiving several months of chemotherapy.

Brooks acknowledges that he is now one of Wales’ “more senior lads” two years later.

Another great of the country has passed away as a result of Joe Allen’s retirement, and Aaron Ramsey, the camp’s captain, has been injured once more.

Brooks, who has 33 caps, says he enjoys the responsibility of playing for a squad that is rebuilding after losing Gareth Bale, Chris Gunter, and Allen since the 2022 World Cup.

Bale is undoubtedly the greatest British player of all time, while Joe Allen is undoubtedly one of the greatest Welsh players ever, he continues.

They are undoubtedly a big miss, but there are many young talents emerging and many young people, including myself, have been waiting for the chance to showcase their talents.

Wales will face Cardiff City on Friday when they host the minnows of Liechtenstein for the ninth time since Bellamy took over.

Next Monday in Brussels, Wales will take on Belgium, one of Group J’s top seeds, with a tougher challenge ahead.

When North Macedonia advanced in added time in Skopje, Brooks almost scored his fifth international goal with the final kick of the game, which appeared to be the end of the unbeaten run.

He claims, “I’m not too fussed, but as long as it trickles over the line, it’s not one of my best efforts.”

It made the table look much better for us, according to the manager of North Macedonia, and it was a big goal.

As of right now, Wales leads North Macedonia in terms of goals scored, but Belgium has yet to play a game in the group.

A draw would have been a fantastic outcome in the past, and Wales may have looked at a heavyweight nation like Belgium with some trepidation in the future.

Wales will travel with anticipation rather than just hope under Bellamy, who rejects the idea that his side is an underdog.

Bellamy’s approach is described as “intense,” according to Brooks, but Wales’ players are eager to deliver for their boss.

He is obviously a very, very passionate person, especially in relation to Wales, Brooks goes on to say.

We want to work with him and integrate his system. We have a strong base, going unbeaten so far, and are now looking to strengthen it to become more dangerous and reduce the chances of concede goals.

Despite the spinner having a new injury, England are hopeful that Sophie Ecclestone will be fit for the series against India this summer.

Due to a quad issue, Ecclestone was forced to miss Lancashire’s T20 defeat on Tuesday.

In the upcoming days, the injury’s severity will be determined.

England argued that Ecclestone’s absence from the squad, which was the first to be chosen by head coach Charlotte Edwards, was unrelated to the controversy that weighed heavily on an awful Ashes tour of Australia earlier this year.

Following the former spinner’s criticism of England’s fitness, Ecclestone refused to participate in a TV interview conducted by Alex Hartley during the 16-0 series defeat.

The day she was eliminated by England, Ecclestone, the nation’s top bowler, actually made her return to Lancashire at Warwickshire.

After playing for UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League, she had previously spent almost two months on the sidelines.

Ecclestone has since played six T20s for Lancashire, including two in a day-capital role for the Red Roses when they won the Twenty20 Cup last month. He has since played two one-day matches and six T20s.

England have outperformed West Indies in the 20-over and 50-over formats in Ecclestone’s absence. Linsey Smith, a left-arm spinner from Philadelphia, made her ODI debut last week in Derby with a five-wicket haul.

Out of the mind, out of sight.

Many people were skeptical of Ivan Toney’s chances of being selected for England’s starting lineup after his summer move to Saudi Arabia.

However, Thomas Tuchel, the manager of the Three Lions, added the Al-Ahli striker to his squad for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra and Tuesday’s friendly against Senegal.

Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia, which includes 30 in all of his games, was used to justify Tuchel’s choice.

The German coach said, “He deserves to be with us, and I’m persuaded that because he scored more than 20 goals this year for his team,”

He made a significant contribution with goals and assists in the Asian Champions League, which he won.

Toney insisted during a BBC Radio 5 Live interview that he never believed his English career was over.

No, regardless of the circumstance on or off the pitch, I never think negatively. Instead, I always think positively.

“I mean, you are still going to be in the manager’s mind, obviously, if you are scoring and playing well.”

In recent years, many famous footballers have relocated to Saudi Arabia.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, is perhaps the most well-known of them all, but Neymar, N’Golo Kante, and Riyad Mahrez also made the moves, continuing to be chosen by their respective national teams.

In fact, Toney’s Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy could face off against him when England travel to Senegal the following week.

There are a lot of familiar names in the Saudi Pro League, but the overall standard of play is thought to be rather low.

The Saudi Pro League was just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro in Opta’s most recent Power Rankings, which placed it 29th overall.

The Saudi Pro League correspondent John McAuley, a Gulf-based sports journalist, told BBC Sport that “Toney has publicly stated that he has been very surprised by the standard of football there.”

“The influx of legitimate international players entering the league right now is what caused it to be significantly higher than he anticipated,” he said.

Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League, which means that Saudi has always had a very high standing in the Asian league.

“He is still playing against local players, but when you think of the defenders Toney is up against, he is still playing against Aymeric Laporte at Al-Nassr, Kalidou Koulibaly at Al-Hilal, and Danilo Pereira, who moved from PSG to Al-Ittihad, so he is still playing against European standard players,” he said.

Regardless of how the league Toney is currently playing in, there is no denying that Toney entered this England camp as a top scorer after scoring twice in the second half of the campaign to help Al-Ahli win the Asia title.

In his final 19 league games, McAuley finished two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the search for the Golden Boot, according to McAuley, who added: “He ended up with a run of roughly 19 goals.

The significant thing is that, for the first time, Al-Ahli won the Asian Champions League Elite, he played a significant role in Al-Ahli’s success. This was something that really connected him with the fans.

Toney explained to 5 live that the transition was “a big one” as the first person to move to Saudi.

“Obviously, people will be asking how he will cope and be,” he said. ‘. They speak for themselves, as you can see from the statistics.

Toney is 29 years old and has undoubtedly had a varied and interesting career to this point.

Before settling at Brentford, he started out at Northampton and moved up through the English football leagues, scoring in each of the four top divisions.

He reached his peak at the Bees, scoring 20 league goals in the 2022-23 campaign, to become one of the Premier League’s most enthralling properties.

Toney has, however, come a little late to the party. He won his first England cap at the age of 27 when he only became an established player in the Premier League four years ago. By that point, Wayne Rooney had 78 caps, compared to Harry Kane’s 46 at that time.

His professional life has also been filled with controversy; in May of that year, he was ordered to miss eight months of football for 232 football-related infractions.

He made his debut for Al-Ahli in August, joining for £40m, and playing in the England squad for Euro 2024 last summer.

Toney’s decision will undoubtedly depend heavily on the wages offered, with reports claiming that his four-year deal with the Saudi side would earn him £400, 000 per week after tax.

A significant increase over the Brentford, £50, 000 per week, he received.

A desire to significantly safeguard Toney’s financial future seems logical given that he was in his late 20s when he reached the top of the game.

The striker has, however, maintained that his desire for fresh experiences drove him.

In December, he told FourFourTwo that he wanted something slightly different.

I can fit in anywhere because it’s a different culture. I’ve spent time in Brentford and Peterborough before leaving the United Kingdom.

Since he had not had the chance to see Toney play in Saudi Arabia, Tuchel was keen to emphasize that the call-up for England was more about him getting a close-up look at the player.

The former Chelsea manager has emphasized the value of a player’s personality, how they are training, and how they are treating themselves to victories, talking about Toney’s Asian Champions League success.

He does, however, give Tuchel a viable attacking option.

“Of course, I’ve been in the plans before, and I just need to stick with it, keep scoring goals, and keep playing well,” Toney said.

“I have a lot of great players and great strikers in the mix, but I have to concentrate on myself, and I hope to be able to join them now and win the World Cup.”

If Kane is injured, Toney would be the best choice. According to senior football correspondent Alex Howell from BBC Sport, “He is the most similar in terms of profile.”

Ollie Watkins’ playing changes the way England plays, according to Toney, “because wingers are looking for him, the number 10s want to connect with the striker, but Watkins is always looking the other way.”

Another factor Tuchel might have taken into account is how Saudi Arabia’s heat and humidity will help Toney become familiar with the conditions that are anticipated in North America by the time the 2026 World Cup is over.

According to McAuley, “Jeddah is boiling at the beginning and end of the season, and it has the humidity as well,” which will undoubtedly help him for the following year.

Champions League football, the opportunity to play alongside Cole Palmer, the Premier League’s youngest squad. Three of these factors contributed to Chelsea’s successful signing of Liam Delap.

Following Ipswich’s relegation from the Premier League, a £30m release clause was activated, which attracted strong interest from Manchester United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle.

After selling Delap for £20 million last summer, Manchester City decided against using it. However, they did so in a buy-back option.

Ipswich gave Delap permission to speak with a number of interested clubs earlier this month.

Manchester United and Chelsea were the obvious choice over the past week, but the Blues’ triumph over Nottingham Forest in the final game proved to be the decisive factor.

The 22-year-old was spotted at Stansted Airport that evening before a medical, and was informed of his decision a week prior to the release of the information to the parties involved.

Instead of competing for England in the European Under-21 Championship, he is likely to join his new club for the inaugural summer Club World Cup.

Delap has been Chelsea’s top target all season, and it is thought that co-owner Behdad Eghbali met with the player’s principal agent in Dubai. Before the Conference League final, Embahi even expressed his admiration for the player to Chelsea fans in Wroclaw.

Delap thinks Chelsea’s play style will work well for him and that they will fit the bill. Numerous former City Academy graduates who will work at Stamford Bridge, including Jadon Sancho, Romeo Lavia, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Palmer, urged him to make the move.

Delap and Maresca both shared a top development squad with City, while Chelsea’s top recruiter, Joe Shields, is also known to have a close relationship with the player and his family, and academy director Glenn van der Kraan is one of the two Premier League players with whom Maresca also has a strong relationship.

After being interviewed for the position of manager last summer, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna also maintains good relations with the Chelsea hierarchy.

And he hopes that will lead to Marc Guiu’s potential move, who wants to take Delap on loan.

Manchester United can take a positive out of a negative in these circumstances, as they always do.

They believed that their pursuit of Delap was heading in the wrong direction, and it was Chelsea’s fault. They are now aware that they have failed.

The positive is that they can move on once the decision is made. That contrasts starkly with 2022, when Erik ten Hag made a month-long delay in a fruitless move to sign Frenkie de Jong and United panicked at the end of the transfer window and spent £150 million on Casemiro and Antony.

But that does not address the important issue: Who is it now?

Delap exemplified their ideal model of a developing, eager young player with scope to excel at a high standard, for a fixed fee.

Apart from the first one, Rasmus Hojlund, who is four days younger than Delap, also met the same requirements. Additionally, it hasn’t worked.

Nothing about United’s post-season trip to Asia has inspired me to believe they have the solution to their club’s goalscoring issues. It is quite the opposite, to put it simply.

Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford and Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace are the “safe” but expensive choices. However, Mbeumo and Mateta are both 27 years old and will travel to Cameroon for a month to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Then there is a risk.

At the age of 34, Danny Welbeck, a former United striker, scored 10 goals in the Premier League. Is it worthwhile to reinstate Hojlund and relieve some of the pressure off him, or has Ruben Amorim come to the conclusion that the 22-year-old Danish international will never be good enough?

Delap also attracted interest from Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Everton.

Although it is believed that Everton and Moyes’ pitch had a positive impact on Delap, the club always accepted that they were underdogs.

Moyes remarked before the final game of the season against Ipswich at Goodison Park: “We would certainly be interested if he was interested in us.

Despite receiving a hostile reception following encounters with Jake O’Brien and Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton fans made their best effort to persuade Delap to play at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium following the game.

As he visited 37 Goodison Road, a home across the street from the stadium with a wall full of footballers’ signatures, supporters urged him to relocate to Merseyside.