The Pittsburgh Steelers signed T.J. Watt to a then-record contract extension in September of 2021. Now, Alex Highsmith has earned his payday as well.Extending star pass rusher Alex Highsmith was definitely on the Steelers to-do list this offseason, as he pairs well across from T.J. Watt. Even wi...

Dan Burn realised a dream he never imagined would come true when he scored in Newcastle’s Champions League triumph over Paris St Germain. The Magpies defender was earning £9 an hour collecting trolleys when he got his break in football as a 17-year-old YTS trainee with Darlington. On Wednesday night, his header put his side 2-0 ahead in their Group F clash with the French champions at St James’ Park, and they went on to secure a famous 4-1 victory to give themselves a genuine chance of qualification. Asked afterwards if he had ever dreamt of scoring in the Champions League, the 31-year-old said: “I dreamt of it. I never thought it was going to happen. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in. The next few days once I’ve watched it back about a hundred times and managed to celebrate with my family, it probably will. “But (it was) just a special night all round for the city.” Burn’s big moment, which came after Miguel Almiron had fired the home side in front, was surrounded by drama after he headed home Bruno Guimaraes’ cross and immediately saw the flag go up to spark a lengthy VAR check. To be able to say that I've scored in the Champions League for Newcastle is amazing Newcastle defender Dan Burn But the 6ft 6in defender eventually got the answer he craved to spark wild celebrations on and off the pitch. He said: “It spoiled it a little bit because as soon as I scored, I looked up and saw the offside flag and you’re a bit deflated. “But as it went longer and longer, you think it might be a goal and just to have the lads jumping on you and looking around, and I’ve got all my family here as well… “To be able to say that I’ve scored in the Champions League for Newcastle is amazing.” Much of the talk before the game centred on how a Newcastle defence shorn of the services of key man Sven Botman would handle the threat of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani. In the event, Burn, Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar – who also got his name on the scoresheet – coped admirably to blunt a potentially lethal attack. Asked about Mbappe, Burn said with a smile: “He stayed on the left side, so I was quite happy, to be fair. But even to say I was playing against Mbappe is crazy. “As I said, he kept over to Tripps’ side more, so I was happy with him.” The Magpies will resume their campaign after the international break with another home tie against Borussia Dortmund, but will do so having made a significant statement about their prospects. Burn said: “We don’t fear anyone. We worked very, very hard to get to this point and we want to enjoy it, but we’ll only enjoy that playing the way that we play. “We’ve just got to keep the momentum going.” Read More Steven Davis remains confident in Rangers squad despite defeat to Limassol ‘Maverick’ Lucas Paqueta impresses David Moyes in West Ham’s Europa League win Roberto De Zerbi hails ‘incredible’ Brighton reaction to salvage Marseille draw Warren Gatland highlights hard work as Wales aim to continue progress Geoge Ford believes partnership with Owen Farrell is ready to deliver West Ham set European record with victory over Freiberg in Germany

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Roberto De Zerbi says Robert Sanchez is not currently part of Brighton’s first-team plans because the goalkeeper “wanted it this way”. Sanchez was a surprise absentee from Albion’s matchday squad for Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Arsenal and will not be involved in Thursday’s game at Newcastle. The 25-year-old Spain international lost his starting role to Jason Steele in early March, with his future at the Amex Stadium now shrouded in uncertainty. “With Robert, we spoke before the Arsenal game and we decided together the best solution was to stay home,” said Seagulls head coach De Zerbi. “He decides everything. Robert decides and at the moment it’s like this. He wanted it this way, not me, not the club.” Sanchez has been restricted to FA Cup appearances during the past three months, aside from playing in the 2-1 victory at Chelsea on April 15 when Steele was injured. Meanwhile, De Zerbi confirmed Brighton are on the verge of completing a free transfer deal for 27-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud, who is out of contract in the summer. “I know very well Dahoud but he’s not official at the moment,” said the Italian. “He’s not official yet and we will speak about him later, in the next press conference.” After a reporter said “it sounds like he’s coming”, De Zerbi replied: “Yes, because we have no secret and I like him and I would like to work with him.” De Zerbi is eager to bolster his squad as he braces himself for some big-name departures. Yet he is not completely resigned to losing the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, contrary to reports following the weekend win at Emirates Stadium. “I didn’t say it like this,” he said. “I said it can be the possibility to lose some big players, like Caicedo maybe, Mac Allister, (Kaoru) Mitoma, I don’t know. “But we are Brighton and I know the policy of my club and we have to be ready to bring in other good players with the right characteristics.” Sixth-placed Albion require just two more wins from their remaining four fixtures to secure Europa League qualification following the stunning success over Mikel Arteta’s Gunners. De Zerbi is balancing injury problems ahead of the long trip to St James’ Park. He admits selection issues are causing him to lose sleep, with Joel Veltman, Adam Webster, Solly March, Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder and Jeremy Sarmiento remaining on the lengthy injury list. “We can’t lose any more players for the last four games,” he said. “We can’t take any risks and we start (with the intention) to win the game tomorrow but we have to think we have four games in 12 days. “I’m losing sleep to decide the best first XI.” The Seagulls received widespread plaudits for their weekend performance in north London as they emphatically bounced back from being thrashed 5-1 by relegation-threatened Everton. De Zerbi urged his players to set aside the elation of that result and focus on future challenges and the chance to make history by claiming a European spot. “We have to be ready to forget the last game and start with a clean head,” he said. “We are fighting for a historic target and if we want to reach the historic target we have to make historic results. “This year we won two times against Chelsea, we won 3-0 against Liverpool, we won 3-0 in Emirates Stadium. “We are winning incredible games but to reach the incredible target you have to win incredible games. “We can decide our destiny and our future but we know the way is still difficult.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live James Anderson ready to miss Ireland Test and ‘desperate’ to make Ashes opener Xabi Alonso ‘happy’ and committed to Bayer Leverkusen amid Tottenham links Darren Young fired up to play through the pain for a game that helped save him