Mauricio Pochettino will have final say on Chelsea transfers as the club hone a more collaborative approach going forward. While there are set to be more signings in January despite a £1bn-plus outlay over the last three windows, the aim is to be far more targeted in the new year. The club's much-discussed American owners felt a total overhaul of the squad was due on arriving, as they sought to reshape it to have a much younger and leaner profile. That create a bloated group for a period of time that sometimes felt too large for the dressing room, but the feeling is that gradual trading has left them closer to an ideal profile. The target now is to fill any remaining positional gaps or depth to the team, so as to maximise Pochettino's tactics. It is within that process that the Argentine will have a final say on any purchases, after a collaborative process with the recruitment team, which includes co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and co-director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields. The model is described as more like Manchester City's, where the manager will identify the type of tactical profile he needs, then the staff come up with suitable names, and the manager then decides on who to go for. Chelsea are expected to be one of the clubs that go for Brentford's Ivan Toney in the window, as a number nine would still be preferred, with Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja yet to fully convince as a long-term option. Although there is still a sense of seeing how the squad settles after one more international window. Chelsea enjoyed one of their brightest performances yet under Pochettino in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, with Brentford visiting Stamford Bridge this weekend as the Blues look to rebuild after a slow start to the season. Read More Gary O’Neil unpacks Wolves secrets on MNF to show the future of football punditry Mikel Arteta showing he is ‘one of best in world’, says Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino Mikel Arteta, Mauricio Pochettino and the ‘love’ at the heart of a fractious rivalry

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Somewhere in a castle in Finland on Saturday night, five minutes removed from beating Mika Mielonen, Robert Helenius was posed a question. “Dillian Whyte is out; are you in?” Fighting Anthony Joshua in London on seven days’ notice was the proposition, and it was one that Helenius accepted with little hesitation. Four days on, he casually tells reporters in the English capital: “Nobody will remember a coward.” Few would have labelled Helenius as such, had he decided not to take this fight with Joshua in the wake of Whyte’s failed drug test, but the Finn himself would have lived with regret. That said, there was more to Helenius’s decision than just that. “Of course I think he’s vulnerable,” the 39-year-old says of Joshua, with whom he sparred in 2017. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise. I think I’d find easier jobs to do. I’m gonna take my chances and say now is the best time to fight him.” While Helenius fought just last Saturday, stopping Mielonen in the third round, Joshua enters the O2 Arena this week on the back of a points win over Jermaine Franklin. That victory came in the same venue, four months ago, and saw the Briton bounce back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk. Helenius’s win against Mielonen also marked an upturn in form, as the “Nordic Nightmare” responded positively to a first-round loss to Deontay Wilder. That knockout last October left Wilder in tears and Helenius pondering retirement. “I didn’t think about boxing for about six months,” Helenius says. “I just did some bag work now and then, and mainly strength training. I was weighing a lot in the wintertime...” Then came Saturday’s bout with Mielonen at Savonlinna’s opera venue, and the Anthony Joshua call. Helenius’s manager Markus Sundman says a deal was struck within 24 hours, with much of the negotiating done from a zoo in Finland. Sundman in fact got the call on Saturday morning but did not wish to bother Helenius until after the heavyweight had fought that evening. Did they accept the first offer they got? “No comment,” Helenius and Sundman laugh, though the boxer admits this is not the biggest payday of his career, with funds around this weekend’s event having been hit by Whyte’s exit. Another intriguing factor is the fighters’ past as sparring partners, when “AJ” prepared for his clash with Wladimir Klitschko in 2017. How did Helenius rate Joshua, now 33, at the time? “Hard hitter, good technicals, a little bit robotic. I felt pretty confident.” Helenius also acknowledges that Joshua has looked somewhat hesitant in his last three fights, saying: “I’ve seen that change, but he didn’t get knocked out against Usyk or in his last fight, he showed he’s still got it. You have to overcome the gun-shyness after you get knocked out. I’ve been knocked out three times, and I think the first time was the bad one; I was probably depressed for a few months after that. “But I think his last fight, he made a good fight. I have to be awake and nimble, explosive. I hope he’s coming for me [from the first bell]. I am looking forward to this. I’m here to win.” Helenius is serious. Ahead of his fight last week, the Finn had planned a family holiday to Lapland – a trip that is now on hold. “They understand, they’ve been all their life with me,” Helenius says of his children, who are 15, 13 and 10 years old and prefer football to boxing. And what did his wife think? “I can’t ask permission from home to do what I do,” Helenius says. “They either accept it or they don’t. Sometimes, of course, [I think about the dangers of boxing]; I would be stupid not to. And, of course, I’ve been thinking about having a normal life after boxing and not having any brain damage, but boxing is always boxing. And I love it, I love the adrenalin. The [concerns] don’t outweigh the feeling of getting a really good win.” Such a win would also make Helenius the sportsperson of the year in Finland, he and Sundman believe. “When this match got announced, it was in every newspaper and on TV – all the time for maybe 24 hours,” Helenius says. This is a huge occasion – for Joshua, for Helenius, and for Finland. Saturday’s card is an event that Helenius saved after Whyte’s “adverse finding”, and as the Finn prepares for his showdown with AJ, he warns: “My doping is that I have a really high level of Viking blood in me...” Watch Joshua vs Helenius live on Dazn by clicking here. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Read More It’s time to stop taking Anthony Joshua for granted Joshua vs Helenius live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend ‘We need to get it at the root’: Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius on boxing’s doping ‘problem’ Anthony Joshua reveals which of his three defeats hurt the most Derek Chisora and Robert Helenius call for severe punishments for doping cheats Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius go in-depth on boxing’s doping ‘problem’

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Erling Haaland and Virgil van Dijk are the headline names to feature in 90min's Premier League team of the week for matchday 10 of the season.

In some needed good news for the Kansas City Chiefs, All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is back with the team after a long holdout.

Arsenal have already made three headline moves in the transfer window, spending over £200 million on Declan Rice, Kai Harvertz and Jurrien Timber as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his title-challenging squad. Further incomings have not been ruled out but those will likely be funded by outgoings which is the focus now for the North London club. Former captain, Granit Xhaka, has already moved back to Germany in a £21m deal with Bayer Leverkusen while fringe players, Pablo Mari and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have also departed the club. Squad players Cedric Soares, Rob Holding, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all said to be surplus to requirements at the Emirates but have so far failed to attract interest. Other outgoings are also rumoured as Arteta aims to further improve his side and build upon an extremely promising 2022-2023 season, during which they led the Premier League for 248 days. Here’s all the latest on the potential comings and goings at the Emirates Stadium this summer. Francis Balogun Francis Balogun, a newly capped United States international, could be seeking a move after an impressive loan spell at French club Stade Reims. With the new signing of Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah most likely locked as the club’s two top centre-forwards, Balogun may want out of the Emirates. Balogun has made it clear that he is unwilling to go on another loan spell, raising the question of whether Arsenal are prepared to allow the talented 21-year-old attacker to leave permanently. According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have set a price tag of £50m on Balogun, who has been training alone at points during the club’s US pre-season tour, with Inter and AC Milan as well as French clubs Monaco and Marseille showing significant interest in the attacker. Nicolas Pepe Arsenal’s record signing, Nicolas Pepe, seems highly likely to depart from the Emirates this summer. Due to his high wages and underwhelming performances, the Ivorian winger has failed to live up to expectations, prompting Arsenal to seek a way to move on from what has been regarded as a very poor transfer decision. Although Pepe appears guaranteed to leave the Emirates, his next destination remains unclear at this point. The Telegraph have reported that Nice, the club where Pepe spent last season on loan, are not interested in a deal to bring the 28-year-old back to the club. Additional reports from football.london suggest that the north London club may well consider terminating Pepe’s contract, should a deal not materialise by the start of the season. Kieran Tierney With the Scottish left-back losing his place in the starting eleven after the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko last season from Manchester City, Tierney is a player that Arsenal are considering letting go as they look to raise funds for additional signings. The 26-year-old joined Arsenal from Celtic in 2019 but started just six games last season due to injuries and the aforementioned form of Zinchenko. According to The Evening Standard, Tierney is attracting interest from a host of clubs, most notably Newcastle, with the left-back recently saying that he is “happy” at the club while on a pre-season tour in America. Mohammed Kudus Playing for Ajax, Kudus can play in a more attacking central midfield role as well as out on the right wing and could be the latest player to leave the Dutch club as they continue their cost-cutting measures having failed to qualify for the Champions League. The Ghanaian international could cost up to £40m, according toThe Daily Mail, but the north London club could face competition from Chelsea with David Ornstein reporting that the west London club have made contact with the Dutch side about a move for the 22-year-old. Read More Tottenham transfer news: Harry Kane, Giovani Lo Celso, Conor Gallagher, Tosin Adarabioyo and more Liverpool transfer news: Romeo Lavia, Joshua Kimmich, Cheick Doucoure, Thiago and more Chelsea transfer news: Michael Olise, Marc Guehi, Moises Caicedo, Callum Hudson-Odoi and more Manchester United transfer news: Rasmus Hojlund, Dean Henderson, Sofyan Amrabat, Eric Bailly and more Erik ten Hag happy with display in Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal Emile Smith Rowe ready to bounce back from injury-plagued season MLS All-Star boss Wayne Rooney struggles to take lessons out of Arsenal thumping

Match reaction and player ratings from Real Madrid vs Braga in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

England will look to get back to winning ways as the Lionesses host Belgium in the Women’s Nations League tonight in Leicester. The European champions and World Cup runners-up defeated Scotland in Sunderland to open their Nations League campaign but then suffered just their third defeat under Sarina Wiegman in a 2-1 loss at the Netherlands. The result puts England in third place in Group A1 ahead of the double-header against Belgium, who lead the standings on four points following their win against Scotland and draw against the Netherlands. The Lionesses must win their group to advance to the Nations League Finals, and must then get through the semi-finals to book Team GB’s qualification spot for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. Follow for all the latest updates from the King Power Stadium: Read More Mary Earps reveals difficulties with fan relationship following rise of women’s football Lauren James to miss England’s games against Belgium with concussion Fran Kirby returns to Lionesses squad as Sarina Wiegman reveals Beth Mead decision

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has expressed his concern about the demands on players in light of changes such as an expanded Club World Cup and more time being added on in games. After winning the Champions League to complete their treble last term, City will compete in December’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia – what is planned to be the final edition featuring seven teams, with the next a 32-side competition taking place in the United States in the summer of 2025. Meanwhile, the significant increase in time added on seen at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, designed to tackle timewasting, is something set to apply to Premier League matches this season. Every year is getting worse and worse, and will be worse. I don’t know how it is going to end, honestly Pep Guardiola on the physical demands faced by players Speaking ahead of his side opening their 2023-24 campaign with Sunday’s Community Shield clash against Arsenal, Guardiola said: “I know at the end of next season, we are going to make a (Club) World Cup in the United States after finishing the season, two or three more weeks. That means the holidays will be 15 days or maybe three weeks. “I think it doesn’t exist already, pre-seasons. The problem is here (touching his head) – exhausted. Look already how many players are injured in pre-season, in bad conditions, humidity, hot, the pitches are not really good, especially in the States. “It is what it is, so we have to adapt, adjust – but it is not normal. “Now, for example, every game we’re going to play for 100 minutes. Wasting time – from my point of view it is not going to be solved by extending 10 more minutes. It’s more tiring for the players. It’s too much. “FIFA, UEFA – more competitions. The World Cup – more teams. This (Club) World Cup – I don’t know how many teams. “I don’t know what (is going to happen) in the future, for the players, even the managers, to prepare. That’s why you have to see exactly how much you demand of the players. “Every day, season by season, it’s difficult to handle for the players. They love to play but they need also recovery, with the stress and tension they have. They make a show like they do in front of 55-60,000 people – that is a lot of energy, mental energy, and every week, to do it, is a lot. “But every year is getting worse and worse, and will be worse. I don’t know how it is going to end, honestly.” As City prepare to hunt down further silverware, Guardiola has stressed the need for a game-by-game approach in which they “respect incredibly the opponent, do our best to win in the way we believe is better – and after we will see”. And he added: “I would say honestly we are closer to not repeating the treble than winning it, we are closer to not winning the Premier League than winning it. And no team ever won four in a row. “Last season – I didn’t start thinking we are going to win the treble. We started, ‘let’s go to try to win (the Community Shield) against Liverpool’ and we lost 3-1. “And after (that) we won and step by step, good moments. Normally we arrive (in the last few months of the season) in a good mentality and shape, and this is what we are going to try to do again.” June’s maiden Champions League triumph for City added to five league titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups they have won since Guardiola took charge in 2016. The Catalan signed a new contract running to 2025 last November, and when asked if he had thought at all about leaving after securing the treble, he said: “I signed a contract because I feel comfortable. “Nothing changed, for the fact of win or not win. It is how I am happy, and the people is happy, the board especially, the hierarchy, because in the end they decide which manager has to lead this group of players. If they are satisfied, I still am satisfied. “I want to defend what we won and year by year, maybe at the end of the season I am tired, or I say we will talk with the club, or maybe extend more, I don’t know.”

Novak Djokovic is bidding for his record-tying eighth Wimbledon singles championship and fifth in a row