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Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo believes the Sky Bet Championship new boys can take the division by storm thanks to a manager “setting the bar” for modern coaches. The Tractor Boys are back in the second tier for the first time in five seasons after they scored 101 goals to secure promotion from League One and travel to Sunderland this weekend. Former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna is the man behind Ipswich’s revival and Luongo, currently nursing a minor groin strain, admitted the draw of working with the 37-year-old was the decisive factor in a return to Portman Road after a loan spell in 2012. Under the stewardship of McKenna, in his first senior managerial role, Ipswich entertained League One last season with a brand of attacking and possession-based football not usually associated with success in England’s lower-leagues. While Luongo is under no illusions about the Championship being a big step up, he is fully swept up in the excitement that has been present at the Suffolk outfit since McKenna’s arrival in the winter of 2021. He told the PA news agency: “We have a good blend of boys ready to make the jump up and boys prepared to do the normal business. It is definitely one with a lot of anticipation and we’re all excited. I am definitely excited. “It is definitely a step up, physically it is a step up. The difficult thing is how you compare because we dominated so many games in League One so physically they are not as demanding as games in the Championship. “Everyone has the typical Champ game references when you watch Championship football and it comes around a lot. “But I think with Ipswich, after Burnley last year, we will try to be the exception where you are not saying that. “We want to play out from the back, play good football, be entertaining, so it will be a challenge but the players we have got are all looking forward to it.” Australia international Luongo is delighted to be established at a club for the start of this season after enduring a difficult time last summer. Luongo had to wait until September to find a new club before he failed to make an appearance during his short stint at Middlesbrough and had largely “written off the season” when Ipswich registered their interest before January. The lure of being managed by ex-Tottenham Under-18s boss McKenna, after crossing paths at Spurs, helped the 30-year-old get over a largely disappointing 2022 to become a key figure for Ipswich and he netted in the 6-0 victory over Exeter that clinched promotion in April. “With Ipswich there was some history there, I enjoyed it last time and probably the manager was the biggest pull. I came across him a little bit at Tottenham and over my career he kept track of me. I had also heard a lot of good things,” Luongo said. “What is striking for me is his detail in how he wants to play. On the pitch, the detail is at a really, really high level, like the information we receive and the feedback we receive from the coaches. We want to play out from the back, play good football, be entertaining, so it will be a challenge but the players we have got are all looking forward to it. Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo “And the way he conducts himself. He is in early, watches every second of training and loves football, I feel like he watches every single game because he pulls out games like that. “His knowledge of modern football is really good and he is obsessed with football to be honest. That bleeds into the team and we can all see it. “You can tell he loves football, is obsessed with it and wants to improve as a coach and manager so you can imagine what he wants for us and demands from us. “I enjoy coming in every day, for sure. The coaching staff and him have definitely created an atmosphere where we are firstly humble. “We don’t leave any stone unturned, it doesn’t matter who we play against. Then when we win, stay humble and when we lose, don’t get too low. They have done a really good job of that. “The manager has mixed with good people at Man United, his background with where else he has learnt and stayed, so I think the football we are playing is probably setting the bar for modern day managers of what is required. “It is interesting because I have had a little spell of (Michael) Carrick and I can see the same with Kieran as well, so it is a good place to be.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku player swap bid hits snag On This Day in 2008 – Kevin Pietersen appointed England Test and one-day captain World Cup winning coach Jill Ellis blown away by ‘unpredictable’ tournament

For a team whose first three fixtures back in League Two are MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon, and Walsall, it feels somewhat out of kilter that three of their last pre-season games saw them face Chelsea, LA Galaxy and Manchester United. Such is the Wrexham way. Fresh off a nail-biting National League campaign, Las Vegas promotion party and sell-out Stateside pre-season tour, Wrexham fans and players, if only momentarily, might be brought back down to earth by the prospect of a 46-game slog as they look to pick up where they left off back in the Football League for the first time since 2008. Perhaps if this were a Hollywood script, Wrexham’s journey under owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would continue unperturbed; the Welsh side coasting to League Two glory and continuing their march up the English football pyramid. But football isn’t always that straightforward. Ask Salford City. The Manchester club, owned by class of ‘92 teammates Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and David Beckham were the original celebrity-owned lower-league club and arrived in this very same league back in 2019 to similar fanfare. Four seasons and four managers later, they still remain. In their quartet of campaigns since promotion from the National League, their best finish has been last season, placing seventh before ultimately bowing out in the play-off semi-finals. Ask Mansfield Town. The Stags will now enter their 11th straight year in the division after their promotion from the then-Conference League. After four unsuccessful promotion challenges in the last six seasons as one of the league’s bigger spenders, Nigel Clough’s side have become part of League Two’s furniture, last year missing out on a spot in the play-offs to Salford courtesy of goal difference. Ask Stockport County. Last season’s shiny new toy, having pipped Wrexham to promotion in 2021, Stockport were many people’s favourite to achieve back-to-back promotions with their National League record and stellar squad. However, a play-off final penalty-shootout defeat to underdogs Carlisle means that Dave Challinor’s side will again compete in the fourth tier this season. None of this is to suggest that Wrexham can’t achieve back-to-back promotions for the first time in the club’s history. They are clear favourites with the bookmakers to do just that after their record-breaking points tally (111) last season in the fifth tier. But even with four promotion spots on offer, rather than the two in the National League, history has shown that nothing can be taken for granted in a league full of clubs looking to move up the pyramid. In that sense, Parkinson can be grateful that Wrexham’s riches and big-spending in the past gifts him a squad full of League Two know-how with no better example than talisman and last year’s Player of the Season, Paul Mullin. Although a punctured lung, suffered in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United, will see the striker miss the start of the season, the 28-year-old will need no time to acclimatise to the division. It was in League Two, after all, that he first caught the eye of Wrexham having fired 32 goals in 46 games to guide Cambridge United to an unlikely promotion in 2021. His move back down the pyramid to Wrexham was an early sign of Reynolds and McElhenney’s pull and pockets. Then there is Ben Tozer and Jordan Tunnicliffe. Tozer captained Cheltenham out of League Two the very same season that Mullin burst onto the scene while Tunnifcliffe made it into the division’s team of the season that same year for his performances at Crawley. This year, Tozer will be reunited with fellow centre-back, Will Boyle – Wrexham’s lone signing so far this window – with whom he formed a sturdy partnership at Cheltenham. Add to that Eoghan O’Connell, signed last January from League One Charlton Athletic, and recent Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has postponed a second retirement to sign a new contract, and it’s clear to see the enviable quality that the Welsh side have in defence. The creativity of fan-favourite and former Luton Town midfielder Elliot Lee, alongside the goalscoring prowess of Ollie Palmer, who joined for a club-record £300,000, is further evidence of why Wrexham went on to smash the record points tally last season. It is perhaps also why, other than Boyle, the club have not made any signings in the transfer window. There is money available, especially after new, lucrative shirt and stadium sponsorship deals with United Airlines and US coffee brand, Stok, but it also points to a squad that was ready to compete with League Two’s best long before they reached this point. They are by no means out on their own, though. Wrexham’s great title rivals in the National League, Notts County, look likely to challenge them again, especially after the coveted signing of veteran striker David McGoldrick who scored 22 goals for Derby County last year in League One. And there is also Stockport, last year’s Wembley losers, who have recruited Nick Powell from Stoke City, the 29-year-old returning to the league where he first caught the eye of Manchester United aged 18. Gillingham, fresh off their own US investment, and those teams relegated from League One last season – MK Dons, Morecambe, Accrington Stanley and Forest Green – could all contend as well in what promises to be one of the most intriguing and high-quality seasons the league has ever seen. Wrexham will continue to attract global eyeballs and bring renewed pride to their local community, that much is assured. On the pitch, though, nothing is guaranteed. As League Two has shown before, no amount of money or high-profile ownership is a guarantee of success. Wrexham will be wary of that and Parkinson will have his work cut out against any number of fancied promotion rivals but with a squad built for the level, the Welsh club and its owners will surely be dreaming of another Hollywood ending. Read More Wrexham fume at Man Utd goalkeeper after striker Paul Mullin hospitalised with punctured lung Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham is on its way to the United States after being given the Hollywood treatment Why Wrexham? How Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came to buy a club they’d never heard of Ryan Reynolds reaches out to Manchester United keeper after Paul Mullin injury Extraordinary – Wrexham director says reception in US has exceeded expectations Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news and updates as England prepare for last-16

Chelsea have signed France defender Axel Disasi from Monaco. The 25-year-old has signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge as the Blues moved quickly to cover the injury to Wesley Fofana. Disasi has played 130 times in Ligue 1 and was part of the France squad that were runners-up in last year’s World Cup. The centre-back told the club’s official website: “I am so happy to be here, at this big club. I am really proud to be able to be a part of this great family, and I hope to achieve very big things here. To win titles. “I will do everything I can to achieve those objectives. I am very ambitious. “It’s a club that has been very popular for French players because they have all done well here – (Frank) Leboeuf, (Marcel) Desailly, (Nicolas) Anelka, (N’Golo) Kante, (Olivier) Giroud. And the colour is blue like the national team! It’s good. “It’s a familiar club for French people, and I hope all the French players here now can join that line of great players.” Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley added: “Axel has showcased his quality over several seasons in France and that has deservedly led to recognition on the international stage. “He is ready to take the next step in his career and we are delighted that will be with Chelsea. We welcome him to the club and look forward to him joining up with Mauricio Pochettino and his new team-mates in the days ahead.”

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has revealed he was still coming to terms with his wife’s miscarriage as he was assaulted after Arsenal’s north London derby win at Tottenham last season. The 25-year-old had kept a clean sheet as the Gunners won at the home of their neighbours on 15 January to keep their Premier League title ambitions alive. As Ramsdale collected his water bottle from behind the goal, Spurs fan Joseph Watts leapt onto the advertising hoarding and aimed a boot at the his back. Watts was eventually given a four-year banning order having been charged with assault and throwing a missile onto the pitch. Speaking immediately after the game, Ramsdale told Sky Sports: “It’s a shame because it’s just a game of football at the end of the day. I think both sets of players tried to bring me away. Thankfully nothing actually happened too drastic. It’s a sour taste.” Now the England international has explained that he was already dealing with pain in his private life before the incident at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “There are things that go on in our lives that the public has no idea about, and the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and my family,” he wrote for The Players’ Tribune. “After the high of climbing to the top of the Premier League table and going off to my first World Cup, my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child. “Mikel (Arteta) gave me a few extra days off after the World Cup, so we went on a brief holiday. It was genuinely the happiest time of our lives. And yeah ... there’s no easy way to say this, but I feel like it’s important that people know. “On the flight home, my wife had a miscarriage. “There’s really no way that I can describe the pain of that six-hour flight back to London, even now. I just want people out there to know that they’re not alone if they’re going through it themselves.” Arteta offered Ramsdale additional time off - “in the middle of the title race, with so much pressure on the club... for me, that’s a manager” - but he opted to play on. “Three days later, we were playing Spurs in the derby, and for me that was the only way to get my mind off things. Football has always been my escape. I told the manager I wanted to play,” he added. “It couldn’t have been a better night. We won 2-0 under the floodlights, and our away fans were going absolutely ballistic. If you watch the match back, you can see me beaming at the final kick of the ball. I went to get my water bottle behind the goal, and never in a million years would I ever think that I’d get kicked in the back by a Tottenham fan. “I’ve had some very spicy banter with fans all over the English leagues. I’ve been called everything you can imagine. But it’s never crossed the line like that. I remember when I got back to the dressing room, I couldn’t even celebrate because I got pulled out to give a police statement.” “You know, I almost felt bad for the bloke who had done it, because I thought to myself: If he only knew me as a person, and what I’m actually going through right now, there’s no way that he would’ve done that. If we bumped into each other one day and got chatting about football, we’d probably be mates.” Ramsdale, who is now expecting a baby with wife Georgina, also wrote about the challenges faced by his brother, who is gay, and wants to see football become a sport that is a “welcoming place for everyone”. “I want my brother, Ollie - or anyone of any sexuality, race or religion - to come to games without having to fear abuse,” he wrote. “And when we lift a trophy at the Emirates Stadium, I want my brother there with me.” The Gaygooners group of LGBT+ Arsenal fans welcomed the support of Ramsdale, who signed off his letter with “Love you, bro”. “We’re so very proud to have aaronramsdale98 as a true ally and for being so brave to talk about such important issues,” Gaygooners wrote on Twitter. “We can’t wait to be cheering you on this season Aaron!” Read More A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League How the Women’s World Cup delivered its greatest ever group stage — against all the odds Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery Erik ten Hag happy with display in Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal Manchester United seize on errors to beat Arsenal in New Jersey Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news and updates as England prepare for last-16

What the papers say Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed to personal terms in a move to Juventus this summer as Chelsea look to offload the striker and pick up a striker in a swap deal, the Star reports. Chelsea are eyeing Serbian Dusan Vlahovic. Juventus want more than just Lukaku as part of the deal, though, asking for an additional £35million for the 23-year-old. Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, but the Daily Mail says there is confusion with his release clause. Widespread changes could be on the cards under Tottenham’s new manager Ange Postecoglou, with the Evening Standard reporting Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil are up for sale. The club are also interested in signing 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central, who is worth around £12million. West Ham’s pursuit of Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse may be coming to an end, according to the Guardian, with the club’s technical director against the move, despite manager David Moyes’ interest. Social media round-up Players to watch Harry Maguire: Everton now look like the favourites to sign the Manchester United defender, with Tottenham and West Ham also interested in the 30-year-old, Football Insider says. Tyler Adams: The Daily Mail says Aston Villa are open to activating the 24-year-old Leeds midfielder’s £25million release clause, with Chelsea also interested in his signature. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Cleveland Browns fanbase has a new favorite quarterback after watching the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game.For the first time since the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, an NFL game was played. On Thursday night, the NFL held its first preseason game at Tom Ben...

College football overtime rules make for a thrilling end to any game that extends beyond regulation. Here's all you need to know to follow along.Here's the thing, college football overtime rules are the best in sports. They're better than penalty kicks. They're better than NB...

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage. The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments. Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts. “It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group. “I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date. “If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage. “I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.” Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated. For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup. Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures. Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs. While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team. Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.” FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023. We can arguably say that there aren't gaps Jill Ellis At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent. Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet. Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team. “And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Anthony Joshua admires Tyson Fury self-will but critical of fight with MMA star James Maddison wants ‘world’s best number nine’ Harry Kane to stay at Spurs Gold for Will Tidball and silver for British women’s sprint team in Glasgow

College football realignment rumors have now given us an idea of how much the Big Ten is willing to offer Oregon and Washington as the Pac-12 crumbles.On Thursday night, Arizona triggered a wave of college football realignment rumors as the Wildcats reportedly moved closer to leaving the Pac-12 ...

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The San Francisco 49ers have a huge quarterback battle in training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan all but confirmed who will be the QB1 heading into the 2023 season.Last year, the San Francisco 49ers had to use four different quarterbacks throughout the season due to injuries. Trey Lance broke h...