List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

The Women's World Cup will be played with new programs in place to help protect players and other participants

Bayern Munich are readying a bid worth more than €80m for Harry Kane, while Tottenham Hotspur hope he can be persuaded to stay in the long-term by new head coach Ange Postecoglou.

Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, who has two years left to run on his contract.

Paige Spiranac said, 'They will go into a game, get their two front teeth knocked out and then do it all over again the next day'

It's cricket but with a relatively new spin

Martina Navratilova took a dig at Megan Rapinoe’s claims that trans women should be able to participate in women's sports

South Africa loose forward Kwagga Smith said Wednesday he expects an "epic" Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand this weekend in what...

West Brom have announced The Jeff Astle Foundation as their official charity partner for the 2023-24 season. The Jeff Astle Foundation was launched to serve as a lasting legacy for former Baggies forward Astle, who died in 2002 aged 59 with early-onset dementia and had his verdict of death later recorded as being by industrial disease, owing to the repeated heading of a ball. Set up by Astle’s family, The Jeff Astle Foundation continues to campaign for greater research into the impact of repetitive heading for footballers, raising awareness of brain injury in all forms of sport and offering much-needed support to those affected. Astle scored 174 goals in 361 appearances for West Brom and netted the winner in their FA Cup triumph over Everton in 1968. A donation will be made to The Jeff Astle Foundation for every home shirt sold. Albion managing director Mark Miles said: “We are delighted to be supporting The Jeff Astle Foundation for the coming season. “The profile of the charity and its achievements to date are a direct consequence of one family’s dedicated quest to ensure the safety of everyone who plays the beautiful game. “We wholeheartedly support the charity’s aim to raise awareness of brain injury in all forms of sport, including football, and hope the partnership helps further build the profile of their incredible work.” Charity director Dawn Astle said: “We are honoured and overwhelmed to be named the club’s official charity partner for the 2023-24 season. “Dad loved this club and its supporters and to have next season’s home kit dedicated to him and the charity instils our family with a pride that is difficult to comprehend. “We are so, so thankful to the club for providing us with this opportunity to continue to celebrate dad’s legacy, raising awareness and funds for the charity in the process. “As a family we have been fortunate enough to have been involved in the kit’s design and we are confident the club’s supporters will love it as much as we do. “It’s a special kit for a really important cause, and every shirt sold will help us to continue our work with those affected by brain injuries in sport.”

Adam Devine said, 'Like they used to make movies or like in a world where the two richest men in the world just duke it out'

There will be a reunion at the start of September. The pair who combined for the only Champions League-winning goal – penalty shootouts excluded – in Chelsea’s history will be together again. But not for a Chelsea game. When Kai Havertz, the 2021 scorer, and Mason Mount, his supplier, are due to share a pitch again, it is because Arsenal are hosting Manchester United. The pace of change at Stamford Bridge is so swift that, barely two years after Thomas Tuchel’s team triumphed in Porto, only three of the 14 men to take the field that day - Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Reece James – are set to be at Chelsea next season. Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital can argue that the first of the departures, those of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, in effect predated their arrival, but not the rest. Chelsea now seem to exist in a state of permanent revolution. If Mount’s exit ought to provide Chelsea with most grounds for regret – Havertz, in contrast, spent three seasons as an enigma – United’s new No. 7 reflects a third phenomenon at Stamford Bridge. If Barcelona spent the summer of 2022 pulling various levers to permit them to trade, Mount is part of Boehly’s third lever. The first two have the air of loopholes; or, at the least, unique circumstances. Part one was based on amortisation over extraordinarily long contracts, thus allowing them to spread the fees – in their accounts, anyway – over much of the next decade. It is a loophole Uefa are closing but Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson have deals until 2031, Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto, Noni Madueke and Andrey Santos contracts until 2030 and Wesley Fofana, David Datro Fofana and Christopher Nkunku are tied down until 2029. Ridiculously, Chelsea have 17 players whose deals last at least another five seasons. Part two of the masterplan involved selling to Saudi Arabia. Perhaps Boehly, the man who acted as though he was cleverer than everyone else for much of a year of rampant stupidity, deserves credit for recognising and capitalising on a new market when some of Chelsea’s rivals are struggling to dispose of unwanted players. Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and, albeit on a free transfer, N’Golo Kante have gone to a newly wealthy league; Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku could follow and, if Chelsea have their way, perhaps Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will, too. But the third phase of the Boehly blueprint has entailed selling off the family silver. Letting Ruben Loftus-Cheek join AC Milan was understandable; Chelsea can lament what might have been if a huge talent had stayed fit but, at 27, he had only made 155 appearances for them. But Mount was different: Chelsea’s player of the year in two of the last three campaigns – a lazy trope he has had two bad campaigns shows ignorance – and a footballer who, along with Fernandez, James and Chilwell, looked among the best suited of their squad to Mauricio Pochettino’s demands, he should have been a Stamford Bridge lifer; maybe a future captain, possibly ending up with 500 or 600 appearances to his name. And yet over the last year Chelsea contrived to hire three managers and 18 players – plus bidding for dozens of others – and give several of their existing squad new deals without managing to extend Mount’s contract. It should have been one of the top priorities for the new regime; it did not feel that way and, while Chelsea can claim they had to sell the midfielder to prevent him from leaving on a free transfer, it has the air of a situation they created themselves. His sale was an indictment of their powerbrokers. They may deem it a triumph of negotiating, though, after forcing United to pay more than they wanted to. At an initial £55m, Mount has brought in one of the five biggest fees Chelsea have ever received. But from an accounting perspective, the key element is that it counts as “pure profit” in the books; sales of the homegrown are especially useful in that respect, particularly for a club who may face issues in their attempts to pass Financial Fair Play. It may point to the departures of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu, who arguably need moves, but also to those who do not: perhaps Trevoh Chalobah or Conor Gallagher or Armando Broja. It may be telling that Chelsea tried to send Gallagher to Everton in January. Remove the word “pure” and the profit part is still rare. Chelsea sold Mendy at a loss, two years after he was named the best goalkeeper in the world. They sold Koulibaly for half the amount they paid last summer. The £65m they recouped for Havertz may be more than anticipated, but it was still less than his purchase price. Mateo Kovacic only had a year left on his deal and is 29 but he, too, went for a smaller sum than he arrived for. Lukaku, Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, if they go, will bring in under half of a combined cost of almost £200m. That is certainly not all the fault of Boehly and Clearlake: in several cases, their fortunes were declining before the takeover though the chaos of the last year has often compounded that. Being displaced by dozens of new signings can deplete value still further, while Koulibaly and Aubameyang can now be written off as bad buys. And Boehly and Chelsea are trying to fund their trading – or at least negotiate Financial Fair Play – by flogging anything and anyone they inherited. They have surpassed many an expectation by bringing in around £200m already this summer. There may well be another half a dozen players leaving, perhaps swelling the sum towards £300m. But Chelsea’s outlay already stands at the best part of £700m in little over a year. Whether it leaves them with a stronger squad than in 2021 is a moot point: after all, they have gone from being Champions League winners to out of Europe altogether. But by the end of this transfer window, Boehly’s third lever may have exhausted its use. Chelsea might be running out of players to sell. And at some point, they may have to call upon a fourth prong: a distinctly old-fashioned one called trading well. It may involve seeking value for money when buying, rather than repeatedly paying way over the odds, and selling some of their signings for a profit. It could entail keeping players for several years, rather than having a revolving door. It may sound crazy to Boehly and co but Chelsea might have to try it. Read More Mason Mount says it was clear ‘several months ago’ he was not in Chelsea’s plans Chelsea not willing to listen to offers for Levi Colwill amid continued interest Kalidou Koulibaly exits Chelsea to become latest star name joining Saudi Pro League Dybala or Vlahovic: Which Serie A striker should Chelsea sign? Chelsea target two Serie A players in quest for experienced strikers Mauricio Pochettino explains Chelsea ‘risk’ as club enters new era

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk has signed a new three-year contract with the Premier League club. Academy graduate Dunk went past the 400-appearance mark during the 2022-23 season and helped the Seagulls qualify for the Europa League with an excellent sixth-placed finish. Dunk’s previous terms with Brighton were due to expire in two years’ time, but he has flourished under Roberto De Zerbi and will now be contracted to the club until 2026. De Zerbi said: “Long live the captain! “I’m really happy he has signed this new contract. It’s good news for Lewis and the club.” Centre-back Dunk repeatedly received praise from his manager for his commitment during the final weeks of the last season, after playing through the pain to help Brighton qualify for Europe. It subsequently meant the defender had to pull out of the England squad for their June qualifiers. Dunk made his debut for Brighton in 2010 and has been a key figure in their journey from Sky Bet League One through to the Championship and eventually the Premier League. The 31-year-old signed a five-year deal with the club in 2025, but these fresh terms will continue his association with his boyhood club. He has previously stated his desire to finish his career as a one-club man. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Edwin van der Sar remains in intensive care but is communicating and “not in life-threatening danger”, his wife has said. The former Manchester United and Netherlands goalkeeper was admitted to a hospital in Croatia last Friday after suffering bleeding around the brain. Annemarie van der Sar said in a statement issued via Dutch club Ajax: “Edwin is still in the intensive care unit, but is stable. He is not in life-threatening danger. “Every time we get to visit him, he’s communicative. We have to wait patiently to see how his situation will develop.” Van der Sar, 52, had been on holiday in Croatia when he reportedly suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. The Dutchman retired in 2011 after winning 130 caps for his country and a club career that included Champions League wins with both Ajax and United. He also claimed four Premier League titles with United and had spells with Fulham and Juventus. He later took up a position on the Ajax board and became chief executive in 2016. He stepped down at the end of last season. Read More Ajax give ‘concerning’ update on Van der Sar after bleed around brain Support for Edwin van der Sar and Lionesses arrive – Friday’s sporting social Edwin van der Sar in intensive care after suffering bleeding around the brain