List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Tottenham signed Israel forward Manor Solomon on a free transfer on Tuesday after his successful...

Italian sports minister Andrea Abodi has denied accusations of homophobia after his comments about openly gay footballer Jakub Jankto sparked...

Tottenham have signed Manor Solomon on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou told reporters he isn’t “losing sleep” over Harry Kane’s future. The club’s star striker is set to return from his holiday later this week, and only once he’s back in training will Postecoglou look to address Kane’s situation. “He’ll be here in two days’ time and everything I need to know will be sitting in front of me,” Postecoglou explained. “In the meantime, I’m not going to lose time or sleep on what conjecture may or may not be out there, because then you’re jumping at shadows. How much of it is true, how much of it is not true.”

Lando Norris’s agent held a meeting with a Red Bull chief at Silverstone over the weekend, adding to speculation that the British driver could be set to join the championship winning team in the future. A meeting between Norris’s manager Mark Berryman and Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, spotted by the Daily Telegraph at Silverstone over the weekend, has fuelled talk that the Brit may be being headhunted. The pair met a couple of hours before Sunday’s British Grand Prix. It seems unlikely that Red Bull would be pushing to split up their current driver setup, given how successful the partnership between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez has been in the last two of years, but things change quickly in Formula 1. Norris finished fourth in Austria which surprised many people before his second place at Silverstone took the Briton to another level. He raised eyebrows when passing Verstappen at the start of the race and held on to keep the championship leader at bay for five laps. Add to that the calm composure he displayed to hold off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages, despite being on a set of cold hard tyres, and Norris is proving just how good a driver he was always believed to be. Marko himself insisted after Sunday’s race that there was no chance Perez would be released before his current contract expires at the end of 2024 saying: “In the last 10 laps he was the fastest driver in the field ... His position is not in danger at all.” Yet, Perez remains under scrutiny due to a down tick in his own form. He qualified 15th at Silverstone making it the fifth race in a row he failed to reach Q3, though time is on his side. Verstappen has a runaway lead and is nailed on for a third world championship which would also help Red Bull take the constructor’s title too leaving Perez ample opportunity to rediscover his form. Read More The moment Lando Norris came of age in British Grand Prix – and it wasn’t his super start Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory Max Verstappen storms to British Grand Prix victory with two Brits on the podium

A rundown of the most iconic squad numbers in Arsenal history, including the likes of Thierry Henry's 14, Dennis Bergkamp's ten and Patrick Vieira's four

Tottenham have announced the signing of attacker Manor Solomon on a free transfer. Spurs moved to bring former Fulham loanee Solomon to the club after he was able to cancel his deal with Shakhtar Donetsk. The diminutive winger has agreed a five-year contract with Tottenham after he returned to the country from holiday last weekend and passed his medical on Monday. Solomon was allowed to cancel his contract with Shakhtar and sign for Spurs after FIFA in May extended its temporary employment rules relating to the war in Ukraine. Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, foreign players contracted to clubs affiliated to Ukrainian or Russian football associations can “unilaterally suspend their employment” until June 30 2024, provided teams are informed of the suspension in writing by July 1. With Solomon’s previous terms with Shakhtar due to expire on December 31, he was able to become a free agent after he exercised the right to suspend his current employment with the Ukraine outfit. The wide forward becomes the fourth addition completed by Tottenham this summer, with Dejan Kulusevski’s loan move being made permanent while last month Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison sealed transfers to the Premier League club. Israel international Solomon showed flashes of his potential during his loan with Fulham last season despite waiting until January to make his full debut due to a serious knee injury. When the 23-year-old was fit, he scored five goals in 24 appearances to earn admirers at Tottenham. Solomon could face old club Shakhtar in a friendly on August 6 after it was announced last month that Spurs would host the Ukraine champions. The Premier League side are set to make a financial contribution to Shakhtar’s charitable foundation while an additional donation of net proceeds from ticket sales has been promised to help with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Tottenham remain in the hunt for new central defenders with talks continuing with Wolfsburg over the signing of Micky ven de Ven. Spurs also hold interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba and Tosin Adarabioyo of Fulham, but outgoings are another area of priority after Harry Winks recently left to join Leicester. The club’s stance on Harry Kane remains unchanged despite Bayern Munich’s growing interest. Kane will return to training on Wednesday, but speculation over his future continues to intensify with only a year left on his deal. The PA news agency understands Tottenham have offered the forward a new contract that is an increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms. While Kane is yet to make a decision on the contract, Spurs’ stance remains the same with their star striker not for sale. Spurs fly out for their pre-season tour of Perth, Bangkok and Singapore on Friday and a decision will need to be made over whether captain Hugo Lloris is part of the travelling party given interest from Inter Milan. Tottenham are open to selling Lloris for the right offer and an agreement could even be reached to terminate his terms a year early, PA understands. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ange Postecoglou excited about ‘leader’ James Maddison’s role at Tottenham Lotte Wubben-Moy excited about England’s potential ahead of World Cup England retain Jonny Bairstow in unchanged squad for fourth Ashes Test

England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is convinced the Lionesses are yet to test the limits of their true potential as they dare to dream of a maiden World Cup title. The European champions begin their global mission against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 before taking on Denmark and China to conclude the group stage. With the July 31 one-year anniversary of her side’s Euro 2022 Wembley triumph fast approaching, Wubben-Moy and her team-mates are ready to consign that victory to the history books and focus on their next chapter. “In terms of preparation I think it is a Euros but then a level up,” the 24-year-old said during a training session on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. “The focus, the desire, the intensity, I think it’s all taken a step up and that’s what I’d expect really. “We’ve come off the back of a Euros, we’ve won that, and it’s not a case of settling on that, it’s ‘ok, what’s next? how much more can we push?’ because I don’t think this team knows how far we can go really and that’s quite a nice place to be in because in that sense you can dream and always be excited about what’s next.” England arrived in Australia, tournament co-hosts alongside New Zealand, on Friday and will train at the Sunshine Coast Stadium until they make their way to Brisbane ahead of their opener. While several Lionesses have praised the hosts for making them feel at home in such a short period of time, there are some unquestionable differences between this World Cup and last summer’s Euros in England – things like the kangaroos roaming the grounds of the team hotel. Wubben-Moy continued: “From the food room you can look out onto the water, and there are these like mad, massive blue fish, similar to the colour of the kit actually, so there’s going to be plenty of wildlife that we see. Hopefully none of the scary ones, because I think quite a few people are scared of spiders and snakes. “I don’t mind spiders but snakes, nah, no, not having it. Oh, the thought of it. So hopefully we don’t encounter any of them.” I don’t think this team knows how far we can go really and that’s quite a nice place to be in because in that sense you can dream and always be excited about what’s next Lotte Wubben-Moy While a combination of retirements and injuries will force Sarina Wiegman to debut a new-look line-up from the identical one she fielded for every match last summer, Wubben-Moy is less likely to be among her head coach’s top choices to start at the back. Millie Bright, named captain in place of the injured Leah Williamson, looks set to return after recovering from the knee injury that kept her out of the Lionesses’ pre-departure goalless draw with Portugal, while stalwarts Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood will feature in their third consecutive World Cups. Jess Carter and Esme Morgan both earned starting places in that friendly, while Wubben-Moy remained on the bench. However she is employed this tournament, the Arsenal defender vowed she will make the most of the experience. She added: “I think it’s difficult, a player is always going to want to play as much as possible. “I guess I’m not naive to the fact that the minutes I’ve got this year with England haven’t been massive, so my focus on this tournament is to enjoy it, gain the most out of it and actually ideally give the most of myself. “I’ve spoken a lot about consistency and being the best person that I can be for my team-mates, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch, and I hold myself to high standards in general, so that’s definitely something that I see as a goal for the tournament, regardless of whether I get minutes or not.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ange Postecoglou excited about ‘leader’ James Maddison’s role at Tottenham England retain Jonny Bairstow in unchanged squad for fourth Ashes Test Royal Birkdale to host Open Championship in 2026

Ange Postecoglou is excited about the role “leader” James Maddison will play in helping implement his style of football at Tottenham. Maddison completed a transfer worth £40million plus add-ons to Spurs last month after five years with Leicester where he won the FA Cup and scored 55 goals in 203 appearances. England midfielder Maddison had been tracked by Tottenham since he was a teenager at Coventry and officially begins work with the club on Wednesday when the next group of international players, including Harry Kane, return. His new boss feels the playmaker will be key to the sizable task of getting a squad accustomed to pragmatic, counter-attacking football now in sync with the aggressive, possession-based style set to be used by the Australian. Postecoglou said: “Really excited to get James as part of the group. “Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals. “They’re not easy to come by. He’s proven himself at that level in the last few years as somebody who can do that. “When you look at Tottenham the last few years, they’ve been really reliant on the front three to get their goals. “I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James – even better if we could get James, so we ended up getting James. “I was really pleased and the fact we did it early was great because it allows him to have a break. He’s had the birth of twins so I don’t know what shape he’ll be in when he gets here! “But once we get him in, it means he can come on the tour with us and I know he’s really excited about joining the group. “He obviously knows a few of the lads and I think he’s in a stage of his career where it feels like he can be a leader, which is great as well because we need players who want to embrace that responsibility within this group. “Whether it’s their first year in or they’ve been here for ages, we’re going to need leadership on the field and he feels like he can be a player who does that.” Postecoglou held his first press conference since switching Celtic for Spurs on Monday and struck the right chord between confidence alongside realism. Tottenham finished eighth in the Premier League last season – using three different head coaches – but more significantly have spent the last four years playing counter-attacking football. Gradually it wore down a disgruntled fanbase impatient for success with no trophy since 2008 and while a return to an aggressive, front-foot style will be welcomed, Postecoglou is aware rebooting a squad used to a certain way will be no mean feat. He added: “Absolutely that will be the biggest challenge and that’s what I’m concentrating on at the moment. “We don’t have the whole group here but the guys we have, it’s about changing that mindset and changing the way the players see the game and maybe their roles within in. “Because even with the positions they play, there’s going to be adjustments in how I want them to do things. Again, I love that. That’s why I’m here. “If it was just me rolling up and they’re going out there, doing their thing, it wouldn’t excite me. That’s part of the challenge – it will be a shift from the way the club has played for three or four years. “In terms of how quickly the players embrace that, the new players coming in will help. That’s the part I have control over, whether that’s James Maddison or Guglielmo (Vicario) in goal. “They’re players who fit in the direction I want to go in, which helps. Then it’s about seeing with the existing group how many of them are able to adjust and embrace the way we’re going to play.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lotte Wubben-Moy excited about England’s potential ahead of World Cup England retain Jonny Bairstow in unchanged squad for fourth Ashes Test Royal Birkdale to host Open Championship in 2026

England have kept faith with Jonny Bairstow as the wicketkeeper retained his place in a 14-man squad for next week's...

Novak Djokovic contests his 400th Grand Slam match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, aiming for a place in a...

Anthony Joshua insists he is not going to “waste his time” waiting to fight Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder as he prepares for a Dillian Whyte rematch next month. After discussions over taking on Fury broke down, former world champion Joshua had been linked with a fight against Wilder in Saudi Arabia. Joshua, though, will now face off against Whyte again, having defeated his rival in a British and Commonwealth title clash in December 2015 to avenge a defeat from their time as amateurs. The 33-year-old is continuing to build up his record again, having beaten Jermaine Franklin on points in April after suffering back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk – the unified champion who is set to face Britain’s Daniel Dubois in Poland next month. “I’m definitely up for fighting,” Joshua told a press conference to preview the sold-out fight with Whyte at the O2 Arena. “There are a lot of names in the division but at the same time look at what this creates, I’m a fighter but I understand the business as well. “Wilder and them lot have been doing my head in for years, you’ve seen now the shenanigans in the heavyweight division – even with Fury, saying he was training for Usyk, you can see all the lies going on so I don’t waste my time with time wasters. “I just want to fight, get on with it. I’m going to be 34 this year, let’s crack on while I’m here, I’m not going to waste my time waiting for people and chasing for people. “Even from the amateurs you could see the trajectory I was on; ready to get down, ready to put my neck on the line and fight whoever and it is still like that.” If Joshua comes through his rematch with Whyte, which will be shown live by broadcaster DAZN, he is then expected to go on to meet Wilder in another lucrative heavyweight showdown. “This is a massive night for my career,” added Joshua. “Dillian is a credible and solid opponent, I have an underlying respect for every man I get in the ring with. I could fight now, it is in my heart. I just want to fight.” For Whyte, 35, it is a chance to level up with Joshua in the professional ring after beating the Olympic gold medalist in the amateurs. He suggested such victories could be all that are left for him as he enters the twilight of his career, having already avenged a shock knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin in 2020. “I have had three losses, avenged one, if I get the other two ([oshua and Fury], I don’t care about boxing after that,” he said. “We have both had three losses but we both have a lot of hunger so I can’t wait to get in there – I am hoping for the best version of him, I don’t worry about what people say. I am coming to fight and have nothing to lose.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Caster Semenya found to be victim of discrimination in testosterone case by ECHR Mitch Marsh made a strong case to keep his Ashes place – Andrew McDonald Everton in talks to sign free agent Ashley Young