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The ten most expensive English midfielders of all-time, including Jude Bellingham. Declan Rice and more.

Damon Hill insists Lewis Hamilton has to be “cold-blooded” in contract negotiations with Mercedes with a new deal yet to be penned. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who has won six of his seven titles with Mercedes, has been with the Silver Arrows since 2013 and while both Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff maintain a fresh contract is an inevitability, the deal has still not been completed. The 38-year-old, an eight-time winner at his home grand prix at Silverstone where the F1 paddock roll into this weekend, was heavily linked with Ferrari a few months back but quickly downplayed suggestions a switch to the Scuderia was in the works. And 1996 F1 world champion Hill, while appreciating the “romance” of such a move, insists switching allegiance would represent a “huge risk.” “Any driver who doesn’t know what the options are is missing an opportunity,” Hill tells The Independent, ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. “But would he really go to Ferrari? From a strategic point of view, it would be a huge risk to go to Ferrari. Everyone would love to be in red and win, see what happened with Nigel [Mansell]. “It’s a romance really but you’ve got to be cold-blooded about it. He’s not going to go to Red Bull either.” Elaborating on why a new contract has been so long in the pipeline, Hill said: “As I understand it, the contract won’t just be a racing contract – it will be a full Mercedes ambassadorial contract. “That requires a different board to sign off on it, can’t just be signed off by Toto. There’ll be some board meetings in Germany.” Red Bull have won all nine races so far this season and are cruising to another double title win, with Max Verstappen 81 points ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in the world championship. Hill, himself a British GP winner in 1994, now believes the most exciting storyline in 2023 is whether Christian Horner’s team can do the unprecedented and win every grand prix, with 22 races in total on this year’s calendar. “Can they win every race? It’s never been done before – they’ll be sitting there thinking ‘we can’t count on it, but we’d love to do it.’ “My experience tells me that something will prevent that – Fernando [Alonso] or Lewis will win again. But if they don’t, Max could win everything frankly. “What an achievement that would be and how tense would that make the last few races.” Red Bull, however, will need to break a Silverstone hoodoo this weekend – they have not won the British Grand Prix since 2012 with Mark Webber. Verstappen was foiled by a mechanical issue during last year’s thrilling race, won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz after a lengthy stoppage following Zhou Guanyu’s upside-down crash, and should something similar with the Dutchman happen this year, Horner will turn to Perez to bring home the trophy. Yet the Mexican has struggled in recent months since winning in Azerbaijan at the end of April, though did have something of a return to form with second place in last week’s race in Austria. Nevertheless, Hill says Perez should be looking over his shoulder. “I think he’s already under pressure,” he says. “They cannot afford to have a car that good and not have two cars right up there for the championship. Pressed on who could replace Perez should Red Bull, as has been customary in the past, look to ruthlessly move on from Perez when his contract expires at the end of 2024, Hill added: “Is Daniel Ricciardo fit enough to come back? “That’s what the noises are. Maybe that plan is simmering away. I think they’d want a fresh face. “Possibly Lando [Norris]. He’s still got a few more years left at McLaren – I was surprised when he signed such a long-term deal [until end of 2025]. It’s a long time, I’d have done three years tops. “If you’re that confident in yourself, you need to be able to move when the time is right.” Hill was speaking at the Damon Hill Festival of Karting at Daytona Sandown, which raised funds for Halow – a charity which supports young people with learning disabilities and autism. Hill is a co-founder of the Halow project. Read More Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? It hurts – Lando Norris reflects on his ‘toughest season’ ahead of British GP David Coulthard looks at the key issues surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s next deal F1 release 2024 calendar with radical change to start of the season F1 descends into farce again after results shake-up – the FIA has to be better Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos

Thursday's football transfer rumours include updates on Kylian Mbappe, Paulo Dybala, Harry Kane, Romeo Lavia & more.

Romance rumors between Tom Brady and Kim Kardashian intensified after they both attended the billionair's party in The Hamptons

What the papers say The race for England captain Harry Kane is hotting up, with Tottenham making the 29-year-old an offer which would improve his £200,000 a week salary, according to the Guardian. But the Daily Mail reports that Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has visited the striker at his home in his quest to sign him. Arsenal are close to taking their summer spending to around £200million, with Dutch defender Jurrien Timber, 22, following Declan Rice in agreeing a deal, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Standard says the Gunners will pay Ajax £38.5m for Timber. Leicester midfielder Harvey Barnes, 25, is attracting plenty of interest, with the Guardian suggesting Newcastle lead the way. Aston Villa and Tottenham are also in the race. AC Milan are continuing their pursuit of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic. The Daily Mail reports the Italian club have made an improved £18.9m offer for the American. Social media round-up Players to watch Levi Colwill: Liverpool are said to be keen on the 20-year-old defender, although Chelsea want to keep him. Lewis O’Brien: Wayne Rooney wants to keep the midfielder, who is on loan at DC United from Nottingham Forest, with Sheffield United also interested, according to the Daily Mirror. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

As fierce clashes burst out last week in France’s worst riots in nearly two decades, protesters set buses

The president of the FIA tells The Associated Press the governing body has no interest in signing an early renewal of its contract with Liberty Media and the 10 Formula One teams

Nathan Eovaldi was a hero for the Red Sox en route to the 2018 World Series. Now starring with the Rangers, he expressed regrets leaving Boston.There's no question that Nathan Eovaldi is thriving with the Texas Rangers after signing with the club on a two-year, $34 million this offseason af...

The Chicago Cubs' 2023 season is spiraling downward, and despite the obvious scapegoat, Jed Hoyer still believes in manager David Ross.This is the point in the season when some MLB teams' front offices look back and think, "The season could have been better." For the Chicago ...

MLB Rumors: Proposed Rangers trade would land Dylan Cease, more from White SoxThe Texas Rangers have already acquired one of the biggest trade targets for the 2023 season in the flip for reliever Aroldis Chapman. But they also might not be done making moves as they hope to retain their lead atop t...

Hannah Dingley insists her appointment as caretaker Forest Green head coach is no gimmick. Dingley, the first woman to take charge of an English Football League club, oversaw her opening game on Wednesday as Forest Green began their pre-season campaign. “It’s the first and it’s great, but I don’t want to be the only,” said Dingley, Rovers’ academy chief who has spent four years at the Gloucestershire club and was put in interim charge after Duncan Ferguson’s brief reign came to an end. “It’s slightly disappointing that as the first academy manager – the only academy manager – because we need more females in these positions in clubs. If we can get more females in the boys’ system in academies this will happen more and more. “This isn’t a gimmick. It’s about those players getting preparation and, if anything takes away from that, it’s probably the wrong thing to do in the first place. “We just need more open-minded people to let these situations happen.” Dingley – who declined to say whether she would apply for the job on a full-time basis – was welcomed by a posse of cameramen and photographers as she took her seat at the Oakfield Stadium against Melksham. A group of female Rovers fans held up a placard with the words ‘Go Hannah Go!’ on it and the man on the microphone also recognised her presence, saying: “It would be remiss of me not to mention Hannah Dingley who is creating Football League history as manager of Forest Green.” Dingley was soon in the technical area and looking at a first-day defeat when at own goal at the start of the second half gifted Melksham the lead. But Callum Jones, on a season-long loan from Hull, equalised 10 minutes from time with a splendid free-kick to spare League Two Forest Green’s blushes against opponents four divisions beneath them. “It’s a bit different to taking the Under-18s but it’s part of the role,” Dingley said at a packed post-match press conference. “The important thing is role-modelling for other female coaches and young girls and growing up knowing that anything is possible if you work hard enough. “It’s been a whirlwind and I haven’t taken a training session with the players yet. The players need to be the focus so we can make a positive start to the new League Two campaign.” Confessing that her appointment on Tuesday had been a “stressful day”, Dingley said: “It’s a bit embarrassing as I was sleeping and my phone started pinging. I was thinking: ‘What’s going on here?’ This isn't a gimmick. It's about those players getting preparation and, if anything takes away from that, it's probably the wrong thing to do in the first place. Hannah Dingley “But I’m grateful for all the messages of support. (Luton manager) Rob Edwards who has been at the club was among those who reached out. “I had no hesitation (stepping up) and I felt it was an opportunity I was ready to take. I haven’t just rocked up today and chose to coach a men’s team. I’ve coached men’s non-league football and in the academy. “I’ve coached men for 20-odd years. This isn’t different to me and I’ve never had a problem with players. They just want good coaching and a good programme. “This is going to sound a bit mean, but the players don’t have a choice. They are professional footballers at a professional club, and in a month’s time they are starting the League Two season. Their responsibility is to prepare properly for that.” Chairman Dale Vince joined Dingley in front of the media and said he “felt like he was in an episode of Ted Lasso” – the sports comedy-drama series when an American football coach is hired to manage a British soccer team. “This is the maddest press conference I’ve ever been at, it’s off the charts,” Vince said. “I knew it was a first in football but I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. “When we made the decision – a club decision – it was based on merit. It was a very simple decision because Hannah was the most qualified person at the club. “She got the job to lead our academy on merit. She’s done a great job and gets our values completely as a club.” Asked whether Dingley could do the job on a permanent basis, Vince added: “The recruitment process will take several weeks. “If Hannah wants to put her name into the hat she’s very welcome. She’s been here four years and you could argue she’s got an inside track, but it’s going to be a very thorough process.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Iga Swiatek breezes through while Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk fights back to win Katie Boulter reaches round two in only British success of the day Lee Carsley feels lucky to coach England Under-21s as they eye Euro 2023 glory

Ha-Seong Kim has become MLB's most underrated player.