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Victor Wembanyama's long frame and versatile game makes him the top big man in this year's NBA draft

Chelsea has signed France forward Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig on six-year contract

Conor Gallagher rose up through the international ranks alongside Bukayo Saka and has backed England’s latest hat-trick hero to get even better. Saka took home the match ball after hitting three in Monday’s 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night, a result which leaves England on the cusp of securing Euro 2024 qualification. The 21-year-old’s second strike was the pick of the bunch as a brace for captain Harry Kane, a Marcus Rashford finish and Kalvin Phillips’ first England goal wrapped up a fine win in the last game of a long season. It was a campaign which also saw Saka score three goals at the World Cup, with the progression of the Arsenal ace coming as no shock to Gallagher. “I played with Bukayo since, I think, the Under-19s,” the Chelsea midfielder said. “Even then you could see that he would become a top player and to see how he has progressed until now has been amazing and I am sure he is going to get even better. “He is a special player and to get a hat-trick was amazing for him. He had an amazing performance. He is right up there (with the best) and he is only getting better. “I think he is a very exciting talent with an exciting future and we are looking forward to seeing where it takes him.” While Saka flourished over the course of a season in which he starred for club and country, Gallagher endured a difficult year at Stamford Bridge. The 23-year-old featured in all-but three of Chelsea’s Premier League games but it was a season to forget for the Blues as they finished a lowly 12th. Gallagher – who has been linked with a move away with the likes of Brighton reportedly interested – insists he is looking forward to working under new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino and retaining his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad. “I love Chelsea,” he added. “It has been a tough season for me and the whole team so I think we will just be working hard to get us back to where we belong. “I am always grateful to be here and for Gareth to have that trust in me despite it being a tough season for both me and Chelsea. I am really happy he has shown that trust in me still and Ithink he knows I will work as hard as I can no matter what to give my best. “I just need to keep working hard and get a bit of my confidence back in a way, I didn’t lose it but I need to get a rhythm of playing more games, score more goals and I am trying to reach that stage. “(Pochettino) is a top manager, everyone at Chelsea is happy he’s here and we’re looking forward to working with him.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live FIFA urged to ensure equality with qualification for Women’s World Cup Chelsea complete signing of France forward Christopher Nkunku for reported £63m Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists Manchester City will not stop growing

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists there will be no stopping as the club continue to grow their global influence. The Premier League and European champions sit at the heart of a worldwide network of 13 clubs known as the City Football Group. As well as City, the CFG operates clubs in locations including New York, Melbourne and Yokohama, and this year brought Brazilian outfit Bahia into the fold. CFG intends to invest considerably in all of those operations, including players, coaches, facilities and academies. Khaldoon told the club’s media channels: “It’s always about growth. You grow, you pause, you get things in order, and then you start the next step, one step at a time. We’re not going to stop. “We’re going to keep going and we’re going to keep investing and we’re going to keep growing value, and we’re going to keep bringing happiness to every community and every club we have in the world, and hopefully we’ll keep bringing success in every club and team we have around the world. “It’s been a great journey over the last 15 years but I’m excited about the future and it’s about now, the next 10, 15 years too.” Manchester City have been the greatest success story having won seven Premier League titles since 2012 and this year they became only the second English side to win the treble. The club’s latest new infrastructure project is now in the pipeline with plans recently submitted to increase capacity at the Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000. The expansion is part of a £300million development which also includes the construction of a hotel, shops and food and drink outlets as well as a new 3,000-capacity covered fan zone. Khaldoon says it will also not be the last improvement at the stadium. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “Every year there’s always something new, every year, because there’s always a need to improve and evolve and grow. We don’t stand still. We never stood still. “Every couple of years we will do something, whether it’s the Tunnel Club, whether it’s the new stands, whether it’s the seating. “And now we’re going to have a wonderful, wonderful development around it that’s going to just enhance the whole area, is going to be great for the fans and it’s going to bring, I think, positive revenue for the club. “We’re always in growth mode, we’re never in contentment and pause and ‘let’s just milk the asset’. “This is about building value and growing value, and it’s about reinvesting consistently into this club.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Heavy rain set to delay start of final day of first Ashes Test England’s Lauren Bell raring to go in Ashes opener after ‘special’ Test debut Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards released from England Test squad

Chelsea have completed the signing of France international Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. The 25-year-old made a pre-contract agreement to join the club in December but has now completed the move for a reported £63million. He scored 23 goals in 36 games for the Bundesliga side last season and becomes the first major arrival at Stamford Bridge since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as the club’s new manager. “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea,” Nkunku told the club’s website. “A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and team-mates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Ilia Topuria and Josh Emmett are set to square off in a UFC Fight Night main event this weekend, as each featherweight looks to make a statement at the other’s expense. In his most recent fight, Emmett was submitted by Yair Rodriguez with the interim title on the line in February. But the American, 38, was on a healthy winning run before that result, and an emphatic victory here could get him right back in the title picture. Meanwhile, Topuria enters this fight unbeaten and with 12 stoppage wins in his 13 professional fights. Most recently, the Georgian, 26, submitted Bryce Mitchell – a submission specialist, no less – in December to enter the top 10 at featherweight. An undisputed champion will be crowned in July, when Rodriguez challenges official champion Alexander Volkanovski, and the winner of Saturday’s main event may even mark themselves out as the next contender for the gold. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The event will take place on Saturday 24 June. The prelims are set to begin at 4.30pm BST (8.30am PT, 10.30am CT, 11.30am ET). The main card is then due to follow at 8pm BST (12pm PT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Topuria – 5/2 Emmett – 30/100 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria (featherweight) Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber (women’s flyweight) Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa (heavyweight) David Onama vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight) Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva (middleweight) Prelims Neil Magny vs Phil Rowe (welterweight) Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman (welterweight) Mateusz Rebecki vs Loik Radzhabov (lightweight) Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson (women’s strawweight) Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van (flyweight) Trevor Peek vs Victor Martinez (lightweight) Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins (featherweight) Tatsuro Taira vs Kleydson Rodrigues (flyweight) Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas (middleweight) Read More Fury vs Usyk: Behind the scenes, laughter is turning to anger Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK How Ciryl Gane’s Jon Jones dream turned into a nightmare Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend

It will be No 5 vs No 9 in the UFC featherweight division this weekend, as Josh Emmett faces Ilia Topuria in a Fight Night main event. Emmett, 38, is looking to bounce back from a tough loss, having been submitted by Yair Rodriguez in February as the pair fought for the interim title. Prior to that defeat, however, Emmett was on a fine win streak, and the American might even re-enter the title picture with an impressive win on Saturday. He faces a tough test in Topuria, though, with the 26-year-old entering Las Vegas this weekend with a 13-0 professional record, including 12 stoppage wins. Most recently, the Georgian overcame Bryce Mitchell in December, stunning the submission specialist by forcing him to tap out. With that win, Topuria entered the top 10 at featherweight, and he can take another step forwards this weekend. An undisputed champion will be crowned in July, when Rodriguez challenges official champion Alexander Volkanovski, and the winner of Saturday’s main event may even mark themselves out as the next contender for the gold. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The event will take place on Saturday 24 June. The prelims are set to begin at 4.30pm BST (8.30am PT, 10.30am CT, 11.30am ET). The main card is then due to follow at 8pm BST (12pm PT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Topuria – 5/2 Emmett – 30/100 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria (featherweight) Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber (women’s flyweight) Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa (heavyweight) David Onama vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight) Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva (middleweight) Prelims Neil Magny vs Phil Rowe (welterweight) Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman (welterweight) Mateusz Rebecki vs Loik Radzhabov (lightweight) Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson (women’s strawweight) Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van (flyweight) Trevor Peek vs Victor Martinez (lightweight) Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins (featherweight) Tatsuro Taira vs Kleydson Rodrigues (flyweight) Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas (middleweight) Read More Fury vs Usyk: Behind the scenes, laughter is turning to anger Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK How Ciryl Gane’s Jon Jones dream turned into a nightmare Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend

WWE's current Women's World Heavyweight Champion Rhea Ripley was the subject of a gross Instagram prank on Sunday which was referenced by commentator Corey Graves on Monday. The Australian wrestler shared an Instagram story on Sunday, apparently by accident, that a fan had tagged her. The image, which we can't describe in too much detail, featured a picture of Ripley as well as some crass additions that the fan had made to the picture. Wrestling were shocked at the image but also expressed their sympathy with Ripley's "unfortunate" error. Journalist David Bixenspan wrote on Twitter: "I guess the good news is that Rhea Ripley had somehow managed to avoid hearing about that creepy trend among pervy wrestling fans?" Ripley didn't delete the story but it was vaguely alluded to on WWE television during Monday's episode of Raw. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter As she made her way to the ring Graves said to his co-commentator Kevin Patrick: "I know you are a big fan KP. I saw that picture you sent to her on Instagram that was on her story. You're a big hit." Fans were pretty shocked that Graves would mention the story live on air given its graphic content. WWE is still considered to be a PG show. WWE is a scripted show and Graves was likely told to or had approval to say the line. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ilia Topuria and Josh Emmett will go head to head in a UFC Fight Night main event this weekend, in what should be an entertaining clash of featherweight contenders. Emmett, 38, enters the bout on the back of a dispiriting loss, having been submitted by Yair Rodriguez with the interim title on the line in February. However, the American was on an encouraging win streak before that defeat, and he will feel that he can re-enter the title picture if he secures an impressive victory on Saturday. That would be more easily said than done, however, with Topuria not only unbeaten as a professional but having won 12 of his 13 fights via stoppage. In his last outing, the Georgian, 26, stunned Bryce Mitchell by submitting the submission specialist in December. An undisputed champion will be crowned in July, when Rodriguez challenges official champion Alexander Volkanovski, and the winner of Saturday’s main event may even mark themselves out as the next contender for the gold. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The event will take place on Saturday 24 June. The prelims are set to begin at 4.30pm BST (8.30am PT, 10.30am CT, 11.30am ET). The main card is then due to follow at 8pm BST (12pm PT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Topuria – 5/2 Emmett – 30/100 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria (featherweight) Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber (women’s flyweight) Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa (heavyweight) David Onama vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight) Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva (middleweight) Prelims Neil Magny vs Phil Rowe (welterweight) Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman (welterweight) Mateusz Rebecki vs Loik Radzhabov (lightweight) Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson (women’s strawweight) Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van (flyweight) Trevor Peek vs Victor Martinez (lightweight) Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins (featherweight) Tatsuro Taira vs Kleydson Rodrigues (flyweight) Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas (middleweight) Read More Fury vs Usyk: Behind the scenes, laughter is turning to anger Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK How Ciryl Gane’s Jon Jones dream turned into a nightmare Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori What time does Topuria vs Emmett start in UK and US this weekend?

There is suddenly a little bit of tension about one of the most ambitious plans in football. High-placed sources say this week brings a lot of discussion between Saudi Arabian representatives and those of top players in order to try and convince them to join the planet’s most disruptive competition. Some involved see it as a key period for the Saudi Pro League in terms of keeping the momentum going by getting truly big players. Interest in Neymar and David De Gea is now well known, but representatives are also looking at Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva, and there are offers for a series of Chelsea players. Among them are N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech. It would represent quite the analgesic for what had been a real headache at Stamford Bridge. Throughout the last few months, the major question at Stamford Bridge, beyond the manager, was who was going to buy the players they needed to sell to trim the squad and meet Financial Fair Play requirements. Everyone “knew they were coming”, to use the industry phrase. Clubs were going to go in low and well under the asking price, as Manchester United have attempted with Mason Mount. Now, a solution has suddenly presented itself. Chelsea could clear a lot of players for big money, allowing Mauricio Pochettino a much cleaner slate to start working with. It has raised a lot of chatter within the game as well as outside. Football officials have privately pointed to the strong relationship between Chelsea majority owners Clearlake and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund [PIF], who have billions of pounds worth of assets managed by the American firm. Many within the game are now asking about Saudi influence on Chelsea but it has long been stressed there was no involvement in Clearlake’s 2022 purchase, and consequently no concern about potential conflicts of interest given the ownership of Newcastle United. The Owners and Directors test would also require that any influence be declared. It is being insisted now at Stamford Bridge that the only discussions taking place are “transactional conversations about players they’re interested in”. Chelsea and the Premier League have been approached for comment. The London club look to have just benefitted from good timing, although the biggest question now is how many players will actually be convinced to move, and “what actually gets done”. Lukaku is already reluctant. Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva would be unlikely to even consider a proposal if it arrives. The very fact such discussions are being had does raise two wider issues for the game. One, in the abstract, is the growing influence of private equity in football. Part of the reason such questions are being asked is that it’s unclear what money funds private equity in such takeovers. The Premier League, for example, doesn’t have to know. There are an increasing number of people in football who see private equity’s influence - going right up to possible deals with Serie A and La Liga - as just as problematic as state ownership, especially with how the potential is there for the two to overlap. There is then the big story of the summer, which revolves around one of the most ambitious and biggest of those states. Offers from the Saudi Pro League are expected to escalate in the next few weeks, as this is viewed as a key stage of the project. Bringing Ruben Neves from Wolves was a coup but they want bigger than that. It is also why there was some disappointment about the “complacency” of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin about the extent the Saudi Pro League’s growth could distort the game. The Slovenian official gave an interview in the Netherlands on the eve of the Nations League final, in which he said the European game should not be concerned about any player exodus. “No, no, no… I think that it's mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football. Why is that a problem for them? Because they should invest in academies, they should bring coaches, and they should develop their own players." “The system of buying the players that almost ended their career is not the system that develops football. It was a similar mistake in China when they all brought players who are at the end of their career.” “Tell me one player who is top, top age and who starts his career and went to play in Saudi Arabia? But it's not about money only. Players want to win top competitions. And top competition is in Europe.” That question is something currently being tested, but a growing view is that Ceferin is wrong to make the comparison to China. Saudi Arabia has a much more developed football culture, with a good level of quality, and part of this project is improving that. There is then the wider issue of the football authorities' general lack of regulation and foresight on the influence of states and private equity groups. The next few days will nevertheless tell a lot, but this is really about the next few years. Read More First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything Sportswashing is about to change football beyond anything you can imagine The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Saudi Arabia can help Chelsea solve headache — but talks raise issues Carabao Cup 2023/24 fixture dates and schedule revealed Chelsea fixtures released for Premier League 2023/24 season

FIFA will take a “zero tolerance” approach if allegations of racism which led to the abandonment of two friendly matches played on Monday are found proven. The Republic of Ireland Under-21s’ match against Kuwait Under-22s in Austria was called off after an allegation that a Kuwaiti player racially abused one of Ireland’s substitutes. The senior international between New Zealand and Qatar, also in Austria, was cut short after the New Zealand Football Association said one of its players, Michael Boxall, had a racist remark directed at him in the first half by a Qatari opponent. A FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA is awaiting the official reports before deciding on next steps. “FIFA has a zero-tolerance policy against any forms of discrimination as stressed last week by the FIFA president.” Gianni Infantino said last week that referees should stop matches if incidents of discrimination occur. “It’s very important not just to talk about racism and discrimination, but to take action in a decisive and convincing manner – zero tolerance,” Infantino said. “There is no football if there is racism – so let’s stop the games. “The referees have this opportunity in FIFA competitions as we have this process for stopping the game, and actions have to be taken at every level, at national level as well. Infantino made the remarks after meeting with the Brazil squad in Barcelona, including Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior who has been on the receiving end of repeated racial abuse in Spain this year. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has hit back at national coach Domenico Tedesco following his walkout from the Belgium squad