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Chelsea are reportedly locked in Victor Osimhen loan talks as Napoli want to reunite Romelu Lukaku with Antonio Conte on a permanent transfer.

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Chelsea eager to sign Osimhen on a loan dealThe Blues will have an option to buyLukaku set to head in the opposite directionWHAT HAPPENED?

According to the proposed transfer of Lukaku to Napoli would see the Belgian striker make a permanent switch to the Italian club. In contrast, the potential deal for Osimhen to move to Chelsea is structured as a loan with an option to buy, with the two clubs currently negotiating to reach an agreement that will see both players take on a new challenge in 2024-25.

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Osimhen has a substantial release clause of £110 million ($142 million), which has made negotiations challenging. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shown interest in signing the forward too, but the talks regarding a permanent sale have stalled with Napoli due to differences in the valuation of the player.

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Osimhen was omitted from a pre-season friendly against Egnatia by Napoli manager Conte, adding to the speculation about his future at the club. However, this should be an encouraging sign for Chelsea as they now seem to be the frontrunners to secure the Nigerian ahead of PSG. Lukaku, meanwhile, is in line to work with Conte again after winning Serie A under the Italian coach during their time together at Inter Milan.

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Lukaku is reportedly expected to return to Chelsea’s training ground at Cobham next week to continue his training in an individual capacity. Nonetheless, the Blues are keen to resolve Lukaku’s transfer situation before their squad returns from their pre-season tour in the United States on August 7.

Raphael Varane had a nightmare start to his journey at Como as he suffered an injury after spending just 23 minutes on the pitch on his debut.

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Varane got injured on Como debutLeft the pitch after just 23 minutesSuffered a knee injuryWHAT HAPPENED?

Varane, who joined the Serie A side on a two-year deal after his Manchester United contract expired this summer, made his competitive debut for the club on Sunday against Sampdoria in a Coppa Italia first-round clash. However, his appearance for Cesc Fabregas' side was short-lived as he was forced to leave the pitch after 23 minutes after feeling discomfort in his knee. The Frenchman was seen applying ice after going back to the dugout.

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Sky Sports reports that the experienced defender underwent tests after the game and the extent of his injury will be revealed once his reports come out later on Monday. Como managed to hold Sampdoria to a 1-1 draw in regulation time, however, their opponents clinched the clash by winning the penalty shootout 4-3.

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The former World Cup-winning France defender endured an injury-stricken 2023/24 campaign at Old Trafford as he managed to appear in just 32 matches across all competitions for the Red Devils where he scored one goal.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RAPHAEL VARANE?

Varane will now have to wait for the test reports to get a clear picture if he would be able to make his Serie A debut on Monday against giants Juventus.

ECB chief executive says BBC was behind move away from traditional county identities

George Dobell20-Feb-2020Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, has suggested the Hundred could be expanded to include teams from “the northeast and the southwest” in an attempt to reconnect with working-class communities.Harrison admitted “tough choices” had to be made when the new tournament was set up but said he hoped that, if the first five-year cycle went well, there would be “opportunities for growth” which could help cricket “redefine its connection” with communities that have been priced out of the game.In an interview with magazine, Harrison also insisted that the BBC had not been behind the decision to cut innings to 100 deliveries per side in the new competition, but had urged a move away from traditional county identities.”The Hundred presents opportunities for growth in the future,” Harrison said. “I would love to have had the northeast and the southwest in the Hundred. We just didn’t have the available funding to do it and to do it successfully.”This is the first five-year licence for the teams. We had a proper bidding process. In any other process you wish you could serve everyone. This is a world of tough choices.”Let’s see what happens in five years’ time. If we can have more teams serving more fans, that is a brilliant ambition to have, resulting in the success of the tournament.”This year’s inaugural competition will see eight new, city-based teams go head to head. Durham missed out on being a host venue, and will instead be linked to the Leeds-based Northern Superchargers, while in the southwest, Somerset are partnered with Gloucestershire and Glamorgan under the Welsh Fire name – which was a point of some contention during the development process.”Cricket needs to redefine its connection with the working-class communities,” Harrison said. “Take Durham and the northeast. Cricket used to be the working man’s sport, where mining communities would spend their weekends. We need to rediscover and reconnect with that.”In London, certain African-Caribbean communities have been priced out of cricket. The passion is still there; people used to turn up at The Oval in their droves.”So paradoxically cricket doesn’t need to be positioned as a middle-class sport. In the future as our competitive landscape becomes ever more complex and intriguing, we have to be as big and relevant as we can be.”That relevance is, Harrison insisted, more important to the ECB than turning a profit, which was why the decision was taken to cut the length of games to ensure they fit into a 150-minute window.”No, I do not,” Harrison replied when asked if he saw the Hundred as a “money spinner”.”It’s a competition designed to demonstrate that cricket can be bigger and more relevant to more communities in this country than it currently is,” he said. “We have loads of gauges [of success]. Sell-out crowds will take some time. We have a measure of 60 percent which is where we hope to get to.”County cricket is doing a fantastic job, continuing to grow, particularly the Blast. But it’s predominately white, male, 50-plus. We are trying to reposition the game as multicultural, gender-balanced and younger, more family-orientated.”So, the BBC didn’t ask for the length of games to be cut to fit its broadcast window?”No, absolutely not,” Harrison said. “There’s this perception out there that sports sit cap-in-hand to TV companies. [But] the 150-minute window was born out of research and consultation; speaking to families. We don’t take decisions like this on the back of a 30-minute conversation [with the BBC].”The revenue models for sport are changing. With the Hundred we are hopefully creating a billion-pound property for cricket in the future, to safeguard everything we hold dear. This potentially allows us to mitigate whatever happens in the media – hopefully the media becomes more competitive… hopefully Netflix goes out and spends millions on global sport, Facebook and Google, too.ECB chief executive Tom Harrison•Getty Images”The Hundred gives us an opportunity to create a second huge property that can help us answer the question about diversified revenue in the future.”Asked if the BBC said “no to counties”, Harrison replied: “Absolutely, yes.” The BBC and ECB later clarified that the broadcaster had not made such demands. Both parties reiterated, however, they were happy with the current structure of the competition including the new team identities.Elsewhere in the interview, Harrison suggested none of the major Test-playing nations favoured a move towards four-day Tests, though there could be a place for them in exceptional circumstances.”I’ve been positioned as the champion of four-day Test cricket,” Harrison said. “I am not. There are no plans over the next few years to introduce four-day Tests in England, certainly not in the World Test Championship or the Ashes. [But] it’s not a binary argument. I’m cautiously supportive of four-day Tests, in certain geographies, in certain times of the year, against certain opposition, in a cluttered calendar, when we’re facing enormous pressure on schedules.”Four-day Test cricket does answer some questions some of the time. It’s not the answer to all of our problems, and our own problems. That’s not to say we might not play another four-day Test at some stage, against Afghanistan and Ireland for instance.”There’s no support for [four-day Tests] from India, Australia and us and that’s quite a powerful lobby.”

West Ham United will be hurting after falling in the Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen but must now fix their full focus on defeating Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The Eagles will be buoyed by their incredible 1-0 win at Anfield last weekend and will look to punish any complacency from the Hammers, but David Moyes will have hammered home the importance of securing three points and fighting for a European-qualifying spot.

Eighth in the standings with just five matches left to contest, West Ham must get the job done, especially with fixtures against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City still forthcoming.

West Ham team news

Top scorer Jarrod Bowen is a fitness doubt after Moyes revealed that the England international fought through pain with injections to play against Xabi Alonso's newly-crowned Bundesliga champions, so he might miss out for this one.

Centre-backs Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos will both be assessed, while shot-stopper Alphonse Areola and on-loan midfielder Kalvin Phillips will be assessed.

After missing out in midweek, influential playmaker Lucas Paqueta should return from the outset, alongside left-back Emerson Palmieri, who could be the key to victory.

Why Emerson Palmieri could be so important

Emerson has been a huge part of West Ham's success over the past few seasons and has been superb in his defensive performances this season, playing 42 times in all competitions.

In the Premier League, as per Sofascore, the 29-year-old has completed 83% of his passes, averaged 2.9 tackles, 2.4 clearances and 4.2 ball recoveries per game while winning 5.1 duels per fixture at a success rate of 60%.

1.

Tyrick Mitchell

Crystal Palace

91

2.

Emerson Palmieri

West Ham United

90

3.

Pedro Porro

Tottenham Hotspur

82

4.

Antonee Robinson

Fulham

81

5.

Diogo Dalot

Manchester United

69

As per FBref, the Italy international ranks among the top 8% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles per 90, highlighting the defensive fortitude that has led his Hammers teammate Flynn Downes to gush over his "unbelievable" qualities.

While he will likely be pitted against a dangerous opponent in Eagles right-winger Michael Olise, the £95k-per-week defender has showcased his ability and then some since joining West Ham from Chelsea in a £13m deal in 2022 and will bring the robust, tough-tackling approach needed to quiet his adversary.

Indeed, Olise is regarded as “one of the best wide playmakers in Europe" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and while he has caught the eye with his goalscoring this season, bagging six times from just nine starts, he has also averaged 1.9 key passes, 2.3 dribbles and 6.2 successful duels per game.

He will present a tough test, but Emerson's return to the starting line-up will provide Moyes' side with the mettle needed to secure victory, providing a base for the likes of Paqueta – who boasts 15 goals and assists this season in all competitions – up ahead to find holes and send the away end into rapture.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

A round-up from the opening day of the latest Sheffield Shield round as teams push to play NSW in the final

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2020ScorecardNathan Ellis took his second consecutive six-wicket haul as the bowlers dominated on the opening day between Tasmania and New South Wales in Hobart. Ellis’ 6 for 43 helped bundle out the runaway Shield leaders for 195, but they fought back in the final session as Sean Abbott took three wickets.Ellis claimed his first of the day when Daniel Solway was given lbw to a ball that may have gone past leg stump then continued to work his way through the New South Wales batting. Nick Larkin’s 45 was the top score and he fell when he nicked a very wide delivery from Gabe Bell, who collected the other four wickets.Abbott helped even up the ledger before stumps, starting with a diving caught-and-bowled to remove Alex Doolan when an inside edge ballooned off the pad back to the bowler. Jordan Silk was lbw playing no shot and Jake Doran edged a drive into his stumps.ScorecardSam Harper struck a half-century on his return from the concussion he suffered during the Big Bash on an evenly-fought opening day in Adelaide. Harper’s half-century lifted Victoria to 292 after a middle-order wobble which had seen them lose 5 for 53 from being 1 for 137. Daniel Worrall and Joe Mennie took four wickets apiece.Half-centuries from Marcus Harris and the prolific Nic Maddinson had set a strong base for Victoria who are continuing to push for a chance to defend their title in the final. However, things fell away after Harris picked out point off Wes Agar. Peter Handscomb fell cheaply when he edged a lifter to second slip and Maddinson was caught at long leg in extraordinary fashion when Mennie fell over before the ball reached him, but he managed to retain the composure to hold the catch. A seventh-wicket stand of 90 between Harper and Peter Siddle steadied the innings before another late slide saw Victoria’s last four wickets go for 12 runs.ScorecardMichael Neser and Cameron Gannon picked up four wickets apiece as Western Australia, who had a number of batsmen getting starts but a best of only 51, folded for 277 in Perth. Once the bowlers were done, Queensland openers Bryce Street and Joe Burns ensured there were no late setbacks, batting out the four overs before close of play.Asked to bat, WA got off to a decent start courtesy Jake Carder and Sam Whiteman, who put on 34 for the opening wicket, which was followed by a Whiteman-Shaun Marsh stand of 76 for the second wicket. But things started unravelling quickly after that, especially once Whiteman was sent back by Neser for 51. From 4 for 169, WA were quickly reduced to 8 for 185 and then 9 for 209 as Gannon, in the main, and Neser made merry. It was only because of some big-hitting from No. 10 Josh Nicholas, who scored a 42-ball 44 with six fours and two sixes, and David Moody’s 31 not out in 59 balls from No. 11 that WA reached a respectable score.

Since Marcelo Bielsa left Leeds United it’s felt as though the club have embarked upon nothing but a downward spiral.

The era of Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce was somewhat of a circus, but Daniel Farke has at least restored some peace, so we thought anyway.

Sadly, the circus returned at Loftus Road on a Friday night that may have ruined Leeds’ hopes of automatic promotion.

The Whites were in the driver's seat to secure a top-two berth but were on the end of a gut-wrenching 4-0 hammering. How on earth did this happen? The script was ripped up entirely, with the Rs confirming their stay in the Championship. Farke’s men will hope the same eventuality doesn’t befall them.

Although the defence was ultimately Leeds’ downfall, Illan Meslier at fault for a number of goals, there was a selection that "backfired" – as the Athletic’s Phil Hay put it – in attack.

That happened to be Joel Piroe. With Patrick Bamford out injured, the manager admitted post-game that the Dutchman was the “natural replacement.” Really? Is he really?

Mateo Joseph will no doubt feel hard done by.

Joel Piroe’s performance in numbers

It wasn’t long ago that the forward was banging in the goals on a regular basis for Swansea City.

Last term, the 24-year-old found the net on 20 occasions in all competitions. This season, however, he has not found the same level of form.

14 goals have been notched by the former Swan, with just 12 of them coming in the league. Granted, he has played as an attacking midfielder for much of the campaign. Though, with that in mind, why was he the lone central forward in London on Friday evening? Farke certainly has a lot to answer for after a horror show in the capital.

Writing after the match, Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth brutally gave Piroe a 2/10 rating, noting that he was ‘nowhere near it in the first half’ and also did ‘little to impact the QPR defence in or out of possession.’

Harsh? Yes. True? Yes again. The stats certainly don’t paint a pretty picture of their 2023 signing.

Piroe left the field having amassed a dismal xG of 0.14 and boasted 47 touches, just three more than error-prone Meslier.

Amazingly, he did manage to supply four key passes but the rest of his game was dismal. The Netherlands-born striker failed to win any of his six aerial duels and was victorious in only two of his five ground duels. His night was then rather summed up with a "senseless" free-kick – in the words of Hay – late in the game, blasting high and handsomely off target.

To make matters even worse, Piroe also gave the ball away 12 times, once every seven minutes.

Even if Bamford continues to remain on the sidelines, Farke must steer clear of starting Piroe again this season. Joseph, although inexperienced, deserves his chance to shine and help lift Leeds to promotion.

They aren’t down and out yet, but the drama of the play-offs is now likely to be on the cards. It’s nervy times indeed at Elland Road.

United States women's national team star Lynn Williams has revealed how she broke her Olympic gold medal after Emma Hayes' side triumphed in Paris.

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Williams helped USWNT win Olympic gold in FranceBut broke her medal in the celebrationsGotham forward has now revealed howWHAT HAPPENED?

Williams was part of the U.S. roster that stood on top of the podium at the Games in France, featuring in all six matches at a tournament that ended with Mallory Swanson's strike defeating Brazil in the gold medal match.

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However, in the celebrations that followed the USWNT's success, which were well-documented by players across social media, the 31-year-old broke her Olympic gold medal. Almost two weeks since images of her revealing as much first appeared, Williams has now told the story of how it happened.

WHAT WILLIAMS SAID

In a video posted to her account, Williams explained: "How did I break my medal? How did I get the world's most expensive coaster? Your medal has a little string on it obviously and there was a bar that was holding the ribbon onto my neck. Obviously, you guys all saw me swinging the thing around. Ironically, that's not how it broke. I'm sure it didn't help but that's not how it broke.

"So, I was swinging it around and it was fine and then we were dancing. I had it on my shoulder like a little purse and I was just jumping dancing and I jumped down and it just fell off. Everyone was dancing and I was roaming around trying to get my medal off the ground. It has a dent now so it's definitely one of a kind and the little bar is gone, so I don't know what happened, the bar got loose and fell out.

"Like I said, probably swinging it around didn't help but I think that they should have made these better, they should have made them more sturdy and honestly I can't be faulted for that," she continued, tongue-in-cheek.

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Williams also revealed that she has spoken to the International Olympic Committee about either getting the medal fixed or replaced. "I don't know if I'm going to get it fixed, we are waiting to hear from the IOC, the Olympic Committee," she said. "They said I could probably get one, I had to prove to them that it was in fact damaged, but now we're just waiting to see. If not, honestly I think it's a cool funny story."

Aston Villa have plenty of incentive heading into this evening's clash against Liverpool as a win will guarantee them a place in the Champions League next season.

Along with the riches that come with qualification, Unai Emery will also be able to lure higher quality players to his side during the summer transfer window.

The Spaniard will be hoping for a much-improved display than what was on offer against Olympiacos last week as the club slumped to a 2-0 defeat.

A couple of players underperformed, most notably Moussa Diaby and his place in the starting XI could be at risk.

Moussa Diaby’s game in numbers vs Olympiacos

The Frenchman started on the left of a four-man midfield, yet really struggled to get going in a match which required a fast start from the visitors.

Not only did the winger fail to register a single shot during the match, but he also created zero big chances and made no key passes while succeeding with just 25% of his dribble attempts.

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

29

Total shots

0

Possession lost

11

Via Sofascore

This lack of attacking enthusiasm was combined with a lacklustre approach defensively. Despite being on the pitch for just 58 minutes, Diaby managed to lose possession 11 times while winning just one of his five contested ground duels, showing how easily bullied off the ball he was.

The player to replace Moussa Diaby vs Liverpool

The 24-year-old was replaced by Jhon Duran and perhaps the Colombian deserves a chance in the starting XI against Jürgen Klopp’s men?

The prodigious talent has not exactly enjoyed the most fruitful of seasons, but this has been down to the incredible 27-goal haul from Ollie Watkins.

Emery tends to use the Englishman as a lone striker, resulting in Duran having to settle for a place on the bench.

Against Liverpool however, the Spaniard should opt for a 4-4-2, a formation he has used a few times this term. This could see Diaby dropped to the bench while Duran partners Watkins up top.

The 6 foot 1 “handful” – as so dubbed by Gary Neville in 2023 – has scored six goals in 35 appearances this season, which isn’t exactly prolific.

Factoring in how many starts he has had – nine in all competitions – it doesn’t look as bad, relying on opportunities off the bench, especially in the Premier League.

Despite averaging just 19 minutes per game in the top flight, Duran has netted three goals, succeeded with 40% of his dribble attempts and averaged 0.7 shots per game. Not outstanding stats by any stretch of the imagination, but if he could secure a place in the starting XI more often, they would no doubt increase.

He could certainly be a wildcard option for Emery to use against the Anfield side this evening. With Champions League qualification there for the taking, the Villa players will surely need no further incentive than to go out and win the match.

The Reds have won just two of their previous six Premier League games and this should give Emery plenty of hope heading into the clash.

Wrexham remain unbeaten in League One after another strong display against Peterborough, with the Red Dragons winning 2-0 and moving into the top two.

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Marriott and Cleworth give WrexhamwinPeterborough suffer second League One lossRed Dragons unbeaten after four gamesGetty Images SportTELL ME MORE

Wrexham continue to excel in League One with another impressive victory over play-off hopefuls Peterborough. Goals from Jack Marriott and Max Cleworth, both before the break, saw the Welsh side move level on points with Stockport at the top of the table, and although they notched their eighth league goal already, Wrexham managed to firmly keep the Posh at bay. Marriott opened the scoring when his deflected shot lofted over Jed Steer in the 28th minute, and with six minutes left until half-time, Cleworth was the strongest to head Thomas O'Connor's header in.

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Before the game, Wrexham had only won twice in their last 17 Football League away games at Peterborough (D5 L10), most recently doing so in February 2002 (3-2), but they picked a good time to break that torrid run, with a statement win in Cambridgeshire.

THE MVP

Marriott doesn't have the easiest role as a footballer, with his task at the start of the campaign to try and replace the goals that Paul Mullin has so regularly brought to Phil Parkinson's side. His previous year's tally of one in 17 probably suggested that it would be unwise to think he could, but after four games this campaign he has two goals. His second goal of the season was a vital one to settle Wrexham, who didn't have complete control of this game, but after he opened the scoring nerves seemed to settle and on they went to victory.

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It was a dim day for Darren Ferguson'sside. After a disastrous opening two games, they won their last couple but returned to the start-of-season form against Wrexham. They may have seen more of the ball but really struggled to penetrate through the Red Dragons' golden defence and test Arthur Okonkwo. Ferguson's side lingers in midtable and although early on in the campaign, there is an inconsistent feel going forward.

The possibility of scheduling the match later in the summer has also been ruled out

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2020Owing to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Scotland have cancelled their one-off T20 fixture against Australia scheduled for June 29 at The Grange. The possibility of scheduling it later in the summer has also been ruled out, given the costs and logistics involved for staging just one match.While announcing the news, Gus Mackay, CEO of Cricket Scotland, said, “Whilst this is disappointing news for us all in Scotland, we have explored all potential options and concluded that it is no longer possible to play the men’s T20 international against Australia.”Australia were also due to play three ODIs and T20Is each in England this summer, the revised dates for which are being worked out for September by both the boards.Full coverage – List of all cricket events affected by the Covid-19 pandemic