The Guardian

The France forward took his time to develop but his attacking verve and ability to exploit spaces can endear him to Liverpool fans “As a kid, he always spoke to me about Liverpool,” says one of Bradley Barcola’s youth coaches, Amaury Barlet. No wonder that when the Merseyside club came knocking, the forward “didn’t ask any questions”, as he said in his first interview after a £123m move to Anfiel…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Seb Hutchinson and R obyn Cowen to preview the upcoming Premier League weekend Continue reading...

The league is awash with ultra-wealthy owners. Adam Silver is hoping a hefty punishment for the Clippers will send them a message about who is in charge When Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2bn in 2014, it was widely regarded as a coup for the NBA. Not only is Ballmer one of the richest men in the world – worth an estimated $152.7bn – but his passion and enthusiasm for the spor…

From Maynor Figueroa’s son Keyrol at Wigan to Spurs’s Irish forward Melia at Lincoln and Stockport keeper Whatmuff, we look at nine to keep an eye on Goalkeepers are supposed to peak at about 30, which makes one wonder how good the 18-year-old Whatmuff will be at that point. He spent last season playing professionally, earning promotion from the National League with Rochdale under the tutelage of…

Potential buys rejected for sporting or economic reasons Preference was ‘best players’ not specific right-winger Andoni Iraola has defended Liverpool’s summer transfer strategy and said the club’s priority was to sign quality over quantity. Liverpool had the highest net spend in the Premier League, with Bradley Barcola, signed for a potential £123m , added to a front line that includes the £125m …

At the top end, the title race is wide open from the outset, with Manchester City bidding to retain their crown It has been a summer of change for women’s football in England, with expansion of the Women’s Super League to 14 teams bringing three new sides into the fold, huge transfers hitting the headlines, changes to the League Cup and a new name on the WSL trophy as we prepare for kick-off on F…

Live updates, 1pm BST start, from the ODI in Derby Sign up to get The Spin newsletter | And email Taha Hello, hello, hello and welcome to coverage of the second one-day international between England and Ireland. The opener was a record-breaker in Leicester, with the hosts pulling off their highest ODI chase in reaching 282: Sophia Dunkley gave it a thump with a 61-ball 73 while Maia Bouchier went…

Could the vain pursuit of ‘dream’ signings such as Vinícius Júnior at the expense of all-round strengthening come to haunt the champions? When Mikel Arteta revealed before Arsenal’s win at Aston Villa that he had pleaded with the Premier League to introduce bigger matchday squads, the final 24 hours of the transfer window was not quite what he would have had in mind. A deadline day on which Manch…

Teenage striker racially abused on social media Club working with authorities to find those responsible Hull City have condemned racist ⁠abuse directed at their new signing Robinio Vaz on ⁠social media ⁠and ​said they were working with authorities to identify ⁠those responsible. The 19-year-old striker joined the promoted ⁠Premier League side on loan ​from Roma ‌on transfer deadline day. Vaz’s mo…

A decade after Kaepernick’s quiet protest shook the NFL, his exile looks less like an aberration than a blueprint for the culture war that followed America likes nice round numbers, perfect for anniversaries and reflections, and it has, suddenly, been 10 years since Colin Kaepernick first protested police killings – more accurately, police killings of Black people that went unpunished either inte…

The founder of The Ringer and Grantland was famous for discovering and developing writers. Now he is promoting a technology eroding the creative industries Bill Simmons may have stopped writing with any regularity in the mid-2010s – he claims his fingers don’t work – but that won’t stop him from reminding you of his greatest hits. On a recent podcast about Russell Westbrook’s retirement , he coul…

At this week’s world championship, the women’s record holder who once feared a 5K will try to top her own 144-hour distance – and beat the US men’s mark While many teachers head back to school this week, middle-school math teacher Megan Eckert will be 5,000 miles from her classroom in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has a good reason to miss a few classes: she’ll be competing at the Global Organization…

PSG reluctant to let Echegini join Manchester City New United coach Olid promises ‘attacking’ style Arsenal are expected to finalise the signing of the France defender Élisa De Almeida before the 11pm BST Women’s Super League transfer deadline. The club are understood to have agreed a fee of just over £500,000 with Paris Saint-Germain for the 28-year-old. PSG, for whom De Almeida has played since…

Action from around the County Championship grounds Mail Tanya , post BTL | Sign up to get The Spin newsletter Warwickshire’s captain Ed Barnard on Yates and Mousley’s unbroken second wicket stand of 127 against Hampshire: “To be put in on what could have been a difficult wicket, I thought Yates and Mousley were excellent. I thought the first hour was exceptional. It was perfect bowling conditions…

Forecast of unfavourable weather cited as reason Aircraft passed less than ‌50 feet above stadium South African airline Airlink has cancelled a planned flypast before Saturday’s Springboks-All ⁠Blacks rugby test as the country’s aviation regulator reviews a similar display conducted by the airline last ⁠week . Airlink said on ⁠Wednesday ​it had withdrawn its application for a formation flyby ahea…