The Guardian

Fee for forward could be as high as £850,000 The 26-year-old has one year remaining on contract Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign the France forward Melvine Malard from Manchester United for a fee that would be a club-record sale. It is understood the transfer fee could be as high as approximately £850,000, although some sources have suggested the deal will be closer to £750,000. The discu…

Australian athlete, 27, won two Olympic gold medals in Paris Jack served a doping ban after Ligandrol was found in her system Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has announced she will retire after the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. In a video posted on Instagram in which Jack spoke with her coach Dean Boxall, the freestyler fought back tears as she said the Games – from 23 July to 2 August – would be…

Falklands conflict adds ‘emotional’ edge to semi-final Manager has ‘no problem’ with Bellingham after outburst Thomas Tuchel believes England will face an Argentina team “fuelled by history” in their World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday. It will be the sixth time that the nations have met at the tournament with the previous three coming after the Falklands war of 1982. The most controvers…

Emerging stars need a leg up from media and marketing teams to ensure they get the recognition they deserve By any measure it is a remarkable achievement. While many have fantasised about how it might feel to score a try for the All Blacks, no one in history has now lived that dream more frequently than Will Jordan. At the weekend the New Zealand wing took his tally to 50 tries in only 56 appeara…

‘Boston cone’ arrives to fanfare in first-class seat from Glasgow before planned trip to raise money for mental health Fresh off its first-class flight from Glasgow, it received a reception befitting a visiting dignitary: a bagpiper in full regalia playing inside Boston Logan international airport. Waiting to greet it were diplomats, the governor and Boston’s mayor. The guest of honor? An orange …

The full-back was supposed to be busy shackling France’s vaunted front line but found time to score the killer goal at the other end “Let me loose in a prison and I’ll end up owning the place,” Pedro Porro once said. Let him loose in the penalty area and that will belong to him too. The whole world might: to him and the entire gang. When the Spain right-back burst into the box like a jail break, …

France finally let loose all their attacking power in this tournament and yet when the big test came against Spain they were too open Maybe Didier Deschamps was right all along. He has been criticised over his 14 years in the France job for being too cautious, for prioritising control, for not unleashing his great fleet of attacking players. In this tournament, his last as national manager, Desch…

Consider this a spectacular telling-off for anyone tempted to cast Spain as underdogs. How they enjoyed dishing the lesson out here, booking a showdown in New Jersey on Sunday and reducing France to passengers. Didier Deschamps’ team had been billed as champions elect but their feted attack was never in the game. For Kylian Mbappé it will be another four-year wait to conquer the globe; he was an …

England 258 lost to India 262-4 by six wickets All-rounders share century stand to secure victory A recent ascent to No 1 in the men’s T20 rankings saved one half of Brendon McCullum’s job as England head coach and yet half of that half – one-day international cricket – continues to be a struggle. A six-wicket defeat by India in the series opener at Edgbaston was England’s 13th ODI loss since McC…

Midfielder signs from Aston Villa for about £35m Villa to have Visit Rwanda as front-of-shirt sponsor Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Youri Tielemans for about £35m on a five-year deal, with the midfielder stating he wants to help “push for the biggest trophies”. The 29-year-old will join from Aston Villa and follows United’s recruitment of another midfielder, Andrey Santos, who i…

World No 1 not interested in his legacy in the game Scheffler missed first cut in 79 events at Scottish Open Something about the Open Championship seems to bring out the philosopher in Scottie Scheffler. Last year the world’s best golfer questioned the meaning of life before claiming his fourth major title. This year, though, it was his legacy that was more on his mind. Scheffler was in an ebulli…

The Open marks end of the short sweep that began with the Masters, but big names can see benefit of extending its run Perhaps it is not the when but instead the where. Golf’s majors in present form feel far too condensed, too brief. Jon Rahm, a two-time winner on the biggest stages, has more interest in the fact three out of four take place in the United States than their position on the calendar…

‘I have haters’ race leader says after boos at finish Evenepoel finishes second, 32 seconds behind Slovenian Tadej Pogacar extended his lead in the Tour de France with another imperious solo victory on the 10th stage to Le Lioran, in the Massif Central. The Slovenian now leads the Tour by more than a three and a half minutes from longtime rival Jonas Vingegaard, who wilted and lost more time to t…

Mexico 1986, France 1998, Japan 2002 … this is a match that transcends, with Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni calling for the focus to be on football, not the Falklands After confirmation that match 102, one of the World Cup semi-finals, would be England v Argentina, the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict was mentioned at Lionel Scaloni’s press conference. “No, no, no,” the Argentina head coach …