Category: 6. Sports

Alexander Isak still wants to leave Newcastle, Manchester United close in on goalkeeper Senne Lammens and Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid among clubs eyeing Kobbie Mainoo.

Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, has told Newcastle he still wants to leave for Liverpool despite the intervention of club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and a meeting with co-owner Jamie Reuben. (Telegraph – subscription required, external)

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with Real Betis for 25-year-old Brazil winger Antony to return to the Spanish club in what could be an initial loan with an obligation to buy. (Telegraph – subscription required, external)

Manchester United are also hoping to agree personal terms with goalkeeper Senne Lammens in order to sign the 23-year-old Belgian from Royal Antwerp before the transfer window closes. (Telegraph – subscription required, external)

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are keeping tabs on Manchester United’s England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as the 20-year-old looks for a move away after dropping down the pecking order at Old Trafford. (Mail, external)

Mainoo has also emerged as a target for Fulham, alongside Arsenal’s 25-year-old English winger Reiss Nelson. (Teamtalk, external)

Porto are close to agreeing a loan deal, with an obligation to buy, for Arsenal’s 25-year-old Poland defender Jakub Kiwior. (Sky Sports, external)

Crystal Palace are preparing for talks with Liverpool for English attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott, 22, as they accelerate plans to find a replacement for England international Eberechi Eze, 27, who joined Arsenal. (Football Insider, external)

Bayer Leverkusen and Galatasaray are set to rival Crystal Palace for the signature of 30-year-old Manchester City and Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji. (Independent), external

Brentford are considering a move for Borussia Dortmund’s 22-year-old Germany forward Max Beier, with the Bundesliga club also closing in on a deal to sign Portugal striker Fabio Silva, 23, from Wolves. (Sky Sports, external)

Roma have held talks with Chelsea and the representatives of Tyrique George over signing the 19-year-old English winger. (Gianluca di Marzio – in Italian, external)

Alejandro Garnacho has rejected a new approach from a Saudi Pro League club in the last 48 hours as talks between Manchester United and Chelsea for the 21-year-old Argentina winger remain very advanced. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

West Ham are close to a £17.3m deal to sign AS Monaco’s 21-year-old French midfielder Soungoutou Magassa. (Guardian, external)

A loan deal for Nottingham Forest’s Ivory Coast defensive midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, 27, is also being explored by West Ham, who are interested in Strasbourg’s French midfielder Junior Mwanga, 22, and Middlesbrough’s English midfielder Hayden Hackney, 23. (Sky Sports, external)

Nottingham Forest have had an initial offer of about £10m for Italian right-back Nicolo Savona, 22, rejected by Juventus. (Gianluca di Marzio – in Italian, external)

Crystal Palace have struck an agreement in principle with Villarreal for 22-year-old Spain midfielder Yeremy Pino in a deal that could be worth about £26m. (AS – in Spanish, external)

Liverpool midfielder James McConnell, 20, is set to join Ajax on loan for the 2025-26 season after the England Under-20 international signed a new five-year contract at the club. (Athletic – subscription required, external)

Three years after making history at the same venue, Neeraj Chopra will return to Switzerland’s iconic Letzigrund Stadium to compete in the men’s javelin throw competition at the Diamond League Final 2025 in Zurich on Thursday.

While the two-day athletics grand finale starts on Wednesday, Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw event at the Zurich Diamond League Final will start from 11:15 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) on Thursday.

The Zurich Diamond League Final 2025 will be available to watch on live streaming in India.

In 2022, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to become a Diamond League champion in any event. Interestingly, that year, the Final was also held in Zurich.

The Indian javelin ace also made the finals in the two subsequent editions held in Eugene and Brussels, respectively. However, on both occasions, he finished runners-up.

The Zurich Final marks the culmination of the 2025 Diamond League season, which featured 14 regular legs before the two-day finale.

The 27-year-old Indian athlete has competed in two Diamond League meets this season – finishing second in Doha with a national record-breaking 90.23m and winning the Paris leg with 88.16m.

Having secured his berth in the final, Neeraj opted to sit out the Silesia and Brussels leg of the 2025 Diamond League season, which also featured javelin throw competitions.

The javelin throw final in Zurich features a strong seven-man line-up, with six athletes ranked inside the world’s top 10.

Grenada’s Anderson Peters will enter the Zurich meet as the reigning Diamond League champion, having pipped Neeraj by a single centimetre in Brussels last year.

World leader Julian Weber of Germany, who beat Neeraj in Doha earlier this year, London 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott and former world title holder Julius Yego are also in the fray.

World No. 43 Simon Wieland is part of the field as the host nation’s entry.

Diamond League Final 2025: Javelin throw entry list

• Neeraj Chopra (India): SB 90.23m | PB 90.23m | World Ranking: 1
• Andrian Mardare (Moldova): SB 82.38m | PB 86.66m | World Ranking: 8
• Anderson Peters (Grenada): SB 85.64m | PB 93.07m | World Ranking: 2
• Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad & Tobago): SB 86.30m | PB 90.16m | World Ranking: 7
• Julian Weber (Germany): SB 91.06m | PB 91.06m | World Ranking: 3
• Simon Wieland (Switzerland): SB 79.33m | PB 79.44m | World Ranking: 43
• Julius Yego (Kenya): SB 84.51m | PB 92.72m | World Ranking: 4

The Zurich meet will also be the perfect stage for Neeraj to prepare for his big title defence at the World Championships scheduled in Tokyo next month.

The likes of Peters, Walcott and Weber will be expected to be the biggest threats to his world champion title in Japan besides reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who has skipped this year’s Diamond League altogether.

Overall, Neeraj has competed in six events this season, winning four and finishing second twice. His last competitive outing was at the NC Classic in Bengaluru on July 5, where he won with an 86.18m effort.

Where to watch Diamond League Final 2025 live in India

Live streaming of the Zurich Diamond League 2025 athletics meet will be available to watch on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel and Facebook page. The Zurich Final will not be telecast live on any TV channels in India.

SASSUOLO, Italy — Veteran Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic signed a one-year contract with promoted Serie A club Sassuolo on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old Matic’s contract with Lyon was recently terminated by mutual consent. He brings a wealth of experience following long spells at Chelsea and Manchester United.

It will mark Matic’s second season in the Italian league after playing under Jose Mourinho at Roma in 2022-23.

Sassuolo won Serie B last season. The Emilia-Romagna club was beaten 2-0 by defending champion Napoli in their Serie A opener on Saturday.

The deal includes an automatic renewal for a second season if certain objectives are reached.

NEW YORK — Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Janice Tjen started playing tennis when her friend Priska Madelyn Nugroho invited her on court.

“My parents just like, ‘Yeah, just go play the sport, just having exercise,’” Tjen told reporters at the US Open. “So I’m not going to be in my room just doing nothing.”

Fast forward to last Friday, when Tjen did something special, throwing down a 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 3 qualifying seed Aoi Ito to secure a spot in the main draw. She became the first Indonesian player to compete in a major since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 US Open. And then she upset No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova in a three-set, first-round match, equaling Widjaja’s effort at the 2023 Wimbledon championships.

The Unisphere, symbolizing the vast world we live in, is an iconic stainless steel sculpture dominating the entrance at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. But as we’ve seen, the world today is shrinking at the elite levels of tennis. Once upon a time, the United States, Australia and Great Britain dominated the game. 

Now, we’re seeing some distinctly non-tennis nations creeping into the mix — and their players are bringing a new, non-traditional flavor to the game. Beyond Tjen, consider the events of the past three days at this US Open:

• Alexandra Eala defeated No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11), becoming the first woman from the Philippines to win a main-draw match at a Grand Slam.
• Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, a former junior No. 1, was the first Andorran ever in a Grand Slam main draw before falling to Maya Joint on Tuesday.
• Renata Zarazua stunned No. 6 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, becoming the first Mexican woman to beat a Top 10 seed in three decades.

“I think definitely tennis is becoming a bit more popular, more global,” Zarazua said after her shocking win over Keys. “I would say a lot of people are watching a bit more than before maybe.”

Safe to say, they’ll be watching Wednesday when Tjen meets Emma Raducanu in a high-profile, second-round match. Raducanu is another nod to the game’s growing diversity. She was born in Toronto, Canada, while her father Ion is from Bucharest, Romania and her mother Renee hails from Shenyang, China. Raducanu was raised in Bromley, England, the country she represents.

Tjen was playing for Pepperdine University when Raducanu won the 2021 US Open.

“I was injured at the time, so I get to watch a lot of tennis,” Tjen said. “Just seeing her doing it makes me, like, inspired me, like, to be able to do it, as well.”

The Minister of Happiness

The recent patron saint of global tennis is Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.

When she reached the Wimbledon final three years ago, Jabeur became the first Arab or African woman to contest a major final. It was a highlight in a stirring string of firsts, including rising to the World No. 2 ranking.

Jabeur has always taken her role as a role model very seriously.

“Sometimes I really doubt myself and the fact that I would be letting people down, that will affect me more than anything else,” she once said. “I know part of Ons Jabeur playing is being Tunisian and that blood will help me play and make history.”

Jabeur, currently taking a break from professional tennis, played with an undeniable joy, leading to her memorable nickname. With a diverse game as eclectic as her roots, Jabeur demonstrated what was possible for so many young girls around the world.

Eala was one of them.

Still a teenager at the Miami Open, she set off on a stunning run to the semifinals, defeating Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek along the way. Her ranking soared to No. 72 — from No. 140 — and she was granted direct entry into the US Open main draw.

Trailing Tauson 5-1 in the third set, Eala produced a furious comeback and forced a tiebreak, ultimately converting her fifth match point.

“To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in,” Eala, now 20, said afterward. “And you know, I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful that they made me feel like I’m home.”

Playing against an American in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zarazua didn’t enjoy that advantage. Previously, she was 0-6 against Top 10 players and Keys couldn’t have been a more imposing opponent.

And yet, the 5-foot-3 Mexican — continuously scrambling on defense — retrieved Keys’ powerful groundstrokes and, ultimately, outlasted her.

Before the match, Zarazua said she was so nervous she was nearly in tears.

“I didn’t want the nerves to be what let me down in the match,” she explained. “Yeah, the fear, the nerves, all of that, just tried to leave them on the side and just focus on my game and what I had to do.”

A talent for tennis

To understand Jimenez Kasintseva’s extraordinary journey to New York, it helps to know a little geography.

Andorra — officially it’s the Principality of Andorra — is a tiny, land-locked nation nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains, which straddle the border between France and Spain. It is the16^th smallest country by land (181 square miles) and 11^th smallest by population (87,486). For context, Billings, Montana, Edison, New Jersey and Lakeland, Florida all have similar populations.

Jimenez Kasintseva’s Andorran father Joan was a former ATP Tour player and continues to oversee her training in Barcelona. The family moved from Andorra to Kentucky for three years when Victoria was four and began to develop a talent for tennis.

At 14, she was the youngest player in the Australian Open girls’ singles draw — and won the title. She was the first Andorran to win a junior major crown and the youngest to win a junior championship since Coco Gauff at 2018 Roland Garros.

She’s the quintessential global athlete, speaking Spanish, French, English and Russian — all fluently — as well as her native Catalan.

Here in New York, the 20-year-old has been a revelation. Jimenez Kasintseva won three qualifying matches against opponents from traditional tennis powers, including a pair of promising 17-year-olds. She was leading Joint — a 19-year-old Australian already ranked among the Top 50 in the PIF WTA Rankings — 5-1 in the second set of their first-round match, but fell 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Tjen, meanwhile, made it to Wednesday’s second-round collision with Raducanu, a featured 11 a.m. match in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

After graduating from Pepperdine with a degree in sociology last May, she’s gone from being unranked to No. 149 by finding success at the ITF level. She had a 27-match, 42-set winning streak earlier this year and has a total of 13 titles. Tjen has a pleasingly diverse game of slices and net play that reminds people of Ashleigh Barty.

After qualifying, to make some Indonesian history, followed by the upset of Kudermetova, the magnitude hadn’t registered.

“I think I’m still not processing the emotion,” Tjen told reporters. “Yeah, I’m very happy being able to advance and got a little bit emotional there. Very happy.”

What does it mean to win for Indonesia?

“It means a lot,” Tjen said. “I feel proud to be able to do this for my country. Hopefully, by me making appearance here, will help, will inspire more tennis players, younger kids to play tennis and also believing that they can be here, too.”

 

Editor’s Note: Power Rankings is a feature after every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in which INDYCAR.com staff writer Eric Smith ranks the top-10 current drivers in the series based on objective recent and season-long performance statistics and the subjective “eye test” of what he sees during race weekends.

Christian Rasmussen earned his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in Sunday’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250, holding off 2025 series champion Alex Palou in a thrilling finish. Teammate Alexander Rossi placed fourth as Ed Carpenter Racing put two drivers in the top five at the finish for the first time in team history.

Despite the loss, Palou retains the No. 1 spot in Power Rankings following the 16th race of the 17-race season.

Here’s how the rest of Power Rankings shape up heading into the final race of the season at Nashville Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network):

↓10. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 5)

Herta (photo, above) had a quiet weekend but maintained consistency with his fourth straight 11th-place finish. He earned the Jostens Hard Charger award after climbing from the 24th starting position.

↑9. David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR)

Malukas returns to the Power Rankings after missing out post-Portland. He impressed with a second-place start at Milwaukee but dropped to 18th and a lap down following a slow second pit stop due to a malfunctioning air gun. Malukas rallied to finish eighth, his third top-10 in the last five races.

↔8. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 8)

Dixon (photo, above) logged his 10th straight top-11 finish with a ninth-place result at Milwaukee. The only drawbacks are he has not led a lap in the last six races and is averaging a 9.8 qualifying position in that span.

↓7. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 St. Thomas University Honda; Last Rank: 6)

Armstrong extended his strong season with a 10th-place finish in Milwaukee, his 11th of the year and ninth in the last 10 races.

↑6. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR)

Rossi (top photo, left) makes his first Power Rankings appearance since being ranked ninth after Barber in May and earned his best ranking in the last 21 races. After going without a top-five finish in the first 14 events, he’s now posted two in a row after placing fifth at Portland and fourth in Milwaukee.

↑5. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR)

Rasmussen (top photo, right) became the 302nd driver to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race and the first Ed Carpenter Racing winner since Rinus VeeKay in the Sonsio Grand Prix in May 2021. With four top-10 finishes in his last six races, he’s earned a career-best ranking. Despite having the third-most oval points this season, his 20th-place rank on road and street circuits has held him back.

↑4. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Sonsio Vehicle Protection Chevrolet; Last Rank: 9)

McLaughlin (photo, above) jumps back into the top five for the first time since ranking third after the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10. He’s on a roll with three consecutive top-10 finishes, improving each week from 10th at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, to seventh at Portland and third at Milwaukee.

↓3. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2)

Lundgaard drops one spot despite finishing sixth in Milwaukee, marking his third top-seven finish in five oval starts this season. He’s logged four top-six finishes in his last five races, including three consecutively. He and Armstrong are tied for the fourth-most top-10 finishes this season.

↑2. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 4)

O’Ward (photo, above) rebounded from a mechanical failure at Portland with his 10th top-five finish of the season – second most in the series this season. He has recorded six top-five finishes in the last seven races and has clinched a second-place points finish.

↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1)

Palou led 199 of 250 laps from the pole but finished second at Milwaukee. Still, he boasts 13 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 16 starts, including seven top-five finishes in the last eight races.

This time last year, Boutler was a seeded player at Flushing Meadows but is now in danger of slipping out of the world’s top 50 after a difficult season.

The powerful baseliner has never reached the second week of a major and seemed to lack confidence at times against Kostyuk – seemingly systematic of her lack of her form.

Despite only winning once in her past eight matches, Boulter said she had regained her “buzz”.

Boulter believed she had found a new perspective after taking “days off away from the sport” following the Canadian Open last month.

“You can look at the results and think ‘she’s having a tough time’, but I’m actually really excited,” she said.

“I lost it a couple of weeks ago in Montreal and I’d say that is a pivotal moment in my career.

“It was a full reset in the middle of the US hard-court swing and I think I’m in a good place to move forward.”

Saving five match points as she served at 5-3 illustrated how Boulter will not stop fighting and helped her create three break points in the 10th game.

However, Kostyuk recovered to serve out the match and move into the second round.

Boulter coped fine with the hotter conditions and put her struggles down to the tweaks she has been trying to make to her serve.

“I’m trying to find rhythm and don’t fully commit to the serve I’m going for,” added Boulter, who was broken four times.

“At this level, putting the serve in the court is not going to get it done.

“Otherwise, on the court, I matched Marta well and returned decently well. Considering my form it was a relatively competitive match.”

Elsewhere, eighth seed Amanda Anisimova made it safely through to the second round by beating Australian Kim Birrell 6-3 6-2.

American Anisimova, playing her first Grand Slam match since being beaten 6-0 6-0 by Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, hit 17 unforced errors in the opening set but improved markedly in the second.

She won the last five games of the match to set up a second-round meeting with another Australian, teenager Maya Joint.

However, her compatriot Danielle Collins made an early exit for the second consecutive year, winning just two games as she was beaten by Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.

World number 50 Cristian prevailed 6-2 6-0 against 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist Collins, who was hampered by a back injury.

Meanwhile, two-time champion Naomi Osaka – seeded 23rd – cruised past Belgium’s Greet Minnen in a 6-3 6-4 win.

Russian Diana Shnaider, the 20th seed, also went out after Germany’s Laura Siegemund secured a 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3 victory over the 21-year-old.

The same points keep cropping up when people who know Ngumoha talk about him: he has a great mentality, is a top dribbling talent, and that his brother James has been crucial to his development.

Ngumoha, who has represented England U15s, U16s and U17s, played at the Ole Futsal Academy in small-sided matches alongside his development in Chelsea’s academy.

Ole Futsal owner Alfie Brooks told BBC Sport: “Rio was outstanding and the same player now as when he was on television last night.

“His footwork and first touch were outstanding from an early age but what set him apart was his ability to execute those skills at speed. He can beat players with ease, he is very technical.

“If he stays in the same pathway, he can reach any level he wants.”

Saul Isaksson-Hurst was both Ngumoha’s coach at Under-9s level and worked with him in a private capacity later in his career.

“We managed to get him from the clutches of Arsenal,” he said. “He was a phenomenal talent at U9s.

“I don’t say it lightly, he is one of the best academy talents I have come across, and I have seen some top players become superstars.

“What makes him stand out is his one-v-one ability on the ball – he can break lines, drive at players, beat players on either side and end product.

“I told his brother I expect him to see him on the Ballon d’Or list one day, I believe he can do that.”

Isaksson-Hurst has one particular standout memory:

“I remember we went to a tournament in France and all the biggest academies were there like Juventus, Ajax and Anderlecht and we went out in the group stage,” he said.

“But Rio won player of the tournament and that never happens in youth football. It usually goes to the winner who wins the competition.

“He stood out that much that he was the outlier not just in England but across Europe. He is a top talent, good mentality and with the potential to go all the way.”