Category: 6. Sports

Defender Benjamin Arthur and goalkeeper Julian Eyestone have been promoted to Brentford’s first team.

They will be part of Keith Andrews’ squad from the beginning of the 2025/26 season and have both signed new long-term deals until the summer of 2031. The club has the option to extend Arthur’s contract by a further year and Eyestone’s stay by two years.

Arthur joined Brentford B from Peterborough United in August 2023 and has been a regular across the past two campaigns.

The 19-year-old centre-back made 19 appearances in the U21 Professional Development League last term. The young Bees beat Bournemouth 3-2 in a scintillating final at Vitality Stadium.

Arthur made a further eight outings in cup competitions, while also being included in first-team matchday squads on five occasions.

He scored a towering header in the Premier League Cup final loss to Queens Park Rangers and contributed two assists across a campaign which saw him named Under-21s Player of the Year.

“Winning Player of the Year is a great accolade for Benjamin individually and being promoted to the first team is fully deserved for his hard work and performances throughout the season,” said Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane.

“He has been a big presence in defence this year. Playing very consistently and confidently throughout the year, he and his team-mates got the success they deserved by winning the PDL national title.

“He will now look forward to joining the first team and hopefully continuing to show his very high potential as a young defender.”

Eyestone, a USA Under-20 international, signed for Brentford B from Duke University in June 2024 and quickly established himself in the starting line-up.

A graduate of FC Dallas Academy, Eyestone started in 16 PDL games and six cup fixtures, while he was also named amongst the substitutes for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United and Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

The 19-year-old shot-stopper kept seven clean sheets during 2024/25 and played a pivotal role as the young Bees enjoyed a successful campaign across all competitions.

“Julian is a very high potential young goalkeeper who improved as the season went on. He settled in so well after his move from America,” said MacFarlane.

“His infectious energy, character and willingness to improve his game saw him play a big part in our successes this season.

“Julian should be very proud of his season, making many big saves throughout, and he now has even more exciting times ahead with his well-deserved promotion to the first team.”

Watch interviews with the young duo below

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Arthur: A great feeling

Benjamin Arthur reacted to the news that he has been promoted to Brentford’s first team and provided some insight on what he is like as a centre-back.

“It’s a great feeling,” said the young defender.

“A lot of faith has been put in me and I think I’ve come off the back of a good season, so I’m very happy.

“I’m quite solid and strong, but I’m also composed on the ball and like to play with the ball at my feet.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming campaign, he added: “I want to make my debut. I’m just going to work hard and see what comes my way.”

Eyestone on first-team promotion and Kelleher

Goalkeeper Julian Eyestone reflected on his first year at Brentford, which saw him regularly train with the first-team goalkeepers, and looked ahead to the 2025/26 season when he will be a permanent member of Keith Andrews’ squad.

“It was a big goal of mine coming into my first year in the B team to get that promotion so to get it is a big accomplishment and I’m very happy,” said the USA Under-20 international.

“Being able to be that close with the first team as a B-team player was a big step for me and it made me feel a lot more comfortable. Now going into this year, I feel like I’ve been around these guys and I’m not a stranger.

“It’d be a dream to make my debut so I want to push for that, but also just getting better every day and working hard is my goal.”

On training with Caoimhín Kelleher, who joined the club from Liverpool on a permanent deal in June, Eyestone continued: “I’m really excited. I think it’ll be great to have a new face in the goalkeeper set-up. It’s always fun getting to know new guys and it’ll be fun getting to compete with him.”

Draper entered the championships as the world No.4 and with a spotlight on him more intense than he had experienced before.

It was an unfamiliar position for the Brit and it didn’t help he was facing an opponent much more experienced on this stage, contesting his 46th main-draw Wimbledon match compared to Draper’s seventh.

Cilic blasted 53 winners past him – Draper managed only 29 – to win 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 on No.1 Court.

“I don’t play many people on the tour that I feel like they completely bully me and take the racquet out of my hand,” said a shellshocked Draper. “I know it’s a grass court. I’m not sure what his stats were, but I’m sure he had an amazing match from the winners to unforced errors count.”

Indeed, Cilic committed only 34 unforced errors alongside his hefty winner tally, describing his level of play as “fantastic”.

Barely inside the top 200 at the beginning of the season, he is now 74th in the ATP live rankings.

“I didn’t have many Grand Slam victories in last couple of years, so was great to play great level from my side,” said Cilic, also a finalist at Australian Open 2018.

“I think I executed extremely well. So just enjoying this part that I’m playing well now last few weeks. Looking forward to continue to play well.”

In an ideal world, players would rather directly qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon than have to battle through three rounds of qualifying at nearby Roehampton.

With their place in the main draw guaranteed, those players can compete at tour-level events on grass – which offer far greater prize money and ranking points than Wimbledon qualifying – to get match practice on the lawns.

Yet as Wimbledon unfolds, it’s clear that players who gritted their way through the field at Roehampton have fared better at the All England Club in 2025.

PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode of The Tennis

Four qualifiers have reached the third round, while another two who competed at Roehampton – Solana Sierra and Marton Fucsovics – remain alive in the main draws as lucky losers.

By contrast, just three of the 11 grasscourt lead-in tournament champions have survived the first two rounds. Of the eight winners to have exited already, six fell in round one.
 

 

On this week’s episode of The Tennis, Australian pros Luke Saville and Jaimee Fourlis – who have both previously qualified for Wimbledon – talked about how beneficial it could be to arrive at the tournament via this route.

“There’s something very special when you do qualify and you earn that right to go into the locker room and walk around Wimbledon,” said Saville, who qualified three years in a row from 2014 to 2016.

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“If you want to see desperate tennis players, go to the last round of qualies for Wimbledon, because as Jaimee alluded to, you’re fighting to get into that main draw.

“You kind of feel like… you have to earn that right to get into the main draw [and access the main site at the All England Club], rather than here at the Australian Open, or the other Slams, you’re at least playing on site in the qualies.

“If you get through, and your matches haven’t been too long, you have great preparation going into the main draw, and we see quite a few qualifiers in the third round.”

Owen Farrell’s arrival on tour will lift the whole British and Irish Lions squad, says flanker Tadhg Beirne.

Farrell, 33, has been called up to replace the injured Elliot Daly, but lacks form and match fitness after an injury-interrupted season at French side Racing 92.

The decision by head coach Andy Farrell, Owen’s father, to overlook the likes of Scotland’s Tom Jordan and Darcy Graham, has attracted criticism.

But Beirne, who will captain the Lions in their match against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday, says Farrell’s leadership and experience of three previous tours will strengthen the tourists ahead of the Test series against Australia.

“He’s only going to bring some serious quality to the squad, so we’re looking forward to inviting him in here and getting to hang out with him,” said Beirne.

“Any type of leadership is only going to enhance the squad. Playing with him four years ago, I’ve seen all the leadership qualities that he brings, the quality of his talent as well. It’s going to do nothing but boost the squad, for sure.”

Daly, along with captain Maro Itoje and prop Tadhg Furlong, was one of three players in the initial squad to have played on two previous tours.

Top riders to watch in the 2025 Tour de France

Tadej Pogačar

It shouldn’t come as a shock to see the 26-year-old world champion’s name front and centre when discussing maillot jaune candidates. After all, he’s got three of them hung in his closest back home in Slovenia.

Nonetheless, Tadej Pogačar returns to France – and the roads that first introduced him to the world – with one goal in mind: winning his fourth Tour de France.

If his early-season form is any indication, the peloton should be nervous…very nervous.

Ranked No.1 in the world, Pogačar has been on an absolute tear this season, racking up one-day “classics” wins at Strade Bianche, Ronde van Vlaanderen, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Furthermore, he’s proven he’s more than a one-trick, or perhaps a single-day, pony, picking up general classification palmarès at the UAE Tour and Critérium du Dauphiné – an all-important tune-up race held weeks before the Tour de France.

Known for his aggressive style of riding and unwillingness to accept defeat until the very end, expect nothing short of adrenaline-inducing racing from Pogačar, as he attempts to make the French countryside his pièce de résistance once more.

Germany’s Thomas Rohler, a gold medallist from Rio 2016, feels that cricket may have played a defining role in India’s rapidly growing reputation in the sport of javelin throw.

Rohler theorised that, unlike football, which dominates Germany’s sporting landscape, cricket, India’s staple sport, helps develop throwing mechanics which align more closely with javelin techniques.

According to the German athlete, this gives cricket-playing nations like India a naturally richer talent pool for the sport compared to others.

“Cricket has played a huge role in the development of javelin talent,” Rohler told Sportstar. “In Germany, the sporting culture is built around football. Indian sporting culture revolves more around cricket.

“And cricket is far more related to javelin than football is. Some people might say the right leg swing is like a football kick, but honestly, football has nothing to do with javelin. So you’ll almost certainly have a bigger talent pool in cricket-playing countries.”

Rohler, who is set to compete at the inaugural NC Classic on Saturday, also believes that Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold at Tokyo was the catalyst and turning point that inspired future generations to take up javelin in the country.

“There was always talent – it just needed a spark. Neeraj was exactly that spark that ignited the flame, and now there’s a huge talent pool in India,” Rohler said. “I think there’s another reason too. Here in Germany, performances in events like the javelin throw aren’t appreciated as much.

“In a country like India, your performance gets rewarded. I think that, along with the growing passion for the sport, the time being invested in it, and the sheer mass of people, means there’s going to be a much bigger talent pool in India,” he added.

Rohler, whose 93.90m throw at the 2017 Doha Diamond League remains the third-best in men’s javelin history, also revealed that visiting India was something he always had in mind and thanked Neeraj for the opportunity, labelling it an ‘honour’.

“Well, to be honest, it was really Neeraj who reached out to me, both directly and also via his management. So I decided to be there because competing in India was on my bucket list. I mean, it’s the fastest-growing javelin community in the world right now, and it’s just logical to have an international meet there,” the German javelin throw ace shared.

“Getting the invite directly from the Indian Olympic champion was an honour. I was happy to hear that he’s super involved. I know from my own experience that conducting a meet is an extra bit of work for an athlete. I’m glad he is putting in the work to help the javelin community, so I’m happy to come and help him as well,” Rohler added.

Adam Fradgley – AMA/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images