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Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo believes the Sky Bet Championship new boys can take the division by storm thanks to a manager “setting the bar” for modern coaches. The Tractor Boys are back in the second tier for the first time in five seasons after they scored 101 goals to secure promotion from League One and travel to Sunderland this weekend. Former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna is the man behind Ipswich’s revival and Luongo, currently nursing a minor groin strain, admitted the draw of working with the 37-year-old was the decisive factor in a return to Portman Road after a loan spell in 2012. Under the stewardship of McKenna, in his first senior managerial role, Ipswich entertained League One last season with a brand of attacking and possession-based football not usually associated with success in England’s lower-leagues. While Luongo is under no illusions about the Championship being a big step up, he is fully swept up in the excitement that has been present at the Suffolk outfit since McKenna’s arrival in the winter of 2021. He told the PA news agency: “We have a good blend of boys ready to make the jump up and boys prepared to do the normal business. It is definitely one with a lot of anticipation and we’re all excited. I am definitely excited. “It is definitely a step up, physically it is a step up. The difficult thing is how you compare because we dominated so many games in League One so physically they are not as demanding as games in the Championship. “Everyone has the typical Champ game references when you watch Championship football and it comes around a lot. “But I think with Ipswich, after Burnley last year, we will try to be the exception where you are not saying that. “We want to play out from the back, play good football, be entertaining, so it will be a challenge but the players we have got are all looking forward to it.” Australia international Luongo is delighted to be established at a club for the start of this season after enduring a difficult time last summer. Luongo had to wait until September to find a new club before he failed to make an appearance during his short stint at Middlesbrough and had largely “written off the season” when Ipswich registered their interest before January. The lure of being managed by ex-Tottenham Under-18s boss McKenna, after crossing paths at Spurs, helped the 30-year-old get over a largely disappointing 2022 to become a key figure for Ipswich and he netted in the 6-0 victory over Exeter that clinched promotion in April. “With Ipswich there was some history there, I enjoyed it last time and probably the manager was the biggest pull. I came across him a little bit at Tottenham and over my career he kept track of me. I had also heard a lot of good things,” Luongo said. “What is striking for me is his detail in how he wants to play. On the pitch, the detail is at a really, really high level, like the information we receive and the feedback we receive from the coaches. We want to play out from the back, play good football, be entertaining, so it will be a challenge but the players we have got are all looking forward to it. Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo “And the way he conducts himself. He is in early, watches every second of training and loves football, I feel like he watches every single game because he pulls out games like that. “His knowledge of modern football is really good and he is obsessed with football to be honest. That bleeds into the team and we can all see it. “You can tell he loves football, is obsessed with it and wants to improve as a coach and manager so you can imagine what he wants for us and demands from us. “I enjoy coming in every day, for sure. The coaching staff and him have definitely created an atmosphere where we are firstly humble. “We don’t leave any stone unturned, it doesn’t matter who we play against. Then when we win, stay humble and when we lose, don’t get too low. They have done a really good job of that. “The manager has mixed with good people at Man United, his background with where else he has learnt and stayed, so I think the football we are playing is probably setting the bar for modern day managers of what is required. “It is interesting because I have had a little spell of (Michael) Carrick and I can see the same with Kieran as well, so it is a good place to be.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku player swap bid hits snag On This Day in 2008 – Kevin Pietersen appointed England Test and one-day captain World Cup winning coach Jill Ellis blown away by ‘unpredictable’ tournament

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has revealed he was still coming to terms with his wife’s miscarriage as he was assaulted after Arsenal’s north London derby win at Tottenham last season. The 25-year-old had kept a clean sheet as the Gunners won at the home of their neighbours on 15 January to keep their Premier League title ambitions alive. As Ramsdale collected his water bottle from behind the goal, Spurs fan Joseph Watts leapt onto the advertising hoarding and aimed a boot at the his back. Watts was eventually given a four-year banning order having been charged with assault and throwing a missile onto the pitch. Speaking immediately after the game, Ramsdale told Sky Sports: “It’s a shame because it’s just a game of football at the end of the day. I think both sets of players tried to bring me away. Thankfully nothing actually happened too drastic. It’s a sour taste.” Now the England international has explained that he was already dealing with pain in his private life before the incident at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “There are things that go on in our lives that the public has no idea about, and the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and my family,” he wrote for The Players’ Tribune. “After the high of climbing to the top of the Premier League table and going off to my first World Cup, my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child. “Mikel (Arteta) gave me a few extra days off after the World Cup, so we went on a brief holiday. It was genuinely the happiest time of our lives. And yeah ... there’s no easy way to say this, but I feel like it’s important that people know. “On the flight home, my wife had a miscarriage. “There’s really no way that I can describe the pain of that six-hour flight back to London, even now. I just want people out there to know that they’re not alone if they’re going through it themselves.” Arteta offered Ramsdale additional time off - “in the middle of the title race, with so much pressure on the club... for me, that’s a manager” - but he opted to play on. “Three days later, we were playing Spurs in the derby, and for me that was the only way to get my mind off things. Football has always been my escape. I told the manager I wanted to play,” he added. “It couldn’t have been a better night. We won 2-0 under the floodlights, and our away fans were going absolutely ballistic. If you watch the match back, you can see me beaming at the final kick of the ball. I went to get my water bottle behind the goal, and never in a million years would I ever think that I’d get kicked in the back by a Tottenham fan. “I’ve had some very spicy banter with fans all over the English leagues. I’ve been called everything you can imagine. But it’s never crossed the line like that. I remember when I got back to the dressing room, I couldn’t even celebrate because I got pulled out to give a police statement.” “You know, I almost felt bad for the bloke who had done it, because I thought to myself: If he only knew me as a person, and what I’m actually going through right now, there’s no way that he would’ve done that. If we bumped into each other one day and got chatting about football, we’d probably be mates.” Ramsdale, who is now expecting a baby with wife Georgina, also wrote about the challenges faced by his brother, who is gay, and wants to see football become a sport that is a “welcoming place for everyone”. “I want my brother, Ollie - or anyone of any sexuality, race or religion - to come to games without having to fear abuse,” he wrote. “And when we lift a trophy at the Emirates Stadium, I want my brother there with me.” The Gaygooners group of LGBT+ Arsenal fans welcomed the support of Ramsdale, who signed off his letter with “Love you, bro”. “We’re so very proud to have aaronramsdale98 as a true ally and for being so brave to talk about such important issues,” Gaygooners wrote on Twitter. “We can’t wait to be cheering you on this season Aaron!” Read More A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League How the Women’s World Cup delivered its greatest ever group stage — against all the odds Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery Erik ten Hag happy with display in Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal Manchester United seize on errors to beat Arsenal in New Jersey Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news and updates as England prepare for last-16

It is a team from another time, a glimpse of Arsenal’s post-Wenger identity crisis and Mikel Arteta’s decidedly imperfect inheritance. There are David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi, Dani Ceballos and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe. They assume a greater pertinence now, and not merely as signs of the transformation of a side in three years. They remain the only Arteta side to beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, 2-0 in the 2020 FA Cup semi-final, courtesy of a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Now, as Arteta’s current and former clubs prepare to meet at Wembley again, this time in the Community Shield, there is the probability that the Arsenal starting 11 will feature no survivors of one of the manager’s first major wins. Perhaps Kieran Tierney but Granit Xhaka, the last regular in Arteta’s strongest side, was sold in the summer. And while Emi Martinez left Arsenal and went on to lift the World Cup, few of the others have experienced better times since Arteta’s FA Cup win. Since that deceptively good start, the apprentice has begun to pose more of a threat to the master: in the bigger picture, anyway. Arsenal topped the Premier League for 248 days last season; their return of 50 points at the halfway stage put them on course, albeit briefly, to equal City’s record of 100. There was the danger that Guardiola had taught Arteta just too well. And yet the season ended with Guardiola having done different kinds of hat-tricks. There was the treble of trophies. There were also three wins over Arteta: 1-0 against a weakened Arsenal side in the FA Cup and, more emphatically and more importantly, 3-1 and 4-1 in the Premier League. It extended an increasingly impressive record in their private battles: the older man now has an 88 per cent win rate and eight victories against his old assistant. Among managers Guardiola has faced at least nine times, he only has a better record against Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Graham Potter, and the majority of those games came when they coached bottom-half teams, not supposed peers. Beating Guardiola over 38 games can entail beating him in two. Thus far this year, Arteta has another kind of triumph: he beat Guardiola to Declan Rice; Arsenal’s prime target attracted City’s attention and yet preferred the capital. Rewind three decades and the most coveted young midfielder outside the title contenders was courted by the top two, rejected Kenny Dalglish and Blackburn after a volte-face and signed for Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Which isn’t to say Rice is necessarily the next Roy Keane. But if Arteta spent last summer signing City’s squad players, in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, pipping them to one of their targets felt they were conducting transfer business at another level. For City, Rice’s decision may have been a sign Arsenal are here to stay, that last season was not a one-off. It shapes the possibility that Arteta against Guardiola is the division’s new defining rivalry. If so, it would be the third to involve the Catalan, though the first, and most hyped, actually proved less compelling and enduring than the second. Guardiola against Jose Mourinho was a battle of ideas that the Catalan won and, even when the Portuguese won twice in charge of Tottenham, had lost some of its lustre. The knockout blow had already been struck as the ball was caressed around Guardiola’s midfields. Mourinho has the second most wins against Guardiola – seven – while coming off second-best in their feud. Guardiola against Jurgen Klopp had epic status for at least four seasons, between 2017-20 and then 2021-22. Twice they were only separated by a solitary point at the top of the table. Once, Liverpool knocked City out of the Champions League. Once, they knocked them off their perch as champions of England. The overall score stands at 8-7 to Klopp in one respect, with more victories in their meetings in this country, and 5-1 to Guardiola in another: they have shared the last six Premier League titles, but not equally. Liverpool’s second underwhelming campaign in three, albeit for different reasons in 2022-23 to 2020-21, prompts the question if, like Ferguson against Arsene Wenger, a previously even contest will become more one-sided and if this is a rivalry whose best days are in the past. Then there is the emerging rival in Arteta, lacking Klopp’s record of defeating Guardiola – something the German still did twice last season, including in the Community Shield – but with the more recent title challengers and the transfer business that has the stamp of ambition. Not every manager who runs Guardiola closest proves capable of overhauling him. Mourinho did in Spain, after finishing runners-up in LaLiga with Real Madrid. When his Manchester United came second, however, he was sacked by the end of the calendar year. The same fate befell Ole Gunnar Solskjaer three years later. If Arteta seems to have more staying power, as Klopp did before him, the next challenge is to overcome Guardiola over both 90 minutes and nine months. Read More Eddie Nketiah ready to step up again after Gabriel Jesus’ injury Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery Arsenal transfer news: Raya, Balogun, Kudus, Pepe and more On this day in 2020: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads Arsenal to FA Cup glory Statue of former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger unveiled outside Emirates Stadium Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun set for Serie A move as Italian giants spark bidding war

What the papers say Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed to personal terms in a move to Juventus this summer as Chelsea look to offload the striker and pick up a striker in a swap deal, the Star reports. Chelsea are eyeing Serbian Dusan Vlahovic. Juventus want more than just Lukaku as part of the deal, though, asking for an additional £35million for the 23-year-old. Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, but the Daily Mail says there is confusion with his release clause. Widespread changes could be on the cards under Tottenham’s new manager Ange Postecoglou, with the Evening Standard reporting Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil are up for sale. The club are also interested in signing 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central, who is worth around £12million. West Ham’s pursuit of Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse may be coming to an end, according to the Guardian, with the club’s technical director against the move, despite manager David Moyes’ interest. Social media round-up Players to watch Harry Maguire: Everton now look like the favourites to sign the Manchester United defender, with Tottenham and West Ham also interested in the 30-year-old, Football Insider says. Tyler Adams: The Daily Mail says Aston Villa are open to activating the 24-year-old Leeds midfielder’s £25million release clause, with Chelsea also interested in his signature. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

College football overtime rules make for a thrilling end to any game that extends beyond regulation. Here's all you need to know to follow along.Here's the thing, college football overtime rules are the best in sports. They're better than penalty kicks. They're better than NB...

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage. The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments. Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts. “It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group. “I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date. “If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage. “I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.” Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated. For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup. Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures. Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs. While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team. Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.” FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023. We can arguably say that there aren't gaps Jill Ellis At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent. Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet. Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team. “And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Anthony Joshua admires Tyson Fury self-will but critical of fight with MMA star James Maddison wants ‘world’s best number nine’ Harry Kane to stay at Spurs Gold for Will Tidball and silver for British women’s sprint team in Glasgow

College football realignment rumors have now given us an idea of how much the Big Ten is willing to offer Oregon and Washington as the Pac-12 crumbles.On Thursday night, Arizona triggered a wave of college football realignment rumors as the Wildcats reportedly moved closer to leaving the Pac-12 ...

The Arizona Wildcats look ready to put the final nail in the Pac-12 coffin with deep discussions to join the Big 12 reportedly progressing.The Pac-12 may not survive Thursday night.According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the Arizona Wildcats are now a "hard lean" to join the Big 12...

College football realignment rumors: Florida State has a problemThe college football landscape is changing again. The only question is whether Colorado's move to the Big 12 was an aftershock of USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten or a foreshock of more seismic changes.Florida State is appa...

Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa said he was offered 'crazy money' to transfer to an SEC football program. Naturally, we have to wonder who offered him.At Big Ten Media Days this past week, Maryland Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa briefly detailed his part in the offseason NIL fre...

James Maddison would love Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham but insists the ongoing speculation around the forward has not been a distraction for his new team-mates. Maddison became one of the first signings of the Ange Postecoglou era at Spurs when he completed a £40million move from Leicester on June 28. Five weeks on and the elephant in the room remains Kane’s future, with Bayern Munich intent on bringing the England international to Germany and expected to imminently lodge a new bid for the 30-year-old. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reportedly met with Bayern officials in London on Monday and the club’s recent Asia-Pacific tour occurred amid constant talk of Kane’s future, with a BILD journalist able to unveil a Bayern shirt with ‘Kane 9’ on the back to Postecoglou during a media activity. But Maddison, speaking at the TNT Sports start of season event in London, said: “It hasn’t been a distraction, Harry is super professional. “I won’t go into details because I don’t know anything and let’s be respectful about Harry’s situation. “Everyone knows what Harry Kane is like, he’s a super professional guy and whatever club he is at, whenever he goes into training he gives 100 per cent and it’s the same as all the lads so not (a distraction) at all really. “We were friends before I joined Tottenham from the England squad, we have similar interests and get on well anyway away from football. “I would love Harry Kane to stay, he’s the best number nine in the world in my opinion, but what will be, will be and Harry is super professional.” While uncertainty remains over Kane’s future, Tottenham have stepped up their pursuit of new centre-backs for boss Postecoglou. It hasn't been a distraction, Harry is super professional. James Maddison on Harry Kane speculation Talks with Spurs and Wolfsburg are advancing over the transfer of Micky van de Ven, the PA news agency understands. Postecoglou gave the green light to Van de Ven’s signing soon after arriving in June and dialogue between the teams started last month. No final agreement over a fee – expected to be in the region of £30m – has been reached, but there is a growing confidence the Netherlands Under-21 international will make the move before Spurs’ Premier League opener at Brentford on August 13. Van de Ven, who made 36 appearances for Wolfsburg in the 2022-23 campaign, has attracted interest from Liverpool and made clear his desire to play in England during an interview with De Telegraaf recently. “I have always dreamed of the Premier League because the biggest clubs play there and I also see that competition as the best in the world,” Van de Ven said in June. Tottenham also remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over the signature of centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, who alongside Van de Ven has been high on the club’s list of potential targets this summer. A move for both Bundesliga-based defenders has not been ruled out but Spurs are working on other transfers. Blackburn centre-back Ash Phillips is expected to complete his move to Tottenham this weekend. Spurs entered discussions with the Sky Bet Championship club last month for the England youth international, but negotiations stalled over a final transfer fee. A £2m release clause for Phillips will become active after Friday, which will allow Tottenham to complete the signing of the 18-year-old. Phillips’ arrival will not impact on Postecoglou’s desire to boost his senior options in defence, with the centre-back viewed as a player for the future. Tottenham have also opened talks with Rosario Central over 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz. Veliz impressed at the Under-20 World Cup this summer, scoring three goals for Argentina. Discussions are at an early stage but Spurs are eager to make a number of signings during a busy final month of the summer transfer window. :: TNT Sports is the ultimate home for sports fans. You can stream TNT Sports on the discovery+ app and watch on all major TV platforms. This isn’t Just Sport, This is Everything. For more info visit: tntsports.co.uk.

The first day of the 2023 Leagues Cup knockout round has been played seeing, two teams that did not have to play in the Group Stages. The soccer world also got to see four teams move on and four teams play their last match in this tournament.In the 2023 Leagues Cup, the soccer world has seen tea...