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James Maddison is set to leave Leicester following their relegation to the Championship, but Newcastle and Tottenham are currently unwilling to meet the Foxes' £60m valuation of the England midfielder.

Northern Ireland must accept there will be setbacks along the way as they nurture a new generation of players, according to midfielder Ali McCann. Michael O’Neill’s players left Windsor Park dejected on Monday night after Abat Aimbetov hit an 88th-minute breakaway goal to give Kazakhstan a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying victory that was greeted with boos by sections of the home support. Northern Ireland had far more of the ball and created more chances but were punished for their inability to take them as they fell to a third straight 1-0 defeat in Group H. It was another night where the long list of senior players missing through injury told, but the youngsters once again pressed into action largely impressed, with 19-year-old Shea Charles named player of the match. The 23-year-old McCann counted among the more experienced players available as he earned his 18th cap and, although this result might be enough to already put qualification for Euro 2024 out of reach, he said the squad should not get too downhearted. “Obviously the manner of the goal, it’s not ideal and the result is really disappointing obviously, but there are lots of positives, we always look at the positives,” the Preston midfielder said. “I thought we were the better side for the majority of the game, but we’ve got to be a bit more clinical and cut out mistakes at the other end. “There’s lots of transition and there’s still a few of the older lads who have loads of experience and that’s great for the group, and the quality of the younger lads coming through. “There are always going to be hiccups in the road, we’ve just got to take it. The signs are bright going forward and some of the lads you can see playing, it’s brilliant.” There are always going to be hiccups in the road, we've just got to take it Ali McCann McCann said the defeat was the biggest low of his still young international career. Northern Ireland must now regroup and hope some big players return in time for September’s fixtures, when they are away to Slovenia and Kazakhstan. “These types of losses at home are really hard to take, everyone is hurting in there,” McCann added. “It’s a case of not dwelling on it, come back in September, wipe it clean and go from there. “We’ve got two hard games away from home, but if we can pick up two good results then we’ll see where we are after that. “In the main we can’t be too down, things like this happen in football so really we’ve just got to forget about it and try to put it right next time.” After the match, O’Neill said qualifying would now be “extremely difficult”, having taken only three points from four games, but McCann is not writing off Northern Ireland’s chances yet. “I wouldn’t say it ends, there’s still plenty of games, we’ve got six left,” he said. “If we start September with two good results we’ll see how we are. “It’s an open group with teams taking points off each other. We’re going into September with two tough away games, we’ll go there trying to get three points in both games and then we’ll see where we are.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Final day of first Ashes Test under way after morning rain at Edgbaston French anti-corruption police raid HQ of Paris 2024 Olympic organising committee Community Shield kick-off brought forward by 90 minutes following fan complaints

Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook said he would love to play on the same team as free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.All 32 NFL teams are over a month away until they host training camp, where they evaluate the talent on their rosters and bring the total number of players to...

Germany and China tentatively agreed to bind their economies more closely together and join forces to tackle climate

Rivian Automotive Inc. will incorporate Tesla Inc.’s electric-vehicle charging ports into future automobiles and gain access to its

Today's USMNT rumors include Sergino Dest being linked with Besiktas, Brighton have joined the race for Tyler Adams and Timothy Weahcould be on hisway to Juventus.USMNT rumors: Sergino Dest to BesiktasSergino Dest needs to find a new club where he can play regularly. Last season he was on l...

Chelsea are challenging Arsenal for the signature of Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, as Manchester United and Liverpool also monitor movements. The highly-rated Belgium international is still seen as most likely to join Mikel Arteta’s side but the development of the deal has created a flurry of interest. Southampton want a minimum of £45m for Lavia following their relegation to the Championship, but that could rise if a bidding war develops. Arsenal initially turned to the 19-year-old because Brighton’s Moises Caicedo was seen as much more difficult to do but could now face considerable competition. Chelsea’s entire new model is to bring in the most highly rated young talent to construct a squad for the future that can challenge now and Lavia exactly fits that. There is the added element that the midfielder has a very strong relationship with Chelsea’s Joe Shields, who brought him to Southampton in the first place and has since moved to Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have also been considering a move as they seek to bring in a second midfielder after Alexis Mac Allister this summer, although they also retain interest in Internazionale’s Nicolo Barella and Nice’s Khephren Thuram. United have other priorities but are re-assessing their options due to the high price of a striker, and Lavia is seen as one of those precocious talents that could solve a team position for years to come. Lavia’s contract has a clause that means Manchester City have an option in 2024, having sold the teenager to Southampton last summer, but they are not currently interested in exercising that. Read More Newcastle considering Nicolo Barella alternatives amid transfer fee gap and competition Manchester United set to rival Real Madrid for breakout Champions League star Bukayo Saka cements his place as England’s next leading man with first career hat-trick

Arsenal have submitted a club-record offer for West Ham captain Declan Rice. The England midfielder has emerged as a target for the Gunners in recent months and a first bid was rejected earlier in June. However, the PA news agency understands a second offer has been lodged that eclipses the £72million Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe in 2019. It is believed the new bid, including add-ons, could total £90million and will test the resolve of Europa Conference League winners West Ham. Rice, 24, lifted the trophy in Prague on June 8 before owner David Sullivan said he believed that was the skipper’s last outing for the Hammers. Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season, with manager Mikel Arteta and football director Edu having identified the players they want to add to once again challenge Manchester City. As well as the record move for Rice, it is understood Arsenal are in talks to land Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea and have reportedly launched bids to Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Jurrien Timber of Ajax. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely meet Elon Musk today on a visit to the US as

The Community Shield kick-off time has been brought forward by 90 minutes following fan complaints. The Football Association confirmed on Tuesday that the match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday, August 6 would now kick off at 4pm instead of 5.30pm. It said the decision had been reached after “following consultation with our broadcast partners, the local authorities, police, and the competing clubs”. The governing body added: “The decision to move the kick-off time was taken following full consideration of the transport challenges for fans returning to Manchester after the match.” The 1894 group of Manchester City supporters called on fans to boycott the match, with people encouraged to donate to Manchester food banks instead.

Newcastle United are currently £30 million off Internazionale's valuation of Nicolo Barella, as Eddie Howe seeks to make a midfielder their main signing for this summer. That may see the Saudi-owned club turn to AC Milan's Sandro Tonali, although negotiations are ongoing over Barella. Inter Milan ended up paying Cagliari close to £40m all in for Barella and want to make a profit as they face pressure to raise money. That has meant an asking price of close to £80m but Newcastle do not want to go above £50m given the Italian's club situation. Liverpool have been similarly interested in Barella as they feel his energy fits with exactly what they want from a second midfielder to complement Alexis Mac Allister. The Anfield club nevertheless believe the price is currently far too high, with Nice's Khephren Thuram offering a more affordable option. Newcastle are themselves willing to look elsewhere with both Tonali and Chelsea's Conor Gallagher names they have considered. The St James Park club also have long-standing interest in James Maddison and sounded out Leicester City over whether he would be buyable for £45m, which was similar to what they have been willing to put forward for Barella. Leicester currently want almost double that, though, while the player himself is understood to prefer a move south for family reasons. That is why Tottenham Hotspur are now seen as more likelier to sign Maddison, although they similarly remain some way off as regards price.

Manchester City were often described as the best team in the world, even before the Champions League that had long eluded them gave them a greater claim to that title. It was more contentious when their chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, called them “the No 1 football brand in the world”. The alternative argument is that City are not even the leading football brand in Manchester. But at a point when Manchester United is up for sale and the Glazers want $6 billion, it was notable that Al Mubarak described the value of the City Football Group as over $6 billion. The picture he painted in his end-of-season address was of financial and footballing success with some of the world’s best executives, scouts and sporting staff. Certainly that description applies to Pep Guardiola. And yet this could not simply be the celebration of a transformation, a 15-year journey from a team who were in the relegation zone at Christmas a few months after Sheikh Mansour’s takeover to one who demolished Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, to the situation where Erling Haaland signed a contract and told Al Mubarak he would win him the Champions League. “To show you where Erling is going, this is the beginning,” Al Mubarak said. “And the scary part, this is just the beginning for him.” In a way, it is just the beginning for City, too: just not quite in the same respect. Al Mubarak said it was “very frustrating” the treble has come against the backdrop of 115 charges by the Premier League. The Emirati promised a “very blunt” response, but only when the legal process has happened. The question if these are tainted, tarnished titles will linger; perhaps forever, certainly until a case is finally heard. Some might argue there is an irony there. Al Mubarak had claimed Sheikh Mansour has given “passion to the club”; that the Champions League final was just the second game the owner had seen in the flesh might suggest he has a different way of showing it but, with his billions, he has been the architect of a rise. But if sportswashing is intended to launder reputations, City instead find their achievements and character impugned. The issues, however, do not surround the all-conquering 2022-23 season as much as how City got here; how they constructed the platform that took them to such heights and whether the financing that allowed them to build to this point amounted to repeated and deliberate breaches of regulations. On the pitch, City attract admiring glances. Al Mubarak claimed that, at a Uefa dinner the night before the Champions League final, he was asked what was special about City. “The winning mentality,” he replied, and that is not something that can simply be bought. He reflected on the hunger of Haaland, who reacted to his five-goal salvo against RB Leipzig by thinking he should have scored seven or eight, and the humility of the World Cup winner Julian Alvarez. He talked about how City have executives that rival clubs are trying to hire and the excellence of their medical staff. “Unheralded heroes,” he said. There was a point to the praise. There is a misconception that City can call upon a vast pool of players. “We have a high-quality small squad,” Al Mubarak countered. “But it’s not what I think is the perception, which is that we operate with a huge squad; that is not the case.” It is partly Guardiola’s preference but they are operating with around 18 top-class options, some of them very expensive, not a cast of thousands, like Chelsea. “People will throw at us, ‘the biggest spenders’, ‘you have the biggest squad,’” he said. Yet City should have few problems with Financial Fair Play now. “Look at our net spend figures,” Al Mubarak added. In a summer when they signed Haaland, they made a transfer-market profit, partly because of the departures of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, partly because they banked around £50 million by selling four youth-team products to Southampton. There were years of vast outlay. Now City has become a business with revenue streams. “We have a commercial machine that is one of the best in the world,” Al Mubarak said; some may disagree – many of their sponsorships come from the United Arab Emirates, some from companies connected to Sheikh Mansour – but City’s problem is not the present or the future, but the past and how they got here. For now, they have Guardiola tied up for another two years – Al Mubarak said he was “never concerned” before the Catalan extended his contract – an outstanding team and the opportunity to strengthen it. The outlook should be sunny but there are still clouds on the landscape. Read More Man City chairman vows to give ‘very blunt views’ on FFP charges once concluded Saudi Arabia can help Chelsea solve headache — but talks raise more questions than answers Sportswashing is about to change football beyond anything you can imagine