List of All Articles with Tag 'sp'

Chelsea are set to take their spending under Todd Boehly to a whopping £1billion if they can get deals for Romeo Lavia and Michael Olise over the line. The American has splashed the cash since taking over at Stamford Bridge, backing Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino heavily in the transfer market. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the biggest deals. Moses Caicedo (£115million) The Blues beat off competition from Liverpool for the signature of the highly-rated Brighton midfielder, who is the third most expensive under-21 player in the world behind Kylian Mbappe and Joao Felix. They paid £100m up front, but that could rise to £115m depending on certain criteria. Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m) Chelsea smashed the British transfer record when they signed the World Cup winner from Benfica in the January transfer window for an outright £106m, surpassing Jack Grealish’s fee for his move from Aston Villa to Manchester City. Mykhailo Mudryk (£88.5m) The Ukraine star cost £62million up front when he joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but that fee could rise to £88.5m with possible add-ons. Wesley Fofana (£75m) Chelsea were after defensive reinforcements when they signed Wesley Fofana from Leicester. The France international cost £70million, with a possible further £5m to be paid to the Foxes in add-ons. Marc Cucurella (£63m) Chelsea have looked to Brighton on a number of occasions and, a few months before Graham Potter made the move from the Amex, the Blues signed left-back Cucurella for £56m, with a further £7m due in extras. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Romeo Lavia to have Chelsea medical as Hakim Ziyech nears Stamford Bridge exit Alex Cuthbert and Johnny Williams handed Wales starts against South Africa Ben Stokes comes out of ODI retirement ahead of World Cup bid

Midfielder Romeo Lavia will undergo a medical on Wednesday ahead of his move to Chelsea, while Hakim Ziyech is close to exiting Stamford Bridge. The Blues agreed an initial £53million fee to sign Lavia from Southampton on Tuesday, which could rise to £58m in add-ons, the PA news agency understands. Lavia is now in London to go through his medical tests but Ziyech will be the latest player to go through the exit door at Chelsea after an agreement in principle was reached with Galatasaray for his transfer. It has been a whirlwind few days for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, with the British record capture of Moises Caicedo from Brighton completed on Monday. Caicedo’s transfer could eventually total £115m and a day later the Blues closed in on the signings of Lavia and Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. After Lavia made it known to Southampton on Monday that he favoured a move to west London, Chelsea and the recently-relegated Saints reached an agreement for his transfer on Tuesday night. Lavia will sign for an initial £53m with Southampton able to receive a further £5m in add-ons. The spending under owner Todd Boehly shows no sign of slowing down though, with Olise’s £35m release clause activated on Tuesday, PA understands. It allows Chelsea to now negotiate personal terms with the highly-rated Crystal Palace winger. Olise is currently out injured with a hamstring issue and his current club Palace are reported to be unhappy with Chelsea’s conduct during their pursuit of the France Under-21 international. PA understands Chelsea are comfortable they have done nothing untoward and Olise is expected to finalise his move this week. Ziyech should leave after Chelsea and Galatasaray reached an agreement for his transfer on Wednesday, but the Morocco forward still has a medical to complete after moves to Paris St Germain and Al Nassr collapsed earlier this year. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Mike Elko helped jumpstart Duke’s teetering football program

Coach Dino Babers enters his eighth season at Syracuse having had to fill several holes on his roster and staff

Wake Forest will look different in 2023 from its recent run of success

Georgia Tech’s string of four consecutive losing seasons may have made Brent Key’s 4-4 record after taking over for Geoff Collins last season look promising to some observers

North Carolina State won with defense last year and is turning to a new offense this year

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney hopes changes at quarterback and offensive coordinator lead the ninth-ranked Tigers back to the College Football Playoff

North Carolina aims to be a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference behind star quarterback Drake Maye

Brian Blessed delivered a passionate, dramatic recital of the lyrics to Three Lions (It's Coming Home) on Newsnight last night (15 August), in honour of the Lionesses, who are moments away from taking on Australia in the World Cup semi-final. The actor stared directly down the camera as he chanted: “It’s coming home! It’s coming home! It’s coming! Football’s coming home." Should they win this game, it will be the first time the Lionesses have reached a World Cup final. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Australia’s cricket captain Pat Cummins has told England goalkeeper Mary Earps to “play by the rules” in an amusing Ashes call back ahead of the Women’s World Cup semi-final. The two sporting rivals go head-to-head in Sydney on Wednesday 16 August, with a place in the final up for grabs. Ahead of kick-off, Cummins was asked if he had any advice for England’s shot-stopper - and whether she should “stay on her line” if penalties are required. “Yeah, play by the rules,” he laughed, calling back to the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy in the second Test at Lord’s earlier this summer.

Bayern Munich has 11 Bundesliga titles in a row and a 12th in its sights