More stories

  • in

    Arsenal consider cut-price transfer for PSG midfielder, 24, following Champions League semi-final

    ARSENAL are considering another move for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-In.Mikel Arteta was interested in the South Korean in January, and new Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta will encourage him to make room in his squad for the 24-year-old.Arsenal are considering a move for Lee Kang-InCredit: GettyBerta was the driving force behind a failed bid from Atletico Madrid for Lee in 2023 when he left La Liga outfit Mallorca for the Parc des Princes.But it has not worked out for him in Paris as he remains a fringe member of Luis Enrique’s squad after almost two seasons at the club.The former Valencia playmaker has started 18 league games this season, the same number as in his first season at the club, but doubled his 2023-24 goal tally by registering six times in Ligue 1.Last week, L’Equipe named Lee on a list of players the French champions will look to offload this summer.READ MORE ON ARSENALPSG want to recoup their £18.7m outlay and will not listen to any offers below £17m.The French sports daily reported that Lee is dissatisfied with his playing time, and indicated that he will seek a new team this summer.He was an unused substitute for PSG in their 1-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at the Emirates.He started their Ligue 1 match against Strasbourg on Saturday but left the 2-1 defeat at half-time because of a shin injury that looks set to keep him out of the return leg.Most read in FootballJoin SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from The EmiratesEnrique has deployed Lee as a winger, central midfielder and false nine, viewing the Korean as a player with the tactical awareness to switch positions seamlessly.A move for Lee could be completed relatively quickly because of PSG’s desire to sell and that could mean the Korean is on board the plane when Arsenal jet out to the Far East for their pre-season matches in Singapore and Hong Kong.How PSG tricked Arsenal to gain Champions League semi-final advantage More

  • in

    Watford SACK Tom Cleverley as manager in controversial move as sporting director says ‘the time has come for a change’

    TOM CLEVERLEY has controversially been sacked by Watford.The former Manchester United midfielder, 35, took over at Vicarage Road in March 2024, replacing Valerien Ismael initially as interim boss.Tom Cleverley was sacked as Watford boss on TuesdayCredit: RexHe took the head coach role on a permanent basis the following month, making him the 21st Hornets manager since Gino Pozzo took over the club in 2012.Watford were in contention for a Championship play-off spot heading into the second half of the season.But just five wins in 2025 but pay to those promotion dreams.They finished the 2024-25 season 14th in the Championship on Saturday, concluding with a 1-1 home draw against Sheffield Wednesday.That meant Cleverley was the club’s longest-serving manager since Javi Gracia – and the first to last more than a season since the Spaniard’s sacking in 2019.But this year’s drop off was enough for the trigger-happy Hornets to dismiss their former midfielder in their latest controversial managerial axing – four months after having to release a statement to confirm he was still in the dugout.The decision did not go down well with Watford supporters while a disappointed Cleverley took to Instagram with a classy statement.He said: “After nine-and-a-half years of my life – as a loanee, player, captain, academy coach and head coach – my time at the club has come to an end.Most read in ChampionshipCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS”After the sadness wears off, I will forever have a feeling of gratitude and happiness towards the club and the place and people of Watford.”Football and football clubs are special. They make you feel truly part of something. I wasn’t born in Watford or raised in Watford but this honestly feels like home.”To the club, I’m grateful for the opportunity, the player for their efforts and the supporters myself and my family will forever appreciate the love and support you have given me on this journey.”I repeat I will be sad that it’s over but full of happiness that it ever happened. And I hope it’s not the final time out paths cross. You ‘Orns.”Sporting director Gian Luca Nani added: “We thank Tom for his service – not just in his role as Head Coach but for everything he has given Watford as a player and member of staff.“But the time has come for a change and to build on what we believe is a young and talented squad that will have benefited from the experience of the Championship this season.“It has been a privilege to work closely with Tom; to understand how he sees the game and his enthusiasm for everything here. “He deserves to be recognised for this and I’m sure he will have a bright future in the game.“Tom will always be part of Watford in recognition of all that he has achieved over so many years.”Cleverley came through the youth system at Old Trafford and made 79 first-team appearances for the Red Devils, winning the Premier League in 2012-13 under Sir Alex Ferguson. He had various loan spells – including at Watford – before joining Everton in 2015.Just 18 months later, the 13-cap England international was on the move again as he headed to Watford again, initially on loan before making the switch permanent for the 2017-18 season. He was relegated in 2020 but helped the Hornets straight back up again before retiring in 2023 to step into coaching. Cleverley departs Vicarage Road with a record of 20 wins, 14 draws and 25 defeats from his 59 games in charge – with a win rate of 34 per cent. Read More on The SunAlberto Garrido is the early 4-1 favourite to become the next Watford manager, according to talkSPORT Bet.Gary O’Neil (5-1), Sean Dyche (6-1) and Rob Page (6-1) are also in contention with Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard both at 16-1. More

  • in

    Bayern Munich cause fury with club to celebrate Harry Kane’s first trophy in ‘ugly as hell’ new kit

    BAYERN MUNICH fans were left enraged after the club announced plans to celebrate their latest title win in an “ugly as hell” new kit.The German giants got back to winning ways by sealing another Bundesliga victory at the weekend.Bayern Munich will celebrate Harry Kane’s first trophy and Thomas Muller’s final home game this weekendCredit: GettyFans are raging as the club will wear an ‘ugly’ new white away kit for the occasionCredit: XBayern lost last year’s title race to unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen.But Harry Kane finally got his hands on a trophy as Vincent Kompany’s men toasted their victory with a raucous party on Sunday.Now, the players are set to celebrate with fans when Bayern play their final home match this weekend.The Bavarians welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Allianz Arena on Saturday and hope to make it an occasion to remember.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLNot only will it mark Kane’s first-ever trophy party with supporters, but it will also be the last-ever home game for club legend Thomas Muller.The 35-year-old, who is set to make his 750th appearance, is leaving after 13 titles and two Champions Leagues in 17 seasons.But Bayern have enraged fans by revealing they will wear their new white away kit this weekend.The strip has been unveiled as a tribute to the Allianz Arena, which is turning 20 years old.Most read in BundesligaBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSThe first-ever game Bayern played there was against Saturday’s opponents Gladbach.However, supporters have been less than impressed with the style of the kit.Harry Kane puffs on cigar as Bayern champions drink champagne and dance to Michael Jackson in early hours of morningWhile they also feel not wearing their classic red jersey is a mistake considering the importance of the occasion.One said: “This kit is ugly as hell and will ruin all photos of a historic day.“Muller’s last home game for Bayern and they don’t even wear red jerseys.”Another declared: “Why pay tribute to your home arena with your away kit?”One noted: “It looks horrible.”Another added: “This raises the question why the home jersey is not a tribute to the Allianz Arena?” More

  • in

    Diego Maradona’s former club forced to ask neighbours to give them their ball back as fans look on at comical scenes

    DIEGO MARADONA’S former club embarrassingly had to ask for a ball back from local neighbours.Balls often fly out of stadiums, and many fans will be wondering where they end up and how they are retrieved.Diego Maradona started his professional career at Argentinos JuniorsCredit: Icon Sport – GettyMaradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal will live on in football folkloreCredit: Getty – ContributorAnd now a hilarious video has emerged on X showing how Argentinos Juniors, one of Maradona’s old clubs, get their balls back.The clip shows two club employees, both sporting the same T-shirts, knocking on the door of a local house in an attempt to retrieve a lost ball that had left the stadium.What made it even funnier was when one of the men got on his hands and knees to peer underneath the door to see if anyone was at home.It appeared that the ball landed on the rooftop of the building, with a steward in an orange jacket explaining that to the two Argentinos Juniors workers.Read more FootballThe game in question was ‘the ‘El Bicho”s 4-0 win over Estudiantes in the Argentine Primera Division, the country’s top flight. Juniors play at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, named after the legend, whose career started at the Buenos Aires outfit. Maradona, who tragically passed away in November 2020, played 166 times for Juniors, scoring 116 goals from 1976 to 1981. He came through the youth ranks at the club, joining them in 1969. Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKMaradona lifted the World Cup in 1986 with Argentina, playing a starring role in Mexico. He played every minute of every game for his country throughout the tournament, scoring five goals and laying on five assists. ‘How can you sell him?’ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blasts Man Utd for Scott McTominay’s transfer to NapoliThe first of those goals was his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in a 2-1 quarter-final victory. Juniors are not the only side to have named a stadium after Maradona, with Napoli doing the same to honour their former forward after his death. More

  • in

    Premier League cult hero Anichebe, 37, slammed by National League captain as takeover bid leads to ‘club meltdown’

    FORMER Premier League star Victor Anichebe has been criticised by Gateshead captain Greg Olley after the club failed to reach the National League playoffs.Anichebe, 37, has been linked with a takeover of the fifth-tier club for over two months.Gateshead captain Greg Olley has criticised Victor Anichebe’s takeover processCredit: YouTubeAnichebe has been pursuing a takeover of GatesheadCredit: PAIt was initially claimed that a deal was imminent, but a full agreement is yet to be reached.Although a deal has not been completed yet, Anichebe has made his presence known around the Gateshead International Stadium.The ex-forward has already spoken to key figures within coaching and recruitment.Anichebe, rumoured to be worth around £11million, has also held several meetings with first team head coach Carl Magnay.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHowever, club captain Olley believes his presence has had a negative impact on form.And that dip saw Gateshead miss out on a spot in the National League playoffs.In an explosive interview after the final match of the season, Olley said: “The takeover situation has been lingering over us for four or five months now.”We were told it was going to be the fastest takeover in football history, which obviously if you hear rumours of a takeover your interest spikes.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS”The club managed to hide all of that and no-one really found out until a month ago and you talk about contributing factors why players aren’t playing well, why the club’s not thriving, it’s a massive factor.”After two or three months of hearing whispers and it’s still not happened, you’ve got new owners bringing lads in, speaking to players and you’ve got the people at the top right now trying to potentially stay on.Every Premier League club’s most famous and also most surprising fan”You hear so many rumours and potentially being lied to about what’s happening or is it going to happen soon.”To then, the new owner coming into the changing room when he hasn’t officially taken over, talking to us as a team, saying what he expects, what he wants – but the fact of the matter is he hasn’t taken over yet so how has he been allowed to come in, unsettle the dressing room, to then talk about who he is wanting to keep on next year, who he wants to build around?”There has almost been a little bit of a divide in the camp until the last few weeks when we’ve tried to resolve it and bring us all back together. It’s been tarnished for a while, for a few months.”Anichebe retired from professional football in 2017 following spells with Everton, West Brom and Sunderland.He was also capped 11 times by the Nigeria national team. More

  • in

    Supercomputer predicts final Premier League table with race for Champions League places going down to the wire

    THE race for the Champions League spots is set to go down the wire as Prem teams jockey for position.With English sides having performed well in Europe this term, the Premier League has been awarded an extra Champions League place for next season.The race for Europa took a further twist as Forest failed to beat Crystal PalaceCredit: GettyThis means that the top five will all enter Europe’s premier competition in the 2025-26 campaign.Having already won the title, Liverpool have sewn up their place at Europe’s top table for next season.Second placed Arsenal are then in pole position to join the Reds, sitting six points above sixth with three matches remaining.Manchester City currently occupy third – with Newcastle fourth and Chelsea fifth.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLFollowing last night’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest are now on the outside looking in at sixth.While Aston Villa are seventh, but will still believe that they are in the hunt.With the race hotting up, boffins and brainiacs over at AceOdds have crunched the numbers to determine how the final Premier League table is likely to look.They reckon that out-of-form Arsenal will win two of their final three matches to seal second spot, and thus a place in the Champions League next season.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSMikel Arteta’s side will travel to Liverpool this weekend, before hosting Newcastle the following Sunday and finishing with a trip to relegated Southampton.In third, the supercomputer has Manchester City finishing two points back from Arsenal.Premier League manager starts new tradition of joining fans at local pubs if club wins It reckons that Pep Guardiola’s men will collect seven points from their last three games; as they travel to Southampton and Fulham either side of a home assignment against Bournemouth.Newcastle are tipped to finish in fourth place, as the Carabao Cup winners are backed to collect two wins and a defeat from their final three matches.Eddie Howe’s side will host Chelsea and Everton either side of their trip to Arsenal.Somewhat surprisingly, the supercomputer backs Aston Villa to win all three of their remaining games to vault up from seventh into fifth.Unai Emery’s men travel to Bournemouth this weekend, before hosting Tottenham in a match likely to be moved from its current Sunday slot to next Friday night – with Spurs potentially distracted by the upcoming Europa League final, should they make it.Villa then finish their campaign with a trip Manchester United, who will likely have played in the Europa League final in Bilbao four days earlier.The supercomputer reckons that Chelsea will only collect four more points to fall out of the top five.The Blues have awkward trips to Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to come, either side of a home assignment against Man Utd.Forest are backed to win two of their remaining three games, against Leicester, West Ham and Chelsea, but still finish behind the Blues on goal difference.Sixth place will earn a spot in the Europa League.Winning the FA Cup also carries a Europa League place, meaning that Crystal Palace could qualify by winning the competition.Should City win the FA Cup, by virtue of them having already qualified for Europe higher up the table, the Europa League spot would pass down to the team that finishes seventh in the league.Newcastle qualified for the Europa Conference League by winning the EFL Cup.But if the Toon qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via their league position, that Europa Conference League spot would be passed down to the next-best placed team in the Premier League table.This means that the team in eighth could earn a Europa Conference League spot.By winning this season’s Europa Conference League, Chelsea would earn themselves a place in next season’s Europa League.But Enzo Maresca’s side will hope to have already secured at least a Europa League spot via their Premier League finish.Finally, the Supercomputer predicts Man Utd and Tottenham to finish 14th and 16th respectively.Read More on The SunIf one of those two teams wins the Europa League, however, they will automatically enter the league phase of next season’s Champions League, despite their lowly Prem positions.An English side winning the Europa League, coupled with Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup, would see 10 Premier League sides in Europe next season – with six in the Champions League, three in the Europa League and one in the Europa Conference League.Tottenham or Man Utd could salvage a Champions League spot by winning the Europa LeagueCredit: Getty More

  • in

    EFL play-off semi-final moved due to fixture clash with Premier League club 120 miles away

    AN EFL play-off semi-final has had its date changed due to a fixture clash with a Premier League game.The top-flight affair takes place 120 miles north of the play-off match, but the Premier League has taken priority in the scheduling pecking order. Lloyd Jones opened the scoring in Charlton’s 4-0 win over Wycombe in April – their play-off game has been movedCredit: AlamyMorgan Gibbs-White and Forest need to beat Leicester to aid their Champions League pushCredit: PAThe EFL clubs in question are Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic, with the pair set to meet in the League One promotion lottery. Wycombe will host the first leg at Adams Park, and were supposed to kick off at 7.45pm on Saturday. May 10, but that has since been changed. The reason for that is that Nottingham Forest play east Midlands rivals Leicester City the day after and crucially, Forest’s city rivals Notts County are set to face AFC Wimbledon in the League Two play-offs that same day.Both games were scheduled for the same day in Nottingham, and as a result, County’s game – which was supposed to kick off at 6.30pm on Sunday, May 11 – has now been moved to the Saturday, swapping with Wycombe’s clash with Charlton. Read more footballAs such, Mike Dodds’ side will now take the 6.30pm kick-off on Sunday, with Notts to face Wimbledon on Saturday evening at 8pm at Meadow Lane. Forest kick off against Leicester at 2.15pm on Sunday at the City Ground as they look to turn around their lapse in form in their hunt for Champions League qualification.Nuno Espirito Santo’s side fell out of the top five in the Premier League table with home defeats by Manchester City and Brentford, and they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace on Monday night.They sit sixth with three games to play, two points off fifth-placed Chelsea, who beat champions Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday. Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKIt will be the first time ever that the Chairboys and the Addicks have played each other in play-offs. Nathan Jones’ south east Londoners did the double over the Buckinghamshire side in the regular season, thrashing them 4-0 at Adams Park in the third-last game of the campaign. Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke lead Chelsea’s dressing room celebrations after win over LiverpoolAt The Valley, they scraped a 2-1 victory thanks to a double from Miles Leaburn. More

  • in

    Anthony Joshua in talks over ‘serious investment’ in former Premier League club as boxer looks for new business venture

    ANTHONY JOSHUA has revealed he’s on course to punch a serious investment in Watford.The former two-time unified heavyweight champion, who has earned over £219MILLION in his boxing career, grew up in the town and has given back to the community through his Clean Herts Community initiative over the years.Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua grew up in WatfordCredit: ACTION IMAGESAJ has given back to the local community over the years through his Clearn Herts Community initiativeThe London 2012 Gold medallist now wants to invest in Watford Football ClubCredit: GETTYBut the Watford warrior, 35, now wants to use his millions in the bank to help get the Hornets buzzing again.He told SecondsOut: “We wanted to move into private equity, venture capital funds.”As you earn, naturally, you want to save.”So rather than me spending recklessly I’m trying to invest money into certain asset classes and that was an opportunity that presented itself.READ MORE BOXING NEWS“Nothing’s come of it yet. It’s a serious investment. If it comes off it’s one that should do well.“If they went back to the Premier League, then I’d need to get a shop on Market Street because the traffic that would be coming through Watford would be phenomenal.“If we don’t do it then good luck to them anyway because they’re a great team.”Watford ended the Championship season in 14th place, a whopping 11 points off the final play-off place.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSAJ would love to be an investor at Vicarage RoadCredit: GettyJoshua has been on the sidelines since his crushing fifth-round KO defeat to Daniel Dubois in their Wembley war last September.AJ is currently eyeing a long-overdue Battle of Britain with rival Tyson Fury, who recently performed a public U-turn on his latest retirement.Eddie Hearn provides update on Anthony Joshua’s injury and Tyson Fury fightBut their mammoth domestic dust-up won’t take place any time soon as Joshua is set to go under the knife in the coming weeks to address a long-standing elbow injury.When quizzed about his ring return, he told DAZN: “I’m trying to get my body right.”I have got to actually have a little surgery on my elbow.”A small surgery sometime in May. I’m finalising the details.”That will see me out of the gym for maybe six to eight weeks, and then when I’m healed, I will be back.” More