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FANS TO RETURN IN BRIGHTON VS CHELSEA FRIENDLY.

Fans will return to a football stadium in England for the first time following the coronavirus lockdown when Brighton host Chelsea in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, after the government approved a raft of pilot events.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed on Wednesday a raft of new events where spectators would be admitted on a socially-distanced basis, following the ban on mass gatherings introduced in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The test events will also include a Premiership rugby fixture, three horse racing meetings and cricket fixtures in the Bob Willis Trophy and T20 Blast.

Brighton announced that season-ticket holders and some club members will be able to purchase a total of 2,500 tickets for the match at the AMEX Stadium, where several measures will be introduced to fulfil government guidelines.

Fans will have to wear face masks upon entering the stadium, but will be allowed to remove them once they are in their seat, or for eating and drinking purposes.

Supporters are to socially distance, and will be instructed to remain in the seat they are allocated to ensure a low risk of transmission.

Stewards will also be permitted to carry out random temperature checks on supporters whose details will be stored in line with the government’s track and trace system.

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CHELSEA COMPLETE £50M SIGNING OF LEICESTER’S BEN CHILWELL.

Chelsea have officially confirmed the signing of defender Ben Chilwell from Leicester in a £50million deal.

The Stamford Bridge outfit have been keen to recruit another left back this summer and identified the 23-year-old as their primary target for that position.

Chilwell’s arrival on a five-year deal comes during a remarkable summer of spending which has also seen both Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech snapped up, with German starlet Kai Havertz closing on a switch to join them.

Chilwell said: ‘I am delighted to be joining Chelsea at this very exciting time for the club.

‘I’m looking forward to being a part of this young, dynamic squad led by Frank Lampard as we challenge for honours next season.

‘I can’t wait to get started and hopefully it won’t be long before we’re playing in front of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge.’

Chilwell has penned a long-term contact at Stamford Bridge and will become a crucial part of Lampard’s attempts to push for silverware next season.

The 23-year-old had missed the final five games of the last campaign with a heel problem, but his new club are believed to have held no long-term concerns over the setback.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘We are very pleased to have completed our third addition to our exciting squad for the coming season.

‘Ben brings plenty of top-level experience playing in the Premier League, Champions League and at international level, despite his young age.

‘We are confident Ben will adapt very quickly to being a Chelsea player and with the fixture programme for 2020/21 especially busy, he is a fantastic addition to the squad needed to challenge for honours.’

His contract with Leicester was set to run until 2024, but it is believed the England international was keen to make the switch to west London and he has got his wish.

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers has previously insisted that Chilwell was not for sale, yet privately the club never ruled out allowing him to leave.

The defender’s departure will certainly represent a sizeable profit for Leicester on a player they developed through their academy system.

Chilwell still had plenty of time remaining on his deal at the King Power and also has 11 England caps to his name, meaning Leicester were in a strong negotiating position.

The club have also proven themselves difficult negotiators in the past, as demonstrated during Harry Maguire’s move to Manchester United last summer.

Chelsea are attempting to bridge the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City at the Premier League summit and have laid out a remarkable statement of intent with their business.

The Blues narrowly pipped Leicester to a Champions League place on an action-packed final day of the 2019/20 campaign, forcing their rivals to settle for a spot in the Europa League, and have now sealed the deal for one of their prized assets.

And their activity in the market shows no signs of slowing down, with Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr expected to arrive in the near future in what may prove to be an eye-watering £231m overall splurge.

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Mikel scores on Stoke city Debut

The former Super Eagles captain made a goalscoring debut for the Championship outfit on Tuesday

John Obi Mikel scored his first Stoke City goal in their 5-1 hammering of Shrewsbury Town in Tuesday’s pre-season friendly match.

Mikel who joined the Potters on a free transfer earlier this month, made his first start for Stoke City at the club’s Clayton Wood training ground.

The 33-year-old restored the hosts’ lead just before the break after Oakley-Boothe’s opener was cancelled out by Shrewsbury Town.

Mikel was in action for 45 minutes before he was replaced by Tom Ince while DR Congo’s Benik Afobe was introduced for Lee Gregory, nine minutes after the hour-mark.

Following Tuesday’s convincing victory, Mikel will be eager to steer the Potters to victory when they host Blackpool for their League Cup fixture at bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

Meanwhile, O’Neill has lauded the former Nigeria captain for showing an instant impact in the team with his hard work.

“John’s been great in his first few days. You can see his quality, there’s no doubt, people in the group see his quality,” he was quoted by Stoke Sentinel.

Stoke City are scheduled to begin their 2020-21 Championship campaign on September 12 with a trip to Millwall.

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Harry Maguire given suspended sentence and withdrawn from England squad

Maguire was given a jail sentence of 21 months and 10 days, which is suspended for three years

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been withdrawn from the England squad by manager Gareth Southgate after being given a suspended prison sentence on the Greek island of Syros.

Defender Maguire, 27, was named in Southgate’s latest squad earlier on Tuesday, while his trial was ongoin

Southgate said withdrawing Maguire was “in the best interests of all parties”.

Maguire was given a jail sentence of 21 months and 10 days, which is suspended for three years, after an altercation on Mykonos.

He said after the verdict he had instructed his legal team “with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing”.

“I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims,” he added.

Speaking when he named his squad for Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark next month, Southgate said he had spoken to Maguire and had “no reason to doubt what he’s telling me”.

“Harry regrets the fact he has brought that sort of focus and attention to the team – he apologised for that – but also has his own side of the story,” he said.

“In these instances, I think you can only make decisions on facts that you’re aware of. Clearly if facts change further down the line or information changes, then I have to review that decision.”

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Leicester extend Vardy Contract

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has agreed a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2023.

The 33-year-old’s current deal at the King Power Stadium was due to expire in two years.

However, Vardy has been rewarded with a one-year extension after finishing last season as the Premier League’s top scorer with 23 goals.

“It’s a special feeling to be able to commit my future to Leicester City once again,” Vardy said.

“I love playing my football in front of our fans at King Power Stadium and I’m delighted to continue this journey at such an exciting time for the club.

“We’ve a fantastic team that I believe is capable of getting even better and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in the next few years.”

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Blind Collapses during friendly

Ajax and Netherlands defender Daley Blind collapsed during Tuesday’s pre-season friendly against Hertha Berlin.

Blind, 30, was diagnosed with a heart condition in December 2019 after suffering from dizziness during a Champions League game against Valencia.

The former Manchester United player returned to action in February after having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted.

Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag said Blind was feeling “OK” after being substituted.

“Daley Blind’s ICD went off. He got subbed off straight away and he is feeling OK now, he is feeling fine,” Ten Hag told Dutch TV station Ziggo Sport.

“We will do research about this now.

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Leeds Sign Rodrigo from Valencia

Leeds United have agreed a deal with Valencia to sign forward Rodrigo Moreno.

The Spain international, 29, had a loan spell with Bolton in 2010-11 and initially joined Valencia on loan from Benfica in 2014.

He went on to score 59 goals in 220 games for the La Liga club, helping them win the Copa del Rey in 2018-19.

“Valencia want to thank Rodrigo Moreno for his commitment and effort over the last six seasons,” the club tweeted

“We wish him all the best in this new stage of his career at Leeds United.”

Rodrigo, who was born in Brazil, has scored eight goals in 22 games for Spain since making his debut in 2014.

Leeds won the Championship by 10 points last season to secure their return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

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ARSENAL WITHDRAW RACE TO SIGN €50M THOMAS PARTEY.

Arsenal have given up in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey as they failed to negotiate a deal, according to reports.

Spanish website La Razon said at the back end of June that the Gunners ‘will pay the clause’ to bring Partey to the Emirates Stadium with a deal ‘close’.

Only a week later, the Daily Mail claimed Arsenal were ‘confident’ they would land Partey but they ‘are facing huge losses’ and will probably have to sell before they can buy this summer.

And last week Sources revealed that ‘siren songs’ were coming from Arsenal and Juventus who are also interested in a deal for Partey meaning that Atletico are still ‘in suspense’.

‘Atletico fans live hours of uncertainty’ with Partey’s future at the club up in the air after Atletico recently rejected the Gunners offer of €25m plus Matteo Guendouzi.

The latest update says Atletico Madrid remains firm that any club wanting to buy Partey must pay his €50m release clause.

The report adds that Arsenal have now ‘withdrawn’ from the race for Partey while the asking price remains the same as they ‘don’t intend to pay the €50m demanded’.

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MESSI CONFIRMS HE WANTS TO LEAVE CAMP NOU.

Lionel Messi has communicated to Barcelona that he wants to leave the club and will activate a clause to end unilaterally his contract.

It has also been reported that the club will defend their rights to demand a fee for the player, rather than let him go for free. The club claim the clause became inactive after June 10th.

His decision to call time on his career at Barcelona comes following the most humiliating defeat he has suffered while playing for the club, losing 8-2 in the Champions League quarter final to Bayern Munich.

It was after that game that rumours started to circulate that Messi had come to the end of his tether at Barça, as journalist Marcelo Bechler, the man who first broke the news that Neymar would move to PSG, reported that Messi wanted a move.

It is a situation that neither the club nor Messi ever wanted to happen. He would happily spend the rest of his career at the Camp Nou if he had any faith in the board to oversee the sort of changes the club has needed for a while. But having dragged Barcelona to title wins in 2018 and 2019, not with the help of the board’s recruitment but in spite of it, he does not owe them anything more.

He has given his best years to the club, has not won a Champions League for five years, and does not want to waste any more time at a club going through a rebuild as his legs begin to wane.

Where he goes now is another matter, but there will not be a shortage of takers for the greatest player of all time.

Inter Milan are understood to be interested in bringing Messi to the San Siro, while Barça have also shown interest in Lautaro Martínez. The Italian club are understood to have the financial might to match his wage demands too.

Another option for Messi will be a reunion with his former manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Guardiola has not won the Champions League since he managed Messi at Barcelona and with the coach only likely to stay at City for another year, a Last Dance with his old mentor could tempt Messi towards Manchester.

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AS ROMA SIGNS PEDRO FROM CHELSEA.


AS Roma have completed the signing of Pedro, who was a free agent after leaving Chelsea this month, on a three-year contract.


AS Roma have made an official statement to confirm that they have secured the services of Pedro on a three-year contract that will run through to 30 June 2023. The Spanish winger joins the Serie A giants on a free transfer, having departed Chelsea at the end of his contract this month.

Pedro is one of the most decorated players of all time, having won 25 trophies over his stints with Barcelona and Chelsea as well as the Spanish national side. The 33-year-old joined Chelsea in the summer of 2015 after an illustrious spell with the Blaugrana, with whom he won every possible trophy multiple times.

Over the past half-a-decade, the Spaniard was a consistent performer for the Blues, although the last couple of seasons saw him fall down the pecking order. His prospects were only going to suffer more in the upcoming season, with Chelsea already signing Hakim Ziyech while also closing in on Kai Havertz.

So, it became clear that with Chelsea becoming a more youthful side, he, like Willian, who has gone on to join Arsenal, would need to move on to a club where he can secure regular game time. As a result, Pedro started being linked with a number of clubs across Europe.

In particular, AS Roma seemed to be heavily linked with the player, with their prospects of signing him strengthening further in recent weeks. Now, the Giallorossi have gone on to land the veteran winger on a free transfer. Pedro, who is set to play Serie A football for the very first time, has put pen to paper on a three-year contract.

Upon completing the switch, the former Chelsea winger expressed his excitement, saying, “I am delighted to be here at Roma. I’m excited for this challenge and to compete to achieve our targets over the coming seasons. I want to thank the fans for the welcome they’ve given me. I hope to make them happy.”

Roma already have a stacked squad, with attack being beefed up in recent windows as well. But, despite all the talent at Paulo Fonseca’s disposal, the Serie A outfit lack an experienced figure out on the wings, especially Diego Perotti linked with a possible summer exit.

Pedro, with all his experience at the top level with Chelsea and Barcelona, is potentially a fine addition to the Roma squad. Now set for a new phase in his career, it will be interesting to see if his signing can galvanize an underperforming squad.