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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Eddie Howe gives update on Alexander Isak saga with wantaway forward looking to secure Liverpool move as Newcastle boss admits it has been a 'distraction'
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has provided an update on the Alexander Isak saga and admitted that it was a 'distraction' during pre-season. Isak is currently on strike as he looks to secure a move to Liverpool before the transfer window closes on September 1. The striker wasn't part of the Newcastle squad for their opening game of the Premier League season away to Aston Villa. Howe wants Isak to play but it seems highly unlikely that he will feature in upcoming fixtures against Liverpool or Leeds. Asked for an update on the situation with Isak, Howe told TNT Sports: 'No different to how its been for a number of weeks really. He's not here today, we're without him, and we're adapting to that and still trying to be competitive. 'Today will be a big test for us. Aston Villa did very well last year, we know how difficult this ground is to come to and play but we're looking forward to it. I think it's a strong team we picked so fingers crossed we go well.' In the absence of Isak, winger Anthony Gordon was chosen to start as a central striker for Newcastle against Villa. Howe said: 'We believe in the team that we picked today and we believe in all the players we have in our squad. There's been distractions during pre-season but that's all been for me, not so much the players. The players should be in good condition to play today. Asked if he feels let down regarding the Isak situation, Howe said: 'I don't think now's the time to discuss that, we're about to play a game. All my emotions are towards this game and making sure we're competitive, driven, motivated. This is a tough place to come if you're one or two per cent down. We've got to be there mentally today, me included, the whole coaching staff. There's no feeling of anything other than wanting to give our best today.' Howe revealed in his pre-match press conference that he wanted Isak to train and play. He said: 'Of course, I've said many times I want him to train and play. I've had those conversations with him, but the details of these conversations need to remain private.' 'It (training alone) is not something you ever want to see. You want to see him with the squad, you want to see him happy and enjoying his football. He is contracted to us. He is here, so for me, that is an unfortunate situation.' On August 1 Liverpool had a bid of £110million plus add-ons rejected for Isak, who missed the club's pre-season tour of Asia. Howe expressed his belief that there could still be a way back for Isak at Newcastle. He said: 'Yes, I believe there is. But of course, discussions and talks would need to take place for that to happen. But that's for another day. Today is Aston Villa and making sure we perform as well as we can.'
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Lucy Charles-Barclay's career was dogged by injuries until she discovered why. Now she's back for another shot at the Ironman world title
Lucy Charles-Barclay is not a household name, and yet she might be the most complete female athlete on the planet. There is no purer sporting test than a triathlon, which makes demands on every muscle in the body, and the Ironman distance takes those demands to ludicrous extremes: running a full marathon after a refreshing 2.4-mile swim and an invigorating 112-mile bike ride, covering the distance from London to Sheffield in eight-and-a-half hours. Charles-Barclay won the Ironman World Championship in 2023 and broke the record for the iconic Kona course in Hawaii, in which the best long-distance triathletes compete through crystal blue waters and black lava fields. She will be back at Kona in a few weeks' time to try to regain the title, and the 31-year-old is in the form of her life after an emotional win at her home race in the London T100 last weekend. Yet the road to this point has been a brutal one, after three years spent battling a series of mysterious injuries from rib fractures to muscle tears to a rip in her hip cartilage, after which she was told she might never race again. She embarked on an investigation into her own anatomy, travelling to Red Bull's high performance centre near Salzburg to undergo testing. 'We really couldn't find a reason,' she says. Finally, last year, she received an answer: a diagnosis for Celiac disease, the serious autoimmune condition triggered by gluten. 'It was a lightbulb moment. Before a race I would carb load, so I would just eat pizza, pasta, all these things. I was basically poisoning myself before going into a big event.' Charles-Barclay had often competed through the pain. She won the Ironman world title after tearing her calf muscle at the start of the marathon, which crept open like a zip so that by the time she finished 26 miles later, it was 14cm long. So when she came to a halt on London's Victoria Dock during last year's T100 race – part of triathlon's new F1-style championship at glamorous locations all over the world – it had to be bad. Her achilles had blown and she was wheeled away on a golf buggy, past the fans who had come out to see her compete in the flesh. 'It was devastating,' she says. It took nearly a year after her diagnosis to feel fully healthy, but a change in diet – swapping out gluten for rice, chicken and eggs – transformed her body's resilience. Last weekend, in almost exactly the same spot where she had broken down the year before, Charles-Barclay overtook her rival Kate Waugh to lead the London race. She reached the finish straight alone, with just enough time to hype a giddy crowd inside the ExCel Centre before lifting the finish tape over her head in triumph. Then she collapsed into the arms of her coach and husband Reece, and the tears flowed. 'It doesn't quite feel real,' Charles-Barclay says, watching back the footage of her winning moment. She is talking to The Independent after a hard morning's training at the London Aquatics Centre in Olympic Park, four days after that T100 victory. 'There's so much emotion in that video. It feels a little bit weird, like it was like a real 'moment', a turning point, proving to myself that I'm back to my old ways and feeling strong again.' There was a poignancy, too, after Charles-Barclay's grandfather died in December. 'He watched all my races, most of them online because I don't race in the UK, so London last year was the final race that he actually came to watch me, and obviously I had to pull out. So it was really, really sad. We had all the family there this year apart from him, but it definitely felt like he was there with me.' Triathlon remains a fringe sport outside of its place in the Olympic Games, but T100 is bidding to change that. Its world tour operates like a Formula One season, with 20 contracted triathletes competing for points and prize money at nine destinations around the world. Races are staged in Miami, San Francisco, Ibiza and Dubai, and the champion at the end of the season scoops £150,000. The 100km competition – somewhere between a regular triathlon and an Ironman – was launched last year as a ploy to build a more consistent narrative, with the best athletes regularly going head to head. The event has lured plenty of big names including Olympic champions Flora Duffy and Alistair Brownlee, while Alex Yee is considering joining the championship next year, which would be a major coup. Triathlon is increasingly attracting the executive class, usurping golf as the go-to hobby of the CEO, but it also has a growing grassroots following. Charles-Barclay has amassed a small army of fans with half a million followers on Instagram, and a line of mostly young girls queued up after her London win to get selfies with their hero. Quietly, she is blazing a trail. 'It makes it all feel so worth it,' she says. 'Sport at this level is incredibly tough, you make a lot of sacrifices, you often feel like it's quite a selfish pursuit training all the time and not seeing family and friends very often. So to feel like you're doing it more than just for yourself, you're inspiring others – hopefully those young kids will grow up and try triathlon or get into sport, so it feels a lot bigger than just swim, bike, run.' Many of her fans were sporting the familiar 'battle braids' hairstyle that has become an essential part of the Charles-Barclay image. 'In my first ever triathlon I just decided to braid my hair to keep it out of the way, and then it became a good luck charm and I would braid my hair before every race,' she says. 'It's like I'm going into battle every time that I'm going to line up for a competition, so it's almost like a confidence thing. It's inspired young girls to braid their hair, whether it's sports day at school, or I've had young women who sit exams and they'll braid their hair just to feel a bit more confident doing it. It's become a real movement that I didn't expect and every time someone shares it online, it's just so amazing to see that.' The Olympics remains triathlon's biggest stage, and there is talk of the 100km format making its debut at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane. That may come too late for Charles-Barclay, who has never competed at the Games, and she admits it is frustrating not to get the same recognition as those who race over the shorter Olympic distance. 'We deserve it, we work so hard,' she says. 'I definitely don't do it for [recognition] but I feel like if we were given the platform, with more mainstream media sharing that journey, we've got the capacity to inspire so many new people to get involved in this fantastic sport. That's one of the main reasons why I do it.' And, of course, to win. Charles-Barclay is heading to Lanzarote for a five-week training camp before returning to Kona in October, the scene of her greatest triumph. She is, technically, the defending champion on that particular course after the World Championship made an unpopular detour to France last year, when she was out injured. It will be back in Hawaii, and so will Charles-Barclay – somehow, after everything, feeling stronger than ever. Her course record – 8hr 24min 31sec – could even be under threat. 'Hawaii's all about the conditions, so if it's super windy it will be slow on the bike,' she says. 'But I managed to win there with a torn calf, so I do believe I can go faster. I just really want to go there and get the win again.'
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Who are the TNT Sports presenters for the Premier League 2025/26?
THE Premier League is back with a bang for this season with more live matches on TV than ever before. TNT Sports has exclusive rights to 52 Premier League matches this season, including 32 Saturday fixtures. Their coverage is kicking off with Newcastle 's clash against Aston Villa on Saturday August 16. TNT Sports was known as BT Sport until 2023, and has carried the Premier League since its launch in 2013. Who is joining the TNT Sports team for the 2025/26 season? Rio Ferdinand is leaving TNT Sports this season after 10 years, and will be replaced by Tottenham and Real Madrid icon Gareth Bale. Rio will be leaving to pursue other business interests and spend time with his family. Other TNT pundits include Ally McCoist, who will commentate selected Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches. The Rangers legend was last heard commentating Premier League matches for Prime Video in the 2019/20 season. Who is returning to TNT Sports this season? Lynsey Hipgrave will return to host TNT Sports' Premier League coverage, which she's been doing since 2022. Lynsey is perhaps best known for hosting the breakfast show on 5 Live until 2016. Supporting her will be Chelsea legend Joe Cole and Peter Crouch, Bale's former Tottenham team-mate. How can I watch the Premier League on TNT Sports and how much does it cost? The streaming home of TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+. Monthly plans start at £30.99 and include other sports including tennis (the Australian Open), motorsport and cricket. In the Republic of Ireland, TNT Sports is available via Sky, NOW, Virgin Media and Vodafone.
