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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
QPR boss Stephan tight-lipped on Kone speculation
Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan would not be drawn on transfer rumours linking his side with a move for Wycombe Wanderers striker Richard Frenchman was speaking after the Rs surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Plymouth Argyle in the first round of the Carabao Hoops sold last season's League One top scorer Charlie Kelman to Charlton Athletic last month and have sent Alfie Lloyd on loan to Leyton reports have linked the club with 22-year-old Kone, who scored 21 goals for the Chairboys last when asked by BBC Sport whether fans could expect to see the young Ivorian wearing QPR colours this season, the former Rennes boss said: "I want to speak about the QPR players and I can't do anything else so if you want to speak about [Rumarn] Burrell, [Rayan] Kolli and [Emmerson] Sutton, the striker, we can speak. "I can't speak because it's not QPR's player." First-half goals from Daniel Bennie and Kolli put the Rs 2-0 up at half-time at Home Brendan Wiredu's headed goal halved the deficit inside three minutes of the restart before an Owen Oseni double completed the turnaround for the gave full debuts to Jaiden Putman, Tylon Smith, Alex Wilkie and Jaylan Pearman, as well as introducing Kalen Brunson, Ashley Trujillo, Teddy Tarbotton and Cian Dillon off the bench for their first appearances for the club."It was a good opportunity to show the young players, or the very young players, and to give them some experience," Stephan said. "And if we never put the young players on the pitch, it's not possible for them to have this experience. So, yeah, I think they learn a lot in this game. And they learn also that we need to be focused 100% every time."
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Erling's Car-Land! Man City star Haaland splashes out on new £200,000 monster truck as he adds £5MILLION-worth of luxury vehicles to his collection just this year
Erling Haaland has continued to demonstrate his love of cars after the forward was spotted driving a new £200,000 truck earlier this week. The Man City star was seen leaving the club's Etihad Campus on Monday in a new Ford Shelby F-150 truck. The truck comes with a 5 litre V8 engine and is capable of going from zero to 60mph in 3.4 seconds. It adds to a fleet of cars Haaland has bought since moving to Man City for Borussia Dortmund back in 2022. The Norwegian has remarkably bought four cars since putting pen to paper on his latest Man City contract earlier this year. In January, Haaland signed the most lucrative contract in Premier League history, with his total package worth almost £1million per week over nine-and-a-half-years. The following month, Haaland was seen leaving training in a orange Porsche 911 GT3 which is worth over £200,000. Haaland was then reported to teamed up with billionaire car collector Ole Ertvaag to buy the Bugatti Tourbillion, worth a reported £4million. The rare supercar is one of just 250 to have been made and was billed to have 'space age' features including 'butterfly doors'. The Bugatti has a 1,800 horsepower petrol and electric hybrid V16 engine which can take the car from zero to 62mph in two seconds, and can reach 124mph in just a mere five seconds. In May, Haaland splashed out on a yellow convertible Ferrari 812 Superfast, which would have set back the forward £320,000. His collection also includes an Aston Martin DBX 4x4 worth £350,000, a £250,000 Mercedes Maybach and a £120,000 Audi RS6 Avant Quattro. The forward in the past has been seen driving a Ferrari Monza SP2, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan and a Range Rover Sport. Haaland is preparing for the new Premier League season with Man City and will be crucial in their bid to reclaim the title. The Manchester City forward's car collection also includes a £120,000 Audi RS6 Avant Quattro The star will expect to lead the line when Man City open their campaign against Wolves on Saturday afternoon. Haaland, who celebrated his 25th birthday this summer, should be fresh after enjoying a break with his girlfriend Isabel Johansen following the Club World Cup. The couple, who welcomed their first child in December, were pictured on holiday in Ibiza last month.
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Welcome to Arsenal's ‘now or never' season, the culmination of the Mikel Arteta era
Now that Arsenal 's attackers have had some games and sessions to work with Viktor Gyokeres, there's quickly been a realisation. That has been the need to play early passes. It isn't something their attackers have been too accustomed to, given the team's preference for control and Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka 's tendency to go inside. Mikel Arteta insists on smart players, however, and they know to get that timing right. It might be an apt theme for the season. When Arsenal pressed ahead on Gyokeres over Benjamin Sesko, the phrase used by the club was that it was a signing for 'the here and now'. In other words, to win now; to finally bring almost five years of work to fruition. The club even have a Premier League trophy silhouette on the wall at the training ground, ready to be filled in, such is the will to finally deliver that trophy for the first time in 22 years. And yet the obvious follow from 'here and now' is whether there's any sense of 'now or never'. Such a question perhaps indulges the more intense noise around Arsenal – some of it created from within – as well as the doubts about Arteta himself. They don't always sync with the basic facts. Arsenal have enjoyed almost unimaginable strides from 2020, when they looked a basket case that were almost a lost cause. Arteta has made them a serious team again, just looking to make that leap from second place and semi-finals to major trophies. Club executives don't actually talk of 'final steps', since 'the context changes from one season to another', but the aim is to build the squad to 'a certain level', controlling what you can control. That's just one other reason this feels a decisive campaign. After three successive seasons of second places, the gaps in the squad were obvious. Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta knew exactly what was needed. And while there have previously been elements hugely out of Arsenal's control – like facing Manchester City at a state project's most imperious – that wasn't quite the case last season. Liverpool stole in when Arsenal probably felt it was their moment. The club feel the reasons for that disappointment were obvious, from injuries to being subject to brief 'refereeing zealotry' over new rules, but they were otherwise in a good place. Hence Arteta's derided comments after the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. He was serious. The squad is at a good age and well set up. Liverpool's title victory nevertheless strengthened the idea that Arteta's Arsenal are fated to never get over the line. While the idea of managers or teams as 'winners' is often overstated and overlooks important context, what is really relevant is how such labels can become self-fulfilling if players start to believe it. That is all the more relevant when Arteta himself is so big on psychology. The Basque is all too aware of such talk, even if he will never admit it, specifically because a key idea is to never manifest doubt by publicly articulating it. Doubt is poison. This is also where the sense of 'now or never' is more valid. Virtually everyone at Arsenal is hugely hopeful about this season, but it hasn't been impossible to envisage a situation where more disappointment heralds a tailspin. That can happen to good teams together for some time who don't quite get there, most notably Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur. It's just as well the dressing room is buoyant going into the new season. That mood certainly manifested in Saturday's 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Even opposition manager Ernesto Valverde described it as 'another level' and 'simply outstanding'. This is the vision that Arteta wants. The issue will be sustaining it, which is where last season's flaws are more relevant. Arsenal had been criticised for regressing from the relentless all-angle attack that first saw Arteta's side rise, and occasionally derided as a set-piece team. Staff explained that such compromises were necessary due to the many issues, especially 'injury clusters'. So far, they have solved most of those issues, in particular, a dependence on specific overused players, which exposed a lack of depth and variety. While the team was still at a top level when key players were there, any drop-offs exposed remaining elements missing. The long-awaited signing of a striker has naturally been the headline, but many within the club feel the most important arrival is Martin Zubimendi. Everyone immediately saw he is a midfielder of another level. Zubimendi just instantly offers assurance, crucial for a club occasionally caught on the break. His intelligence also means Arteta gets his ideal of a midfield with multiple possible configurations. That is a quality the Basque especially appreciates, given the amount of time he spends obsessing over minute details in opposition sides. It's also something that's been overlooked in the forward search, and why Arsenal set a limit of around £65m. The idea was never a fixed No 9. Kai Havertz's understanding of the pressing system will still see him used a lot, especially in big games. Staff have even envisioned plans where Havertz is picked over Odegaard, with the German and Rice forming an especially physical challenge. While Noni Madueke's signing has surprised some in the club, he is viewed as one of those options who can provide multiple solutions – especially as an alternative for Saka. Madueke will also ensure there aren't the same expectations on Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman, who are both expected to have even more impact. Arsenal staff have obviously tried to protect Dowman, but quickly realised there was no point trying to quieten excitement surrounding the 15-year-old. At the other end, Cristhian Mosquera bolsters one of the strongest defences in Europe, where Riccardo Calafiori's pre-season has also offered encouragement. Arsenal still want to bring someone else in, either Eberechi Eze or another option on the left. Such a wait has played into a lingering frustration in a generally positive summer. The club want to sell first, which is in keeping with the policy of never being close to the limits of the PSR. Such 'good citizenship', as one Arsenal executive puts it, does fray against that one remaining question. The guiding mindset at Arsenal is 'control', with the manager wanting solutions for every possible issue you can think of. Arteta even sets the temperatures of the ice boxes. But what about the elements you can't imagine? What about a game-changer? Arsenal's business has been very measured and forensic, in contrast to Liverpool, who spent in a way no one expected. Arsenal haven't signed a Florian Wirtz. They didn't push on Alexander Isak. This is no idle speculation, either, since Arteta obviously had considerable interest in the Swede. Arsenal actually switched plans earlier this year when they felt that Isak wouldn't force his way out of Newcastle. What must they be thinking now? Should the Madueke and Gyokeres money have been used for this one grand signing? Or might that actually be too much unpredictability, when all Arsenal need is that bit more control to get their hands on the title? The difference might well decide the season. It's not necessarily now or never, but the time might never be better.
