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The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Alan Shearer slams Alexander Isak agent as striker's statement pours ‘flames on the fire'
Former Newcastle captain Alan Shearer believes wantaway striker Alexander Isak has poured 'flames on the fire' of his stand-off with the Magpies by accusing the club of breaking promises, and said his comments 'don't benefit anyone'. Isak has been trying to force a move out of Newcastle all summer but was frustrated earlier this month when the club rejected an offer from Liverpool, reportedly worth £110million plus add-ons. Having sat out their pre-season tour of Asia and trained alone since, missing Saturday's goalless draw at Aston Villa in Newcastle's Premier League opener, Isak escalated the situation further on Tuesday night with a post on Instagram in which he said 'the relationship can't continue'. Speaking to Betfair, Shearer said the situation is now an 'absolute mess' as he pointed the finger at Isak's agent Vlado Lemic. 'If I was him, I'd get his agent in a room and sack him on the spot immediately, because he is meant to be giving him the advice to sign that six-year deal and there's no get out clause,' Shearer said. 'I mean, it's ridiculous. And to take anyone's word in football… it's nonsensical to say that someone said, 'Oh, I'll be able to get out at the end of the season'. Really? I mean, come on… 'I've always said there are two sides to every story, but my feelings are exactly the same: he's gone about it in the wrong way… 'I just think even releasing this statement last night has thrown flames onto the fire, which he didn't need to do. 'I get that we needed to hear his side of the story and we've heard that now, and I'm not saying I don't believe him or I don't believe Newcastle, I'm just saying it's very, very messy for him and for the football club. It doesn't benefit anyone.' In his statement, posted on Instagram on Tuesday evening, Isak had said: 'The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To act now as if these issues are only emerging is misleading. 'When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue.' Newcastle responded by denying that Isak had been granted any assurances over a potential move. 'We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer,' a club statement said. This is the latest episode in what has already been the primary saga of this transfer window. Liverpool had a bid rejected at the start of August but have retained an interest in a player who scored 27 goals in 42 games for Newcastle last season despite signing Hugo Ekitike – a forward who was also targeted by Newcastle. Newcastle are said to value Isak at £150million, and would only consider a sale if they have signed a replacement. As well as missing out on Ekitike, Newcastle were frustrated in their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko who chose to join Manchester United. Isak has three years remaining on his contract at St James' Park.
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
England coach John Mitchell: Being World Cup favourites is irrelevant to us
England head coach John Mitchell insists the tag of being Women's Rugby World Cup favourites is 'irrelevant'. The Red Roses kick off this year's World Cup at the Stadium of Light against the United States on Friday and also face Samoa and Australia in Pool A. England enter the tournament ranked number one in the world, but head coach Mitchell believes talk of being favourites is 'irrelevant'. When asked what challenges that title presents, Mitchell replied: 'It doesn't really matter. We start the tournament equal like everyone else. 'Being favourites is irrelevant to us. It might be relevant to your section of the world. We've just got to be where our feet are and earn the right each week.' England are currently on a 27-game winning run and recorded warm-up victories against Spain and France earlier this month. Friday's opponents the USA are ranked 10th in the world and Mitchell believes that while his side are likely to be 'hunted' by teams during the tournament, they are ready to embrace that. 'It's really important to basically focus on ourselves,' he said. 'We understand their threats – it's not that we don't look at their threats – but ultimately at the end of the day it's really important to focus on what we do and how we improve our margins, make sure that we perform above our standards. 'I'm sure if we take care of that, then that will take care of the threats. 'Every team will rise 10 or 15 per cent in this tournament because they're playing against England, that's just what we expect. 'From that point of view, we realise we're hunted but we also look forward to that as well.' Mitchell has named the same starting 15 from the 40-6 warm-up victory over France for the opening game. Skipper Zoe Aldcroft leads the squad at blindside flanker, with number eight Alex Matthews and openside Sadia Kabeya alongside her in the back row and Abbie Ward and Morwenna Talling lining up in the second row. Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne and Maud Muir complete the forwards. Vice-captain Megan Jones continues at centre alongside Tatyana Heard, while Jess Breach, Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne make up the back three, Natasha Hunt starts at scrum-half and Zoe Harrison is at fly-half. World Cup debutants Kelsey Clifford, Maddie Feaunati and Emma Sing are named as replacements and veteran Emily Scarratt is also on the bench. Speaking about team selection, Mitchell added: 'Ultimately, we've tried to build cohesion. We've come out of a pre-season, we're not like the Southern Hemisphere teams which have had a lot of rugby. 'We're just building, so it's really important to make sure that you create combinations that players are familiar with. 'We do have history together in the squad that's selected, a number of minutes over the last three years – I think something like 1200 caps amongst that group of girls. 'That's a lot of experience and a lot of belief. You've got to play those cards in a tournament like this.'
The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
Premier League TV fixtures announced for October with Man Utd and Chelsea's games vs champions Liverpool moved
MAN UTD and Chelsea have both seen games against Premier League champions Liverpool rescheduled for broadcast A number of matches in October have been rescheduled to allow for live broadcast. 1 The Blues were set to host Liverpool at 3pm on Saturday October 4th, but the game has been pushed back to a 5.30pm kick off to avoid the blackout. Elsewhere, the Red Devils' trip to Anfield has been moved by one day from Saturday October 18th to 4.30pm on Sunday to accommodate its Sky Sports broadcast. Man Utd's fixture against Brighton the following Saturday has also been pushed back to 5.30pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports. The club's uncharacteristic absence from European competition will soften some of the sting that an ill-timed rescheduling could bring. Liverpool's match away to Brentford that same Saturday has been brought forward to 12.30pm. That fixture, however, may still be shifted to a late kick off should the Reds play away in the Champions League on the preceding Wednesday.
