logo
Ivan Toney and Trevoh Chalobah called into England squad by Thomas Tuchel

Ivan Toney and Trevoh Chalobah called into England squad by Thomas Tuchel

Yahoo23-05-2025

Ivan Toney and Trevoh Chalobah have been called up by Thomas Tuchel for England's matches next month, and Conor Gallagher has also been included. But there is no presence in the squad for players including Harry Maguire, Marc Guéhi, Dominic Solanke and Phil Foden.
Toney is back for the first time since he left Brentford for the Saudi Premier League club Al-Ahli last summer. He has scored 29 goals in 43 games this season and won the Asian Champions League.
Advertisement
Chalobah's call-up is his first with the senior squad after England appearances at a number of age-group levels. He and Jude Bellingham, who is due to have shoulder surgery later this summer, are among the players included before they are due to go to the Club World Cup.
Foden has not fully recovered from ankle ligament damage sustained in early April and said this week in relation to an England call-up that it may be 'better to rest and get my ankle fully 100% back'. Guéhi was in Tuchel's previous squad and has not been included after lifting the FA Cup with Palace.
England play a World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona on 7 June and play Senegal in a friendly in Nottingham three days later.
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you're on the most recent version.
In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
Turn on sport notifications.
The international window sits in an awkward spot for Tuchel, coming after the domestic season has ended and before the Club World Cup begins in the US on 15 June. Players with England caps are involved with five teams at the tournament: Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid.
• More details soon …

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brighton Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and the likely exits
Brighton Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and the likely exits

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Brighton Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and the likely exits

Brighton & Hove Albion will not be as active over the next few months as they were in the 2024 summer window, when they splashed out nearly £200million on nine new players. There will, however, still be plenty of ins and outs — whether permanently or on loan — to refresh and revamp a large and mainly young squad. The recruitment tactic of looking one or two windows ahead means some additions to head coach Fabian Hurzeler's pool of players are already in place. Brighton have sold key figures for significant fees in recent summers and the possibility of that happening again this time cannot be ruled out… Assistant technical director Mike Cave leads on recruitment, chief executive Paul Barber concentrates on sales and technical director David Weir on dealing with agents and internal communications, including contract renewals. Hurzeler has an input regarding the ins and outs and while owner-chairman Tony Bloom does not get involved in any negotiations, the final verdicts rest with him. He considers recommendations and whether the numbers stack up. Ultimately, it is Bloom who decides whether or not a deal gets done. Defence stands out as an ageing department in need of attention, both centrally and at full-back. Ferdi Kadiolgu was the only defender among those nine signings last summer, and then the Turkey international full-back did not feature after November because of a toe injury that required surgery. Centre-back Eiran Cashin then arrived from Championship side Derby County for £9million in the winter window but only made two substitute appearances for a combined 19 minutes. Concentrating on the centre of defence first, Lewis Dunk will be 34 in November. Brighton's long-serving captain suffered more injury problems than ever before last season. Adam Webster, 30, had similar issues. Cashin, 23, is a year younger than the club's official player of the season Jan Paul van Hecke. The Dutchman stood alone as a stabilising influence. More competition and cover is desirable for regular left-back Pervis Estupinan. On the right side of defence, Van Hecke's compatriot Joel Veltman also turns 34 in the middle of next season, and Tariq Lamptey is out of contract this summer and could leave. Central midfielders Jack Hinshelwood and Mats Wieffer filled in at right-back for periods during this past season. It helps to have adaptable players, but the squad is light on specialist full-backs with long futures at the top level ahead of them. Hurzeler wants more physicality in the squad. His first season in the Premier League has highlighted the importance of intensity and athleticism. The current group is brimming with technically-gifted talents, but Brighton looked brittle and lightweight on occasion last season. He does not like a lot of change, preferring stability for an essentially young group to grow together. Advertisement The centre-back situation is set to be addressed on July 1 with the signing of left-footed Olivier Boscagli, once his contract with back-to-back Dutch champions PSV expires. An agreement has been reached with the 27-year-old Frenchman. Boscagli has been a target for some time, as reported by The Athletic last November. The Athletic's David Ornstein also revealed in mid-May that Brighton hold an interest in versatile Brazilian Cuiabano of Rio de Janeiro-based Copa Libertadores holders Botafogo. Offers with add-ons worth a total of £5.88million ($8m) and £6.72m were turned down for the 22-year-old, who can play on the left side as a winger, full-back or midfielder. As reported by The Athletic last month, Brighton are pursuing 18-year-old Olympiacos striker Charalampos Kostoulas. They have offered the Greek champions in the region of £30million, plus fellow forward Abdallah Sima (who has never played an official match for Brighton, spending his four years on their books out on a series of season-long loans, most recently to Brest in France's Ligue 1), for a teenager who is regarded as one of the hottest young talents in Europe. Backup goalkeeper Carl Rushworth wants to leave unless his chances of game time improve. That is unlikely, with Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele blocking the path of the highly-rated 23-year-old, who is under contract until 2027. There is certain to be plenty of Championship, and possibly even Premier League, interest in Rushworth. Valentin Barco's loan move to Strasbourg in the winter window included an obligation to buy. The 20-year-old left-back's form at the Ligue 1 club under English manager Liam Rosenior has earned him a place in the Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers this month against Chile and Colombia. Advertisement Brighton never look to sell any of their biggest assets, but not standing in the way of players if an opportunity arises to further their career elsewhere is part of the recruitment model — as long as the price and the circumstances are suitable. The most obvious candidates for attracting attention this summer, in no particular order, are Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma. Definitely, and a high number, too. As Brighton have developed as a club, so too has the size of the squad and the number of players that are farmed out elsewhere each season. That has become part of the model. Some players go out on loan once, twice or multiple times with a view to either breaking through back aboard the mothership or enhancing their resale values. A new trend last season was Brighton having the confidence to lend players to Premier League rivals, as was the case with Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester), Evan Ferguson (West Ham) and Julio Enciso (Ipswich). One prime candidate to make a step up in level, in terms of where he goes out on loan next, is Kamari Doyle. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder thrived in the second half of the campaign just gone with neighbours Crawley, even though they were relegated from League One, English football's third tier. A trio of youngsters whose transfers are already done and dusted will link up with the club this summer. Brighton landed Greek striker Stefanos Tzimas from Nurnberg at the end of the winter window for more than £20million, then loaned the 19-year-old back to the German second-tier club for the remainder of their season, only for him to miss its final two months through injury. Two more signings were then announced in March: 18-year-old South Korean winger Yun Do-young from Daejeon Hana Citizen for an undisclosed fee, and fellow wide man Tommy Watson, now 19, from Sunderland for £10million. Advertisement Yun will be loaned out, Tzimas and Watson, who scored the late winner in the play-off final last month to get Sunderland promoted back to the Premier League, will be assessed in pre-season to determine their next steps. Brighton made a combined profit of nearly £200million across the past two seasons (a Premier League record of £122.8m in 2022-23, then £73.3m). Spending nearly £200million on those nine signings in the summer 2024 transfer window will have a negative impact when the 2024-25 accounts are published next year, but there are no PSR (profit and sustainability rules) worries, with lifelong fan and sports betting entrepreneur Bloom as committed to the club now as he has been since taking charge 16 years ago. Brighton are bottom-half wage payers in the Premier League and last summer's big spend was a one-off after major sales in the previous two summer windows, but the purchase within that outlay of Georginio Rutter from Leeds United for a club-record £40million illustrated a steady increase in the sums they have been prepared to pay to improve the squad as they look forward to a ninth straight season in the top flight. (Top photos: Cuiabano, left, and Boscagli; Getty Images)

Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and likely exits
Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and likely exits

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: Summer window latest, key targets and likely exits

In crushing fashion, Aston Villa's summer strategy became clear. Missing out on Champions League qualification on goal difference (due, in part, to a controversial refereeing decision on the final day) meant that Villa's decision-makers could firm up the plan for the type of budget and recruitment for the transfer window. Advertisement Villa will lose out on a minimum of £30million ($40.7m) — potentially a maximum of £100m — but, regardless, Villa knew player sales would have to compensate for the deficit in the finances, having suffered more than £200m in losses in the previous two yearly accounts. While they will not suffer the repercussions on their top five failure until the next set of accounts (those due in June 2026), who they sell has to be taken into account. The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to talk, to explain the landscape. Manager Unai Emery has the final say but his close circle — including Monchi, president of football operations, president of football operations, Damian Vidagany, Adam Henshall, head of emerging talent and loans and head of recruitment Bryn Davies — present a list of targets and positions being sought. They are assisted by Villa's data team. Villa need to noticeably reduce the wage bill to comply with UEFA's financial limits, which restrict spending on 'player and coach wages and transfers and agent fees to 70 per cent of the club's revenue' from the 2025-26 season onwards. They are expected to incur a substantial fine from UEFA following last season's breaches. This year, Villa have to fall below 80 per cent, but were above the 90 per cent limit in 2023-24. Only Arsenal's wage growth was higher than Villa's last season, so there is an acceptance that squad costs have to reduce, which further affects the budget. There is an expectation that before the June 30 PSR deadline, which marks the end of the financial year, will not be as turbulent as 12 months ago. In some respects, UEFA's Squad Cost Rules (SCR) — with Villa participating in the Europa League next season — is more alarming. Complying with PSR forces Villa to acknowledge that sales are a necessity as costs are higher than revenues. Only Chelsea (£431.3m) have lost more on a day-to-day basis in the previous two years, discounting player sales. Recruitment figures accept market conditions, influenced by PSR, means they will need to pivot between targets. Villa's scouting team have planned for a multitude of scenarios — this includes shortlisting what players replace certain departures. Villa are likely to be shopping for a lower tier of player, in a transfer fee and salary sense. This does not suggest players are second, third and maybe fourth options — it means the recruitment team will have to be cannier in spotting high-potential, lower-cost players. Advertisement Potential suitors are aware of Villa's PSR deadline and, similarly to last season, will attempt to take advantage through lowball offers. Villa intend to strengthen at right-sided centre-back and right-back — though the £5m January signing of Andres Garcia from Levante has provided a source of pride among sources inside the club. Goalkeeping options in the event Emiliano Martinez departs are being explored. They need to replace his deputy, Robin Olsen, who will leave at the end of his contract in July. Emery is short in wide areas and a striker to replace or provide high-end competition to Ollie Watkins would be preferable, though much is dependent on outgoings. If Lucas Digne leaves, Villa will assess left-backs. The same is true in central midfield and No 10 positions. Feyenoord forward Zepiqueno Redmond is scheduled to join Villa at the start of July. The 18-year-old is out of contract at the Dutch side and visited Birmingham with his representatives less than a fortnight ago. Villa had aimed to recruit a young forward following Jhon Duran's departure in January. Redmond has only played four Eredivisie games and is expected to begin with the under-21s. Like most other Premier League sides, Villa have watched Southampton's Tyler Dibling. Meanwhile, Lille's Lucas Chevalier is among those on the radar to replace Martinez. Another player who has Premier League interest is Hellas Verona's Diego Coppola. At 21 and a right-sided central defender, he would fit the profile of player Villa want. The Athletic reported in April that Villa were frontrunners to land highly-rated Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg. Recruitment staff made trips to Norway to monitor Nypan, with lots of work going into convincing the player — who counts Arsenal and Girona as admirers — of Villa's project. Advertisement Presentations have been shown to him and the family, outlining plans to integrate him into Emery's set-up. Despite protracted conversations, no agreement has been reached. Villa retain the option to make Marco Asensio's loan from Paris Saint-Germain permanent. The 29-year-old, who would become one of the highest earners, wants to continue working with Emery. Villa have a lot of saleable assets and most players have seen their values appreciate. Martinez's exit could solve the most headaches, with the Argentina No 1 fetching a sizeable fee. He is the highest earner of any permanent player and would alleviate PSR and UEFA SCR concerns. If Martinez was to move to a European club — having received interest from Saudi Arabia in 2024 — it would require chain-like transfer activity, with the goalkeeper replacing another from a big European side and so on. Villa have yet to formally receive interest. To solve UEFA's SCR, Digne is an option. Villa would not receive a huge fee for the left-back, but he is on £120,000 a week and has 12 months left on his contract. Ideally, Villa would continue with Digne challenging Ian Maatsen, but PSR means Villa cannot carry multiple top-level players for one spot. Villa accepted they had to sell Duran or Watkins in January and although the former ended up leaving, they were not opposed to the latter departing. This is pertinent this summer, with Watkins expecting clarity on his future. Arsenal are monitoring his situation. Digne knows regular football is paramount if he is to be selected in France's squad for next year's World Cup. Villa had delayed discussions over his future and a possible contract until they learned what European competition they would be. Talks over a new contract for Tyrone Mings will take place. Leon Bailey has long-standing interest from Saudi dating back to when Villa sold Moussa Diaby to Al Ittihad last summer. Manchester United and others held preliminary talks in January, having known Villa were keen to sell. His representatives have been in contact with clubs in the Middle East. Advertisement A long-term contract is on the table for Boubacar Kamara. Other clubs have contacted the players' representatives, asking to be kept informed but Kamara wants to stay in the Premier League and while talks have progressed, there was an expectation he would wait until he knew if Villa would be in the Champions League. Kamara is a huge admirer of Emery and is widely regarded by multiple sources as Villa's best player. Morgan Rogers is the most valuable asset. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has had a stellar 18 months since signing from Middlesbrough and has multiple admirers. He would command a vast fee having signed a new deal this season. Jacob Ramsey has long-standing interest from elsewhere in the Premier League and, as an academy graduate, would represent pure bookable profit. Crucially, though, Ramsey's salary is manageable and Villa need to fulfil the 'homegrown' or 'club-trained' quota when registering their squad for the Europa League. This will be taken into consideration with Lamare Bogarde, who provides useful squad depth and is club-trained, but a sale would help with PSR. Villa will try, again, to cancel Philippe Coutinho's contract. He has been on loan at Vasco da Gama but still has 12 more months left on his deal. Other players attempting to be moved on include Leander Dendoncker. He has been on loan at Anderlecht but the Belgian club have decided against exercising the clause to sign him. He has interest from clubs in the Gulf. Bayer Leverkusen are not taking up the option to sign Emiliano Buendia, who spent the second half of the campaign in Germany. Kaine Kesler-Hayden, who won Preston North End's player of the year following an excellent loan, is expected to join a Championship side or lower-end Premier League team. Left-back Alex Moreno fell down the pecking order on loan at Nottingham Forest, with Villa open to offers. Villa signed Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus last summer but he spent the campaign on loan at Valencia, where he has impressed and the 23-year-old would provide a profit on the €11m paid last year. Advertisement Samuel Iling-Junior will hold talks in the coming weeks with game time a priority for all parties. After signing last summer he spent the season with Bologna and then Middlesbrough. This season's under-18s group will have interest after becoming the second youth team in history to complete the treble behind Chelsea. Villa won the FA Youth Cup and the Under-18 Premier League South title before ending the season with national final success against Manchester City. Who leaves on loan depends on the coaching staff's sense of each player's needs; whether they are better served experiencing first-team football or continuing to develop internally. Further loans are on the cards for Sil Swinkels, Lewis Dobbin, James Wright, Josh Feeney and Kadan Young. (Top image: Martinez and Watkins could both leave this summer; Getty Images)

Will Wrexham's Hollywood backers spend big this summer to try to reach the Premier League?
Will Wrexham's Hollywood backers spend big this summer to try to reach the Premier League?

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Will Wrexham's Hollywood backers spend big this summer to try to reach the Premier League?

When one opposition manager referred to Wrexham as the 'Harlem Globetrotters' early last season, the inference seemed clear. That, like the iconic basketball outfit from the U.S., they are an exhibition team; put together as much to entertain with trick shots and fancy, even comic, routines as to win games. Advertisement The reality, of course, was rather different. Wrexham were deadly serious in their pursuit of a third straight promotion to reach the second-tier Championship, a feat they achieved with a week to spare. Taking six points off Rotherham United in the teams' two meetings — it was their then manager Steve Evans who came up with the Globetrotters analogy in October — only made their achievement taste sweeter. Evans' tongue may have been firmly in his cheek when dismissing the Welsh club. In the same pre-match interview, the Scot called big-spending eventual title-winners Birmingham City 'the Real Madrid of League One'. But the simple reason why Wrexham had a lot more about them than simply keeping the public happy was their recruitment. Just as it has been throughout the four-year reign of Hollywood-star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Manager Phil Parkinson does his homework when scouting prospective signings — not just in terms of ability but also their character. The 57-year-old thinks nothing of driving 200 to 300 miles to meet a transfer target and 'see the whites of their eyes', as one former chairman put it. Three promotions in a row, from non-League to one rung below the Premier League, suggest the approach is working. So expect more of the same when the summer transfer window reopens fully on June 16, after the current mini-opening to cater for the Club World Cup. Here's what to expect from Parkinson and his Championship new boys before the September 1 deadline… As has been the case throughout the past four years, Parkinson has the final say on all Wrexham transfers. He does listen to his backroom staff, and in particular senior assistant Steve Parkin — Chris Johnson, a respected scout he first linked up with when manager of Bolton Wanderers from 2016-19, is also a big part of the process — but Parkinson is the man who ultimately says 'yes' or 'no' before handing negotiations over to the club, primarily director Shaun Harvey. Playing Championship football next season means extra quality will be needed right across the squad, apart perhaps from goalkeeper, where Arthur Okonkwo and Callum Burton look ready to face clubs and players who were in the Premier League just over a week ago, with Luke McNicholas as backup. Just how big a rebuild takes place at Wrexham this summer will depend on several factors, including how impatient the owners are to push on for top-flight football and just how much money the club has to spend on recruitment at a time when a host of costly infrastructure developments, including a new Kop at the SToK Cae Ras stadium also requires funding. Getting Wrexham up to speed as a genuine top-six contender in the second tier (finishing sixth would get them into the promotion play-offs) would usually take a minimum of three transfer windows. This is a huge step up in class after all, far bigger than anything they've faced so far at the three previous milestones along their journey from non-League. But there is also a sense this is a golden opportunity. It doesn't seem like there will be a lot of money sloshing around in next season's Championship, with just the three relegated clubs plus Sheffield United in receipt of Premier League parachute payments. Leicester City, one of the demoted trio set to benefit from an extra £49million in 2025-26, could also kick off in August with minus points after a substantial deduction. And if you take Leeds United and Burnley's miserly defence out of last season's second tier, it was far from a vintage affair. So could this add up to an opportunity for Wrexham to really go for it this summer? Only time will tell. As Parkinson admitted last week when speaking to The Athletic, Wrexham need to add pace and power to truly thrive in the Championship. More creativity from midfield wouldn't go amiss, either, especially if he sticks with the 3-5-1-1 setup that clinched promotion from League One. What will have to be guarded against, however, is a loss of the strong dressing-room spirit that has brought this club so far, so fast. Because signing the sort of players capable of propelling Wrexham towards the top end of the Championship will mean shattering their current wage structure. And history shows many clubs have suffered resentment and unrest as a result of doing that, especially after enjoying the kind of prior successes Wrexham have. Keeping a lid on this will be a priority, though Parkinson's renowned 'character test' when signing players — he likes these meetings to take place in a relaxed setting — should help. Talks have taken place with a number of targets, primarily in the free-agent market that has proved so fruitful in the past, with Paul Mullin, Elliot Lee and Okonkwo all having arrived via that route. Likewise, a host of loans managers at Premier League teams have been sounded out as to players' potential availability. As ever, though, Parkinson is keeping his list of targets under wraps. With 27 senior players under contract for next season and Championship clubs restricted to 25-man squads by EFL rules, there will have to be departures. Luke Bolton and Will Boyle are likely to lead any exodus after neither played a minute of league football in 2024-25, while it's difficult to see much of a role for 33-year-old Ollie Palmer in what will be the final year of his contract and maybe even long-time talisman Mullin. Whether there will be much scope to sell these players remains to be seen, with the more likely scenario seeming to involve agreeing pay-offs with those the club want to move on. Promotion means those who might have been handed an opportunity if Wrexham had spent another year in League One may need to be patient and, first, look for a loan move elsewhere. Harry Ashfield showed enough during his appearances in the EFL Trophy last season to suggest Wrexham have another promising talent on their books but regular football at a level below the Championship may be best for the 19-year-old's development. Likewise, Mo Faal, last summer's club-record signing whose only starts in his debut season came in the EFL Trophy. Jake Bickerstaff, having spent 2024-25 on loan at Altrincham in the fifth-tier National League, may be farmed out again. Otherwise, those deemed surplus to requirements who can't fix up a permanent deal will surely also look to the loans market for some football, with Wrexham receiving a decent-sized contribution to their wages from the clubs who borrow them. A year ago, exploring the free-agent market proved fruitful with George Dobson and Okonkwo going on to play big parts in this latest promotion. Plenty of work has been going on behind the scenes with regards to fishing in that pool again, the value which may not become apparent for another month or so, due to their targets still being under contract to their current clubs until June 30. But, as previous years have shown, patience is usually rewarded, with Okonkwo signing on July 1 last year after leaving Arsenal and Dobson six days later following the expiration of his deal at Charlton Athletic. Promotion means going from being subject to the salary cost management protocol (SMCP) to observing profit and sustainability rules (PSR). The difference between the two is marked: League One clubs are restricted to salary costs of no more than 60 per cent of their turnover, in the Championship the emphasis is on the amount of money you can lose over a three-year period. For Wrexham, this means being allowed to post a combined deficit of £45million in the 2023-26 cycle, after the standard deductions for allowable expenditure such as infrastructure costs and youth development are taken into account. With the club losing £2.7million in 2023-24 and a similar loss anticipated in the current financial year running to June 30, Wrexham could lose almost £40m next season and still be PSR-compliant. Nobody is suggesting they will lose such a sum in their first second-division season since the early 1980s — and only fifth ever — but it shows how much of a buffer they have to work with going forward.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store