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The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tottenham confirm major injury blow as James Maddison faces knee surgery
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison is set to miss the majority of the new season after the club confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Maddison missed the end of the 2024-25 campaign with a knee injury, but returned last month to feature in pre-season under new boss Thomas Frank. England international Maddison continued his comeback with a substitute appearance in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle in South Korea on Sunday, but collapsed in pain with no one around him and subsequently left the pitch on a stretcher in the 86th minute. Spurs' worst fears have now been confirmed with Maddison set to undergo surgery in the coming days on his ACL injury. 'We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee,' a club statement read. 'The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the injury during our pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul. 'His surgery will take place in the coming days and, following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team. 'Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur wishes James a full and speedy recovery. We will be supporting him every step of the way.'
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Liverpool ramp up replacement striker search after agreeing Darwin Nunez fee
Liverpool have agreed a deal to sell Darwin Nunez to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal for an initial £46.2m. The striker, who wanted to leave to go to Saudi Arabia in January, is set to end his three-season spell at Anfield, while Liverpool could now enter the market for another centre-forward. They have had a £110m bid for Alexander Isak swiftly rejected by Newcastle and have indicated they will not raise their offer but are looking for a player they deem of sufficient quality to start, who is available and at what they regard as a fair price. They have already signed one striker this summer, in Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for £69m, and if they cannot add another, are aware that players such as Florian Wirtz, Rio Ngumoha, Curtis Jones and Jeremie Frimpong can all play in the front three if required. Before Al Hilal made an offer that could rise to £56.6m, including add-ons, Nunez also attracted interest from AC Milan but there were doubts if the Serie A side could meet Liverpool's asking price. Napoli had bid for Nunez earlier in the summer, but without coming close to a sum Liverpool would accept and when they wanted to defer the first payment until 2026, before instead signing attacker Lorenzo Lucca. Nunez joined Liverpool for £64m in 2022, with add-ons taking the potential fee to a club record of £85m. He scored 15 goals in his first season in England and 18 in the second but got just seven in 47 appearances in all competitions last year as Arne Slot preferred to use either the late Diogo Jota or Luis Diaz as his centre-forward. Liverpool rejected Nunez's request to leave in mid-season, wanting to keep him to help their successful bid to win a 20th league title. Should he go now leave, Liverpool will have brought in around £190m for players this summer, following Tyler Morton's move to Lyon for £15m.
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Enzo Maresca urges Chelsea fans not to put too much pressure on Estevao Willian
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca urged supporters not to place too much pressure on Estevao Willian following the Brazil international's move from Palmeiras. The 18-year-old's £29million move to Stamford Bridge was first agreed in May 2024 but he remained in Brazil for a year, scoring against his new club in the United States when the teams met in the Club World Cup in July. He finally made the move to west London this week having scored 27 goals and recorded 15 assists in his 83 appearances for Palmeiras. Considered one of the brightest talents to come out of Brazil in recent years, Maresca is eager that expectations surrounding Estevao are moderated ahead of the new season. 'We need to pay a little bit more attention, because first of all he's from the other part of the world and also he's very, very young,' he said. 'So we need to pay attention. 'As I said, (he is) not under pressure, give him happiness, give him time, he needs to adapt. Hopefully we can give him minutes, so he's even more happy. But for sure, he's a talented player. 'For me, the biggest mistake we can do with him is to put him under pressure. He's very young, he needs to adapt. 'I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He's a fantastic player, he's very young, he's a happy boy. He's always laughing, typical from a Brazilian guy, and we need to keep him happy.' Estevao is one of six summer signings expected to be part of Maresca's squad this season. And with 10 departures it has been another summer of change at the club's Cobham training base. Maresca has previously said he expects players to be able to play in a number of roles and wants at least two players for each position. Nominally a winger, Estevao is likely to be deployed across Chelsea's attacking line. 'He can play everywhere,' said Maresca. 'He's so good. For me, he's like Cole (Palmer), in terms of – careful – he is like Cole in terms of his position. 'He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play everywhere. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.' Maresca confirmed that defender Levi Colwill is a doubt for the start of the new Premier League season. The Blues kick off at home to Crystal Palace on August 17 but after picking up a knock in training the 22-year-old could miss out, possibly opening the door to new defensive signing from Ajax, Jorrel Hato. 'We had a problem the last two days with Levi Colwill, that we don't know how long he is going to be out,' said Maresca. 'So for us, we will see, hopefully not too long, but for sure it's a problem for us. We need to wait, we don't know yet.'
