Chelsea have broken their transfer record once again by signing Germany international Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.
Havertz arrives at Stamford Bridge on an five-year contract for a reported fee of £72million.
The Blues have now shelled out over £200m on reinforcements for the 2020-21 season, while Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr have joined on free transfers.
Havertz leads the list of Chelsea s most expensive transfers, and we have run the rule over the previous top five to determine whether they were successes or failures.
1. Kepa Arrizabalaga (£71.6m) MISS
Chelsea made Kepa the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when they signed him from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, but his future is up in the air after just two year…
Doubles from Divock Origi and substitute Georginio Wijnaldum fired Liverpool into their second consecutive Champions League final as Barcelona collapsed to an improbable 4-0 humiliation at Anfield.
Facing a daunting 3-0 deficit after last week s first leg, Origi made light of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino s absence from the Liverpool forward line by poaching a seventh-minute opener on Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp s side kept the contest at a pace frenetic enough that Barcelona were rarely allowed to settle and Wijnaldum s quickfire brace before the hour had the locals in raptures.
It was a night for unlikely heroes and Trent Alexander-Arnold s quickly taken corner allowed Origi to smash high into the net 11 minutes from time – inflicting a humbling upon LaLiga cha…
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is glad to see Cristiano Ronaldo back in the Premier League but will never compare his record to that of the Manchester United forward.
In the same week he completed a shock return to United, Ronaldo made history on Wednesday by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in men s international football.
Ronaldo scored a couple of late headers to earn his side a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over the Republic of Ireland and surpass Ali Daei s previous high of 109 goals.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner s 111 international goals have come from 180 appearances, an average of 0.62 goals per game.
That compares to 0.66 goals per game for Lukaku at international level, the 28-year-old having scored 66 times in 99 outings for Belgium i…
One year on from his Red Devils debut, Bruno Fernandes is the face of Manchester United and one of Europe s finest, but back in 2012 it was a lot different.
There were no camera crews when a baby-faced Fernandes packed his bags and left Portugal for Italy almost nine years ago – Novara was the destination for the unheralded midfielder.
Novara, a club based in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, had been alerted to the 17-year-old. Scouted by former head of youth Mauro Borghetti, they opted to sign Fernandes from Boavista – investing for the future.
The previous season our club was in Serie A but was being relegated in Serie B, so with the board we took the decision to invest some money on some foreign talents, Borghetti – now sporting director of the S…
Sergio Aguero said it was the goal that changed everything as he returned to Manchester City on Friday for the unveiling of a statue to recognise his famous title-winning strike.
The Argentinian hit City s stoppage-time winner against QPR on May 13, 2012, earning a 3-2 win that delivered a first top-flight title for the club since the 1967-68 season.
It marked the beginning of a spell of dominance for City, who are on the cusp of achieving a sixth Premier League crown in 11 seasons.
Aguero, who went on to become City s record scorer, left the club at the end of last season to join Barcelona and has since retired after a heart condition was detected.
He was guest of honour at the Etihad Stadium as a statue in his likeness was revealed, a full 10 years to t…
Frank Lampard said turning around Chelsea’s fortunes will be the next manager’s problem as he prepares to bow out from his interim role after Sunday’s game against Newcastle.
The team’s wretched season slumped to a new low with a 4-1 thumping against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday, the ninth defeat of Lampard’s 11 games in charge.
If results go against them on the final day they could finish as low as 14th and equal their worst placing in the Premier League era.
They are already guaranteed to end with their lowest points tally in the competition, with the fewest number of goals the club have scored in a Premier League campaign.
It ends in defeat for the Blues.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
Mauricio Pochettino is e…
Sarina Wiegman paid tribute to the players, who interrupted her media conference, and the staff as she celebrated guiding England to success in the Women s European Championship final.
The Lionesses overcame Germany 2-1 after extra-time at Wembley, with substitutes Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly scoring either side of Lina Magull s equaliser.
The win means that Wiegman has won back-to-back Euros, having lifted the 2017 trophy while in charge of her native Netherlands.
Speaking at a media conference after the trophy celebrations, Wiegman said: What we have done is really incredible. I didn t follow everything [in the media] but I knew that England was behind us.
Over the tournament we have had so much support from our fans. I am so proud of the team, the sta…
Hasan Salihamidzic s tenure as Bayern Munch executive board member for sport has been unanimously extended by three more years by the club s supervisory board.
Salihamidzic served as Bayern s sport director from August 2017 until July 2020 when he moved on to the board, overseeing a period of great success for the Bavarians including winning 2020 Champions League.
The former Bayern player has had his contract for three more years until 2026, having been originally appointed in 2020 for an initial three years.
Bayern president and supervisory board chairman Herbert Hainer said: During his five years in the FC Bayern management, Hasan Salihamidzic has done an excellent job.
He is constantly advancing the sporting side of our first team and young talents, b…
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall has confirmed Leah Williamson will miss Thursday s Women s Champions League second-round tie against Hacken due to concussion protocol.
Williamson did not feature in the Gunners 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, and is one of three absentees unavailable for the must-win game with Hacken at Meadow Park.
Eidevall also revealed that both Steph Catley and Lina Hurtig will also miss the game against the Swedish side.
The visitors hold a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg, with Tabitha Tindell s goal enough for the victory at the Bravida Arena last week.
I don t have a timeframe on Leah s injury at the moment. It s guided by our medical team, Eidevall said.
When I have something more concrete to commun…
Market: FC Copenhagen win
Odds: 4/6 @
Looking to open the new Superliga campaign with a statement on Saturday afternoon, defending champions Copenhagen will travel to Lyngby.
Starting with the hosts, remarkably only clinging to their Superliga status thanks to their goal difference last season, Lyngby will know that they must make plenty of improvements this time around. However, failing to pick up much momentum during their pre-season preparations as they could only muster a single win from any of their four friendly appearances, the Vikings will know that they face a huge challenge when they open the 2023/24 campaign on Saturday afternoon. Ending last season with just a trio of wins from their final 11 top-flight showdowns, Freyr Alexandersson s men should be …