Raheem Sterling is an un-Boehly-vable piece of business from Chelsea, plus let the tours commence! - The Warm-Up
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Updated 11/07/2022 at 09:24 GMT
Raheem Sterling to Manchester City could get confirmed today, the Premier League pre-season tours are well and truly under way, while we’re one round of group matches down in Euro 2022. Elsewhere, there’s an inexplicable goalline clearance and it’s 12 years since that World Cup final where five could feasibly have seen red.
The whole story as Boehly consortium completes Chelsea takeover
MONDAY’S BIG STORIES
Sterling business
The Super League? Is that you?
Raheem Sterling is likely to see his move to Chelsea confirmed today after undergoing his medical last night, and it’s starting to look like the riches of the Premier League could well make mega transfers between the big English clubs a thing of the norm going forward.
From Liverpool, to Manchester City, to Chelsea. That’s surprising, let’s face it, and not bad going for a player who is still somehow only 27 years old.
It leaves us wondering why City are letting him leave, but you also have to applaud Chelsea for a pretty decent piece of business. At least it looks that way, anyway.
New owner Todd Boehly copped some flack for revealing he would be taking the wheel of Chelsea’s summer transfer drive, but few will disagree that this is a very impressive start, even if he does eventually hand the recruitment reigns over to a new director.
What it means is difficult to decipher, but City willingly strengthening a rival tells you perhaps they aren’t scared a jot, or that they have more moves to make themselves this summer. Perhaps both, even, while Chelsea will hope this is just the start as well.
Premier League on tour
It’s that time of year again…
- Manchester United and Liverpool are in Thailand and will play one another in Bangkok tomorrow.
- Chelsea have touched down in the USA without N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek due to their Covid vaccination status.
- Manchester City begin pre-season today and are heading to the US this week too, likewise Arsenal and Everton.
- Tottenham are in South Korea, where Son Heung-min was awaiting them (scroll down for omg too cute video).
- Aston Villa played Walsall… but then they’re off to Australia, where they’ll be joined by Crystal Palace, before a game in France.
- Bournemouth are off to Portugal. Brentford to Germany. Brighton are keeping it local.
- Fulham fancy a bit of Portugal (can you tell we’ve started to go in alphabetical order somewhat?).
- Leeds are ALSO going to Australia, we should have put them with Villa and Palace,
- Liverpool follow Thailand with Singapore, Germany AND Austria.
- United are ALSO off to Australia – after Thailand – and then Oslo, Norway of course.
- Newcastle have plumped for Germany and Austria.
- Nottingham Forest will go to Germany eventually, as are Southampton in fact.
- After South Korea, Spurs play Rangers at Ibrox and then go to Israel.
- West Ham are keeping it local until they go to Lens.
- And Wolves, are going to Spain and of course fancy some Portugal too.
Whew. Exhausting. Was it worth it? Please tell me it was worth it. It wasn’t worth it, was it?
One round down…
So that’s the first round of Euro 2022 matches done and dusted, and of course that means it’s not long until the next round gets going this evening. It’ll be back to Group A with England and Northern Ireland in action once more…
So what have we learned after one match per team? Naturally, it is difficult to read too much into the opening performances, but France, Norway, Germany and Spain impressed albeit against opposition they were always expected to beat.
The biggest showdown saw Sweden and the Netherlands play out an entertaining 2-2 draw, and both nations should be too strong for Portugal and Switzerland in Group C – while few would rule out the possibility of those two meeting in the final after Saturday’s display.
England, meanwhile, were made to fight for their 1-0 win against Austria, and so tonight’s match with Norway makes for a meeting which should decide Group A, and will also test where the Lionesses are at.
IN THE CHANNELS
Cheers, Son’s waving
We had to save this for our In The Channels section because it is quite simply beautiful content. How much to have Son Heung-min traipse from airport to airport greeting you on your every holiday?
IN THE CHANNELS II
WHAT IN THE WORLD?!
RETRO CORNER
July 11… That immediately shot out to us as a day the World Cup final would normally be held on, and sure enough, it’s 12 years since Spain won their first World Cup and Howard Webb handed out roughly 63 yellow cards.
In the words of Nigel de Jong… Heeeeeee-yah!!
COMING UP
A Euro 2022 double header today, with Austria taking on Northern Ireland at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium from 5pm before England and Norway go head-to-head in Brighton, with the Amex going by Falmer Stadium for UEFA’s not-wanting-sponsoring-in-stadium-names sake. (You learn something new every day…)
That kick-off is 8pm and is certainly worth keeping across.
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