Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has made a strong start to his new chapter at AC Milan, with his new role as a wing-back already showing promising signs.
The Nigeria international was named Man of the Match after helping Milan beat Torino 2-1 in their opening Serie A game on Sunday.
Chukwueze provided the assist for Adrien Rabiot’s winning goal and also worked hard defensively in a position that requires more than his usual attacking duties as a winger.
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Chukwueze responds to Amorim’s trust
Milan head coach Ruben Amorim has shown faith in Chukwueze by moving him further back and giving him the responsibility of helping the team both defensively and in attack.
Chukwueze believes the coach’s trust has given him an opportunity he must make the most of after returning to Milan from his loan spell at Fulham.
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“He simply showed faith in me, and I think I need to make the most of it,” Chukwueze said in an interview with Gazzetta IT.
“I can’t waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – to return to Milan after the loan spell.”
The new role comes with challenges, as Chukwueze is naturally more comfortable attacking than defending. However, his performance against Torino showed that he is ready to learn and adapt.
The Nigerian had previously revealed that Amorim has been demanding more from him whenever he makes mistakes.
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“Every time I make a mistake, he tells me: ‘Oh, Chukwueze, this is what you need to do.’ So, I think I’ll improve before the start of the season,” he said.
Against Torino, Chukwueze showed clear improvement in his defensive work while still using his pace and attacking ability to help Milan move forward.
Chukwueze ready for the challenge
After the win, Chukwueze was pleased with Milan’s result but quickly turned his attention to the work ahead.
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“Now we have to look forward, but I’m very satisfied,” the 27-year-old said in quotes reported by TuttoMercato.
Asked if he was ready to continue playing as a wing-back, the former Villarreal star made it clear that he has accepted the challenge.
“I’m ready, I can’t wait, and I’ll do it all season,” he said.
“I know it’s a difficult task, but I believe in myself. I know I can do it; I can do anything,” Chukwueze added.
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His Man of the Match performance against Torino offers an early sign that Amorim’s decision to change his position could pay off.
Chukwueze has shown his quality throughout his career but has struggled for consistency, especially during his previous spell at Milan.
However, his strong start suggests the Nigerian is determined to prove his doubters wrong and make his return to the club a successful one.
Boutte, 24, spent his first three NFL seasons with the Patriots, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. After catching just two passes during his rookie season, Boutte developed a bigger role in the Patriots’ offense each of the past two seasons. He set career-highs with 43 receptions and 589 yards in 2024 and caught a career-high six touchdowns in 2025.
Like Boutte, Reed was also the 187th overall pick in his respective draft. As a rookie last season, Reed made one regular-season start while appearing in seven games. He finished the regular season with 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. Reed started in each of Houston’s two playoff games and had two tackles during Houston’s season-ending loss to New England in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Who won the trade? Let’s find out.
Patriots: D-
Rumblings already existed that Boutte would ultimately be traded. With Boutte entering his final year under contract, the Patriots deserve a little credit for getting something in return for him in the form of draft capital and a player who can help them in 2026.
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That being said, it’s surprising that the Patriots couldn’t get more for Boutte, an emerging receiver who is still playing on his rookie contract. This just gives off a vibe that the Patriots simply wanted to get this done and move on.
As noted above, it was less than 48 hours ago when Vrabel expressed concern for his team’s lack of depth. And while the Patriots strengthened their secondary by getting Reed (who, like Boutte, is a player who should be on the rise), they weakened their depth at receiver by parting ways with Boutte.
Making this trade even worse is that the Patriots traded Boutte to an AFC competitor (the only worse move would have been trading him to division rival Buffalo). Instead of sending him to the NFC, the Patriots dealt Boutte to a team they may very well face in the 2026 playoffs.
Texans: A
Houston deserves a ton of credit for quickly and emphatically addressing their need at receiver after Jayden Higgins went down with a season-ending ACL injury.
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After Higgins went down, the Texans reportedly placed a call to New England about Boutte and another to Baltimore regarding Rashod Bateman. They reportedly weren’t interested in a reunion with DeAndre Hopkins, who recently became the assistant receivers coach at Georgia Tech.
Given Bateman’s legal issues, Boutte became the clear-cut option for Houston, who ultimately pulled off a very favorable deal with the Patriots. Boutte will now fill Higgins’ spot while joining a receiving corps that also includes Nick Collins and Jaylin Noel. His arrival should also aid C.J. Stroud, the Texans’ former Pro Bowl quarterback, who is hoping to return to form that saw him win Offensive Rookie of the Year back in 2023.
Higgins’ injury could have been a big blow for Houston, which is trying to get beyond the divisional round of the AFC playoffs this year after losing in that round in each of the past three seasons. The trade for Boutte has put them back on track.
Deshaun Watson’s stalled recovery from his early peak isn’t just about health or age, according to NFL analyst Courtney Cronin of ESPN. It’s about what happens in his head once the crowd turns on him.
Cronin’s comments came two days after Watson delivered one of the shakiest performances of his four-plus seasons in Cleveland. Entering the Browns’ Saturday preseason game against Buffalo in relief of Shedeur Sanders, Watson completed just 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and threw an interception in a 31-7 loss. Fans at Huntington Bank Field booed him from the moment his name was announced, and the jeers only grew louder as the offense stalled.
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Watson never found his footing after that, and Cronin said the moment exposed something deeper.
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“Because there’s been this conversation around: Can he ever get back to that 2019-2020 version of himself that we saw in Houston, one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL?” Cronin said on the “Unsportsmanlike” podcast on Monday.
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“And the answer isn’t just injuries have prevented that. Age has prevented that. It’s the mental … that is preventing him from going back to his full self, the self that made you trade all of those first-round picks for Cleveland to bring him there in the first place.
“I think it’s, like, the psychological warfare finally caught up with him to where how other people view him, which in the form of the fans booing him, is affecting his confidence out there. He’s rattled. There’s no way you can possibly put him out there for 17 games because you’re not playing 17 games away from Cleveland’s home stadium.”
Cronin noted the quarterback said after the game he wasn’t sure he could get past the boos through the rest of the regular season, an admission she said should alarm a franchise built around him.
NFL: Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns – Source: Imagn
Todd Monken tapped Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders as the Week 1 starter. Monken said the reaction to that news conference wouldn’t factor into his call, instead crediting Watson’s work ethic since returning from injury.
Watson has appeared in just 19 games since Cleveland traded a haul of first-round picks to acquire him from Houston. This will mark only his third Week 1 start with the Browns, who open the regular season at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.
The 23-year-old has been made available for sale by Chelsea for £50m and is training separately from the first-team squad.
It remains unclear whether the talks are over a permanent transfer or a loan move, but the two clubs are known to have a positive working relationship.
Delap was left out of Chelsea‘s squad for Monday’s Premier League match against Fulham and lost the number nine shirt to fellow forward Joao Pedro last week.
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His potential departure comes just over 12 months after moving to Stamford Bridge for £30m from Ipswich Town, but he ended the season with just one league goal after shoulder and hamstring injuries.
Forest have signed defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for £34m, alongside free agents, midfielder Xaver Schlager and keeper Steve Benda, so far this summer.
However, they have sold England midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for a club-record £116m and striker Taiwo Awoniyi to Coventry City for £9m.
Delap’s arrival would provide competition for Chris Wood and Igor Jesus at the City Ground.
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Chelsea, meanwhile, are looking to sanction a number of sales and loan departures before the transfer deadline on 1 September, and currently have 39 senior players on their books.
Some familiar names are returning to the U.S. Solheim Cup team. U.S. captain Angela Stanford announced her three captain’s picks to complete her team of 12 on Monday, a trio that included stalwarts Megan Khang and Rose Zhang as well as Solheim rookie Lindy Duncan.
Zhang and Khang combined for a 7-0 record at the 2024 Solheim Cup, though both have struggled this season; Zhang has just one top-10 finish since April and Khang has made one cut in her last eight starts and dropped to 85th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Filling out the U.S. side, which will square off with Europe at Bernadus Golf Club in The Netherlands from Sept. 11-13, are Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Auston Kim, Lauren Coughlin and Allisen Corpuz, who had already qualified for the team via points, and Andrea Lee and Alison Lee, who qualified through the world rankings.
Khang, 28, will make her fifth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance. Besides being one of the Americans’ most dominant players — 7-3-3 in her career and 7-0-1 in her last eight matches — she also brings a dynamic energy crucial to these events.
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“I’m excited to see Megan in that environment again,” Stanford said. “She does a great job when we play in America but she’s the energy we need when we go over there.”
Rose, 23, will make her third Solheim Cup appearance and is coming off a 4-0 record in 2024 where she never even had a match reach the 17th hole.
At 35, Duncan will make her Solheim Cup debut and be the oldest member of the team. She has 14 top-25 finishes over the last two years.
“I think ultimately it came down to Lindy’s a great putter,” Stanford said. “From the beginning I said the make-up of this team, two of the things we needed to have are putting and chemistry. She’s a rookie, but a very mature rookie, so I think she can handle it.”
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Duncan was ranked 9th in the Solheim Cup standings, Khang 11th and Zhang 13th. The only players inside the top 12 of the standings not on the team are Lucy Li (10th) and Jenny Bae (12th).
The U.S. won the 2024 event in Virginia, which was the first victory by the Americans in the last four meetings.
Aston Villa are working to sign Club Brugge central defender Joel Ordonez after failing to agree a deal with Southampton for Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
The Premier League side, who sold England defender Ezri Konsa to Arsenal last week, are accelerating their interest in Ordonez, with discussions ongoing and his Belgian Pro League club wanting a minimum £40m fee for the Ecuador international.
The 22-year-old centre-back, who played for his country at this summer’s World Cup, has made 124 appearances for Club Brugge since joining in 2022 from Independiente del Valle.
Villa had targeted Harwood-Bellis, but there is understood to be a significant gap in valuation between them and Southampton after an offer worth £18m was rejected.
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It remains to be seen whether a transfer for the 24-year-old can still be revived but, as things stand, Unai Emery’s side have moved on to other targets.
Villa lost their opening game of the season 4-0 to Brighton on Sunday and are working to strengthen their squad before the transfer deadline on 1 September.
They have lost a host of key players this season with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Konsa all departing.
Medhavi Bidhuri has been grabbing headlines for her wicket celebration during the Women’s Delhi Premier League 2026. The leg-spinner from Delhi produced the “6-7” celebration after dismissing South Delhi Superstarz batter Nishika Singh during the opening match of the tournament for Central Delhi Queens. The wicket came in the 16th over when Arushi Goel took the catch at mid-wicket and Bidhuri pulled off the “6-7” gesture while celebrating. The video of the celebration quickly went viral on social media with social media users left impressed by the youngster. Incidentally, Bidhuri wanted to pick the No. 12 jersey for herself but found out that it was occupied. That is why she went with the No. 67 for the tournament.
“This ‘six-seven’ thing is trending a bit, and my younger sister, who’s like a brother to me, told me to wear jersey number 67 and keep this as my celebration,” Medhavi said after the match.
Who is Medhavi Bidhuri?
It has been a steady rise for the young cricketer who has been part of the Delhi domestic setup for many years. The right-arm leg-spinner represented Delhi at the Under-19 level and has also performed well in the Delhi Premier League.
She was a part of South Delhi Superstaz in the 2025 season and delivered a brilliant spell against Central Delhi Queens in the final. She ended up with figures of 3/26 as South Delhi Superstarz clinched the final by just one run.
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She was also part of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 auction.
Veteran Indian cricket team spinner Yuzvendra Chahal added his own twist to Bidhuri’s celebration during Northamptonshire’s County Championship clash against Lancashire at Old Trafford in Manchester. Playing for Northamptonshire, he dismissed Lancashire batter Joe Moores and celebrated with the viral “6-7” gesture.
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Nico Gonzalez is getting closer to joining Newcastle as the north-east club are growing more likely to sign a replacement for Bruno Guimaraes.
While Newcastle are yet to agree a fee with Manchester City for the Spaniard, there is a growing expectation they will.
Gonzalez is set to join City’s midfield exodus this summer after Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnders and Rodri have already left the Etihad Stadium.
The former Barcelona player joined City from Porto in January 2025 for £49m and has gone on to make 59 appearances, scoring four goals.
But he was left an unused substitute for Sunday’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth, when centre-back Marc Guehi instead played in midfield.
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While Gonzalez is likely to leave, City are continuing their midfield revamp after agreeing a deal with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi that could entail paying £85m for the Morocco midfielder.
Selling Gonzalez as well as Savinho, who is set to join Tottenham for £85m, would mean City have made almost £300m in the transfer market this summer, while they have also been in talks with Spurs about Omar Marmoush.
Newcastle turned to Gonzalez in their search for a more experienced midfielder after considering Joao Palhinha and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
They have bought two younger midfielders, in 18-year-old Sean Steur and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba, who both debuted against Liverpool on Sunday.
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But after Guimaraes’ £75m move to Arsenal and Sandro Tonali’s £100m transfer to Tottenham, they have also looked for further midfield reinforcements.
New manager Matthias Jaissle also wants another forward but does not believe he needs to buy a centre-back, even though new captain Dan Burn is injured.
“I look at it very differently. I look at the fact that Australia in club competition rugby league is one of the great successes in world sport.
“But it’s reached a stage where Australia by its definition is a prisoner of its own geography, it’s a prisoner of its own economy.
“Its broadcast deal has just reached incredible levels of value, but where is the growth there?”
McManus said rugby league in Europe is the “antithesis” of what Australia has achieved with the sport but that change was possible.
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“We’re a sport that hasn’t necessarily been run very well for too long, but there is incredible growth potential here,” he said.
“This is not a matter of picking at a carcass, taking over a weak sport.
“Both sides should be looking at this as how do we combine to make rugby league as a sport globally one that can really grow and strengthen.
“Certainly in terms of growth in Europe, it’s got unlimited potential, so how do we work together to exploit that?”
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In a statement, Rhodri Jones, managing director of the Rugby Football League (RFL), said: “We are genuinely interested in exploring a mutually beneficial and financially fair partnership with the NRL, which we firmly believe would unlock the significant added value benefit of creating a single global entity for the sport.”
The 64th season of the Bundesliga is here. The tiny team from Elversberg will become the 59th club to play in the league, Ismael Saibari is Harry Kane’s new back-up at Bayern Munich, Schalke return after three years away, and Kathleen Krüger is Head of Sport at Hamburg.
Coming off an XXL World Cup and a new broadcasting deal in the US, the Bundesliga is looking to step forward into a new era. But beyond the loyal support of club fans both domestic and abroad, has the international appeal of the league, particulary in the key US market, worn off?
“It would be hard to argue that the Bundesliga has not suffered some back-sliding in their standing. When Bayern and Dortmund met in the Champions League final [in 2013], I believed it was just the league announcing its superiority with intent to stay at the pinnacle of club football in Europe. I couldn’t have imagined that might have been the brief apex,” Randall, a US-based Cologne fan who has been watching the league for 16 years, told DW.
“Frankly, the Bundesliga has likely already seen its popularity at its peak. It is only downward from here.”
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Dominik Schreyer, a professor of sports economics at Germany’s Otto Beisheim School of Management, doesn’t believe that is the case though.
“I would be cautious about declaring the Bundesliga’s golden era over,” Schreyer told DW.
“The league still has full stadiums, strong clubs, excellent players and coaches, and a distinctive football culture.”
Schreyer does admit though, despite the league’s great reputation of player and coach development, failing to retain players like Erling Haaland or Florian Wirtz makes it more difficult to increase the reach of the league.
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“Bayern’s prolonged dominance has reduced uncertainty at the top, while the Premier League has developed a major financial and distribution advantage. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of talent or stories, but the Bundesliga’s limited success in turning those strengths into regular international viewing habits.”
Club support strong, but league lacking luster
Robin Austermann, Bundesliga Americas executive vice president, said in the statement about the new Bundesliga broadcasting deal in the US that Bundesliga fans in America had grown by “43% over the past five years.”
This is obviously a positive, although it would be intriguing to know how much growth had been made per year. For some fans though, beyond supporting their team, the league is lacking.
“Honestly, for pure viewing I prefer the Premier League since in their league at least three or four teams can win the title,” Dave, a US-based Schalke fan since 1974, told DW.
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“There is no doubt that both the Bundesliga and the second division are the envy of other countries from the attendance and management perspectives but I feel that the overall competitive sporting quality has declined. I absolutely believe that the Bundesliga has lost some of it’s luster and reputation.”
Cologne fan Randall agrees.
“You get a little drama around the border between the last Champions League slot and Europa League, but that doesn’t really get the blood pumping how, does it? I still love watching the league, but I still have days on which I wonder if a Super League would really have been such a bad thing if it returned some competitive balance to the Bundesliga.”
Borussia Dortmund fans are one of the most famous groups of fans in both the Bundesliga and EuropeImage: Piroschka Van De Wouw/REUTERS
How can the Bundesliga change its course?
Much of the desire for change has to do with the lack of competition at the top. Bayern have won 13 of the last 14 titles. Some believe a more equitable distribution of TV revenue is a possible way forward.
“The market has become more fragmented, abundant, and competitive,” Schreyer said.
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“Availability no longer guarantees attention. Viewers increasingly encounter football through individual players, creators, highlights, short-form content, and major tournaments before deciding whether to watch full matches. The Bundesliga therefore needs a clear path from initial discovery to repeated viewing and, eventually, fandom.”
Whatever the choice, the change needs to be made without losing what sets the league apart, namely the competitive ticket prices and passionate fan base. German football fans offered a vision for football in the country back in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic, but the gap between the rich and the poor in European football continues to widen.
“I think throwing out what makes German club football great in pursuit of competing in the market with the Premier League would be folly,” Randall said.
Schreyer believes the major clubs and established stars are the strongest way to capture audiences’ attention.
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“Once viewers are engaged, the league’s wider strengths, including supporter culture, historic clubs, player development, Schalke’s return, and Elversberg’s rise, can deepen that interest,” he said.
This Bundesliga season a pivotal moment for the league
Clearly, the US view is only one slice of the Bundesliga’s market. Fan numbers doubled in Brazil between 2018 and 2024 to 24 million, and community initiatives through Bundesliga Common Ground have helped build interest in countries all over the world such as Thailand and Vietnam.
But the new deal in the US is perhaps revealing when it comes to the challenge the Bundesliga currently faces to position itself globally.
“A lot of fans were disappointed by the league’s move to go with Fandango this next season,” said Jody, who has been watching German football since 2006.
“If the Bundesliga wants to grow in the US, they need to look at what NBC did when it won Premier League broadcast rights. It needs a more mainstream distribution in the US and more publicity of the league to draw new viewers in.”
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Schreyer argues that this is not the entire story.
“The new deal should ultimately be judged by whether it helps rebuild demand, not by potential reach alone,” he said.
Criticism is something the Bundesliga has become familiar with in recent years. But off the back of a World Cup in the US, a key target country where a new broadcast deal was recently agreed, this feels like a pivotal moment for the league’s development.
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