Sports
Arsenal Also Want Aston Villa Star Ezri Konsa After Morgan Rogers
Arsenal are now being linked with a second Aston Villa star as they continue to mull over a potential big-money move for Morgan Rogers this summer. The Gunners have some careful squad planning to do this summer, hoping to take the next step up again after winning the Premier League but coming up short in the Champions League final.
Only penalties separated Arsenal from PSG in the final, but if Mikel Arteta is totally honest with himself, he will know PSG are currently another level above. But the Gunners are well on their way to becoming a dominant force, and they will believe they can get there with some careful recruitment this summer.
Arsenal want a new left-winger and likely a top number 8, and while they will likely have to replace some squad players who could be lured away, Arteta will want to be careful not to over-tinker with the core of his squad.
Arsenal linked with second Aston Villa squad
According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are interested in a move for Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa this summer. It’s reported Konsa is valued at £60million by the Midlands side, and that they may have to sell one of their big-money players this summer if they want to keep hold of Rogers.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with Rogers, but with a reported asking price ranging from £100million to £130million, a deal could be out of the question. The Gunners may feel there is better value elsewhere, but they could take advantage of Villa’s determination to keep their prize talent.
Aware Villa may need to sell another player, Arsenal could move for Konsa, who is representing England at this World Cup. Arsenal do not strictly need a new centre-back, already able to call upon Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori, who all either specialise in the middle or are able to play there.
But after they were left short on the right side of defence for the Champions League final, with Ben White out and Timber having been struggling for fitness, it has been floated that the Gunners could strengthen on the right this summer. And if there is one thing we know about Arteta and his defensive preferences, is that he likes to sign defenders who can also play full-back, and Konsa fits the bill, able to comfortably play right-back.
The question is whether Arsenal are willing to commit so much money to a position they don’t really need to strengthen, but there could yet be an exit among one of the defenders mentioned this summer.
Konsa an ‘outstanding’ defender
Konsa is coming off a superb season with Villa, following it up with steady performance at the World Cup. Former Villa boss Dean Smith, who signed Konsa twice in his career, said of the defender while on BBC 5Live: “He was one that was flagged up by the recruitment department at Brentford. I went to watch him against Shrewsbury in the playoffs. I remember he was playing right back at the time. He came in, he’s athletic, he’s good in the air, he’s a good defender.
“Man City played at Villa, I think it was last season, and Jack had come up to me after the game, and he was like, ‘I was thinking, I hope Ezri’s not playing it right-back, because I don’t want to be playing 1v1 against him.’
“I think that’s his biggest strength. He’s really calm on the ball, but 1v1 defending is outstanding.”
Arsenal Open Talks To Sign ‘Top Class’ Forward In £100m Deal, He Wants Move
The Gunners are set to make a bid for the Aston Villa frontman
Sports
Donald Trump Hated Just One Thing About White House Show
Behind-the-scenes footage has emerged from the UFC‘s historic Freedom 250 card at the White House, revealing the one thing that President Donald Trump hated about the event.
Headlined by the UFC Lightweight Championship unification fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, the show was commissioned as a joint celebration of both the 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday. It even took place on June 14th, the day the President was born.
However, while Trump loved the show overall, calling it one of “the greatest ever” afterwards, there was one element of the event he really wasn’t happy with.
Donald Trump Was Furious About One Thing at UFC Freedom 250
With the fights taking place on the South Lawn of the White House, space was always going to be limited. Trump, though, seemingly wasn’t fully on board with the reality of just how limited the numbers would be.
In footage shot before the event, Trump told a crowd of reporters: “We’ll have an arena of 8,000 [people]” watching the event live.
Wanting somebody to back up that number, the President bellowed: “Where are the UFC people?”
When UFC Executive Producer Craig Borsari made himself known to Trump, he had some bad news to share with the controversial politician.
UFC Fans Calling Out Donald Trump After He Makes Huge White House Card Announcement
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Telling Trump he could have less than a third of his desired attendance, Borsari noted:
“Right now, the current infrastructure that we have is only about 2,500 [people].”
Trump couldn’t hide his frustration at the number as he fumed: “That’s terrible!”
Sensing the President’s anger, Borsari reasoned: “But, we can go a level up, and start to get into the 3,500 range?” If he had hoped to fully satisfy Trump with the extra 1,000 seats, it didn’t work.
“Oh, but you say you’re not talking about the six or seven thousand,” he replied in an annoyed tone.
Trump later voiced his own ideas for expanding the capacity of the event. In a sit-down interview, he stated:
“My concept was right, smack at the front door of The White House. Build it as big as you can. You know we’re a little confined because of trees and these beautiful plantings and everything else, so not easy.”
What Donald Trump Told UFC Staff Before White House Show
Trump appeared to give Borsari full permission to do whatever he saw fit to make the request a reality.
“You can build it as big as you want, there’s no problem.”
In reality, on fight night, Borsari managed to make room for an estimated 4,300 attendees. No tickets were sold to the public, with the majority of those in attendance being either invited guests or military personnel.
Trump may not have got his way in terms of a larger attendance at the White House itself, but the company did manage to accomodate 80,000 spectators at the Elipse in the shadow of the venue.
As impressive as that number is, though, it’s clearly not quite what Trump really wanted.
Sports
Tottenham Pull Out of Move to Sign ‘One of the Best’ Midfielders
Tottenham Hotspur have been incredibly active in the transfer window so far this summer, but they have now pulled the plug on one deal according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Spurs have already brought in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka on free transfers, while they also signed Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and broke their club-record to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham in an £85m deal.
The club also agreed a £100m deal to sign Newcastle star Sandro Tonali this week, cementing their ambitions to climb up the table after back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, but they have now backed out of a deal for another signing.
Tottenham Pull Out of Move to Sign Palhinha
Tottenham are pushing to strengthen their squad, and new manager Roberto De Zerbi had previously stated that he wanted the club to retain Portugal international Joao Palhinha as part of the squad following his loan spell in 2025/26.
The holding midfielder was described as ‘one of the best’ by the Italian coach, and had made a return to north London his priority for this window despite having agreed terms with Sporting CP over a potential move, with Bayern Munich desperate to cash in on a permanent deal.
But after completing a deal for Fernandes and agreeing terms over a move for Tonali, Spurs have now pulled the plug on any return.
“Joao Palhinha is set to return to FC Bayern for now,” Plettenberg wrote. “The Tottenham deal is now 100% off following the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
“A possible move to Sporting is also complicated due to Bayern’s asking price. There are further interested clubs. Talks are ongoing.”
Tottenham Make Right Decision
Palhinha proved what everyone already knew last season with his performances. The 30-year-old is a strong defensive player, who covers ground well, but has limitations with his passing.
The fact that he scored the goals that ultimately kept Spurs in the Premier League may have made the sentiment of keeping him at the club difficult to ignore, but ultimately they have signed major upgrades on him now, and it makes sense to let him leave.
With Tonali and Fernandes joining the likes of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Pape Matar Sarr in the squad, there is no space for Palhinha and it makes sense to put that money towards strengthening other areas of the squad instead.
Tottenham Eyeing Move to Sign ‘Phenom’ Forward as ‘Astronomical’ Transfer Update Emerges
An update has emerged on another huge Tottenham transfer.
Sports
Egypt FA React to ‘Shocking’ Footage of Clash Involving Coach and US Police
The Egyptian FA have released a statement after ‘shocking’ footage of their team director, Ibrahim Hassan, clashing with US police in Dallas emerged.
Egypt are enjoying a fine World Cup. The Pharaohs opened up their campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw against Belgium.
They then won their first ever match at a World Cup as they defeated New Zealand 3-1, before drawing 1-1 with Iran to secure a second-placed finish in Group G.
Egypt’s reward for finishing second in their group is a last 32 tie against Australia, which is set to take place at Dallas Stadium on Friday, July 3.
However, there have been some ugly scenes involving police and Hassan ahead of the match.
Egypt Respond to Hassan’s Clash With US Police
In footage posted to social media, former Aston Villa ace Trezeguet can be seen signing a shirt and then posing for a selfie with a youngster when team director Hassan walks over to join him.
But tensions escalated when an individual with ‘Dallas Police’ on the back of his shirt made his way to Hassan to have words with him. After a brief exchange, the police officer appeared to shove Hassan backwards before shouting “Back off!” multiple times.
The two were quickly separated, with Hassan being dragged away by Trezeguet and other individuals present at the scene.
A source within the Egyptian national football team has spoken to Egypt Independent to explain exactly what happened. The source said:
“An altercation occurred between Ibrahim Hassan and a hotel security guard due to the organisers’ poor handling of the Egyptian fans. The fans were eager to take commemorative photos with the players, but security intervened aggressively. This angered Hassan, who stepped in to object to their harsh demeanor.”
The source added that the situation was minor, quickly resolved, and that no boundaries were crossed by either party.
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Mohamed Salah Available To Play Against Australia
There were doubts whether Mohamed Salah, considered one of the greatest African players in football history, would be available to play against Australia due to a hamstring issue he sustained against Iran. However, the 34-year-old will feature in the match, according to manager Hossam Hassan.
He said, per ESPN: “Against Iran, we learned that he suffered a hamstring strain during the second half of the match and asked to be substituted. Our very distinguished medical department took care of that, and we tried to introduce him to partial team training as of yesterday only.
“But Salah is a passionate player; he is very much looking forward to making his own contributions with his teammates tomorrow.
“But of course, I am not going to run any risk unless I am sure that he is 100 percent sure of the fact that he is fit and raring to go tomorrow. We look forward to him playing tomorrow, not sure though whether he is going to be in the starting lineup.”
The winner of the match between Egypt and Australia will play either Argentina or Cape Verde in the last 16.
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