club

FOOTBALL isn’t just about goals and ­trophies — it’s about people.

After all, clubs don’t make anything, don’t manufacture anything; all our assets are people.

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Dealing with people is a key part of my job as West Ham CEO. And dealing with a wantaway player is one of the toughest jobs in football.

We had our own Alexander Isak moment at West Ham in 2017 when Dimitri Payet wanted out… and the whole club felt it.

One day he just packed his bags, went to the airport and took a flight to Marseille.

That was despite the fact we told him we did not want him to leave, expected him to honour his contract and had done no deal with Olympique de Marseille for him to be transferred there.

We loved him, our supporters loved him, but he didn’t love us back and that’s hard to take.

The fans were heartbroken, the dressing room unsettled and every training session turned into a circus.

That’s the reality when a star man downs tools. The ripple effect is huge.

The press were camped outside, questions wouldn’t stop and the tension was obvious.

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I look at Newcastle’s situation with Isak and genuinely sympathise.
He’s a top striker, adored by the Toon Army, but once a player has his head turned, it changes everything.

Suddenly, the focus isn’t on football any more — it’s on one man’s future.

The hard truth is you can’t make an unhappy player happy. But that doesn’t mean you roll over.

The club has to stay strong, because it’s bigger than any one player.
Fans rightly expect loyalty, but as club executives, we have to protect the value of the asset and the pride in the badge.

With Payet, we stood firm. We made sure West Ham got the right deal. It hurt at the time, but the club came out stronger.

Newcastle will be thinking the same way. They will fight to keep Isak if they can, but if the moment comes where he has to go, they’ll make sure it’s on their terms — not his.

That’s exactly how it should be. Players come and go. Clubs don’t. That’s the heartbeat we’re all here to protect.

Isak has not been an isolated case — but the dynamics don’t change much. Remember Pierre van Hooijdonk ­refusing to play at Nottingham Forest?

Isak to Liverpool transfer saga timeline

• JANUARY: First links to Liverpool emerge

• FEBRUARY: £150million record fee mooted

• MARCH: Isak denies Newcastle contract talk

• APRIL: Eddie Howe hails Isak as “very professional.”

• MAY: Howe insists Isak will not be sold
• Last match in Newcastle shirt

• JUNE: Transfer links to Liverpool heat up

• JULY: Flies with Newcastle for Austria training camp
• Left out of Celtic friendly
• Liverpool hijack Toon’s Hugo Ekitike deal after making Isak enquiry
• Doesn’t travel for pre-season tour of Singapore and South Korea, citing injury

• AUGUST: Training by himself at Newcastle
• Liverpool have £110m bid rejected
• Isak stops training and goes on strike
• Moves out of his apartment
• Releases angry statement blasting ‘trust has been lost’
• Newcastle respond by insisting he won’t be sold unless it benefits club

And what about William Gallas, Peter Odemwingie, ­Carlos Tevez, Saido Berahino and even Cristiano Ronaldo’s ill-fated decision to return to Manchester United?

For a CEO, the challenge is balancing three things: the expectations, hopes and dreams of the supporters, the manager’s needs, and the dignity of the badge.

It’s not about forcing anyone to stay against their will. Unhappy players rarely, if ever, perform at their peak.

But it’s also not about rolling over at the first sign of discontent. The club’s interests must come first.

That means securing fair value, protecting the integrity of the squad and making sure supporters know their loyalty is matched in the boardroom.

In Payet’s case, we stood firm until the right solution came and the player moved. The lesson was that while football is very emotional, decisions must be rational.

Players come and go but, West Ham, like every great club, remains. That’s what we protect every single day.

Newcastle have been a football club for 144 years. And they will be around a lot longer than any one footballer.

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TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW

The Thursday Club is based on the best-selling book from former Pointless star Richard Osman.

The Thursday Club is set to make its cinema debut this week with fans understandably excited thanks to the unbelievable cast.

Hype has been mounting for the premiere of the silver screen adaptation of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club for quite some time but now the wait is almost over.

The Pointless star’s best-selling 2020 novel revolves around four friends in a retirement home who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun.

However, things actually get real for them when a property developer is found dead and the gang find themselves in the middle of the murder investigation.

The Thursday Murder Club cast in full

Elizabeth Best – Helen Mirren

The one and only Helen Mirren is behind Elizabeth Best in this eagerly anticipated adaptation, an ex-spy and the founder of the Thursday Murder Club.

Mirren is renowned for starring in massive hits such as The Queen, Hitchcock, Age of Consent, Excalibur, Gosford Park and Calendar Girls.

Ron Ritchie – Pierce Brosnan

Fellow member of the Thursday Murder Club is Ron Ritchie, a former union activist.

Irish star Pierce Brosnan is globally best remembered for starring as James Bond in the iconic franchise but has also been in Mamma Mia! and most recently starred in Paramount+’s Mobland.

Ibrahim Arif – Sir Ben Kingsley

Ron and Elizabeth are joined by fellow retiree and ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif.

Sir Ben Kingsley has featured in major blockbusters including Sexy Beast, Shutter Island, Jules, William Tell and Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

Joyce Meadowcroft – Celia Imrie

Actress Celia Imrie is a star of both TV and film, with projects like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Calendar Girls, Keeping Faith, The Diplomat and Patrick Melrose under her belt.

Imrie is behind former nurse and latest member of the club, Joyce Meadowcroft.

DCI Chris Hudson – Daniel Mays

Another recognisable star of British TV is actor Daniel Mays who is known for his work in Lin of Duty, Ashes to Ashes, White Lines, Des and Code 404.

He is behind DCI Chris Hudson who gets sucked into the workings of the Thursday Murder Club.

Donna de Freitas – Naomi Ackie

In Osman’s novel, Donna de Freitas is an eager policewoman who has just been transferred from South London.

Actress Naomi Ackie won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress in Netflix ’s The End of the F*****g World, and has also been in BBC ’s Small Axe, Star Wars : Rise of Skywalker and portrayed Whitney Houston in the biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Stephen Best – Jonathan Pryce

Welsh star Jonathan Pryce has featured in mega hits like The Age of Innocence, Pirates of the Caribbean, Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies and The Two Popes.

Pryce, who will play Elizabeth’s husband Stephen Best, also portrayed Prince Philip in the final two seasons of The Crown.

Ian Ventham – David Tennant

Scottish star David Tennant has featured in an abundance of exciting shows and films including Broadchurch, Good Omens, Deadwater Fell, Jessica Jones, the Harry Potter franchise, The Sandman and, of course, as the tenth Time Lord in Doctor Who.

In The Thursday Murder Club, Tennant portrays Ian Ventham, the dodgy owner of the retirement village Coopers Chase.

Bogdan Jankowski – Henry Lloyd-Hughes

Actor Henry Lloyd-Hughe is behind the Thursday Murder Club’s right-hand man, although how he becomes involved isn’t made clear.

Lloyd-Hughes has starred in The Irregulars, Indian Summers, Parade’s End and The Long Shadow but many may remember him best for playing bully Mark Donovan in The Inbetweeners.

Tony Curran – Geoff Bell

Actor Geoff Bell has starred in The Business, Once Upon a Time in London, Daylight Robbery and, most recently, Mobland, just to list a few.

He is behind Tony Curran, a builder and business partner at the retirement village.

Jason Ritchie – Tom Ellis

Jason Ritchie is Brosnan’s character Ron’s son who used to be a famous boxer who previously made some “shady deals”.

He is brought to life by the unforgettable Tom Ellis who starred as Lucifer himself in the titular drama, and also had roles in Miranda, Washington Black and Once Upon A Time.

Bobby Tanner – Richard E Grant

Also joining the cast is actor Richard E Grant who is playing a character called Bobby Tanner.

Grant is known for his roles in Saltburn, Waltlock, Death of a Unicorn, Dom Hemingway and Withnail and I.

John Grey – Paul Freeman

John Grey is a fellow resident at Coopers Chase and the husband of a friend of Elizabeth’s.

Actor Paul Freeman is remembered for starring in The Dogs of War and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Patrice de Freitas – Sarah Niles

Actress Sarah Niles is best known for starring as Dr Sharon Fieldstone in Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso.

She is playing Patrice de Freitas, young police officer Donna’s mum.

Joanna Meadowcroft – Ingrid Oliver

Actress and comedian Ingrid Oliver, who was part of the double act Watson and Oliver and played Petronella Osgood in Doctor Who, is behind Joyce’s daughter Joanna Meadowcroft.

In real life, Oliver is also the wife of The Thursday Murder Club author Richard Osman.

The Thursday Murder Club premieres on Friday, August 22, in cinemas, and on Thursday, August 28, on Netflix.

A selection of fan responses to BBC Sport on Thursday

Brian: Totally embarrassing. Over a week to get Eze signed and still couldn’t manage it and Arsenal do it in hours. A kick in the teeth to Spurs fans. We spend so much wasted time on negotiating deals, it’s pure frustration!

Bob: Can’t say I’m that bothered. He is 27 years old and his career so far has been QPR and Palace. He’s not been wanted by anyone like Barca or Real – move on.

Ian: Spurs’ mentality is like being a multi-millionaire and driving 25 minutes out of town because the petrol is 5p cheaper. By the time you get home you haven’t saved anything, wasted a bunch of time, and everyone else is confused by what you’re doing and laughing at you.

Andre: Eze is a fantastic player and would strengthen any team he plays for. But, we can’t look back. He isn’t a Spurs player so let’s not cry about him. Onwards and upwards!

Christopher: Can’t help but feel that Ange would’ve sounded Eze out and identified if his heart was in joining THFC or if he was stringing them along. If anything, it would have prevented this song and dance from playing out at Levy’s Tottenham.

Anthony: Completely get it from Eze’s perspective, it’s his boyhood club. For me, it’s another case of Levy and co. taking far too long to wrap something up. Realistically this only reportedly happened because of Havertz’s injury, but in football you should never take anything for granted. Not sure where to go now, put the extra funds towards Savinho and find another 10 quick.

Bob: If he’s a Gooner we don’t want him. Simple.

Mark: For once I don’t think we can blame Levy for dragging his heels on this outcome. I don’t think Eze ever wanted to sign for us, all we did was set it up for Arsenal to step in. Fair play to their buying team and no doubt our smug North London neighbours will be letting us know how good they feel.

Spurs are guaranteed to keep everyone busy right up to deal sheet time in the transfer window but it is clear they are intent on strengthening new manager Thomas Frank’s hand further.

The departure of Son Heung-min and the serious injury to James Maddison has opened up attacking vacancies, but hopes that one of those would be filled by Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze now appear to have been dashed by Arsenal’s late move.

Spurs, it seems, will be forced to explore alternatives.

There have been suggestions of an interest in Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, who manager Frank knows so well, but all indications so far are that he wants to move to Newcastle United.

Spurs are are also looking at the wide areas, hence the interest in Manchester City’s Savinho. This potential deal has stalled for the moment but it would not be a huge surprise if it was revisited before the deadline passes.

Savinho played primarily on the right for City but has a versatility Frank admires. If that does not materialise, Spurs will still explore alternatives and have been linked with Monaco’s £47.5m-rated French attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, 23.

They may also look to add in the central defensive positions with Radu Dragusin a long-term injury absentee. Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi would be their ideal candidate but he appears to only have eyes for Liverpool.

Her name was etched in the memory of millions thanks to her role as Gabrielle Solís in “Desperate Housewives,” a series that established Eva Longoria as one of the most influential Latina actresses in Hollywood.

She went on to become a producer, director, entrepreneur, activist and, in recent years, an investor in the world of sports, where she has earned the nickname “La Patrona” — or “The Boss” in English — which easily could be the title of a Mexican soap opera.

After more than two decades of credits and awards earned in the entertainment industry, Longoria has shifted her focus. Today, her role as “La Patrona” of Liga MX team Club Necaxa draws on her family’s roots, her passion for storytelling and her commitment to giving Mexico visibility in the world.

Her involvement was not limited to serving on Necaxa’s board of directors as a celebrity investor. From the beginning, she knew she wanted to tell a story. Inspired by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ “Welcome to Wrexham” docuseries, she decided to produce the the docuseries “Necaxa,” which premiered on Aug. 7 on FX. Cameras take viewers behind the scenes, follow along on road trips and offer an intimate look at the soccer team.

Rob McElhenney, left, and Eva Longoria stand on the field at Estadio Victoria, Liga MX team Club Necaxa’s home stadium.

(HANDOUT / FX)

Few could have imagined a Mexican American actress would become the leading front office voice for a historic Mexican soccer club, whose home stadium — Estadio Victoria — is located in the city of Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico.

In 2021, Longoria joined a group of investors who acquired 50% ownership of the team. McElhenney, the actor best known for the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and Reynolds, who turned the mercenary Deadpool into one of the most beloved antiheroes in the Marvel universe, later joined the ownership group.

While restoring Necaxa to prominence in Liga MX was only a business and creative venture, it also had a deep personal component. Longoria grew up in Texas watching sports with her father, Enrique Longoria Jr.

“My dad can’t believe it. He doesn’t believe I’m ‘La Patrona,’” Longoria told L.A. Times en Español. “I’ll always be his little girl. … But I love sports because of my dad. My dad always watched the Dallas Cowboys, the Spurs, the Texas Rangers. … Every sport, I watched with him. I love sports because of the drama, the excitement, the ups and downs.”

In 2020, McElhenney and Reynolds acquired Wrexham AFC, a Welsh team that had been stuck in the National League — the fifth division of English soccer — since 2008. The team has steadily climbed the ranks to reach the Championship, just one step away from the top division, the Premier League.

Although promotion and relegation is no longer used in Liga MX, Longoria aspires to see Necaxa’s “Rayos” return to prominence in the Mexican soccer playoffs and is therefore seeking to mirror what her colleagues achieved with Wrexham AFC while flying the flag for her Mexican roots.

“This opportunity came from a group of investors who called me and asked if I wanted to be part of this project in the Mexican league. When they explained to me that the league has a huge audience, because there is so much beauty and talent coming out of Mexico, I decided to go for it,” said Longoria, who grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, but now primarily splits her time between homes in Mexico and Spain. “I invested in the Necaxa team because I saw a great opportunity, not only as a business venture, but also as a great way to showcase Mexico and the most passionate sport in this beautiful country, to put Mexico on the map.

“When I have the opportunity to put Mexico or Mexicans on the map, I will always do so. Whether I’m producing or directing, that’s my philosophy in storytelling. That’s why I wanted to do this with the docuseries because I knew there was a story there that we had to tell.”

Eva Longoria is “La Patrona,” which translates to “The Boss,” in ‘Necaxa’ on FX.

(HANDOUT / FX)

Despite her ambition and determination, her first visit to Aguascalientes was fraught with uncertainty.

“I was very anxious and afraid because I am a woman, I am Mexican American,” she said. “I didn’t know if they would welcome me with open arms, but the truth is that they have welcomed me with open arms and I have been impressed by the local support.”

Although filming the docuseries is as important as any of her other projects, her work also involves finding the formula to return Necaxa to the prominence it had in the 1990s when it won its only three championships in the first division.

Her power as an international star has allowed her enter the locker room, which is considered a sacred space in the world of soccer.

After watching her confidently enter spaces around the club, the players dubbed her “La Patrona.”

“It’s a lot to manage a soccer club, behind the scenes, behind the docuseries,” Longoria said. “We’re so lucky to have access to the locker rooms, to go home with them. For me, it’s very important to have everything in one series, because I want the world to see it all. It’s not just about points and games; you’re talking about real lives.”

Longoria has also become a bridge between cultures and markets. As co-owner and original investor in Angel City FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, she recognizes the differences between soccer in the United States and Mexico. That experience, coupled with her connection to McElhenney and Reynolds, has shaped a broader vision.

“Here in Necaxa, there’s a saying: ‘If there’s no suffering, it’s not Necaxa.’ I’m explaining this saying to them, because the fans have embraced the idea that you have to suffer to win,” she said. “Rob and Ryan know a little bit about this, and we wanted to explore that idea in the series.”

Diego González, Necaxa’s head of media relations, said Longoria’s arrival marked a turning point for the club.

“It’s something unexpected, something surprising to have something like this with Necaxa and Aguascalientes,” he said of the docuseries. “It’s seeing inside Club Necaxa. Getting to know not only the player, but the people, the city … lots of emotions, lots of feelings that represent what soccer is and how it’s lived in Necaxa.”

Opening the doors to the cameras was not easy, according to González, but Longoria’s presence made it possible.

“It’s something that is highly respected, that intimacy of the locker rooms, the training camps, the trips. The players had to get used to it, but the professionalism of the club and the production team helped. You’ll notice it in the series: it feels so natural because that’s how it was,” said González, whom the players call “Sheldon” because of his resemblance to the character Sheldon Cooper from the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

He describes Longoria’s relationship with the team as close and genuine.

“When she arrived in Aguascalientes, she showed herself as she is, even nervous, but without wanting to impose anything,” González said. “That naturalness helped the players feel comfortable. You don’t know how to treat a superstar, but she gives you the confidence to approach her and talk about anything.”

The influence of Longoria, McElhenney and Reynolds has gone beyond the locker room. They have put Necaxa on the international map.

“The most visible thing is the international showcase they can give you,” González said. “Necaxa was already known for its soccer merits, but now you have fans of Rob, Ryan, Eva, even Wrexham. A whole range of important possibilities has opened up for us, and that’s thanks to them.”

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Investigators believe up to four shooters opened fire with multiple weapons in the early hours of Sunday

At least three men have been killed and eight others wounded after a shooting in a crowded New York City club in Brooklyn.

Investigators believe up to four shooters opened fire with multiple weapons  early on Sunday just before 3:30am (07:30 GMT) at Taste of the City Lounge in the neighbourhood of Crown Heights after “a dispute”, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.

“It’s a terrible shooting that occurred in the city of New York,” Tisch said at a news briefing. She said officers are investigating at least 36 shell casings from the lounge, as well as a firearm that was discovered in a nearby street.

Those wounded in the shooting — eight men and three women — are being treated at hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, she said.

The shooting comes amid a record low year for gun violence in New York City. “I mean, we have the lowest numbers of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year that we’ve seen on record in the city of New York,” Tisch said. “Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly. And it’s a terrible thing that happened this morning, but we’re going to investigate and get to the bottom of what went down.”

A gunman who killed five people, including himself, in late July inside a midtown Manhattan office, was seeking out the headquarters of the National Football League (NFL), which he blamed for the brain injuries he suffered from, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Omagh Town were founded in 1962, but their heyday came in the 1990s when they were challenging in cups, in the top half of the league and playing in the Intertoto Cup in Europe.

“We had the good days, the glory days back then,” said former striker Andy Crawford.

“St Julian’s was a fortress when we were going really well. We were a thriving team back then.”

While Gaelic football was the dominant sport in Tyrone, with St Julian’s Road a stone’s throw away from the imperious Healy Park ground that the county’s four-time All-Ireland winners call home, Omagh Town played a key role in the community.

Manchester United’s treble winners, as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, all came to play the club in charity matches in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb in August 1998, in which 29 people were killed and hundreds more injured in one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The games were a show of the club helping the town to come together, but their financial issues continued into the start of the new millennium and Crawford, who joined Linfield a year before the club’s eventual collapse, said “the cracks were starting to show” by the time of his departure.

Relegation in the 2004-05 season, along with the closure of their social club, were pinned as the reasons for Omagh Town’s demise as more than 60 years of history were gone in an instant.

St Julian’s Road lay derelict for years, and in 2020 it was turned into a public park where there still sits a small memorial to mark the visits of the Premier League teams in the aftermath of the bomb.

Former S Club 7 star emotionally opened up about his father’s death during tonight’s Celebs Go Dating, and how he didn’t speak to his mum for two years while he was grieving

It was former S Club 7 star Jon Lee who became emotional during tonight’s episode of Celebs Go Dating, as he opened up about his father’s tragic death.

Jon’s sadly lost his father in 2014, after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. The star, who was very close to his dad, told dating experts Anna Williamson and Dr Tara that he “lost the plot” after his fathers death.

Opening up to the agents in Ibiza, the star opened up about how his dad had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the same time he found out his boyfriend had been unfaithful the entire time they were together.

READ MORE: Kerry Katona sobs as she shares ‘devastating’ truth behind split from Ryan MahoneyREAD MORE: Celebs Go Dating’s Jon Lee makes shock sex confession moments into new series

“I had an emotional slap from this relationship, and then that happened. And I hadn’t quite recovered myself from that, and then that happened as well and everything fell apart.”

Opening up further, Jon expressed how close he was to his father, as he was seen tearing up in front of the agents. “Within the first year, he’d completely lost the ability to move, he couldn’t speak, he had to be fed through a tube in his stomach. He couldn’t talk to me. To go out like that, I literally lost the plot. I thought, ‘What the f**k is the point?’ It broke my heart.

Explaining on how he dealt with the grief, Jon continued: “I went out, I was taking loads of drugs. I went completely off the rails. That got to a point where I had to make a decision. I had to sort myself out or it wasn’t going to end well.”

Jon then recalled packing a bag, and never going back to his home. “I wrote to my mum, I sent her my front door key. I wrote her a note saying I don’t know where I’m going, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I need to sort myself out.”

The former popstar then left the country for four years, telling the agents how he didn’t even speak to his mum for two of them. “She didn’t know where I was. She said every time the phone rang she thought it was going to be the police saying, ‘We found Jon and he’s dead.’ That’s my biggest regret, that I caused her…” he said as he broke down in tears.

Earlier in the conversation, Jon opened up about how he felt he had to hide his sexuality while in the band, and didn’t really get to experience dating until they broke up in 2003. Jon was just 15 when the band started, as he told the agents he didn’t have an opportunity to figure out who he was in the real world.

Although Jon’s S Club 7 bandmades and his family knew he was gay, the star never spoke about it publicly. “Throughout the band, I wasn’t comfortable with my sexuality at all, so it would happen when I was drunk,” he explained.

“I didn’t feel comfortable enough to be in a relationship until after the band and when I went back into musical theatre,” he admitted. “It felt like I was out of the limelight then and no one cared about me anymore. That’s when I started my dating life, so I was massively behind and very emotionally immature.”

Jon’s time in the agency comes after a six year break from dating, as he told the cameras during the first episode that he had been celibate for six years.

In a chat while filming, Dr Tara told the Mirror that Jon was the celebrity that surprised her most in the Agency, and he was set to make a “shocking revelation”.

“Jon has had a really interesting journey since S Club and I know a lot of it hasn’t been shared anywhere else. It’s a really interesting and insightful investigation into what really has been happening in his life since S Club and what he’s been doing in the recent years,” she told us.

“One of his revelations I was shocked,” Tara exclaimed, as she revealed Jon was the celebrity who surprised her the most in the agency. “I thought Jon would come in a lot more guarded but he’s not,” Tara said. “He’s ready to bare it all emotionally and it’s a beautiful thing. I’ve been learning a lot about him already, and I have to say it’s a very touching story.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

CHICAGO — Illinois Republican Jack Ryan gave up his Senate bid Friday, pressured by GOP outrage over sex club allegations in his divorce records.

In the documents released Monday, his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan, stated that he had taken her to clubs in Paris, New York and New Orleans, where he tried to force her to engage in sex acts in front of strangers.

Ryan, who repeatedly has denied the allegations, said in a statement Friday that it would be nearly impossible to continue his campaign.

“It’s clear to me that a vigorous debate on the issues most likely could not take place if I remain in the race,” said Ryan, 44. “What would take place, rather, is a brutal, scorched-earth campaign — the kind of campaign that has turned off so many voters, the kind of politics I refuse to play.”

The state Republican Party has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including losing the governorship and many other statewide offices in the 2002 elections.

After the details of the divorce records were released, Illinois Republican leaders were among the first to call for Ryan to bow out.

“You’ve got to wonder why people don’t have the good sense to say to themselves: ‘Well, I’ve got this skeleton in my closet, so I can’t really run for public office,’ ” said Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley.

“A lot of people are extremely naive of the level of scrutiny they will go under when they run for office, particularly people in the private sector,” Cain said. “They assume that the stuff they get away with their private life, they can get away with in public life. And, of course, they’re wrong, wrong, wrong.”

This was the first foray into the political arena for Ryan, a self-made millionaire who had left his career as an investment banker to teach at a Chicago inner-city school.

For months, he has trailed the Democratic candidate, state Sen. Obama Barack.

A poll conducted last month by the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV showed that Obama held a 22% lead over Ryan.

The impending retirement of Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald drew 15 contenders into the race — seven of whom are millionaires.

It also unleashed a debate about personal morals, drug use and messy divorces.

Multimillionaire Blair Hull, a Democrat, watched his political support plummet during the primary after local media reported that he allegedly had abused and threatened to kill his ex-wife, Brenda Sexton.

After Hull’s marital problems became public last spring, Ryan released part of his divorce records.

But he omitted his ex-wife’s allegations about the sex clubs. Jeri Ryan is best known for her television roles in “Star Trek Voyager” and “Boston Public.”

Jack Ryan at the time said he would not release the remainder of the sealed file out of concern for his young son. His campaign sought to play down the allegations, saying they were nothing more than “an unprecedented smear campaign.”

The Tribune and WLS-TV sued to get access to the full court file.

Last week, a Los Angeles judge ordered the material be made public.

Ryan has said the couple did attend one sex club in Paris, but left because it made them feel uncomfortable.

Illinois Republican leaders said they already were considering candidates to replace Ryan on the ballot in November, among them former state Board of Education Chairman Ron Gidwitz, state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger and dairy owner Jim Oberweis.

Gidwitz and Oberweis lost to Ryan in the March primary.

“We intend to fight for this seat,” said Judy Baar Topinka, chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party. “We will have a good candidate, a winning candidate.”

Beckham reported from Chicago and Huffstutter from Milwaukee.

The film is based on Richard Osman’s 2020 novel of the same name, but not everything has made it into the adaptation.

The Thursday Murder Club, which now has a full trailer, airs on Netflix on August 28 and fans of Richard Osman’s novel are desperate to see how it has been adapted for the small screen.

Boasting a star-studded cast, the movie follows four retirees who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but they end up with a real whodunit on their hands.

The film stars Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan as Ron, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim and Celia Imrie as Joyce, and it was directed by Chris Columbus.

Chris said of the film: “There’s a wonderful mystery at its core, so fans of detective and thriller films will not be disappointed.

READ MORE: Thursday Murder Club’s Celia Imrie drops news on adapting Richard Osman bookREAD MORE: Netflix makes huge Thursday Murder Club announcement and fans won’t want to miss it

“Thematically, I found it interesting that at the heart of the novel, there are four elderly people, living in a retirement community, who are obsessed with death and murder.

“They are in the last act of their lives, facing their own mortality, yet they are somehow obsessed with studying cold cases that deal with violent murders. I fell in love with that concept. It’s darkly comedic and deeply emotional.”

Translating the complex 350 page novel, which is full of plot twists, into a screenplay was actor and comedian Katy Brand’s responsibility.

“I remember thinking ‘there’s so much to play with here – it’s such an explosion of ideas.’ My immediate sense regarding adapting the book was that I wanted to draw out the emotion and Chris Columbus seemed to respond to that when we first met,” she said.

Chris opened up about how he initially became involved in the project, admitting the first scripts were not to his liking.

He said: “I was a fan of the books, but the initial scripts I read veered far from the novel. I felt that this was a mistake and I wanted to preserve what everyone loved about the book.

“When I first met with the writer, Katy Brand, I was convinced that she not only understood what made the novel so incredibly popular with readers around the world.

“But she also had the vision to write a film that was faithful to the source material. Katy’s draft was wonderful.

“And it was because of that draft that we were able to get so many British acting legends to commit to our film.”

The film also stars Naomi Ackie as PC Donna De Freitas, Daniel Mays as DCI Chris Hudson, Tom Ellis as Jason Ritchie, Jonathan Pryce as Stephen Best and David Tennant as Ian Ventham.

The Thursday Murder Club airs on Netflix on August 28

JOHN TERRY was the epitome of Chelsea’s golden era under Roman Abramovich.

The most successful captain in the club’s history now thinks the Blues are ready to challenge under new ownership.

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For all the chopping and changing at Stamford Bridge, Terry — who mentors players in the academy — can see a bright future after a summer of success.

Eight months ago, boss Enzo Maresca was shooting down suggestions of a title challenge.

Six months ago, the fans were chanting angrily towards their manager that they wanted “their Chelsea back”.

Since then, Todd Boehly’s Blues have claimed a Champions League place, won the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

And JT – who has exclusively revealed he’s made a decision about his own future in the game – does not think Maresca will talk down their title hopes any more.

The Chelsea legend, 44, told SunSport: “I really liked the honesty from the manager because the message is clear to the players. We’re not there yet.

“If you’re the manager now coming into that dressing room and you’re going, ‘We’ve got a chance this year’, the players will think we’ve got a chance. This year I think his message will be different.

“He was spot on because we were young, it was a little bit up and down last year. At the moment, we’re clearly building and moving in the right direction.

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“I’m not sitting here saying I want to wait five years to win another Premier League. We’ve got to go into it 100 per cent with the mindset of going, ‘Yes, we have to try to win the league this year’.

“Without a shadow of a doubt. But there’s other big competitions as well.

“You fight right to the end until it’s not possible. The Premier League was done last season, Liverpool were very good last year and rightly the winners. We have to compete for that again.”

Key to success will be whether or not the fledgling leaders within Maresca’s squad can find another level.

Reece James, 25, was called out by his manager last season for not doing enough as a captain but has stepped up since.

Centre-back Levi Colwill looked to be following in Terry’s footsteps at the back before his cruel ACL injury last week.

And Chelsea’s 15-time trophy-winning former skipper has long been impressed by Enzo Fernandez.

But James staying fit and leading on the pitch will be vital after missing months at a time with hamstring, knee and thigh problems.

Chelsea’s transfer deals

IN

• Joao Pedro – from Brighton – £60m
• Jamie Gittens – from Dortmund – £52m
• Jorell Hato – from Ajax – £37m
• Liam Delap – from Ipswich – £30m
• Estevao – from Palmeiras – £29m
• Dario Essugo – from Sporting Lisbon – £18.5m
• Kendry Paez – from Independiente – £17.5m
• Mamadou Sarr – from Strasbourg – £12.5m

TOTAL – £256.5m

OUT

• Noni Madueke – to Arsenal – £52m
• Joao Felix – to Al-Nassr – £44m
• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – to Everton – £28m
• Djordje Petrovic – to Bournemouth – £25m
• Lesley Ugochukwu – to Burnley – £25m
• Bashir Humphreys – to Burnley – £15m
• Mathis Amougou – to Strasbourg – £12.5m
• Kepa Arrizabalaga – to Arsenal – £5m
• Marcus Bettinelli – to Man City – £5m

TOTAL – £183.5m

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Terry added: “For Reece, concentrate on staying fit and having a fully-fit season for him is the most important thing. He can make such a difference.

“We’ve seen the quality. When Reece is at it, he is the world’s best right-back.

“When you’ve picked up a couple of injuries like Reece has had, it’s difficult to really feel like you belong.

“So when you start demanding from people around you, when you’re the one not playing, that’s also very difficult.

“When you’re in the starting line-up week in, week out, it’s easy to command and run the dressing room — and the standards of the football club.”

Terry made more than 500 appearances as captain and says boss Jose Mourinho always demanded his skipper be robust and a regular.

JT said: “You need to be robust. You need to understand that you can push through little injuries, niggles, and you can kind of come out the other side of it.

“You need to manage your body throughout the week and all of that.”

As well as mentoring players in the Under-18s and U21s, Terry stops in to catch up and offer support to players such as James and Colwill.

He even spoke to the pair of defenders before this interview.

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Terry added: “We talk generally about football and some situations — but it’s super relaxed.

“Out of pure respect, I don’t get too involved because I fully respect the  manager and his role.

“I would never want to say something that goes against what he’s saying to those players.

“But the boys know I’m always there if they need me.

“Not just the defenders but the ones that have just arrived. Always here to help. That’s my role as someone who has been at Chelsea for so long and the club means the world to me.”

And that is the clubman role he wants some of his academy predecessors to take up.

Terry said: “You’ve got Reece and there’s a few other boys that really live and breathe Chelsea.

“But the boys that come in and really buy into the club, this is where the importance of Reece, Levi and the academy graduates really play an important role.

“This is how we do it. This is what we do at Chelsea. We win football trophies and we win cups on a regular basis.

“All the top clubs have that. Man United have that, Liverpool have that, Arsenal. Spurs not so much . . . 

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“But all the big football clubs have that — they find a way to win.

“So in terms of where we were last year . . . a little bit inexperienced. Thiago Silva left and all of that. But the team managed to find a way to win.”

Terry also believes recent successes will be transformative for the Blues.

While the Conference League would have been scoffed at during Terry’s era had it existed, now it is viewed as a stepping stone within the camp.

He said: “It gives you belief, back when we won our first one, the 2004-05 Carling Cup at Cardiff, it gives you belief that it can be done within the squad.

“When you’re a young group, it ripples throughout the whole squad of players.”

If this group can match what Terry and his team-mates did after that Carling Cup win 20 years ago, the Blues will be in for one hell of a ride once more.

John Terry is an investor in and ambassador for LEBOM —  the low-stakes football betting app where It’s You vs Your Mates. 18+ BeGambleAware

On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.

“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”

Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.

Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.

Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.

They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.

And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.

Little fun. Lots of frustration.

Monday’s game was a lost cause from the start.

Despite getting an extra day of rest this week, after flipping places in the rotation with Tyler Glasnow for Sunday’s loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in one of his worst starts in the majors.

He gave up a home run to Zach Neto on his first pitch of the night, and another run later in the first inning after two walks (one of them on a missed third strike call from home plate umpire Dan Iassogna) and a Yoán Moncada single.

Then, in the fifth, his outing completely fell apart. Five of the first seven batters of the inning reached base (four singles and a hit by pitch). Four runs crossed the plate (including two on a Mike Trout single). And after Yamamoto walked his fifth batter with two outs, manager Dave Roberts was forced into an early hook, removing Yamamoto after 4⅔ innings and six runs (the most Yamamoto has yielded in his 41-game MLB career).

The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t do much better.

Over the first six innings, they failed to figure out Angels right-hander José Soriano and his upper-90s mph sinker, managing just two hits while striking out six times.

By the time they finally put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, the deficit had grown to 7-0 on Neto’s second home run of the night (this time off Alexis Diaz). And even then, they came up empty, with Alex Freeland grounding into an inning-ending double-play against former Dodgers reliever Luis García with the bases loaded.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning Monday night.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

Eighth-inning home runs from Shohei Ohtani (his 42nd of the season, and the 100th of his career at his old home stadium in Anaheim) and Max Muncy (a three-run drive inside the right-field foul pole) put the Dodgers on the board at long last.

But it was far too little, much too late — allowing the Angels (57-62) to improve to 4-0 against the Dodgers this season after sweeping a series at Chavez Ravine back in May.

When coupled with Sunday’s maddening loss to Toronto (a defeat that left Roberts outwardly perturbed in his postgame news conference), the last 48 hours have represented another backward step in a Dodgers’ campaign that is quickly growing full of them.

It has zapped whatever momentum was building after the team’s two series-opening victories against the AL East-leading Blue Jays last weekend. It has dropped the club to 12-19 since the Fourth of July, the fifth-worst record in the majors over that span. And, most consequentially, it has opened the door for the Padres (who have won three in a row and five out of six) to potentially take the division lead ahead of their visit to Dodger Stadium on Friday.

The only silver lining: The Dodgers overcame similar struggles last year, doing just enough down the stretch to win the division and march all the way to an unlikely championship.

But they were hoping to avoid such headaches this season, and mount a more enjoyable defense of their title.

With less than two months remaining in the season, that dream has come and gone.

The Dodgers can still win another World Series. But the road to this point has been anything but fun.

Already the home of Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles is now also the home of South Korea’s Shohei Ohtani.

Like Ohtani, Son Heung-min has been the most popular athlete in his home country by a wide margin for close to a decade. Like Ohtani, Son has a pleasant disposition that has endeared him to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Son was introduced as the latest addition to LAFC at a news conference on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, and he was everything he was made out to be.

He came across as sincere.

He was warm.

He was funny.

“I’m here to win,” Son said. “I will perform and definitely show you some exciting …

“Are we calling it football or soccer?”

None of this means Son will turn LAFC into the Dodgers overnight, of course. By this point, Major League Soccer and its teams understand that profile players aren’t transformative figures as much as they are building blocks. Son will be the newest, and perhaps most solid, block that will be stacked on the foundation established by the club’s first designated player, the now-retired Carlos Vela.

Outside of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there might not be a player in the world who could be of a greater value than Son to LAFC, which continues to fight for relevance on multiple fronts. There was a reason the transfer fee paid by LAFC to Tottenham Hotspur of England was the highest in MLS history, a reported $26 million.

“Son’s arrival marks a new chapter, not just for LAFC but for the league and for football in the United States,” general manager John Thorrington said. “He brings not only incredible quality on the field but a magnetic presence off it, someone who inspires millions around the world and now will do so here in Los Angeles.”

The most talented Mexican player of his generation, Vela forged an immediate connection with the community, carving out a place for LAFC in the congested Los Angeles sports market. Son will do the same, as this city is home to a large Korean community.

Supporters of Mexico’s national soccer team also share a fondness of Son because of a late goal he scored against Germany in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, which enabled El Tri to advance to the round of 16.

More than ethnic background, Vela’s success with LAFC was driven by performance. Son is expected to deliver on that front as well. Son might be 33, but he remains a world-class attacker. He should be one of MLS’ best players from the moment he steps on the field, if not the best after Messi of Inter Miami.

“We can say I’m old, but I still have good physicality, good legs and still I have good quality,” Son said.

South Korean national team Son Heung-min poses for a photo with his new LAFC jersey.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

LAFC has become a model franchise in MLS not just because of how it markets itself. The club makes smart soccer decisions and Son is the latest.

What will distinguish Son from Vela is the opportunity he will present LAFC to build its global brand.

“From the early days of building this club, we’ve dreamt of building a club that would win trophies and make a major positive impact in our community and Los Angeles, but also make a mark on the world stage of global football,” lead managing owner Bennett Rosenthal said.

As much success as it has enjoyed domestically, as much attention as it received for participating in the recent Club World Cup, LAFC doesn’t have as much international name recognition as Inter Miami, which employs Messi; or the Galaxy, for which David Beckham played; or even the New York Cosmos, which made its name by signing Pele in the 1970s.

Son played 10 seasons with Tottenham, and by one estimate, the club had 12 million supporters in South Korea — or about one in four people in the country. Koreans traveled to London to watch Son play for Tottenham, just as many Japanese people travel to watch Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. Korean companies sponsored the Spurs.

The eyes of South Korea have shifted to LAFC. The team scheduled Son’s introductory news conference for 2 p.m. local time — or 6 a.m. in South Korea. An estimated 40 Korean journalists were issued credentials to cover the event.

Son acknowledged that as he prepared for life after Tottenham, LAFC was “not my first choice.” A conversation with Thorrington after the season changed his mind.

“He showed me the destination where I should be,” Son said.

Son attended LAFC’s Leagues Cup victory over Tigres of Mexico on Tuesday night and received a loud ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard.

“It was just insane,” he said. “I just wanted to run into the pitch.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass presents new LAFC star Son Heung-min with a certificate of recognition during an introductory news conference on Wednesday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Son will be reunited with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his former teammate at Tottenham.

“He’s back to [being] my captain,” Son said. “So I have to say something good about him because otherwise in the locker room, he’s just going to kill me.”

Son laughed.

His personality will play in Los Angeles, just as it did in London. He will make LAFC a known commodity in South Korea, perhaps beyond. He will further enhance a structure that was built by Vela, ensuring the team’s next star will have an even greater platform on which to perform. He won’t be as prominent locally as Ohtani or Luka Doncic, but he doesn’t have to be.

A sprawling social club centering on racquet sports — the ubiquitous pickleball and rising padel, a blend of tennis and squash — is making its way to downtown L.A. next summer.

With the cheeky name Ballers, the club will be housed in the former Macy’s building at The Bloc, which spans 100,000 square feet. It will be equipped with 18 pickleball courts and four padel courts — marking the first pickleball and padel courts to open in the DTLA area, according to the founders. The club will also feature five golf simulators, two soccer pitches, a high-end retail shop, two full bars, a restaurant and a recovery zone outfitted with a sauna and cold plunge area.

Membership packages for the social sports club will start at $99 per month and come with perks such as advanced booking windows, access to the recovery lounge and invites to exclusive events. Nonmembers will still be welcome to enjoy the social spaces and book courts for fees between $15 to $25 per hour.

“[We wanted] to bring the country club to the city in an elevated, fun way,” said Ballers CEO David Gutstadt.

Ballers L.A. will be the third Ballers location — the first will debut in Philadelphia later this month and the second will open in Boston later this year. The founders, who are behind hospitality projects like the Fitler Club and Equinox Hotels, have plans to expand to 50 locations across the country within the next seven to 10 years. Ballers has received financial backing from an all-star roster of professional athletes including tennis icons Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters and Sloane Stephens, pickleball champion Connor Garnett and 76ers star Tyrese Maxey.

Earlier this year, Macy’s at the Bloc was deemed one of the retailer’s “underproductive” locations and closed its doors, leaving downtown L.A. without a department store for the first time in over 150 years. This evolution of the space follows a trend of retail stores transforming into “experiential” spaces — companies are tapping into consumers’ hunger for communal experiences and new hobbies. In 2023, indoor pickleball venue Pickle Pop opened in Santa Monica, in part to try to revive ailing Third Street Promenade.

When designing Ballers’ Los Angeles club, co-founder and chief creative officer Amanda Potter said it was important that the venue be accessible in location and price so that anyone could visit and try the racquet sports.

In addition to sports offerings, the venue will feature a restaurant and two full bars.

(Ballers)

While the popularity of pickleball has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, Potter said not everyone is familiar with it, citing a 2023 study by the Association of Pickleball Professionals which found that less than 10 percent of Angelenos had tried the sport that year. “It’s a sport that people are still getting acquainted with, so we don’t want to have that barrier to people trying our sports by saying it’s members-only,” Potter said.

Garnett, who started playing pickleball about three years ago, said he was eager to become involved with the Ballers’ project.

“You don’t have to be great at pickleball to come out here,” he said. “You don’t have to be great at padel. It’s just really an inclusive way to get people active and on their feet.”

While there is no set opening date for Ballers L.A., the founders say it will launch in the late summer of 2026.

Israel international Shon Weissman was expected to complete move from Spain’s Granada to Germany’s Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Bundesliga 2 side Fortuna Dusseldorf has pulled out of signing Israel striker Shon Weissman in response to fan anger about his social media posts on the Gaza war, German tabloid Bild has reported.

Fan furore erupted online on Monday when news emerged that Weissman was on the cusp of joining Dusseldorf from Spanish side Granada FC.

On Tuesday, the club tweeted: “We looked into Shon Weissman intensively, but ultimately decided not to sign him”.

The club did not reveal the reasons for the decision, but Bild reported the club reacted to fan anger about social media statements from Weissman, who was already in Dusseldorf and had completed a medical exam.

The centre forward, who has 33 Israel caps, made several social media posts after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that set off the Gaza war.

Bild reported that Weissman called for Israel to “wipe Gaza off the map” and to “drop 200 tons of bombs on it”.

The 29-year-old had also liked posts saying “there are no innocents [in Gaza], they don’t need to be warned”.

Weissman, who deleted the posts soon after making them, has since said he made a mistake and was acting in the heat of the moment.

Dusseldorf fans launched an online petition on Monday saying Weissman’s “disrespectful and discriminatory” comments are in stark contrast to the principles Fortuna “stand for and try to promote”.

Weissman has already been the subject of fan protests in Granada, a side he joined in January 2023.

Bild reported that Dusseldorf and Weissman had planned to issue an apology statement for the posts, which was to be made public after the signing was made official.

After 22 months of combat in Gaza sparked by the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory.

More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory’s 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine.

Germany, as it has sought to atone for the Holocaust, has long been a steadfast supporter of Israel, but concern has risen sharply over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The war has previously made an impact in professional football in Germany.

In 2023, Bundesliga side Mainz decided to sack player Anwar El Ghazi for statements made on social media about the conflict.

El Ghazi, a Dutch international with Moroccan roots, won a wrongful dismissal case in a German court against the club, who have since appealed.

Former Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui, now with Manchester United, apologised publicly after making several social media posts on the conflict, including one which called for “victory” for “our oppressed brothers in Palestine”.

German football fans are heavily involved in major decisions, from signing players to setting fixtures, due to the so-called 50+1 regulation, which requires club members to retain overall control of professional football sides.

NEWCASTLE are set to fail in their club-record £70million bid for Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko – but will return with an improved offer.

Toon are offering £65.5m up front plus £4.3m in add-ons but the German club are expected to turn down the offer.

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Leipzig are hoping for a bidding war between Manchester United and Newcastle, who are set to lose Alexander Isak to Liverpool.

Even if both clubs offer the same amount, Leipzig will look to increase the size of add-ons and the sell-on percentage.

Sesko, 22, is certain to leave Leipzig and he was left out of the club’s 2-1 friendly against Atalanta on Saturday.

The forward is understood to be happy to join EITHER club.

Leipzig sporting director Marcel Shafer said: “Due to the very concrete interest from several clubs, we have decided that he will not play today.

“When I say that strong interest has been registered and approaches have been made, it’s obvious what has happened.

“I would like to make it clear that this does not mean that he is on his way to another club.

“And it also does not mean that Benji will not be playing next week.”

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Yet Sesko is still unlikely to play again for the club particularly as Leipzig are also keen to sell the player.

Leipzig are also set to sell Dutch forward Xavi Simons to Chelsea.

Simons missed the Atalanta game with a neck issue although he could cost Chelsea up to £60m.

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