Henderson fee agreed, City accept Mahrez bid, Newcastle close in on Barnes, and more: The Daily Transfer Round Up – Wednesday, July 19

Liverpool and Al-Ettifaq agree Henderson fee

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is set to leave the club following a reported agreement between the Merseysiders and Al-Ettifaq on a transfer fee of £12 million, plus potential add-ons to come on top of that amount.

Liverpool s transfer business this summer began in an optimistic way, as the departures of Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner were followed by the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. However, last week their plans were shaken with reports emerging about Henderson accepting Al-Ettifaq s offer of a highly lucrative three-year contract, as well as an offer of £40m arriving from Al-Ittihad for Fabinho.

Both transfers have now been agreed, a…

Fulham eye Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah

Fulham are interested in signing Eddie Nketiah from London and Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Gunners are willing to offload Nketiah at the end of the season, and that the Cottagers are among the clubs who are keen on the striker.

Nketiah has been on the books of Arsenal since 2015 and has come through the North London club’s youth system. The 24-year-old is now part of the first team at the Gunners, but he is a squad under manager Mikel Arteta. The England international striker has made 10 starts and 14 substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this season, scoring five goals and providing two assists in the process.

TEAMtalk has claimed that Arsenal are ready to sell Nketiah to av…

From Aguero winner to Keegan dismay, Chelsea-City joins Premier League classics

Chelsea and Manchester City played out an enthralling 4-4 draw on Sunday – the second brilliant match Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been involved in over the past week.

Pep Guardiola’s champions led three times at Stamford Bridge only to be pegged back on each occasion, with former City man Cole Palmer holding his nerve to grab his new team a point with a stoppage-time penalty.

The Blues on Monday evening ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an extraordinary 4-1 win over their nine-man London rivals.

A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Blues head coach Pochettino enjoy a successful return to his former club, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards – for Spurs defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie �…

Austin FC v Seattle Sounders: Newfound resilience key to recent success, says Schmetzer

Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer has praised his side’s resilience in coming back from a poor run of results to go five games unbeaten in the MLS.

The Sounders travel to the Q2 Stadium this weekend to face Austin FC, hoping to continue their unbeaten streak and move further up the Western Conference table.

Schmetzer’s side currently sit in seventh place in the standings and booked their place in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup following a 2-1 victory over Sacramento Republic last time out.

The head coach was able to detail the reasoning behind his side’s upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, going on to say the players within the group have changed their mindset as part of their newfound success.

Schmetzer said: “I have seen goal produ…

Pickford: England welcome the pressure of being Euro 2024 favourites

Jordan Pickford has urged England to embrace the pressure of being one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.

England made it to the final of Euro 2020, ultimately losing on penalties to Italy, as well as reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last two World Cups under Gareth Southgate.

According to the Opta supercomputer, England are the slight favourites going into Euro 2024, with a 19.9 per cent chance of lifting the trophy for the first time, narrowly ahead of France (19.1 per cent).

Pickford has faith that the squad, despite being quite young, will be able to cope with the expectations placed on them due to the favourites tag.

Apart from Russia in 2018 [World Cup], where there was no pressure on us, to be a top, elite team you have got to h…

Stam extends Reading stay to 2019

Jaap Stam has signed a new contract with Reading, tying him to the Championship club until 2019.

The Dutchman guided the Royals to the play-off final last season, where they were beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town.

Stam was linked with West Ham in March to underline the former Manchester United defender s growing reputation as a coach, and chief executive Nigel Howe was delighted to secure his signature for another two years, along with retaining coaches Andries Ulderink and Said Bakkati.

Jaap, Andries and Said signing new contracts is momentous for this football club and a clear demonstration that Reading football club is a great place to be right now, Howe told the club s official website.

Akin to the manager, we are a club with fierce ambition …

Italy boss Spalletti expects to make five changes for Israel match

Luciano Spalletti is expecting to make up to five changes for Italy s Nations League clash with Israel owing to the tight turnaround between matches.

Italy produced a shock 3-1 victory over France on Friday, just three days before they face Israel in Hungary.

But their opening three points in Group A2 took their toll, with starters Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini both leaving the squad after sustaining injuries in the match against France.

As such, Spalletti feels it is necessary to rotate for their upcoming match.

It s difficult to put the same team out as Friday. It s not possible to get over the fatigue after just two days. Let s see how the guys are, but it s not unusual to change three, four, five players, the Italy boss told the press.

Taylor: Man City know ´exactly what we have to do´ to win WSL title

Gareth Taylor insists Manchester City know exactly what we have to do to win the Women s Super League, as he urged his players to really push on after last season s disappointment.

City came agonisingly close to landing their second WSL title last term, losing out to Emma Hayes Chelsea on goal difference.

Taylor s side were in the driving seat with a three-point cushion heading into the final two games. However, a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal in their penultimate match proved costly, with the Blues going on to claim their seventh crown in eight seasons.

That marked a seventh second-place WSL finish since 2015 for City, who begin their quest to go the extra step against the Gunners on Sunday, when they will come face to face with former forward Vivianne Miedema.

World Cup 2018: Messi magic and Renaissance men in St Petersburg as England dart ahead

Lionel Messi scored what could prove to be his last World Cup goal on a night of unforgettable drama in St Petersburg this week.

The raucous din supplied throughout by the Argentina fans and Marcos Rojo s thrilling late winner made the Group D match against Nigeria the unquestionable highlight of the past seven days.

Elsewhere, Omnisport took in a museum exhibition presenting football heroes as royalty and military men of the Renaissance era, while England remained in high spirits up the road in Repino – arguably because they keep beating the media at darts.

Locals here enjoyed Russia s shock penalty shoot-out win over Spain as you might expect, but a power cut nearly stopped the party before it had begun.

S.Africa opens first newly-built 2010 stadium

South Africa s first newly-built 2010 World Cup stadium officially opened on Sunday in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth a year before kick-off next June.

For us today?s first opening of a newly-built 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium is a huge boost, said local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan.

It demonstrates the capacity of SA s (South Africa) construction industry and our commitment to deliver on all our 2010 FIFA World Cup promises, Jordaan said in a statement.

Eight 2010 games, including a quarter final and a third and fourth place play-off, will be hosted at the city s 48,000 seater Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.

The new ground hosts the touring British and Irish Lions rugby team on Tuesday when they will play a local Southern Kings Invitational…