Romelu Lukaku could make a "huge difference" to Inter's attack should he return to the club from Chelsea, according to Blues legend Gianfranco Zola.

Lukaku is closing in on a return to San Siro less than a year after joining Chelsea in a club-record £97.5million transfer, with Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta revealing on Monday the club are in talks to sign both the Belgian and Juventus' Paulo Dybala.

The Chelsea striker only scored eight Premier League goals as Chelsea finished third in the English top flight last term, and reportedly wants to return to the club with whom he won Serie A in 2020-21.

Lukaku scored 30 goals and recorded 11 assists in 44 appearances for Inter in his last season with the Nerazzurri, averaging a goal every 118.77 minutes.

Among strikers in the top five European leagues to hit 20 goals or more in all competitions that campaign, only eight averaged fewer minutes between strikes than the Belgian, including the likes of Robert Lewandowski (70.6), Kylian Mbappe (88.62), Cristiano Ronaldo (104.19) and Lionel Messi (110.32).

Chelsea great Zola thinks Lukaku could make the difference for an Inter side that missed out on the Serie A title by just two points last season.

"Lukaku continued to express this desire to return to Inter where he had found himself very well, but honestly I thought it was a difficult operation," he told Sky in Italy.

"If he returned to Inter, he would be a player capable of making a huge difference, also in light of this year's difficulties."

Another high-profile player to be linked with a move to Italy is Angel Di Maria, who is available on a free transfer after announcing his departure from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Argentina international is reportedly a target for Juventus, and Zola believes that move would benefit both the Bianconeri and Serie A as a whole.

However, he also called on Italian football to do more to produce young attacking players of Di Maria's quality after Roberto Mancini's Azzurri missed out on qualification for the World Cup and made a poor start to their Nations League campaign.

"He has important experience and quality, players of this calibre raise the level of our football," Zola said of Di Maria.

"But we must think of creating higher quality players in our youth sector, especially in the last 40 metres [before goal], where we lack."

Mario Gotze expressed his excitement at returning to the Champions League after sealing his transfer to Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt. 

The 30-year-old former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich man has returned to the Bundesliga for a reported €4million fee after spending two years with Eredivisie giants PSV.

Frankfurt confirmed the midfielder had signed a three-year deal on Tuesday, as Oliver Glasner looks to strengthen his squad for next season's Champions League campaign.

Speaking to the club's website, Gotze said: "I'm incredibly excited about joining Eintracht Frankfurt. This club have made remarkable progress and have started out on an exciting and ambitious path, on which I can now accompany them. 

"This club have a great foundation. From the stadium to the fans to the city, everything is just to my liking. I'm really looking forward to my return to the Bundesliga, as well as the chance to play in the Champions League."

Gotze, who has won 63 caps for Germany, scored the only goal of his country's 2014 World Cup final win over Argentina, earning Die Mannschaft their fourth world title.

Board member Markus Krosche told the club's media channels: "The fact that a player like Mario Gotze has chosen, with full conviction, Eintracht Frankfurt over numerous other offers, speaks volumes for the outstanding image that the club has built over the past few years.

"I don't need to say much about his footballing qualities. We've been lacking a player of his type. Mario's technical ability will help our game enormously."

As well as being seeded for next season's Champions League group stage, Frankfurt will face Real Madrid in August's UEFA Super Cup in Helsinki after beating Rangers on penalties in Seville last month.

Ryan Peniston stunned French Open quarter-finalist Holger Rune at the Eastbourne International to continue his strong form on the grass.

Peniston beat world number five Casper Ruud as he reached the quarter-finals at the Queen's Club Championships last week, and followed that up by recovering from a set down against Rune to reach Eastbourne's last 16 in impressive fashion.

After wrapping up a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win, the 26-year-old told the home crowd: "I'm very happy with that. A tough start but I managed to fight, thanks to you guys.

"Since Queen's it has been madness. A couple of weeks ago was a lot different and things have changed, but I'm loving it."

Rune, who was twice two points from victory in an enthralling contest, was jeered by spectators after hitting a ball out of court and kicking his towel bin after being broken in the third set.

Peniston will face Pedro Martinez in the next round after he benefited from fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina being forced to retire at one set apiece, while Ugo Humbert fell to a 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 reverse against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro.

Lorenzo Sonego posted a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) win over James Duckworth, while Tommy Paul recovered from a set down to beat Francisco Cerundolo and home favourite Dan Evans overcame Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3.

The seeds in action at the Mallorca Open endured mixed fortunes as Sebastian Baez cruised past Jordan Thompson in straight sets, but Botic van de Zandschulp was beaten by Marcos Giron.

The Dutchman succumbed to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-2) defeat, while Germany's Daniel Altmaier beat Dusan Lajovic 7-5 7-6 (7-2).

Nick Kyrgios set up an enticing last-16 meeting with fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut by knocking out Serbia's Laslo Djere in a marathon three-set contest, recovering to win 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-1).

Houston Rockets guard John Wall has exercised his player option for the 2022-23 season, locking in a salary of $47.4million, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.  

Wall was a healthy scratch all last season for the Rockets but will be tied with the Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden for the second-largest salary cap hit in the league.  

Wall opting into the hefty payday is no surprise, but the timing of the move makes the 32-year-old point guard eligible to be traded before or during Thursday's NBA Draft, which annually brings a flurry of player and pick swaps.  

Any potential Wall trade would need a sufficiently large salary coming back to Houston.  

Russell Westbrook, who was traded for Wall in 2020 in a deal with the Washington Wizards, has been a frequent target of trade rumours, with the Los Angeles Lakers looking to improve on a disappointing 33-49 season in 2021-22.  

National NBA reporter Marc Stein, previously of ESPN and the New York Times, reported earlier this month that the Rockets are demanding extra draft picks in another potential Wall-Westbrook swap.  

Wall, a five-time All-Star, has seen his career derailed by injuries and has played just 113 games since being named Third Team All-NBA after the 2016-17 season.

Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain due to the club's "project" and rejected a more lucrative offer from Real Madrid, according to the Parisians' president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Al-Khelaifi also hit out at suggestions Mbappe possesses undue influence in footballing decisions at the club in an explosive interview with Marca, as well as labelling La Liga "dead" and claiming to never have heard of the league's president Javier Tebas.

Mbappe was widely expected to join Madrid upon the expiry of his contract in Paris this month, but committed his future to PSG until 2025 in a shock decision in May.

That decision sparked fury in Spain, with Madrid president Florentino Perez claiming the striker "must already be sorry" for snubbing the European champions, and LaLiga chief Tebas accusing the French club of trying to "destroy" European football in a complaint to UEFA over supposed financial fair play breaches.

But Al-Khelaifi says Mbappe's choice was never about money, and even claims to have known the 2018 World Cup winner wanted to stay long before the end of last season.

"I have great respect for Real Madrid as a club, they're a great club, but Kylian has never decided to renew for the money, that's the first thing. Madrid's offer was better than ours," he said.

"He is our player and he had other clubs in England as well as Madrid, but he chose PSG, and we didn't talk to him or his family about money until the last moment. 

"Kylian was above all interested in the project, in football and sport. He is Parisian, he is French, and he wanted to stay here to represent his city and his country, his club, and it is not fair what has been said about him."

The PSG chief rejected huge bids for the striker before last season and says he did so in the knowledge he would decide to renew: "I knew 18 months ago that Mbappe wanted to stay. I heard that Madrid said he wanted to play for Madrid, but it wasn't true. 

"We are talking now about Madrid's latest offer, but in the summer [of 2021] they made an offer of €170million and 180million. That means that Madrid's offer, plus his salary, was already better than ours, as it is now. 

"I turned down 180 and they told me I was crazy, people I trusted, because he could leave for free, but I did it because I was sure Kylian was going to stay because I know him and his family well. I know what he wants. 

"Kylian is very serious, professional, and he wants to play and win, he doesn't care about money. I understand that Madrid are disappointed, but it's not fair to say that about Mbappe."

LaLiga have complained about the spending of both Manchester City and PSG to UEFA, claiming a need to keep European competition "clean".

But Al-Khelaifi is not worried about accusations of overspending, as he labelled the Spanish top flight "dead" and said last year's signing of Lionel Messi demonstrated PSG's ability to invest and stay within the rules.

"Who is Tebas? I don't know that person," he claimed. "Our style is not to interfere in the affairs of other clubs, other leagues or federations, it is not our style. But I am not going to accept that others give us lessons. 

"I don't care what he says, the truth is, we have been talking about this for years. We have a football project to build, and we are going to go ahead. We're not worried about everything that comes out in the media, because we can't waste our time with everything that comes out.

"Every year, every summer, it's the same thing. He says we don't respect the fair play, we don't respect the others? We know what we can do, who we can sign, we know better than him what we can do and nobody has to tell us what to do. 

"We don't have to be told by someone from outside what we can or cannot do. If we do it, it's because we can. Look at the case of Messi. It was the same, they said it was financially impossible, and we have made money with Messi. 

"He has no idea and he should focus on his league because La Liga is a bit dead."

Al-Khelaifi, who also serves as chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), could not resist taking another swipe at Madrid over their continued support for the European Super League, which failed spectacularly upon its attempted launch last year.

Madrid, along with Barcelona and Juventus, are still committed to the breakaway project, and Al-Khelaifi says their jubilation at winning the Champions League last month is strange in that context.

"For me it [the Super League] is already dead," he said. "But it's also strange. Madrid have won the Champions League and deservedly so, but on the one hand they want to win it and on the other hand they don't want to play it. 

"If you're not happy you don't need to play it. It's the best competition in the world and I don't even know why the Spanish fans are also against this competition, but for me the Super League is dead."

Katie Boulter stunned last year's Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova at the Eastbourne International as the Briton secured the first top-10 scalp of her career.

Despite making a strong start, fourth seed Pliskova faltered and lost 1-6 6-4 6-4 to the world number 127 in the pair's last-32 match.

Boulter said: "I'm super-proud of myself today. I went out there and didn't feel great on court, and I worked so hard to battle and fight, and against a player like that it means so much to me, coming through that."

There was another major shock win for a British player later in the day as Jodie Burrage knocked out top seed Paula Badosa, the world number 169 triumphing 6-4 6-3 against a player who will be seeded fourth at Wimbledon.

Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-4 and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova saw off Donna Vekic 6-1 7-6 (7-1), while Beatriz Haddad Maia's strong form on grass continued with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi.

Brazilian left-hander Haddad Maia is coming off the back of title wins in Nottingham and Birmingham and stretched her winning run on grass to 11 matches.

There were also wins in Eastbourne for Camila Giorgi, Madison Keys and Barbora Krejcikova, but Greek third seed Maria Sakkari bowed out, losing 3-6 7-5 6-4 to Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina.

At the Bad Homburg Open in Germany, the 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep scrambled for a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win against Katerina Siniakova, and sixth seed Amanda Anisimova came from a set down to see off Alison van Uytvanck in a third-set tie-break.

Bianca Andreescu saw off Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1 and Angelique Kerber also won in straight sets, while top seed and recent French Open semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina reached the quarter-finals with a 6-1 3-6 6-1 win over Germany's Jule Niemeier.

Kasatkina will be absent from Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian players.

Serena Williams made a thrilling return to the WTA Tour as she and Ons Jabeur teamed up to win a nail-biting doubles contest at the Eastbourne International.

Czech player Marie Bouzkova and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo provided stiff competition but eventually succumbed 2-6 6-3 13-11 as Williams grew in belief.

This was the first competitive match for 40-year-old Williams since abandoning her Wimbledon first-round clash against Aliaksandra Sasnovich last June, due to an ankle injury.

It was also her first doubles main-draw match on grass since she and sister Venus won the 2016 Wimbledon title, so she was understandably rusty in the early stages, while world number three Jabeur's nervousness about playing with Williams, which she spoke of after the match, was also evident.

Williams will be on a wildcard at Wimbledon next week, due to her ranking plummeting, as she chases what would be a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title.

Her game looked sketchy early on, with a smash into the net handing over the second game, before she then blazed a volley over the baseline to concede the early break.

Her own serve was broken as Sorribes Tormo and Bouzkova snatched a 4-1 double-break lead in the opener, which they soon wrapped up.

Williams lost her footing on the grass midway through the second set, slipping over, but she was soon back up, with the contest becoming increasingly competitive.

Jabeur and Williams forged a 4-3 lead in the second set and then broke to force the match tie-break.

All-out assault from Williams brought up a first match point, but the American then rattled a backhand long after Jabeur failed to put away a volley at the net early in the rally.

Another match point slipped away as Jabeur netted from another great chance, but a drop shot from the Tunisian brought up a third, and this time Sorribes Tormo volleyed wide to herald a scream of delight from Williams.

"Oh my god, it was so fun to play with Ons," said Williams. "Our opponents played amazing. They played so well in that first set, they were jamming.

"We were just trying to stay in there after the first set, it was good though.

"I caught some fire behind me, so that's good; I needed that."

Rob Gronkowski is retiring from the NFL – again. 

After coming out of his 2019 retirement to spend the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with whom he won the Super Bowl in the 2020 campaign – the future Hall of Fame tight end took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal he is once again calling it a career. 

"I want to thank the whole entire first-class Buccaneers organisation for an amazing ride, trusting me to come back to play and help build a championship team," he wrote. "I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field."

A four-time Super Bowl champion who won his first three titles during nine seasons with the New England Patriots, four-time first-team All-Pro Gronkowski entered this offseason as a free agent but implied if he was going to continue to play it would be with Tom Brady. 

When Brady announced in mid-March he would play again for the Buccaneers in 2022 after briefly retiring, many expected Gronkowski would also return seeing as Brady had already lured Gronk out of retirement once. 

The oft-injured 33-year-old, however, decided it was time to step away. 

"The friendships and relationships I have made will last forever, and I appreciate every single one of my team-mates and coaches for giving everything they had as well," he wrote. "From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all."

Gronkowski retires as one of the most decorated and dangerous players at his position in NFL history. With soft hands coupled with the power to plow over would-be tacklers, Gronkowski ranks third among all tight ends with 92 career touchdown receptions, while his 9,286 receiving yards rank fifth. 

As one of Brady's most reliable and trusted targets across their time together in New England and Tampa, Gronkowski amassed 15 receiving touchdowns in the playoffs – trailing only Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's 22 for the most in NFL history. 

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi insists the club never approached Zinedine Zidane with an offer to become coach, as he confirmed interest in appointing Nice's Christophe Galtier.

Zidane has been strongly linked with PSG since leaving his post as Real Madrid boss last year, particularly as Mauricio Pochettino struggled to meet the lofty targets set by club owners Qatar Sports Investments.

Pochettino missed out on the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title after taking charge midway through the season, and although he led a star-studded collection of players to the French title the following campaign, he is widely expected to be dismissed after another disappointing Champions League effort.

Pochettino has been under pressure since PSG's dramatic 3-2 aggregate reverse to eventual winners Madrid in March, with Zidane touted as a replacement, but Al-Khelaifi says he has never been an option.

"I love Zidane, he was a fantastic player, of incredible class. An exceptional coach too, with three Champions Leagues," Al-Khelaifi told Le Parisien.

"But I'll tell you one thing: we never spoke with him, neither directly nor indirectly. A lot of clubs are interested in him, national teams too, but we have never talked to him.

"We have chosen a coach who will be the best for what we want to put in place."

Al-Khelaifi confirmed PSG's number one target is Galtier, the man who beat them to the 2020-21 title when in charge of Lille, and he hopes to appoint him soon.

"We are discussing with Nice, it is not a secret," Al-Khelaifi added. "I hope that we will find an agreement quickly, but I respect Nice and the president [Jean-Pierre] Rivere, everyone defends their interests."

With Pochettino set to leave the Parc des Princes and sporting director Leonardo having been effectively replaced by new football advisor Luis Campos, PSG are undertaking a significant rebuild after fending off Madrid's interest to tie Kylian Mbappe to a new contract last month.

The arrival of Lionel Messi last August capped an unprecedented recruitment drive from the club in 2021, with Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi among their other significant incomings.

Al-Khelaifi admits the club's model must change, as he called for an end to the "bling-bling" approach of signing big-name superstars to grow the club's brand.

"The dream is one thing, the reality another. Perhaps we should also change our slogan... 'Dream bigger' is good but today, we must above all be realistic," he added.

"We don't want more flashy bling-bling, it's the end of glitter."

Anthony Joshua labelled himself "the comeback king" as he faced up to Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their eagerly anticipated August rematch in Saudi Arabia.

While Joshua said he was confident of bouncing back from last September's unanimous decision reverse, Ukrainian Usyk pledged to give his home country some cheer through his boxing after returning to aid against the Russian invasion earlier this year.

Joshua will be bidding to reclaim the unified WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles on August 20, after falling to just the second defeat of his professional career against Usyk in London last year.

As the fighters looked ahead to their clash in Jeddah, Joshua said he was grateful for the opportunity to right the wrongs of his previous performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"The great thing is I've got a second chance. What got me into boxing in the first place... when I was a youngster I got in a little bit of trouble every now and again, and I was blessed with a second chance and I found boxing," Joshua said.

"I took it with both hands. So if you know me and a lot of my story, you know I'm the comeback king. You can put me down, but it's difficult to keep me down.

"In the fight in September, I was wrong and he [Usyk] was right. Definitely the hunger is still there. Blips happen, things happen in life, but resilience, mental toughness and consistency will always prevail."

The pair's second bout was delayed by Usyk returning to Kyiv in March to help defend Ukraine against Russian forces.

The 35-year-old Usyk, who is unbeaten in 19 professional fights, hopes he can offer some happiness to his countrymen when he returns to the ring.

"As we all know we are not in the best condition at the moment back at home, but we are doing what we have to do," Usyk said.

"We are doing our job. Together with my team we are working hard to achieve our goals. I never made some very loud and bright speeches.

"All I did was I just worked hard in my training camp and in my gym. That's what I'm going to do until the date of the fight, and then I will enter the ring and will make you happy with my boxing."

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has settled all but four of the 24 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct brought against him, according to attorney Tony Buzbee. 

Buzbee represents the women suing Watson, who has been accused of committing sexual misconduct during massage sessions by two dozen women.

"Today I announce that all cases against Deshaun Watson, with the exception of four, have settled," Buzbee said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements. Once we have done so, those particular cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We won't comment further on the settlements or those cases."

One of the four women who did not settle is Ashley Solis – the first woman to accuse Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct. 

"Ashley Solis is one of the heroes of this story," Buzbee said. "Her case has not settled and thus her story and that of the other three brave women will continue. I look forward to trying these cases in due course, consistent with other docket obligations and the court's schedule."

Watson has not commented on Buzbee's statement.

Until all 24 cases are settled, Watson's NFL future is still uncertain. The NFL is conducting its own investigation into whether he violated the league's code of conduct.

The New York Times recently reported the embattled quarterback hired at least 66 different women for private massages over the course of 17 months. Watson has long maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing. 

New coach Chris Silverwood celebrated a first ODI series victory with Sri Lanka as his team secured an unassailable 3-1 lead over Australia in Colombo.

It ended Sri Lanka's 30-year wait since their last home triumph in a bilateral ODI series against Australia.

Defeat to Australia in the Ashes scuppered Silverwood's hopes of remaining in charge of England earlier this year, but his new team got the better of the men in yellow on Tuesday.

Replying to Sri Lanka's 258 all out, Australia could only manage 254, losing Matthew Kuhnemann to the last ball of their innings when five runs were required for victory.

Charith Asalanka made a maiden ODI hundred to anchor the home team's innings, reaching 110 before he holed out just inside the deep midwicket boundary, Aaron Finch taking the catch off Pat Cummins' bowling.

Asalanka lived dangerously early on, with a delivery from Cummins seemingly skimming the stumps but not removing the bails; however, he soon found form and hoisted Cummins for six shortly before being the eighth man out. Sri Lanka's main failing was in slumping from 256-7 after 47.3 overs to their final total.

They had recovered well from 34-3, thanks to Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva (60) putting on 101 for the fourth wicket, but Australia fancied their task in the chase despite losing captain Finch for a duck in the third over.

The tourists were firmly in the hunt while David Warner remained at the crease, but somebody else needed to step up when the opener fell for 99 to leave Australia 192-7 in the 38th over.

Cummins, the Test captain, accepted the invitation but was pinned lbw for 35 by Chamika Karunaratne late in the 49th over. Kuhnemann made it a desperately difficult final over for Dasun Shanaka, taking 14 from the bowler's first five deliveries; however, the Australia tail-ender hoisted the next delivery high and into the grateful hands of century-maker Asalanka.

Long wait comes to an end

Aravinda de Silva was the star man when Sri Lanka won their three-match home ODI series against Australia in 1992, and it has been three decades of waiting for another such triumph to come around. Now the target for Silverwood will be to deliver performances such as these on a consistent basis.

Now Australia face questions

Sri Lanka made a mess of each end of their batting innings, but the middle order held up. Tuesday's success was a third successive ODI match win over Australia in ODIs, the first time Sri Lanka have achieved that since a three-game streak in February and March 2012.

Australia, who lost 2-1 to Pakistan in April, have lost back-to-back series in the format for the first time since March 2020.