Daizen Maeda has handed Celtic another attacking boost by signing a new deal until June 2027.

The 25-year-old Japan forward has become a key player for the Hoops since taking only four minutes to score his first Celtic goal on debut against Hibernian in January 2022, following his move from Yokohama F Marinos, initially on loan.

Fellow Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi also signed a new deal earlier in the week which takes him to 2027 and has now been joined by Maeda, who scored in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against Croatia amidst a treble-winning season for Celtic.

He told the club’s official website: “It is a very happy moment for me and my family.

“Since we moved from Japan, everyone at the club and, of course, the supporters have been amazing and we are enjoying our life in Scotland.

“Celtic is a special club so I’m very pleased to extend my stay here. When I signed I said that my ultimate goal was to win the league and we have done so, twice.

“Becoming a treble winner last season has been one of the highlights of my career but we must now prepare for next season.

“Our aim will remain the same, to work hard together with the manager to bring success to the club and our supporters.

“We have three trophies to defend, and we also have Champions League football, so I am excited to get started.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “Daizen has many qualities that I like in a player – high intensity, attack-minded and his work rate on and off the ball is exceptional.

“He has played a key role in the team since he arrived, helping to secure yet another treble for the club so I am delighted we have been able to secure a new deal with him.

“Daizen’s attributes make him a really exciting player and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Lewis Hamilton has defended the casting of Brad Pitt as a Formula One driver with the Hollywood actor to start filming for his new blockbuster at the British Grand Prix on Friday.

Pitt will race an adapted Formula Two machine between practice sessions at a sold-out Silverstone for the movie which Hamilton is helping to produce.

It is understood that the 59-year-old American will play the role of a veteran driver returning to the grid after a 30-year absence.

The plot line has raised eyebrows, given Pitt’s age, but Hamilton said: “Brad looks like he’s ageing backwards. He looks great for his age.

“Of course that was a big topic at the beginning when we were discussing the first story. But he’s super-fit.

“He is such an iconic actor. He’s always done such an incredible job. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Brad Pitt in Formula One. It’s incredible.”

Pitt has been getting up to speed in Formula Two machinery for two months – first at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France and then here at Silverstone.

While Pitt will be alone on track at Silverstone in a modified car prepared by Hamilton’s Mercedes team, it is believed that the assistance of computer generated imagery will make him look as though he is racing this season’s grid.

A garage has been set up in the paddock to replicate a fictional “11th team”, called Apex GP. They will also have a presence on the grid ahead of Sunday’s race, but will be withdrawn before the event gets under way.

“There are nerves because it is something we’ve been working on for so long,” added Hamilton.

“We want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about.

“I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 years ago when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth.

“But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show, and this will take it to new heights beyond that.”

Apple has bought the rights to the movie with a reported budget of 140 million US dollars (£125 million).

Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick, will direct the film, while Jerry Bruckheimer – who also worked on the Tom Cruise blockbuster – is listed as a producer.

Filming will continue at a number of races over the remainder of the season.

Stan Wawrinka rates his chances of winning Wimbledon as “zero” but can complete a notable set by knocking out his old rival Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Wawrinka, 38, defeated 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to reach the last 32 at the All England Club for the first time since 2015.

The Swiss veteran has won only six of his 26 previous meetings but two of those came in grand slam finals, at the French Open in 2015 and the US Open the following year, while he has also beaten him at the Australian Open.

Wawrinka is finally back in the top 100 after years spent trying to battle back from knee and foot surgeries, and he was determined to play down his chances against Djokovic.

“There’s zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me, I think,” he said. “I’m happy to have won today again. I think it was a great match. I’m playing better each match and I think it’s an honour to play Novak here.

“I was missing that on my career to play him in the grand slam in Wimbledon. It’s going to be a difficult challenge. Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but, if you will look at recent results, I don’t really stand a chance.”

Asked if he believes he can beat Djokovic, Wawrinka said with a smile: “I don’t know. I have to be on the court, play my best tennis and like I did in the past, but right now it’s been a long time I didn’t play at that level.

“He’s the perfect player. If you look, everything is so clean. He plays the perfect shot in the right moment. I love to watch him play, as much as I was loving to watch Roger (Federer) play. He’s serving amazing, he’s returning everything. He can do everything.

“I like to watch tennis. So I’m going to be playing tomorrow and then watching the rest of the tournament.”

While Wawrinka insisted his last comment was a joke, it will suit him to pile all the pressure on Djokovic for the clash of the veterans.

The match will be the oldest combined age for a men’s singles match at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall faced Barry Phillips-Moore in 1974.

Djokovic, 36, is now on a 30-match winning streak at Wimbledon and will be a big favourite but he will be wary of the power of Wawrinka.

“He took away two grand slams from me,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

“After several surgeries of his knees, he keeps going strong and trying to create some more history for himself and tennis. We cannot forget that he’s a three-time grand slam champion and Davis Cup winner and also Olympic gold. He had a fantastic career.

“One of the nicest one-handed backhands that I have ever played against, ever seen. Very powerful player. Very strong. Very complete. He can play equally well on all surfaces.”

Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Dillian Whyte has been announced for August 12 at The O2 in London.

After discussions over taking on Tyson Fury broke down, former world champion Joshua had been linked with a fight against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua, though, will now face off against Whyte again, having defeated his rival in a British and Commonwealth title clash in December 2015 to avenge a defeat when they had met as amateurs.

Joshua is continuing to build up his record again, having beaten Jermaine Franklin on points in April after suffering back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, the unified champion who is set to face Britain’s Daniel Dubois in Poland next month.

“I’ve been clear that my plan is to be active this year,” said Joshua. “August 12 is the date, I’ll be ready to fight. I look forward to dealing with business.”

Whyte, 36, recovered from his sixth-round loss against WBC champion Fury at Wembley in April 2022 with his own victory over Franklin in November last year.

If Joshua comes through his rematch with Whyte, which will be shown live by broadcaster DAZN, he is then expected to go on to meet Wilder in another lucrative heavyweight showdown.

Promoter Eddie Hearn said: “At times it may have looked like a game of bluff, but now we are set and with everything that’s on the line this is an absolute must win for both.

“The rivalry runs deep and there is something about these two where they will never back down from each other.

“Just like the first time at The O2, get ready for fireworks August 12 and a huge night of boxing.”

Max Verstappen believes next season’s Formula One calendar is too long and hinted it will be a factor in whether he stays in the sport beyond 2028 – but George Russell thinks the Red Bull driver simply wants more money.

The Dutchman is powering towards a third successive drivers’ title – holding an 81-point lead heading into this weekend’s British Grand Prix – but has again suggested that ongoing disgruntlement with elements of the sport might cause him to walk away at the end of his current contract.

The 2024 Formula One calendar was released on Wednesday and it will feature a record 24 races – starting on March 2 and ending on December 8.

Verstappen says that is too many and, having already hit out at the increase in the number of sprint races and the new car regulations for 2026 this season, says he will need certain conditions if he is to extend his stay in the sport.

“It is too many (races) for me but we just have to deal with it,” Verstappen, whose Red Bull deal expires in 2028, said.

“I think it (the calendar) is a bit more logical the way that it is planned at least, I guess that is better for everyone.

“But more things will have to come together for me to make my mind up over whether I stay longer (than 2028) or not. But I think that these things are definitely not helping for sure.”

Mercedes driver Russell believes talk of retirement is a tactic from Verstappen but admitted that the lengthening calendar and the commitments on the drivers is an issue.

“I think he is whingeing because he wants more money!” Russell said.

“He is the highest paid on this grid and rightly so for what he is achieving but I think it is all a big tactic of his, this threat of retirement.

“I hope he doesn’t – I hope he stays for as long as I stay because I want to fight against the best drivers in the world.

“I think we are in a great place at the moment with the sport.

“It is challenging, we can’t just keep adding more commitments and races, there has to be a point where if you add something then something has to be taken off.

“We are adding more races and more commitments and we are working overtime and I’m pretty sure that’s the case at Red Bull.

“If we didn’t have any other commitments I’m pretty sure we’d be happy to race every weekend.

“I am doing what I love. Almost the more the merrier to a certain extent. We are the most privileged people in the world to be Formula One drivers. There are a lot of things that come with it.

“I would happily take more races but less commitment outside of the race weekend.”

Should Aidan O’Brien win the Coral-Eclipse for a seventh time with Paddington on Saturday, he will have created yet another piece of Turf history.

Currently he shares the record with Alec Taylor Jnr, famed as the ‘Wizard of Manton’ due to his success in the early 20th century, and Sir Michael Stoute.

O’Brien admitted the Eclipse – a race named after the horse whose footprint on the sport is still around today with his long-distance descendants – was vitally important in his early career.

His first winner, Giant’s Causeway, is regularly brought up in discussions of O’Brien’s best horses.

It was already his fifth race of the season and his first against older horses and 10 furlongs, having just won the St James’s Palace Stakes, and O’Brien is clearly keen to take advantage of the weight-for-age concession the Classic generation receive, given four of his six winners have been three.

“The Eclipse is obviously a very prestigious race for a stallion. It’s the first time the generations really meet and everybody gets a feel of where they all are,” he said.

“The people gone before us have always got it fairly right with the weight-for-age scale. Obviously a three-year-old is not usually as mature as the older horses yet, but as the year goes on it levels up.

“The Eclipse is a very prestigious race to win, Sandown is a good track that is always very well maintained and you get a good picture of where you’re going after.”

Paddington is following a similar route to the Eclipse as Giant’s Causeway, having taken in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes before running at Sandown.

“Paddington is a three-year-old and he’s running in a lot of the races that Giant’s Causeway ran in as well, but it’s just the way it worked out,” said O’Brien.

Another three-year-old to score for Ballydoyle two years ago was St Mark’s Basilica, who was also by the same sire, Siyouni.

“Paddington is out of a Montjeu mare whereas St Mark’s was out of a Galileo mare, but they are both by Siyouni,” said O’Brien.

“Paddington can quicken, he’s a miler that can quicken but then St Mark’s did that as well.

“I think he’s only the second Siyouni we’ve had this far among the colts, we’ve a few more two-year-olds by him but they are the only others.

“We’ve won the Eclipse with some of great horses. So You Think was an unbelievable horse really, and he’s still at stud now and doing very well.

“Hawk Wing was a big powerful horse who had run in the Guineas and Derby, St Mark’s was very good and obviously Giant’s Causeway was very important to us.

“He was our first really good horse at that level and I remember George (Duffield) giving him an unbelievable ride. Pat Eddery was riding Kalanisi for Sir Michael and they were second, a great race.

“They are the days you don’t forget and they were very important days for us.”

When asked how early in the season he would identify a horse for the Eclipse, O’Brien said: “We enter them in all the big races. In Paddington’s case we were going to Goodwood (Sussex Stakes), but he was so fresh and well after Ascot, he started doing a few bits of work.

“The Eclipse is always an option. When the lads discussed it with us we said he could probably take it in with his well-being and when we spoke to Ryan (Moore) we decided to let him do it.”

Mitch Marsh took advantage of England’s sloppy catching to smash a brutal century and change the game on the first day of the third Ashes Test at Headingley.

The home side had started this must-win match with fire in their belly and were well on top when Marsh, making his first appearance in almost four years as an injury replacement, nicked Chris Woakes to slip with just 12 to his name.

Had Joe Root taken the regulation chance just after lunch Australia would have been in trouble on 98 for five, but Marsh made him pay in full as he powered them to 240 for five at tea.

Marsh batted with unfettered aggression after his reprieve, flaying 17 fours and four sixes as he racked up 118 at exactly a run-a-ball.

The pain finally stopped for England in the last over before the break, Woakes getting his man as an inside edge looped to Zak Crawley via the thigh pad, but significant damage had already been done.

England had dictated terms in the first session, Mark Wood turning in an electrifying burst of breakneck speed to whip up the Leeds crowd and Stuart Broad striking twice, but ultimately their hands let them down.

As well as Root reprieving Marsh, two chances slipped through the grasp of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. Back in the spotlight after his controversial stumping at Lord’s sparked a row about the spirit of cricket, Bairstow saw two chances go down.

The first was a tricky take off Steve Smith but the second should have been a simple catch off Travis Head, who had nine and went on to reach 39no.

The FA Cup will be “forever diminished” if a deal is done with the Premier League over the sale of the competition’s overseas rights, according to a member of the Culture, Media and Sport parliamentary committee.

The PA news agency understands the Football Association is considering a long-term arrangement where the Premier League sells the international rights to the FA Cup bundled alongside its own rights, with a view to a collective deal netting more money for both parties.

Labour MP Clive Efford, who sits on the CMS committee which took evidence from the FA and the Premier League on football regulation in March, believes such a deal would place undue control over the FA Cup in the Premier League’s hands.

“The Premier League has shown its contempt for the FA Cup in the past,” Efford told the PA news agency.

“Why would anyone who has any concern about the future of the FA Cup put the Premier League in charge of it?

“(The FA Cup) is not a competition that (Premier League clubs) value. They prefer the Premier League, the Champions League, that’s what it boils down to. The FA Cup will be forever diminished.

“We (the CMS committee) can ask football to come in and talk to us about it, if we choose to do it.

“I think this is a big issue – it’s the death knell of the FA Cup and the status of the FA Cup.”

The Premier League, FA and EFL have been in separate dialogue over a ‘New Deal For Football’ over the last 18 months which has included talks on the football calendar.

Within that, the possibility of scrapping FA Cup replays amid the expansion of UEFA’s club competitions from the 2024-25 season is understood to be under discussion.

The Premier League and the FA have not commented on the tender process.

PA understands the process will run until July 17.

The Infront Sports and Media agency said in a statement issued earlier this week it had been selected as the preferred bidder for a portion of the overseas FA Cup rights in early May following the original tender process, but was told by the FA negotiations were being paused because of a third-party offer it had to assess.

Infront said it was considering its legal options and that the FA’s actions “set a dangerous precedent for future tender processes in the industry”.

Efford added: “The FA has to act in the interests of the wider football pyramid and whatever it thinks it might get in the short term in terms of a contract for the coverage of the FA Cup, we’re putting the future status of the competition in the hands of people who’ve shown in the past that they find it a burden on their time.

“(The FA) are just completely in the thrall of the Premier League and I don’t think that’s good for the long-term future the game.”

Roger Teal’s Ocean Wind returns after 771 days out of action in the Coral Marathon at Sandown on Friday.

The gelding, now a seven-year-old, was a high-class bumper horse who made the switch to the Flat after finishing sixth behind Ferny Hollow in the 2020 Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

His first Flat term was a success as he won a couple of valuable handicaps, including the Cesarewitch Trial at Newmarket, and in 2021 he stepped up a grade to finish second in the Listed Further Flight Stakes and second again in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot – a Group Three in which he came within a length of staying hero Stradivarius.

Injury curtailed that season after his third in the Henry II Stakes and he has not been seen on course since, meaning his return to racing for Sandown’s two-mile Listed event comes after an unusually lengthy absence.

“He’s been off for a couple of years so it’ll be good to see him back on the track,” said Teal.

“He’s bound to be a bit rusty after being off for so long, he’s not the most enthusiastic work horse and he’s a bit lazy at home but he always seems to wake up on the track.

“He’s as fit as we can get him and obviously he’ll come on 100 per cent for the run.

“It’s a nice little race for him and hopefully he can run well, come on for the run and we can go forward from that.

“You’ve got to take into account that it’s such a long time off, he saves a bit for himself so you can’t really assess him quite as well as you’d want to.

“Hopefully he puts his best foot forward on Friday and runs a solid race.”

Ocean Wind will cross paths with Godolphin’s Yibir, a multiple Group winner who was most recently sixth in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

Trainer Charlie Appleby said via the Godolphin website: “We have been happy with Yibir since the Gold Cup, which was a good first effort over a proper staying trip.

“We were encouraged with what we saw that day and dropping back to two miles should suit. If he can build on his last run, he should be very competitive.”

There is further Listed action on the card in the five-furlong Dragon Stakes, where Sean Woods’ Nazalan looks to back up a course and distance success last time out.

The chestnut was third on his debut and then won smartly in Esher on the next time of asking, with both the runner-up and the sixth-placed horse from that event going on to win again since.

Woods said: “He’s an uncomplicated little horse, he’s been training very well and it’s a natural progression to go back to the Dragon Stakes as he handled Sandown very well last time.

“He’s a very straightforward colt, Tom (Marquand) rode him first time up at Nottingham so he rides him again and we’re looking forward to it.

“The runner-up from Sandown (Notta Nother) has gone out and won and the sixth-placed horse of Roger Varian’s (Markakol) has as well so it looks a pretty good form line.”

Opposing Nazalan will be Alice Haynes’ Hala Emaraaty, a Kodiac colt who beat Mick Appleby’s Big Evs in a Redcar novice in May.

Both horses headed next for the Windsor Castle at Ascot, where Big Evs was the winner but Hala Emaraaty still ran with credit to finish seventh of 23.

“He came out of the Windsor Castle great, obviously a couple of these he beat in the Windsor Castle and there’s a couple to beat,” said Haynes.

“Ideally we did want to step him up to six, but the stiff five will definitely suit him and we’re hoping for another big run.

“The form is all there, I know he turned that round in the Windsor Castle but I definitely feel like it’s worth taking a shot at this race.

“He was flat out all the way, he’s a tough horse who handles his races well and it’s great to be going there with a live chance.”

The third Listed race of the day at the Esher venue is the 10-furlong Davies Insurance Solutions Gala Stakes.

Sure to be popular will be Wolferton Stakes fifth Saga, trained by John and Thady Gosden and owned by the King and Queen. Ryan Moore takes over from the suspended Frankie Dettori.

Following him in the market is Simon and Ed Crisford’s Poker Face, who finished down the field with a luckless run in the Wolferton but has Group form under his belt from earlier this season.

Ed Crisford said: “Poker Face was slightly disappointing in the Wolferton but he was quite far back that day and not much was coming from further back off what was a strong pace. You can put a line through that.

“He is a lightly-raced horse that is climbing up the ladder and he has been very well since that run. There is a small field for this race as well and he has to have a chance in it.”

Woods is represented by Savvy Victory, another who was also well beaten in the Wolferton but this time due to interference.

“He was very unlucky at Ascot, he got knocked over when he was making his run,” the trainer said.

“Any rain will help him, I’m very happy with him.

“He got blocked at Kempton (Magnolia Stakes) and he got beaten a length at Chester, but he stays in really good form and we’re looking forward to running him. Hpefully there’ll be a few more showers before Friday.”

Chris Honour said he would “never tell someone not to win” as he revealed his family have been caught up in the fall-out of the controversial performance of Hillsin at Worcester on Wednesday evening.

Hillsin was making his first start for Honour in the two-and-a-half mile conditional riders’ handicap hurdle and looked to have a fine chance of notching his first career victory in the hands of conditional Dylan Kitts when moving into contention up the home straight.

However, the five-year-old finished third beaten a length and a half, with the run coming under close scrutiny from the raceday stewards who held an inquiry and subsequently referred Kitts to the British Horseracing Authority, with the horse suspended from running for 40 days.

Speaking to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast on Thursday, Honour said: “I’m beside myself about the whole thing. I’ve had phone calls to my wife last night and she’s been in tears. I’m upset with it and it is not something I want to be involved in.

“In my mind I did my job right, the horse has run one of the best races of his career, to the point where I don’t want to be dropping the jockey in trouble – he’s messed up, he’s a 7lb claimer – but I told him not to let go of his head and he’s gone to an extreme. In my mind, if he was to look back this morning I’m sure he would be disappointed with the ride he has given it. It’s a disappointing scenario to be dealing with quite frankly.

“Reading Twitter and Facebook is horrible for us and my family and it is not something I want to be associated with. I did my best with the horse in my mind and I’ve ridden him every day myself. He’s gone there in great shape, run a lovely race, it’s just a very disappointing outcome.

“I love horses and I love them like they are my family to a certain extent, but with him this morning, I’ve gone and fed him and I looked at him and thought you’ve caused one of the worst days in my racing career.

“It upsets me. We don’t stop horses, it’s not our thing, people say it happens in racing and it does but it’s not what we do. We try to think outside the box about how we ride our horses and how to campaign them. I train horses slightly different to other people, but I do believe I have created a good environment where our horses can run above their weight.

“I would never tell someone not to win, it’s not even fair to ask someone not to win, at the end of the day lads go out there with their neck on the line. I don’t want people to think bad or ill of us because it’s not us and it’s not what we do. But I cannot dispute it looks awful.”

Kitts had ridden Hillsin on his last two starts for his previous trainer, but it was the first time that he had linked up with Honour, who said he would have liked Bryan Carver to ride the gelding in ideal circumstances.

“I wanted Bryan on and I want Bryan on all my horses,” he added.

“I spoke to the agents and said I want Bryan on this horse and the owners have said they want Dylan.

“I don’t know Dylan, I had never met him or spoken to him until yesterday when giving him the instructions to go out and drop him in, take your time and keep hold of his head.

“From there I can’t ride the race for him. I feel sorry for the lad, he’s done as I have asked, but he’s done it to an extreme that isn’t enough.

“People are saying we have stopped it, but that’s not me, I haven’t stopped it and it is against my ethos of how we run and train our horses. We have punched above our weight and hopefully we will get to the bottom of it with the investigation with the BHA.

“I’m embarrassed, I’m embarrassed for my team at home, they don’t deserve this, they work really hard.”

Barry Robson believes new goalkeeper Ross Doohan will be an “important asset” to Aberdeen.

The 25-year-old has joined the Dons on a two-year deal from EFL League Two side Forest Green to become Robson’s sixth summer signing.

After graduating through the youth ranks at Celtic, Doohan had a loan spells at Ayr, Ross County and Dundee United before he joined Tranmere in 2021, initially on loan, before making the move permanent.

Doohan, capped 13 times at Scotland Under-21 level, earned a move to Forest Green in January 2023.

“Despite his age, Ross has gained a lot of experience, at various levels both here in Scotland and in England,”  Robson said.

“He is composed and decisive and we look forward to helping Ross continue his professional development.

“We’ve got a significant number of fixtures to play this season so I am sure Ross will be an important asset for us and will be an excellent addition to the fantastic group of goalkeepers we have here at Aberdeen.”

Doohan has joined the first team at their pre-season training camp in Portugal and is keen to hit the ground running

He said: “I’m very happy to be here. As soon as I heard of the interest, I was keen to get it agreed quickly.

“When I spoke to the manager and Craig Samson, they both re-emphasised everything I knew about how big a club Aberdeen is.

“I know it’s going to be a massive season with European matches to look forward to and it was just an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

“Being here at such a big club is only going to benefit me in the long-term in terms of my development so I am just eager to get started and play a part in helping to deliver success for Aberdeen.”

Levi Colwill will not be leaving Chelsea this summer in spite of continued interest from Liverpool and Brighton, the PA news agency understands.

The club are not willing to entertain offers for the 20-year-old defender, who starred for England Under-21s as they beat Israel 3-0 on Wednesday to advance to the European Championship final in Georgia.

He is currently contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2024 with an option of another year if certain criteria are met.

Colwill spent last season on loan at Brighton where he made 22 appearances and established himself as a Premier League player as the Seagulls qualified for Europe.

Brighton had been keen to sign the defender permanently, but PA understands Chelsea are not prepared to listen to offers, including from Jurgen Klopp’s side who reportedly made a fresh enquiry this week.

It is also understood that Christian Pulisic’s proposed move to AC Milan is yet to be agreed with the two clubs still apart with their valuation of the player.

The United States international is surplus to requirements under Mauricio Pochettino and has also been the subject of interest from Ligue 1 side Lyon.

The French side have offered something closer to Chelsea’s valuation but it is believed the 24-year-old favours a move to San Siro.

The club confirmed on Thursday that Cesar Azpilicueta has ended his 11-year stay in west London – with the 33-year-old reportedly having agreed a return to Spain to join Atletico Madrid.

It means one of Pochettino’s first tasks as manager will be to appoint a new captain, with regular stand-in from last season Mateo Kovacic having been sold to Manchester City.

Azpilicueta made more than 500 appearances for the club since joining from Marseille in 2012 and established himself as a favourite at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League in 2015 and 2017 as well as leading the side to victory in the Champions League in 2021.

An FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League winner, he appeared in a club-record 13 major cup finals.

Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly told the club’s website: “Coaches and team-mates past and present have trusted (Azpilicueta) to lead by example as captain.

“He has done so immaculately on and off the pitch, something for which we are grateful.”

Former England captain Clare Connor said the creation of the Women’s Ashes trophy was “like a fairytale” as Lord’s prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event.

The Ashes were created by burning bats signed by both England and Australia teams along with a copy of the Women’s Cricket Association rulebook in the Harris Garden at Lord’s in 1998.

It marked a special moment for the current ECB deputy chief executive officer and managing director England Women, who was 21 at the time and remembers the ceremony taking place with the help of a wok grabbed from the MCC kitchen.

“The ceremony was amazing, it was like a little fairytale,” Connor told the PA news agency.

“They built like a makeshift set of bricks in a square raised like a foot off the ground and we were in the Harris Garden with the teams on both sides.

“They got a wok from the MCC kitchen and the Ashes were created from the burning of the old Women’s Cricket Association rule book and miniature bats signed on both sides by Australia and England, so I was one of those signatures.

“There was some other bits of flammable stuff put in there to get it going and there was a little fire.

“The end result was a handful of ashes that then got housed in a really simple, humble, smallish size of a cricket ball trophy.”

The trophy remained intact up until the introduction of the multi-format Ashes series in 2013, but the ball can still be seen inside the new award.

Lord’s will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its creation on Saturday ahead of England’s final T20 clash against Australia.

A range of guests, including some of those involved in the original ceremony, will be in attendance for the unveiling of a plaque by MCC president Stephen Fry at the Harris Garden.

“It was still unbelievably special and wonderful for us back then to be part of Ashes cricket,” said Connor, who believes women’s cricket has come a long way in 25 years.

“To be writing our names in a little piece of women’s cricket history through the creation of that trophy and our own sort of burning, creating our own physical ashes because we didn’t have any.

“There’s something really poignant about that looking back.

“Compare that day in summer of 1998 with Saturday in the summer of 2023 and they’re almost unrecognisable sports really.”

Saturday’s match is being held in partnership with the MCC Foundation in tribute to its ongoing work to promote women and girls’ cricket, reaching thousands each year as part of its cricket projects.

England kept the Women’s Ashes alive with a thrilling three-run victory at the Oval on Wednesday night to tie the T20 contests.

However, they still trail 6-2 in the series and, with three ODI matches to come, the hosts need to win their remaining games to stand a chance of reclaiming the trophy.

Connor, who won the 2005 Ashes, added: “If the crowd on Saturday get to experience what anybody has experienced so far this week at Edgbaston and the Oval then we’re all in for such a treat and another inspiring occasion.”

Tickets for the England v Australia Metro Bank Women’s T20 international at Lord’s are available from lords.org