Chelsea have completed the signing of Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria on a season-long loan deal.

The Switzerland international will spend the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign at Stamford Bridge, while it has been reported there will be an option to buy in the deal.

Chelsea were in the market for a midfielder, with Thomas Tuchel keen to bolster the area in the wake of N'Golo Kante's injury issues.

They had been linked with a move for PSV's Ibrahim Sangare, though instead turned their focus to Zakaria on Thursday.

Zakaria joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach on a four-and-a-half-year contract in January, scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over Hellas Verona.

The defensive midfielder suffered an abductor injury in February and has only made 15 appearances for Juventus across all competitions,

He has started just once in Serie A this season – that coming in the opening-day victory over Sassuolo.

"I want to say hi to all the Chelsea fans. I'm very happy and proud to be a Blue and I cannot wait to see you soon at Stamford Bridge," said Zakaria.

Zakaria was Chelsea's second arrival of the final day of the transfer window, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, and could make his Chelsea debut when the Blues welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.

His arrival finishes off a busy window, with Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Kouilbaly and Wesley Fofana joining too.

Brighton and Hove Albion have signed Billy Gilmour from Chelsea for a fee reported to be in the region of £7million, rising to £10m with add-ons.

Scotland international Gilmour was seen as one of Chelsea's brightest prospects when he broke through in the 2019-20 season under Frank Lampard.

Yet Gilmour struggled to build on that impressive early form and was loaned out to Norwich City last term. He made 24 Premier League appearances as the Canaries were relegated to the Championship.

The 21-year-old midfielder was considered surplus to requirements by Thomas Tuchel on his return to Stamford Bridge, and has now made a permanent switch to Brighton.

He has signed a four-year deal with the Seagulls, with head coach Graham Potter thrilled with the signing.

"Billy arrives with a fantastic pedigree, having played in the Premier League and Champions League as well as for Scotland at last year's Euros. He will complement our existing midfield options," said Potter.

"That experience at quite a young age shows the strength of character he has and we're really excited by his potential.

"Now it's about allowing him the time to get used to a new environment and settling in to our club. We can't wait to work with him."

Everton have signed midfielder James Garner from Manchester United in a deal reportedly worth up to £15million.

Garner spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, scoring four goals and providing 10 assists to help the club win promotion to the Premier League.

He was expected to be given a chance to impress new United manager Erik ten Hag, but he signed a four-year deal with the Toffees on Thursday after completing a transfer apparently worth an initial £9m.

"I'm made up to sign for Everton. It's a huge step in my career and I want to help the team get better while progressing as a player," Garner told Everton's official website.

"I think Everton is the perfect place to do that. I can't wait to get started. The manager [Frank Lampard] has got a real plan for the club and for me.

"Working with him on a daily basis is major for me. Him and his staff can take me and the team to the next level. That's what I'm hoping for."

Garner will have one less midfielder to compete with for a spot in the starting XI after Andre Gomes joined Lille on loan for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, there was another exit from United on deadline day, with Tahith Chong joining Championship side Birmingham City on a four-year deal.

Chong spent last season on loan at the Blues, scoring one goal in 20 appearances.  

Women’s 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is looking forward to a strong performance at the Diamond League meet, in Brussels, on Friday, having sufficiently recovered from an injury scare.

Fraser-Pryce, the fastest woman in the world this year, pulled out of the Lausanne Diamond League last week with a tight hamstring.  The athlete admits that she was apprehensive about risking an injury, but has revealed that scans have shown no significant damage to the muscle and insists she is now ready to go.

In Brussels, Fraser-Pryce is expected to battle compatriot and 100m silver medalist Shericka Jackson and Americans Aleia Hobbs and Sha ‘Carri Richardson, along with Diamond League event leader Marie-Josée Ta Lou of Côte d’Ivoire.

“At one point I thought about calling it a season after Lausanne because I didn’t want to take any risks,” Fraser-Pryce told members of the media, on Thursday, ahead of the Brussels meet.

“Then I got some rest for a couple of days, got a scan done and they said it was just the contraction of the muscle, then I got a second scan and it was good…I know it’s not 100 percent but I’m very optimistic about what I can do tomorrow,” she added.

Depending on how she fares after tomorrow's event, Fraser-Pryce could be looking at competing in one or two more races to take  advantage of her good form so far this season.  The athlete has clocked 6 times below 10.7s so far this season, the most in the event's history.

Alize Cornet is through to the third round of the US Open after defeating Katerina Siniakova 6-1 1-6 6-3, making it the first time she has been beyond the second round of every grand slam in a single season.

Cornet, who defeated reigning champion Emma Raducanu in straight sets to begin her campaign, was terrific with her return game early on, winning 54 per cent of the points off Siniakova's serve in the opening set.

Three double faults for Cornet and the inability to win a single point off her second serve led to a quick second frame for Siniakova, but she steadied in the decider, becoming the first Frenchwoman to win her opening two rounds of each grand slam in a season since Caroline Garcia in 2017.

Cornet has now won five of her past six matches and should be considered a threat given her victory over world number one Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July.

She will play the winner between Danielle Collins and Cristina Bucsa in her next match.

Erik ten Hag is happy with the progress Manchester United are making but still wants greater ruthlessness after only beating Leicester City 1-0.

United made it three Premier League wins in a row on Thursday with their slender victory at the King Power Stadium, a streak they had not managed since December.

Jadon Sancho got the only goal of the game in a first half that United generally controlled, but they were unable to increase their lead and that offered Leicester encouragement.

Still, Leicester struggled to take advantage of their own second-half improvement, with United's defence impressing once again with a solid collective effort as the hosts' chances only amounted to 0.6 expected goals.

United might have finished Leicester off towards the end during Cristiano Ronaldo's lively cameo, and although their wasteful finishing mattered little in the end, Ten Hag was not completely satisfied.

"It is another step forward, so we are happy with that," he told BT Sport.

"Again, good team spirit. We had 11 players the on pitch who fought for each other. Compact, good press, and scored a lovely team goal.

"There is room for improvements, still, but that is normal at this part of the season."

He added: "We can be dangerous in transition moments, we know that, especially the second half. And also in first half, there were many spaces that we did not exploit that well. With better decisions we should have scored a second goal.

"We have to be more [ruthless], but, as I said there is room for improvement, and we will work on that."

Sancho's winner was his second Premier League goal of the season, meaning the England international is already only one behind his total for last term.

Ten Hag acknowledged the winger's improved condition but was keen to focus on the collective and the team's unity.

"He had a really good pre-season, he invested a lot in pre-season and now in the season you see he can make the difference.

"He's a great player but also the whole team, because I think it's a good team goal.

"I'm happy with the clean sheet, and you see when we have 11 on the pitch who defend together and attack together, and when you add that in the energy, you see what we can achieve."

United are in action again on Sunday when their improved standing will be put to the test at home to an Arsenal side that have won all five of their games this season.

Manchester United must demonstrate a greater clinical edge following their narrow 1-0 victory over Leicester City, so says Christian Eriksen.

Having opened the season with back-to-back defeats, United made it three consecutive Premier League wins under Erik ten Hag, with Jadon Sancho's 23rd-minute strike enough to settle the contest at the King Power Stadium.

Although fully deserving of their half-time lead, the visitors' level dropped significantly after the restart. David de Gea made a tremendous save from James Maddison's free-kick, while James Justin blazed a wonderful opportunity over in stoppage time.

But Leicester did not enjoy too many clear-cut opportunities, with United's solid defence generally keeping the Premier League's bottom side at bay.

And while Eriksen has urged his team-mates to capitalise when in the ascendancy, he is encouraged by the strides United are making after they recorded successive 1-0 wins in the space of five days.

"From the start we had, we had a lot of things we needed to change, and we've done that by winning," he told BT Sport. "It hasn't been beautiful for 90 minutes, but we have three wins.

"At the moment, we're winning 1-0 and keeping it tight. Obviously, we want to do better, but I think this is a good start and we can take something from this. The three points is the most important.

"Similar to Southampton [on Saturday], we did very well until we scored. Then, we have to keep momentum, we have to kill the game earlier – otherwise, it's going to be a tight game until the end like today.

"We're looking good; we're getting the points and we're getting the base of what we need to do."

Meanwhile, Sancho proved the matchwinner with his second goal of the season, having also netted in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, applying the finishing touch to a fine team move.

Sancho missed pre-season preparations ahead of his maiden campaign at Old Trafford due to an extended break after helping England reach the Euro 2020 final, and feels he has benefitted from getting a full pre-season under his belt this time around.

"It was a great team goal. I'm happy that I got the goal for the team, and got three points," he said.

"Obviously, doing pre-season with the team [has helped me]. Last year, I missed pre-season, so I got to know the players a lot more [this year]. We've worked on [certain things], and I'm getting more comfortable.

"We hoped to start the season with two wins, but that woke us up. I'm happy that we got the third win today."

Iga Swiatek suggested there has been a lack of leadership at the top of tennis in how to deal with Russia's invasion of Ukraine after Victoria Azarenka was shunned by Marta Kostyuk at the US Open on Thursday.

Ukrainian Kostyuk elected not to shake hands with Azarenka following a second-round defeat at Flushing Meadows, instead merely tapping rackets.

That came after Kostyuk criticised the Belarusian for participating in a charity match for Ukraine, before the United States Tennis Association announced she would no longer be involved.

Belarus maintains close ties with Russia and has been under sanction from western nations for supporting Vladimir Putin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March.

Both situations led to a frosty atmosphere following the conclusion of the tie, which Azarenka won 6-2 6-3.

Asked if anything could be done to address tensions between players on the tour, world number one Swiatek, who booked her place in the third round with a 6-3 6-2 win over Sloane Stephens, said: "Well, basically I think it's already too late. I mean, it's never too late, you know, but I think the best time for ATP or WTA to do anything was when the war started, and where the tension was pretty big in the locker rooms.

"I think right now it's already pretty messed up, and maybe next time it's gonna be easier for us to handle it if somebody is going to guide us and somebody is going to even arrange some meetings between players and showing that we should be united.

"Even though there are countries who are invading other countries, we are tennis players. It's sad but it's not our fault that it's happening. Yeah, I think it would be much, much easier at the beginning to do that.

"Right now, it's kind of too late to fix that. But I think it's just in between players and their personal relationships how you're going to handle it and how you're going to communicate to each other.

"But from my case, right now it's easy to say that maybe there was lack of leadership, but at that time I didn't know what to do either. But there are smarter people than me, so they should kind of have an idea."

Victory over Stephens means Swiatek has now won 52 matches in 2022. The last players with more WTA-level wins in a single campaign were Ash Barty (57) and Kiki Bertens (55) in 2019.

Serena Williams is dominating the headlines, though, in what is likely to be her last tournament before retirement – a situation Swiatek is more than happy with. 

Asked if she felt like she was flying under the radar, Swiatek said: "Maybe a little bit, yeah, for sure. You can see the difference than on Roland Garros and on Wimbledon when I came back after winning Roland Garros.

"But I would say it doesn't really matter for me. If I'm going to play well and if I'm going to do my work on court, I know I will be fine in terms of everything that's going around.

"But, yeah, Serena totally deserves it and it's pretty obvious for me that she's going to be in the spotlight in this tournament. That's kind of her time right now. I'm just playing and focusing on that, and that's the most important thing for me."

Swiatek will face Lauren Davis in the next round after the American beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 0-6 6-4 7-6 (10-5). 

Arthur has swapped Juventus for Liverpool in a surprising season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day as Jurgen Klopp bolstered his midfield options.

Reports suggested the deal for the 26-year-old did not include an option to buy, but Juve confirmed that there is indeed a possibility for Liverpool to make the move permanent.

Arthur spent two years at Barcelona before moving to Serie A in 2020 in a €72million deal, but he made just 11 league starts in Italy last season and has not yet featured this term.

The Brazilian had previously been linked with Everton but instead joins the Toffees' city rivals for the rest of the season.

The deal follows Juventus signing Leandro Paredes on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and means a fringe figure can be shuffled out of Massimiliano Allegri's large squad.

Liverpool have been struggling with injuries in midfield, and Arthur, albeit no stranger to an injury himself, adds to their options in that department.

The former Gremio player is a Brazil international who will be hoping to impress at club level to earn a place in Tite's World Cup squad.

Speaking to the club's website after the announcement, Arthur, who will wear the number 29, said: "I'm really, really happy to be here wearing this great shirt with this famous badge that represents so much in world football, it's a dream.

"We talked a lot, and our ideas and visions were a good fit so I'm sure it was the right choice. I'm really happy and highly motivated to continue living my dream on the pitch and giving my all in a Liverpool shirt."

He will be expected to add bite as much as flair to the Liverpool midfield, where he will provide cover for an area where Klopp has seen several players fall to injury already this season.

Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain sidelined, while Jordan Henderson came off with a hamstring issue in Wednesday's 2-1 win against Newcastle United.

Manchester United have won three Premier League games in a row for the first time this year as they beat Leicester City 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Thursday.

Although United's performance was by no means flawless, victory moved them up to fifth in the table, with the nightmares of their first two games of the season seemingly a distant memory.

United were fully deserving of the first-half lead that was given to them by Jadon Sancho at the end of an incisive move – though their level dropped significantly after the restart.

Leicester were encouraged and carried greater threat, but clear-cut chances remained at a premium as United's solid backline helped guide the visitors to another win.

United looked sharp right from the start and almost went ahead in the 11th minute, but Christian Eriksen shot into the side-netting after breaking into the left side of the area.

The breakthrough arrived 12 minutes later, though.

Diogo Dalot intercepted Danny Ward's long ball and found Bruno Fernandes, who hurried the ball on to Marcus Rashford and he fed Sancho to round the Leicester goalkeeper and apply a simple finish.

The hosts looked reinvigorated after the break and nearly levelled early on as David de Gea produced an acrobatic save to keep James Maddison's free-kick out of the top-right corner.

Leicester failed to build on that momentum and United – boosted by a lively Cristiano Ronaldo cameo – finished with something of a flurry, though their inability to add a second goal might have been punished had James Justin kept a stoppage-time strike down.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to pull off arguably the biggest trade of the offseason by landing three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz, according to reports.

Mitchell, 25, was one of the most desirable stars on the market after it became clear the Jazz were entering a rebuild following their trade of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

In return, the Jazz will receive three unprotected first-round picks. They include two future first-round pick swaps in guard Collin Sexton and stretch forward Lauri Markkanen, as well as Ochai Agbaji, who was the 14th selection from this year's NBA Draft.

It is a sizeable haul for the Jazz, who also received four future first-round picks, plus three rotation-level players from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Gobert, putting them in one of the most favourable rebuilding situations in the NBA.

For the Cavaliers, the move affirms their position as a true contender in the Eastern Conference for years to come, after emerging from this past season with a long-term core of Darius Garland, Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley and All-Star centre Jarrett Allen.

Cleveland will have one of the league's strongest six-man rotations when factoring in fifth pick from the 2020 draft Isaac Okoro – who will likely start at small forward – and potential Sixth Man of the Year Caris Levert.

The Tennessee Titans have lost their best pass-rushing threat and one of their top overall defenders before the 2022 season has begun.  

Outside linebacker Harold Landry III will miss the entire season after suffering a torn ACL in practice Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.  

Landry set career highs last year with 75 total tackles, 12 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.  

A second-round draft pick in 2018, Landry signed a contract extension with the Titans earlier this offseason worth up to $87.5million over five years.  

Landry has 31 career sacks, more than double any other Tennessee player since 2018.  

Landry’s loss will put more pressure on Bud Dupree to pressure opposing quarterbacks, although the former Pittsburgh Steeler had a disappointing first season in Tennessee in 2021, starting six games and managing just three sacks.  

Ola Adeniyi and Rashad Weaver are the other outside linebackers who made the Titans’ 53-man roster, but that pair has just 2.5 career sacks combined.  

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has told fans on social media the club has "been screwed up" following the collapse of a proposed transfer.

The Premier League side were negotiating to bring Bamba Dieng in from Marseille, with Radrizzani having earlier taken to Twitter to confirm a move was set to go ahead.

Replying to a fan, Radrizzani also acknowledged the intention to sign Cody Gakpo from PSV as Leeds pushed to bolster their attacking ranks before the transfer window shut on Thursday evening.

"Let's welcome Bamba Diang and we will continue to work on Gakpo. Now it's time to focus on the pitch and support our new project and the great job Jesse [Marsch] and the staff are doing," he posted.

However, Leeds' desire to land Diang from the Ligue 1 side fell flat following the emergence of Nice as rivals for the player's signature, leaving the deal at a crossroads.

Diang was reported to have been waiting at an airport while he decided whether he wanted to move to Elland Road or the French Riviera, then apparently electing for the latter option.

Radrizzani then returned to social media to address the situation and claimed they had been "screwed up".

"Part of the madness of deadline day. We have been screwed up, it happens even to the best ones," he said.

"We have done a great market, planned and executed our targets at a very early stage. Keep going."

Leeds have lost just one of their opening five Premier League matches this season and face Brentford on Saturday.

Swedish pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis says he’d beat Jamaican five-time World 100m Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in a 100m race.

Speaking at the press-conference ahead of Friday’s Brussels Diamond League meet, Duplantis made the declaration after Fraser-Pryce jokingly asked him the question.

“How fast do you think you could do in a 100m against me?” said Fraser-Pryce, the current world leader at 10.62 and owner of six sup 10.7 times this season, the most in history.

“I would beat you,” said Duplantis in reply before Fraser-Pryce jokingly responded “survey says, that’s a lie.”

The reigning World and Olympic pole vault champion then recalled his days running the short sprint back in high school in the USA in 2018 where he ran a wind-aided 10.57.

Fraser-Pryce then pointed out how much time had passed between then and now but Duplantis made the claim that he’s faster now.

Finally, the two world-beaters decided to put a friendly wager on a race between them at next year’s Brussels Diamond League event.

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