Louis Saha joined Manchester United for £12.83million from Fulham on this day in 2004, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal at Old Trafford.

The France international had spent three and a half years at Craven Cottage after joining from Metz in 2000, scoring 63 goals in 142 appearances.

It was said his performance in Fulham’s 3-1 win at Old Trafford in October 2003 – Saha did not score in the match but was instrumental in Fulham’s attacking play – convinced Sir Alex Ferguson to bring him to United.

He made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut against Southampton, and going on to bag seven goals in 10 starts over the rest of the campaign.

But his first full season in United colours was hampered by a succession of injuries, two of them sustained while on international duty with France, and he was limited to only 11 starts and 11 substitute appearances, scoring two goals.

He also missed the start of the following season with a hamstring problem, an all too familiar pattern over the course of his four-and-a-half-year United campaign.

There were highs – during the 2005-06 season he was the regular partner for Wayne Rooney in the League Cup and scored in the 4-0 final victory over Wigan.

But, having been handed his chance as first choice in the Premier League following Ruud van Nistelrooy’s departure for Real Madrid, injury woes struck again in the second half of the 2006-07 season.

After a succession of injuries disrupted him again the following campaign, Saha would leave United for Everton in the summer of 2008, having scored 42 goals in 120 appearances.

The Tennesee Titans are in the process of finalising a contract with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to be the team's next head coach, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Callahan will be replacing Mike Vrabel, who led the franchise to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-21 but was fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk on Jan. 9 following a second straight losing campaign.

The 39-year-old Callahan spent the past five seasons as the Bengals' offensive coordinator and helped Cincinnati to back-to-back appearances in the AFC championship game in 2021 and 2022. The Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 edition before losing to the Rams in Super Bowl 56.

Callahan, the son of former NFL and college head coach Bill Callahan, is also credited for assisting in developing Joe Burrow into one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks over the course of the 2020 No. 1 overall pick's four seasons in Cincinnati. 

He'll now be overseeing the progress of a new young quarterback in Tennessee, which selected Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft and had the rookie start nine games during Vrabel's final season.

Callahan has been an NFL assistant since 2010. He spent the first six years of his coaching career with the Denver Broncos and was on the offensive staff during that team's 2015 run to a Super Bowl title in iconic quarterback Peyton Manning's final NFL season. 

After stints as a quarterbacks coach with the Detroit Lions (2016-17) and then-Oakland Raiders (2018), Callahan joined the Bengals as part of current head coach Zac Taylor's initial staff in 2019.

Burrow emerged into an elite passer under Callahan's tutelage, as the former Heisman Trophy winner threw for a Bengals' season-record 4,611 passing yards in 2021 and set another team season best with 35 touchdown passes in 2022. Burrow's career completion rate of 68.0 per cent is the highest of any quarterback in NFL history with at least 1,500 pass attempts.

Callahan takes over a Titans team that finished last in the AFC South with a 6-11 record this past season and often struggled to move the football. Tennessee's average of 289 total yards per game ranked 28th in the NFL and it finished 27th in total points.

Three of this offseason's eight head coaching vacancies have now been filled with Callahan's hiring. The New England Patriots promoted assistant Jerod Mayo to replace the legendary Bill Belichick on Jan. 12, while the Las Vegas Raiders removed the interim tag from head coach Antonio Pierce last week. 

Roberto De Zerbi admitted depleted Brighton are dropping too many Premier League points following a frustrating goalless stalemate with Wolves.

Albion dominated possession at the Amex Stadium as they stretched their unbeaten home run to a club-record nine top-flight fixtures to climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference.

But the Seagulls, who lacked a cutting edge on Monday evening, have drawn five of those fixtures and a league-high eight matches overall.

Brighton boss De Zerbi feels a lengthy injury list and European commitments are impacting his side’s league results.

“We have to understand the situation of injuries, we have to understand how much energy we spent in the Europa League, in FA Cup, we have to analyse if we will be lucky or unlucky,” said the Italian, whose side drew 0-0 with West Ham in their previous game.

“In the last two games in the Premier League we have been unlucky because two points after two games with good quality to win the game, we are losing too many points.

“We have been unlucky because five draws (at home), for example Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham and Wolverhampton, we deserved to win all of the games.

“We didn’t play the best game in my time (tonight) but we created a condition to win the game.

“Yes, we made some mistakes in the crucial part of the pitch and for it we didn’t win.”

Brighton controlled the play against Wolves but rarely threatened.

Facundo Buonanotte saw an early diving header cleared off the line by Tommy Doyle, while Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal.

De Zerbi remains without the creative talents of Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Ansu Fati, Solly March and Julio Enciso but dismissed talk of recruiting reinforcements this month.

“No, transfer market is not my business,” he said.

“I have to be focused on my work and my work is to give organisation, to give a style, to try the condition to play well and make points.

“We are seventh place on the table and if you consider how many problems we had in the first part of the season we have to be proud because we are playing better than the situation we are enduring.”

Wolves were thrashed 6-0 in this fixture last season but could have snatched victory.

Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina each went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

In the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, Neto played as a central striker on the south coast on his first start since October.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was impressed with the impact of the Portugal forward but hopes to bolster his striking options during the transfer window.

“We always had that threat,” said O’Neil. “Pedro was good, probably played a little bit longer than we would have liked ideally.

“I just felt there was still a goal in him so tried to push him a little bit more than was ideal but pleased that he got through it.

“Hopefully over the next few days we can do something in the window that can help us in that area.

“Until then we work hard to try and maximise what we have in the room and I felt we did that well today.

“The main thing was we looked like a team, we stuck together and when it got tough in certain situations we looked like we could cope and always had that threat.”

Former Chelsea forward Tommy Baldwin has died aged 78 following a long illness, the club have announced.

Baldwin scored 92 goals in 239 appearances for the Blues and lifted the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Born in Gateshead, Baldwin joined Chelsea from London rivals Arsenal in September 1966 and scored his first goal in October away to Manchester City.

He went on to score 17 in his debut season for the club and played in the 1967 FA Cup final, which they lost to Tottenham.

Baldwin’s ability to absorb tackles contributed to his nickname ‘The Sponge’ and he continued his goal-scoring prowess with 16 goals in his following season for the Blues.

Despite spending four months on the sidelines in the 1968/69 season, Baldwin scored twice in a 4-0 away win against Manchester United, who had recently been crowned European champions.

The forward helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 1970 as they beat Leeds 2-1 in a replay and he played a key role as they claimed the European Cup Winners’ Cup with a 2-1 replay win over Real Madrid in Greece the following year.

Baldwin narrowly missed out on lifting another trophy as Chelsea were beaten by Stoke in the 1972 League Cup final and eventually left the club to play in the North American Soccer League in the mid-1970s.

Enzo Maresca insists Leicester must be wary of the Championship’s chasing pack after Ipswich stopped the Foxes going 10 points clear at the top.

Jeremy Sarmiento’s late leveller moved the visitors back into second and put a dent in the Foxes’ title procession following a 1-1 draw.

Leif Davis’ unfortunate first-half own goal gave the hosts the lead but they were unable to build on it.

Tom Cannon was twice thwarted by Vaclav Hladky while Mads Hermansen’s smart save from Wes Burns denied Ipswich an earlier leveller.

“I’ve felt the breath of Ipswich and Southampton since we started and I’ve felt Leeds’ breath also, the Championship is very long,” said Leicester boss Maresca, who served a suspension in the stands.

“If we’d won tonight we were 10 points from Ipswich and Southampton but losing or drawing it’s still very long.

“Now we are (going) in the right direction because of the performance but there are still many games.

“It’s always a shame when you drop points at the end. It happened there (in Ipswich) and happened tonight. It’s football, even if you go 2-0 up, until the end there is always danger. Overall, with the way we performed, I’m very happy.

“It was frustrating being in the stand because you don’t have the direct contact with the players. I feel frustrated about the result, not about the way we performed.”

Cannon and Hamza Choudhury went close during a confident opening from the Foxes but it took an own goal to break the deadlock after 31 minutes.

Stephy Mavididi swapped passes with Ricardo Pereira on the left and his low cross was turned into his own net by Davis – his second own goal in four games.

Pereira shot wide and Cannon went close as Leicester went for a second but they needed Hermansen to maintain their lead soon after the break when he turned Burns’ volley over.

Mavididi and Cannon had shots saved but Ipswich gradually found their edge in the second half and began to put the Foxes under real pressure, without testing Hermansen.

That was until in the final minute of normal time when Massimo Luongo was given space on the edge of the area and his drive was parried by Hermansen.

It fell straight to the unmarked Sarmiento to fire in, despite the best efforts of Hermansen, meaning Ipswich have rescued 21 points from losing positions this season.

Boss Kieran McKenna said: “The second half was much more like ourselves and we can take a lot of confidence from it. On the balance of the second half we probably deserved to get something from the game.

“We are coming back at lot, not losing many games, which is a reflection of the culture and togetherness in the group.

“I really liked the second half, there was a real conviction in the dressing room at half-time.

“I thought in the first half we didn’t manage to find that belief in ourselves but there was a real intent to go out in the second half and show that. There’s so long to go we have to focus on ourselves.

“We’re competing with teams on a points tally we’ve got no right to. Our focus remains to perform as well as we can.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea’s struggles last season are responsible for the apathy observed at Stamford Bridge during home games under his tenure.

The team won just three Premier League games at home in the first 11 months of 2023 under managers Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor, Frank Lampard and Pochettino.

Between January and the beginning of December they scored 18 goals in 19 games, though four came in a single, frenetic draw with Manchester City in the final match of that run.

Since then their form in west London has improved markedly. They are unbeaten since losing to Brentford on October 28 and have won four consecutive games, their best run at home in the league since winning six in a row during Lampard’s first spell, either side of the 2020 Covid shutdown.

Despite this, the atmosphere around the ground has been noticeably subdued, with recent victories against Fulham, Preston and Sheffield United, in which the team lacked creativity for long periods, particularly quiet.

Chelsea host Middlesbrough on Tuesday needing to win by two goals to overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat at the Riverside two weeks ago and progress to the Carabao Cup final.

“We’re paying now for the effect of the last 18 months,” said Pochettino. “We (he and his coaching staff) are here for six months, sometimes for us it’s difficult for us to compare. We’re getting better results now, but the disappointment from the fans is coming from last season.

“Now people can give their opinion, it’s a bit flat. There’s been disappointment for a long period. But how we feel at Stamford Bridge is very good.

“OK, in a few periods in some games, maybe against Nottingham Forest (a 1-0 loss in September) or Brentford the energy was down because the team didn’t engage the fans. That’s our mistake.

“But against Arsenal (a 2-2 draw), City, Brighton (a 3-2 win), Liverpool (1-1), the fans were really good.

“People believed that Fulham would be easy, but Fulham wasn’t easy for Liverpool. They beat Arsenal. We played Preston, it’s difficult, (their) motivation, the beauty of the cup. The inferior team can match you in different aspects and you can suffer.

“When you feel so disappointed because of last season, you lose too many games at home, the energy is a little bit down.”

Pochettino will be without Christopher Nkunku who continues to be plagued by a hip injury, though the manager reiterated the problem is not serious.

Defender Malo Gusto, who has proved an able deputy for sidelined captain Reece James, is the latest addition to an absentee list currently standing at nine names.

Nevertheless, Pochettino is happy with recent progress.

“In December we were one of the best teams in England,” he said. “Now (but for) the defeat against Middlesbrough, the results are not too bad, they are good. The problem is the feelings (from last season), because we lose the first leg against Middlesbrough, there was a bit of a strange feeling.

“The results are good and we need to keep doing well and improving.”

Ghana conceded twice in stoppage time to draw 2-2 with Mozambique as a place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations slipped through their fingers.

Jordan Ayew scored a pair of penalties which looked to be sending Ghana through, but a thrilling finale saw Geny Catamo pull one back from the spot before Reinildo Mandava equalised at the death.

The two dropped points meant Egypt pipped Ghana to second place in Group B, despite also conceding a last-gasp leveller in a 2-2 draw with Cape Verde, and Chris Hughton’s side are highly unlikely to qualify as one of best third-placed teams.

Antoine Semenyo went close for Ghana just seconds into the game, unleashing a powerful strike from the edge of the box, but goalkeeper Ivane Carminio managed to tip the ball over the bar.

Ghana were awarded a penalty when Joseph Paintsil twisted his way into the box and was fouled by Nanani and Jordan Ayew coolly rolled the resulting spot-kick into the bottom right corner to open the scoring after 15 minutes.

The Black Stars were dealt a blow when Majeed Ashimeru was taken off on a stretcher and Mozambique continued to threaten straight after the break as Richard Ofori punched a dangerous cross away before Lau King headed wide.

They had a flurry of opportunities as Bruno Langa forced Ofori into a save and another chance went begging when the Ghana keeper palmed a corner into the path of Nene, who headed well wide of a post.

Following a rare foray into the opposition area Ghana earned another penalty after Mandava handled the ball and Jordan Ayew stepped up again to double his side’s lead in the 70th minute.

Mozambique pulled one back a minute into stoppage time when they were given a penalty after an Andre Ayew handball and Catamo fired his effort into the bottom corner.

Their dramatic comeback was complete four minutes into added time when Mandava nodded the ball home from a corner to all but end Ghana’s hopes of making the next round.

Mohamed Salah was in the stands to watch Egypt scrape into the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations with a breathless 2-2 draw with Cape Verde.

The striker stayed on to watch his countrymen in their crucial final Group B match before flying back to Liverpool for treatment on a muscle injury.

He will have feared the worst with the Pharaohs staring at an early exit after falling behind to a goal from Gilson Tavares for the surprise group winners.

But substitute Trezeguet hauled them level and Mostafa Mohamed fired them ahead at the start of stoppage time.

The Blue Sharks then rocked Egypt by equalising through Bryan Teixeira, but Ghana being pegged back 2-2 by Mozambique meant the Pharaohs clung on to second place.

With Cape Verde having already topped the group, Egypt were hoping they might not play with the same intensity that brought them two wins out of two.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha saved from Mohamed and Omar Marmoush while Zizo fired narrowly wide.

But in first-half stoppage time and with Cape Verde’s first real opportunity, the surprise package took the lead.

Ryan Mendes headed the ball into the path of Tavares, who turned sharply before crashing his shot low into the net.

Trezeguet should have equalised moments after coming on as a half-time substitute but he blazed his shot over the crossbar.

But the Trabzonspor midfielder made his mark three minutes later when he played a brilliant one-two with Ahmed Hegazy before lashing an angled shot past Vozinha.

Trezeguet almost immediately put Egypt ahead but drilled his shot across Vozinha and wide.

Mohamed had a golden chance from Trezeguet’s cross but agonisingly lifted his effort over the top.

But two minutes into stoppage time Mohamed chased on to a ball over the top and lifted it over Vozinha.

A dramatic victory seemed to have been secured but there was still time for Teixeira to fire an equaliser in the ninth minute of added time, although somehow Egypt could still celebrate qualification in the most nail-biting circumstances.

Jeremy Sarmiento’s late strike rescued a point for Ipswich and stopped Leicester moving 10 points clear at the top of the Championship.

The Foxes looked to be hanging on for victory until substitute Sarmiento’s goal with a minute left earned a 1-1 draw for the second-placed visitors.

Leif Davis’ second own goal in four games gave the hosts a first-half lead but it was one they failed to build on, even if they still sit seven points clear of Ipswich.

Efficient and functional, it would still take an implosion of some magnitude for Enzo Maresca’s side to fail to return to the top flight at the first attempt.

For Ipswich, Southampton’s 20-game unbeaten league run had helped eradicated an 11-point gap in just a month.

It meant they started the night third on goal difference behind the Saints but a point moved them back into the top two.

Leicester, coming off the back of just a fourth Championship defeat of the season after last week’s late 3-1 loss at Coventry, initially made Ipswich pay for a timid first half.

Tom Cannon’s shot was deflected behind by Luke Woolfenden but it was a slow burner until Vaclav Hladky turned Hamza Choudhury’s curling effort wide after 26 minutes.

A 1-1 draw with Leicester at Portman Road on Boxing Day showed Ipswich’s resilience and Conor Chaplin shot over but the hosts found a way through after 31 minutes.

Stephy Mavididi collected Harry Winks’ ball on the left before swapping passes with Ricardo Pereira.

The forward delivered a dangerous ball across the six-yard box and Hladky could only divert in onto the unfortunate Davis who inadvertently bundled into his own net.

Gaps soon started appearing for the Foxes and Pereira shot wide six minutes later and Hladky again saved from Cannon before the break as the host found a touch of swagger.

That was almost wiped away inside the opening five minutes of the second half as Mads Hermansen turned Wes Burns’ controlled volley over after the Foxes failed to clear a corner.

Yet it was the visitors’ only threat and Leicester settled quickly to create several openings.

Mavididi’s shot was blocked and Cannon’s acrobatic effort dropped wide before the striker continued his duel with Hladky and forced another save from 18 yards.

Jamie Vardy returned from injury as a late substitute and the Foxes looked to be hanging on for victory until the 89th minute.

Ipswich had improved as the half wore on and when Massimo Luongo was left with too much time on the edge of the box Hermansen saved his drive, only for Brighton loanee Sarmiento to follow up and snatch a point.

Brighton failed to score at home for the first time in 23 matches as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Wolves at the Amex Stadium.

Albion dominated possession in a tetchy Premier League contest but lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal early in the second half, while Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

A largely forgettable encounter was at least memorable for Seagulls midfielder James Milner, whose 633rd Premier League appearance lifted him clear of Ryan Giggs on the competition’s all-time list, behind only record holder Gareth Barry.

Brighton climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference, courtesy of the stalemate, while Wolves move level on points with 10th-placed Newcastle.

Albion won this fixture 6-0 last season – their biggest Premier League victory and Wolves’ heaviest loss.

Danny Welbeck was one of three players to score twice that day and he threatened to inflict to more misery on Wanderers during a bright beginning for the hosts.

After forcing a corner with a deflected shot off Matt Doherty, the former England forward climbed high to flick on Pervis Estupinan’s 11th-minute delivery, only for Facundo Buonanotte’s back-post diving header to be hacked off the line by Tommy Doyle.

Wolves were just about managing to contain the lively hosts and almost snatched a 22nd-minute lead.

Portugal forward Neto, making his first start since October in the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, was afforded time and space on the edge of the Seagulls’ 18-yard box but his curling effort flew narrowly wide of the left post.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was left frustrated on the half-hour mark when Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour escaped punishment after cynically halting Cunha’s off-the-ball run as Neto broke down the left.

Tempers then threatened to boil over on the touchline during a flashpoint sparked by a clash between Gilmour and Wolves defender Craig Dawson, which led to the visitors’ goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler being booked by referee Craig Pawson.

The fractious ending to a tight opening period persisted with Cunha receiving a yellow card for a challenge on Gilmour and then confronting the officials following the half-time whistle.

Brazil forward Cunha almost channelled his sense of injustice into the opening goal within seconds of the restart but his initial effort was repelled by Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele before he poked over the rebound.

Wolves skipper Kilman then diverted the ball on to the base of his own right post as he slid in to intercept Jack Hinshelwood’s cross before Neto was denied by Steele as the end-to-end action continued.

In-form Wolves were seeking to register four successive top-flight wins for the first time since January 1972 and looked the more likely to break the deadlock in the closing stages.

Neto flashed across goal before the onrushing Steele was fortunate to escape being rounded by Cunha and then kept out a powerful drive from Lemina.

Italy’s all-time top goalscorer Gigi Riva has died aged 79.

Riva scored 35 goals in 42 appearances for Italy and was a member of the squad which won the 1968 European Championship and lost in the 1970 World Cup final to Brazil.

He was also a prolific goalscorer for Cagliari, leading the Sardinian club to their only Serie A title in 1970.

Cagliari said: “He was the greatest of them all. Without comparisons or possible comparisons. The best Italian striker in history. And one of the deadliest gunners who ever lived. His name was Gigi Riva, also known as Rombo di Tuono.

“A formidable footballer, an upright sportsman, a bearer of crystalline values and principles. A true legend, a timeless myth. An icon of Sardinia, his adopted land, to which he was bound by visceral love. He passed away today at the age of 79. A sad day for us and for all of world football.”

A minute’s applause was held at the start of the second half of the Italian Super Cup final between Inter Milan and Napoli in Saudi Arabia.

Current Cagliari boss Claudio Ranieri paid his own tribute.

He told the club website: “It’s the news I never wanted to hear. It caught me off guard, shocked, I’m speechless. Gigi’s passing leaves an unfillable void in all of us.”

Inter Milan beat Napoli to win the Italian Super Cup after both teams paid tribute to Italy’s all-time top scorer Gigi Riva.

Lautaro Martinez scored the winner in injury time as Inter wrapped up a third straight Super Cup success.

But the match, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between current Serie A champions Napoli and Coppa Italia holders Inter, was overshadowed by Riva’s death, aged 79.

A minute’s applause was held before the second half after the news filtered through during the first half.

Riva scored 35 goals in 42 appearances for Italy and was a member of the squad which won the 1968 European Championship and lost in the 1970 World Cup final to Brazil.

He was also a prolific goalscorer for Cagliari, leading the Sardinian club to their only Serie A title in 1970.

It appeared that no one was going to find a goal to settle the match, until Martinez finally broke the deadlock two minutes into added time.

Inter dominated the first half and created the first chance when a long Matteo Darmian throw-in found its way through to Federico Dimarco, whose volley was deflected inches wide.

Martinez then headed wide from Francesco Acerbi’s cross and Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired over 20 yards out.

Martinez had the ball in the net after 40 minutes when he tapped in Marcus Thuram’s cross but an offside flag curtailed any celebrations.

Napoli’s first real opening came six minutes into the second half when Stanislav Lobotka fed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The Georgian cut back inside and tried to curl the ball towards the far post but his effort was beaten away by Inter keeper Yann Sommer.

Napoli were reduced to 10 men on the hour after Giovanni Simeone was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Acerbi.

Inter set about trying to press home their numerical advantage but Thuram twice missed his kick in front of goal and Martinez volleyed over the crossbar.

Frustrated Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri was shown a yellow card before Mkhitaryan tried his luck again, only to send his shot too high.

The match looked destined for penalties until Alexis Sanchez fed Benjamin Pavard down the right.

Pavard pinged in a low cross which was swept home by Martinez to wrap up a super treble for Inter.

Owen Farrell could have played his last game for England after French club Racing 92 confirmed that he will join them next season.

The Saracens fly-half and captain will link up with the Parisians from July 1 on a two-year deal.

It will bring to an end his long and successful Saracens career that began in 2008 and has been littered with European and Premiership titles.

Farrell, 32, had already announced that he would miss this season’s Guinness Six Nations in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being.

And he will become ineligible for international selection when he moves to France due to Rugby Football Union rules that do not permit players who ply their trade abroad to be selected for the national team.

His last England appearance was the World Cup bronze medal match against Argentina in Paris on October 27, which England won narrowly.

Racing are coached by Stuart Lancaster, who gave Farrell his Test debut in 2012 when he was England boss.

Farrell has gone on to win 112 caps, lead his country in the last two World Cup campaigns and is England’s record international points-scorer.

He would be 34 if he leaves Racing after two years and returns to England, suggesting any international return would be unlikely.

Farrell, though, would be on the British and Irish Lions’ radar for their 2025 Australia tour, which will see his father Andy fill the role of head coach.

A statement from Racing read: “Racing 92 formalises the signing of Owen Farrell within its professional men’s team.

“The English international player is committed to two sporting seasons and will join the Ciel et Blanc squad from July 1, 2024.”

Farrell will link up with the likes of South Africa’s double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi at Racing, along with exciting England back Henry Arundell.

Speaking after he announced his Six Nations squad last Wednesday, England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “I think what’s important is that Owen makes a decision that is right for Owen and his family.

“Will a player of Owen’s calibre be missed if he chooses to play outside of England? Yes, of course.

“Do I want him in some point in the future to come back? Yes. But I also want him to do what’s right for him and his family and have the experiences and the memories that he wants to make.”

Farrell’s decision will be a major blow for Saracens, although Racing’s announcement will not have caught them on the hop as Saracens rugby director Mark McCall recently revealed that he knew what decision Farrell had made.

Farrell apart, a number of players who were key to Saracens’ sustained European and Premiership successes over the past 10 years are unlikely to be involved after this summer.

Some will be out of contract and departing, and others retiring, and McCall said last week: “Everybody realises the adventure we’ve been on is coming to an end, and there is a new adventure about to start with a group of younger players we are incredibly excited about who have signed up for the longer term.

“Players are going to retire or they are in the twilight of their careers – it is just the cycle of a team.

“I suppose all good things come to an end, and there is a re-energising effect and impact of a new group.

“We have met with the players who we believe will grab hold of it over the next three or four years. We have met with them regularly over the past couple of months.

“There is a new dawn coming, and it is exciting for everybody.”

Saracens have lost five of their last eight games and slipped outside the Premiership top four.

But they recovered from a record 55-15 European defeat against Bordeaux-Begles to book an Investec Champions Cup round-of-16 place by beating Lyon on Saturday.