Eberechi Eze believes his injury nightmare two years ago gave him the platform for England recognition.
The Crystal Palace midfielder is eyeing a senior debut after being included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
The call came after Eze was named in England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad in May 2021 – only for a serious Achilles injury on the same day to wreck his dreams.
His has fought back and insists his six months on the sidelines only gave him strength and confidence in his ability.
Eze said: “I know without setbacks and difficult moments it’s hard to grow and be the person I am today. I look back at those memories fondly because I know it has helped shape who I am.
“It’s hard to put into words. I look at things a bit differently. I saw it (the potential call) as I was on the right trajectory, even though I was injured, this was the level I could get to. It gave me the motivation to keep going.
“I got a message which gave me an inkling I was going to be called up but being injured that was the end of it for a little while. It’s been a journey getting back to the standard and putting in the performances but it’s been a good one.”
Eze scored 10 goals for Palace in the 2022-23 season – six after Roy Hodgson returned to replace Patrick Vieira in March to steer the Eagles to 11th in the Premier League.
Hodgson initially signed the 24-year-old from QPR in 2020 and Eze credits him and his assistant Ray Lewington as big influences in his fight to return to the top.
“He has got insane wisdom, it’s good to talk to him and hear what he has to say,” he added.
“From the first day I met them they have been improving me as a person and a player. It has opened my eyes to more. I have grown so much because of them.
“I am very grateful to Roy and Ray for all they did helping me to regain form, they helped me massively with performances and my mental state. In terms of them staying on (at Palace), it’s not my decision.”
England travel to Malta for Friday’s Group C qualifier before hosting North Macedonia in Manchester on Monday.
Eze, who chose England over Nigeria and has eight Under-21 caps, has the chance of featuring but is not taking anything for granted.
“My main focus is training well, doing what I can do, being the best version of myself. All I can do is what I can do, that decision is for Gareth to make,” he said.
“Naturally there is always something else you want, when you achieve them it’s on to the next thing (a debut), I am grateful to be in this position. I know I have worked hard but no-one is doing me any favours.”
Academy graduates Dean Campbell and Connor McLennan are among the players leaving Aberdeen this summer, while Liam Fox is also departing after a short-term coaching role.
Marley Watkins and Matty Kennedy are also among the first-team players who are being released.
Both McLennan and Campbell spent the final season of their Dons careers out on loan.
McLennan, who joined the club aged eight, made more than 100 appearances and scored eight goals before spending last term with St Johnstone.
Campbell became Aberdeen’s youngest player when he made his debut against Celtic back in 2017 at the age of 16 years, one month and 23 days. The midfielder made 75 appearances in all before joining Stevenage on loan, winning promotion from Sky Bet League Two and hitting a late winner in an FA Cup tie at Villa Park.
The club revealed that family circumstances prevented former Dundee United manager Fox from extending his stay as first-team coach.
Manager Barry Robson said: “I’d like to thank every player, and Liam, for their efforts during their time at the club.
“We are still having positive discussions with some of the loan players who are departing about the possibility of returning for next season. We’ll see how those progress over the next few weeks.”
The loan players last season were Liam Scales, Mattie Pollock, Graeme Shinnie, Leighton Clarkson, Hayden Coulson, Jay Gorter, Dilan Markanday and Patrik Myslovic.
Assistant coach John Carver has urged his Scotland players to let Erling Haaland and Norway do the worrying ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier.
The Scots sit top of Group A, five points clear of Norway, after two games, although Manchester City striker Haaland missed his country’s opening two qualifiers through injury.
The forward is expected to line up in Oslo on Saturday, seven days after completing a monumental first season in England by winning the Champions League to round off a treble which has seen him net 52 goals in 53 games.
But Carver noted that one of Haaland’s club colleagues emerged from his own recent meeting with Scotland in less than happy mood – Spain midfielder Rodri complained of their tactics after a Hampden defeat in March.
Carver said: “You know what’s amazing? These guys are at their best when they are playing against the best.
“We have a great example from the recent game against Spain where Rodri, who just got man of the match in the Champions League final for Man City on Saturday, and you saw his reaction after the (Scotland) game.
“Yes we have to be aware that he (Haaland) is special and they have got one or two other special players, but we have to make sure we take care of ourselves and set our own high standards.
“They will be worried about some of our players so we really need to focus on us. Deal with the situation, yeah we will do one or two little things, but it’s about us.
“They will be worried about John McGinn, Scott McTominay, people like that, Callum McGregor.
“We have a force that can be reckoned with and they will have seen that, because they will have watched the Spain game, and the Cyprus game. So they will realise that we have got some talent in our team.
“We are at our best when we are right at it. The attitude of the guys coming back in has been brilliant, so I have got no doubt that they will be at it, it’s whether we put in that performance that gets us a good result.”
Scotland have put themselves in a strong position and a win in Norway would leave them on track to finish in the top two and seal automatic qualification for Germany, with a home game against Georgia to follow next Tuesday.
“Confidence is high but there is no arrogance in there,” Carver said. “And that’s down to the type of guys we have got in the squad. There’s no superstars. You can’t afford to go big-time in our group because there’s always somebody in the background ready to knock you down, and that’s so important.
“These guys have got themselves in a position, I am sure they will not take anything for granted. They know they are in for a difficult two games.”
Boss Steve Clarke took the bulk of his players to a training camp in Spain last week, wary of avoiding another difficult June after Scotland suffered play-off disappointment against Ukraine and a 3-0 Nations League loss to the Republic of Ireland 12 months ago.
Preparations continue at Lesser Hampden this week amid a heatwave ahead of the trip to Oslo, which is due to experience temperatures in the 30s.
Carver said: “It’s great preparation. I don’t know where Haaland is at the moment but he is probably still celebrating the fantastic year they have had.
“We had a couple of rainy days last week but if we are training in it all week we will be prepared for the warm weather over there.
“We learned from our mistakes last year because when the season ended at different times, players went off on holiday and did various things, and we only had a small group to work with.
“So we decided to bring most of the players in, obviously some of the guys were playing in cup finals and they got a little bit of time off. But the majority of the group were with us in Spain and we had a five-day training camp and some days double training sessions.
“So our preparation going into these two games was a lot better than it was this time last year.”
Max Anderson is the latest player to extend his time with Dundee.
The 22-year-old midfielder made 27 appearances last season and has signed on until the summer of 2025.
Anderson told the club’s website: “I know it’s a big season for everyone at the club and I am excited to do my best to continue the club’s success over the next two seasons.”
The BBC remains “absolutely committed” to agreeing a deal with FIFA to broadcast the Women’s World Cup, the corporation’s chief content officer has told a parliamentary select committee.
With five weeks to go before the start of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand there is yet to be an agreement put in place between the governing body and any broadcaster for live coverage in the UK.
That has created the risk that matches involving England, bidding to follow last summer’s Euro 2022 success by being crowned world champions for the first time, may not be available to domestic viewers.
The tournament is one of the events that the government stipulates must be made available free to air, but FIFA has accused broadcasters in the bigger European markets of undervaluing live rights and failing to make acceptable bids, leading to the current impasse.
The most recent joint bid by the UK broadcasters is believed to be around £7.7million, roughly eight per cent of the fee paid for the men’s 2022 World Cup when that deal was agreed eight years ago.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino in May called bids made by European broadcasters “a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide,” and went as far as threatening a blackout in the ‘big five’ European countries.
Addressing the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday, the BBC’s chief content officer Charlotte Moore reiterated the corporation’s determination to reach an agreement, but warned it would not be pressured by FIFA into overpaying.
“We really look at fair value for everything that we do, and the BBC has a strong track record in paying absolutely the right price for things,” said Moore.
“As I say, we’re market-assessing and audience-assessing and looking at the variants for each bid that we put in, and that’s our promise to the audience and to licence fee payers.
“I think we would all share the intention to get these things nailed down because for productions it’s incredibly important, so I think it’s in everybody’s interests to sort these things out.
“But I can’t comment on commercial negotiations that would obviously affect those decisions. We’re absolutely committed.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that we obtain the rights for as much of women’s sport as we can within the budget and the funding envelope that we have, and we make those decisions across the year.
“We go into negotiations at the right time when those bids come up and we have to go through a system. But we don’t always dictate the speed of that financial situation.”
Sarina Wiegman’s England side begin their campaign against first-time qualifiers Haiti in Brisbane on July 22, with the 2023 edition seeing an expansion to 32 teams for the first time.
That means there will be the same number of games played, 64, as at the men’s World Cup, adding to the frustration at FIFA at how low international bidding had been in comparison.
The figure offered by Italian broadcasters was reportedly just £283,000 next to the £137m that was paid for live rights to the Qatar World Cup.
The time difference means that matches will take place outside what are considered prime viewing hours in Europe, which Moore hinted had been factored into the BBC’s position during negotiations.
“Obviously I can’t discuss commercial negotiations like that in detail, but safe to say that we are big supporters of women’s sport and of course we are always trying to have properly competitive bids to make sure that we can cover as much sport as our budgets will allow,” she added.
“It’s really important that we continue to have those negotiations in the right way, but of course we want to do everything we can, thinking about value for money for our audiences and whether tournaments are live in-peak or whether they’re through the middle of the night and where they’re placed.
“We take a huge amount of care and detail about how we make sure we don’t over-inflate the market but we really help the market grow, so we’re looking at that.”
Kylian Mbappe says he is “very happy” at Paris St Germain and plans to remain with the club until his contract expires at the end of next season.
The 24-year-old has suddenly become one of the hottest properties on the summer transfer market after it emerged on Monday that he had presented PSG with a formal letter stating he would not activate an extension to his deal.
That means he would be out of contract and able to depart for nothing in 12 months’ time, leaving the French club looking to either negotiate a new contract or accept the highest offer possible this summer.
Real Madrid, who were desperate to sign the player last year and who have recently lost Karim Benzema to Saudi club Al Ittihad, are sure to be interested again, but Mbappe took to Twitter on Tuesday to describe reports he wants to join the Spanish side this summer as “lies”.
And he added: “I have already said that I will continue next season at PSG, where I am very happy.”
The former Monaco forward extended his PSG deal just over a year ago to end Real’s pursuit at that point, but a statement from his management to the AFP news agency on Tuesday says the club were informed on July 15 last year that the player would not activate an option to extend the deal to 2025.
“Kylian Mbappe and his entourage confirm that this matter has not been discussed since over the course of the year, except a fortnight ago to announce the sending of the letter,” the statement read.
“No potential contract extension has been mentioned.”
The statement said Mbappe and his management “regret that the letter was circulated in the media and that these exchanges were made public with the sole aim of damaging their image and the discussions with the club”.
England’s Manchester City quintet are due to arrive at St George’s Park on Tuesday evening after days celebrating their treble triumph.
Gareth Southgate’s men are preparing for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Malta and the Old Trafford encounter with North Macedonia on Monday.
The exact availability of City’s players for the doubleheader is unclear given their celebrations following Saturday’s Champions League triumph in Turkey only ended after Monday’s rain-soaked parade.
Jack Grealish was at the heart of the revelry and is due at St George’s Park to link up with England on Tuesday night, as are Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Kalvin Phillips.
Declan Rice was also given extra time after captaining West Ham to Europa Conference League glory last week and linked up with the squad on Monday morning.
The 24-year-old midfielder was part of a 19-man training group on Tuesday morning, as was uncapped Crystal Palace talent Eberechi Eze.
England Under-21 international Levi Colwill was also involved in the session. The defender has joined Southgate’s squad for training this week following the withdrawal of injured Brighton team-mate Lewis Dunk.
Jude Bellingham watched the start from the sidelines at St George’s Park.
The 19-year-old, who is set to join Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund, has been ruled out of the Malta and North Macedonia matches through injury. However, Bellingham headed to St George’s Park to continue his rehabilitation from a knee issue.
Kylian Mbappe could be on the move this summer following reports the France forward has written to Paris St Germain telling them he would not be signing a new contract.
The 24-year-old, signed from Monaco for £160million in 2018 which was a world-record fee for a teenager, will see his current deal expire next year and PSG must now decide whether to cash in on the prolific striker or risk losing him for free.
Here, the PA news agency looks at a number of potential moves for Mbappe, who became just the second man in history to score a World Cup final hat-trick as France lost on penalties to Argentina in Qatar last year.
Real Madrid
The LaLiga giants have been long-time admirers of Mbappe and would likely to be able to muster the financial clout required to get a deal across the line.
Real have already made a move for England midfielder Jude Bellingham and have been linked with his international team-mate Harry Kane as they look to challenge for top honours again next season.
With Karim Benzema departing for Al-Ittihad, Real head coach Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to add proven firepower to his attack and Mbappe – with 212 goals in 260 PSG appearances – certainly ticks that box.
Manchester United
The Red Devils improved last season under Erik ten Hag but are still some distance off challenging neighbours Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
The ongoing uncertainty of takeover bids may yet destabilise summer transfer business – but what a jewel in the crown Mbappe would be for any potential new owners at Old Trafford.
Like Real, United would probably be able to make the deal work financially and they do have their famous number seven shirt, also favoured by the Frenchman, ready and waiting for someone to fill it.
Chelsea
A number of other Premier League clubs could make a move for Mbappe – treble winners City would be an attractive destination while Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle may struggle with the numbers behind such a transfer.
Chelsea missing out on European football means the Blues become an outside prospect to make a swoop but owner Todd Boehly has already proven he is not shy in splashing the cash in west London.
Some £600million has been spent in a year so the potentially eye-watering figures for Mbappe may not be as off-putting to Boehly as they would be to other suitors.
Saudi ArabiaView this post on Instagram
With the Saudi Pro League looking to bring in some of the biggest names in world football, could Mbappe be tempted to head to the Middle East in his prime?
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr earlier this year with former Real team-mate Benzema joining him in Saudi Arabia and the likes of N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez also linked with big-money deals.
At 24, Mbappe may feel the timing is not right to relocate to a league outside of those at the very top of the sport and away from the lures of chasing a first Champions League trophy.
Stay put
Mbappe could yet remain at Paris St Germain, stranger things have certainly happened.
With Lionel Messi leaving the French capital and heading to Inter Miami and also some questions over the future of fellow superstar forward Neymar, the Ligue 1 champions are coming to a crossroads in how they move forward.
If Mbappe can be tempted to stay and sign a new deal he would undoubtedly be the main man in Paris, while if the club refuse to sell or cannot get the value they want he may yet play another season before leaving for nothing in 12 months.
Huddersfield have announced Leigh Bromby has left his role as sporting director.
The 43-year-old led the football strategy at the Sky Bet Championship club for the past four years, having initially joined as an academy coach in 2014 before progressing to academy manager in 2018.
Head of goalkeeping Paul Clements has also departed John Smith’s Stadium as part of a “refresh” for the Terriers.
Huddersfield were in relegation danger for much of last season but went on to survive comfortably following the February appointment of manager Neil Warnock.
Terriers chief executive Jake Edwards told his club’s website: “On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Leigh for his achievements during his long association with Huddersfield Town.
“This change comes as we look towards a fresh start at the club and as we begin to build towards the start of the new season.”
Speaking about Clements, who joined Town in 2015, Edwards added: “Paul can depart with a lot of pride in what he’s achieved here.
“Much like the departure of Leigh Bromby, this change has been made in order to refresh our football department ahead of the new season.”
Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber is set to leave his role at Carrow Road, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.
Webber joined Norwich from Huddersfield in April 2017 and oversaw two successful Championship title campaigns under former head coach Daniel Farke.
However, despite replacing Dean Smith with David Wagner during last season, Webber had come in for personal criticism after the Canaries failed to mount another swift promotion back to the Premier League following relegation.
With Webber set to remain in his post and continue working a notice period through a transition, an external recruitment process to appoint a replacement has already started.
Former Norwich manager and player Neil Adams will move into the newly-created position of technical director.
Webber said on the Norwich website: “The support I’ve had from all the board, past and present, throughout my time at the club has been outstanding.
“(Joint majority shareholders) Delia (Smith) and Michael (Wynn Jones) are two of the most special people that I’ve met. They care so much about Norwich City, its staff and supporters.
“I’ve seen so many staff grow and develop, and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication.”
He added: “I look forward to the next chapter and helping as much or as little in this transition over the coming months. The board know they have my unwavering support.
“Thank you to every board and staff member, player and supporter that I’ve met. I wish the club the very best and I look forward to supporting from afar.”
In a statement, joint majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones paid tribute to Webber.
“When Stuart came to our home in early March to inform us he wanted to leave at the end of his contract we were devastated – whilst we obviously respected his decision,” they said.
“In our 28 years of serving this great football club we have never worked with such a talent.
“In terms of unity and mutual support we are a completely different football club to the one he joined in 2017.
“Stuart Webber has been an outstanding servant to this football club and built a strong foundation for the future.
“We are very sad to lose him, owe him much gratitude and want to wish him all the very best for the future.”
Premier League clubs can begin shaping their squads for the 2023-24 season when the transfer window opens on Wednesday.
Here, the PA news agency picks out some high-profile players who could make summer moves.
Harry Kane
England captain Kane is entering the final year of his contract with Tottenham and has been repeatedly linked with Manchester United while Real Madrid have also been touted as a possible destination. However, Spurs are thought to be reluctant to sell their record goalscorer, particularly to a top-flight rival.
Declan Rice
West Ham skipper Rice marked potentially his final match for his current club by leading them to Europa Conference League glory. According to reports, London rivals Arsenal are closing in on the 24-year-old England midfielder and are expected to pay a club-record fee in excess of £100million.
Moises Caicedo
Europa League-bound Brighton have already sold World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool and may lose fellow star midfielder Caicedo. Arsenal bid for the Ecuador international in January. The 21-year-old has also been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea.
James Maddison
Midfield playmaker Maddison seems certain to be on the move following Leicester’s relegation. Newcastle are thought to be in pole position to secure the signature of the 26-year-old, whose contract expires next summer. Tottenham are also reportedly interested.
Mason Mount
Chelsea and England midfielder Mount is another player whose existing deal has just 12 months remaining. The 24-year-old, who joined the Blues’ academy in 2005, is reportedly a target for Manchester United, with talks between the clubs said to be already under way.
Harry Maguire
The Manchester United captain has fallen out of favour under Erik ten Hag but is thought to be keen to fight for his future at Old Trafford. Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa have each been linked with Maguire, who cost United £80m from Leicester in 2019.
Kylian Mbappe could be on the move this summer following reports the France forward has written to Paris St Germain telling them he would not be signing a new contract.
The 24-year-old, signed from Monaco for £160million in 2018 which was a world-record fee for a teenager, will see his current deal expire next year and PSG must now decide whether to cash in on the prolific striker or risk losing him for free.
Here, the PA news agency looks at a number of potential moves for Mbappe, who became just the second man in history to score a World Cup final hat-trick as France lost on penalties to Argentina in Qatar last year.
Real Madrid
The LaLiga giants have been long-time admirers of Mbappe and would likely to be able to muster the financial clout required to get a deal across the line.
Real have already made a move for England midfielder Jude Bellingham and have been linked with his international team-mate Harry Kane as they look to challenge for top honours again next season.
With Karim Benzema departing for Al-Ittihad, Real head coach Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to add proven firepower to his attack and Mbappe – with 212 goals in 260 PSG appearances – certainly ticks that box.
Manchester United
The Red Devils improved last season under Erik ten Hag but are still some distance off challenging neighbours Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
The ongoing uncertainty of takeover bids may yet destabilise summer transfer business – but what a jewel in the crown Mbappe would be for any potential new owners at Old Trafford.
Like Real, United would probably be able to make the deal work financially and they do have their famous number seven shirt, also favoured by the Frenchman, ready and waiting for someone to fill it.
Chelsea
A number of other Premier League clubs could make a move for Mbappe – treble winners City would be an attractive destination while Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle may struggle with the numbers behind such a transfer.
Chelsea missing out on European football means the Blues become an outside prospect to make a swoop but owner Todd Boehly has already proven he is not shy in splashing the cash in west London.
Some £600million has been spent in a year so the potentially eye-watering figures for Mbappe may not be as off-putting to Boehly as they would be to other suitors.
Saudi ArabiaView this post on Instagram
With the Saudi Pro League looking to bring in some of the biggest names in world football, could Mbappe be tempted to head to the Middle East in his prime?
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr earlier this year with former Real team-mate Benzema joining him in Saudi Arabia and the likes of N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez also linked with big-money deals.
At 24, Mbappe may feel the timing is not right to relocate to a league outside of those at the very top of the sport and away from the lures of chasing a first Champions League trophy.
Stay put
Mbappe could yet remain at Paris St Germain, stranger things have certainly happened.
With Lionel Messi leaving the French capital and heading to Inter Miami and also some questions over the future of fellow superstar forward Neymar, the Ligue 1 champions are coming to a crossroads in how they move forward.
If Mbappe can be tempted to stay and sign a new deal he would undoubtedly be the main man in Paris, while if the club refuse to sell or cannot get the value they want he may yet play another season before leaving for nothing in 12 months.
Jude Bellingham says he is harnessing the pain of England’s near misses as the talented teenager homes in on European Championship glory next summer.
The national team are in the midst of their most successful period since Sir Alf Ramsey led Bobby Moore’s heroes to World Cup glory in 1966.
The surprising run to the 2018 semi-finals in Russia was followed by manager Gareth Southgate leading England to a first European Championship final two years ago.
Bellingham’s first tournament ended in an agonising shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley and his maiden World Cup ended in a galling quarter-final exit to France in December.
But now attention turns to their quest for Euros glory in Germany next summer – a tournament England will take a giant step towards by winning June’s qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Bellingham, who is closing in on a move to Real Madrid after Borussia Dortmund accepted their offer, will play no part in those matches due to a knee injury, yet he still reported to St George’s Park as he continues rehabilitation.
“We’ve got to attack the qualifiers with the same mentality as we attack major tournaments,” Bellingham recently told the PA news agency.
“The last three (tournaments), I’d say, we’ve been pretty successful. The last one was a bit disappointing, but we probably played a harder opponent than the previous ones.
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“The way we went out was disappointing, but you take confidence in the fact that you can go toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in Europe.
“It stands you in good stead when you know there’s not many better teams on paper – you’d like to think – that are better than us.
“So, you take that confidence and you take the experience that we’ve gained from the last few.
“The goal is always to try and win it. That should be the goal for all of us going into it and that’s what we’ll try and do.”
Bellingham does not lack confidence and nor should he given England’s performances in Qatar.
A narrow defeat to eventual finalists and Euro 2024 favourites France did for Southgate’s side in the desert, where the midfielder says their progress was no mirage.
“I felt so confident going into that France game that we’d get a result,” said Bellingham, speaking in his role as ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football programme – which provides free, inclusive football coaching for children aged five to 11 across more than 1,500 locations in the UK.
“I think probably we fell short in the big moments for their goals and obviously the penalties and moments like that.
“The majority of the game we didn’t have clear chances, but when we did, we could have been a bit more decisive maybe. But, like I said, it’s an experience to take into the next ones.
“I just really enjoyed the experience as a whole – relishing being away, playing in such a good team, having that pressure on me and on the team. It’s something that I really enjoyed.”
Bellingham underlined his place as one of the greatest talents in the world in Qatar, flourishing in England’s midfield after a restricted but valuable role at Euro 2020.
Aged 17 he became the youngest English player to feature in a major tournament, making three substitute appearances in a crash course summer of learning.
“It was a bit of weird one for me because I didn’t play (much),” Bellingham said. “It was my first major tournament and I didn’t play too much.
“But I was still like a sponge while I was there, trying to learn from everything that was going on around me, having it in England as well.
“You could see the pressure up close almost and you went to the games and the atmosphere was incredible. We fell short at the final hurdle, so you take a lot of experience from that.
“But there’s also a level of…not regret but motivation that you can take from the tournament.
“I think, for me, the pain that I felt after that final and after the World Cup will definitely drive me in the tournaments to come.”
You certainly would not back against ambitious Bellingham and his talented England team-mates as they look to finally land silverware in Germany.
“I’d just say stick with us, really,” the 24-cap teenager said when asked what his message to supporters would be.
“England fans can feel it themselves, They’re ambitious, but they’re not stupid. There’s a reason for the kind of expectation and the hype around the team at the minute.
“The truth is that we are delivering. We’d like to deliver a trophy and a tournament win, of course, but I think there’s steps to doing that.
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“A lot of the great international teams in the past didn’t win straight away. They had to build for years before they managed to get over the line.
“I think that there’s something similar happening with this England team now. I wouldn’t say patience is the word but just stick with us because we’ll deliver.”
:: Jude Bellingham was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session to announce his role as an ambassador for the UK’s largest grassroots participation programme for 5-11 year olds. Find your nearest free session at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football.
Sheikh Jassim is still waiting to hear whether his fifth and final offer for Manchester United has been successful, according to sources close to the Qatari.
Recent reports within Qatar had indicated that the Sheikh’s bid – which is for 100 per cent of the club – had seen off the bid from Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
However, the Sheikh Jassim camp described those reports as pure speculation and say they remain in a ‘holding pattern’. They expect the next step will be for the United board to meet and consider both bids.
United have been approached for comment.
Sheikh Jassim’s fifth bid was made last week, but at the same time it was made clear to the Glazer family – who own the club – and to the Raine merchant banking group which is overseeing the sale that he would not engage with the process beyond last Friday.
The Qataris are eager to get the deal done with the summer transfer window about to kick into gear.
Sheikh Jassim’s bid is understood to be a fully cash deal for 100 per cent of the club, and that all United’s debts would be cleared.
Sources close to the Sheikh’s bid say that separate, additional funding would be made available for player recruitment, infrastructure and other investment needs.
The Glazers first announced their intention to consider a sale of the club in November last year, with the first bids from Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim tabled in February.
There have been reports that Ratcliffe’s offer is for 60 per cent of the club, with Avram and Joel Glazer retaining a combined 20 per cent stake, but sources close to Ratcliffe have not confirmed this.
Newcastle midfielder Joelinton has revealed he received racist messages following last month’s Premier League defeat to Arsenal.
The 26-year-old spoke about the subject while on international duty with Brazil, saying “many things need to be changed”.
Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by the Gunners at St James’ Park on May 7.
“It’s an important moment to speak about racism,” Joelinton told a press conference. “We have been talking about it for a long time.
“Still, many things need to be changed. We talk about a combat against racism but we didn’t have much of a change.
“This (racism) is not something happening now, but for a long time.
“And, in the 21st century, we still see things like that. It’s hard to accept and believe that we are evolving when things like that still happen.”
Asked if he had suffered racist abuse, the player replied: “Not on the pitch, no.
“But after that match against Arsenal playing at home, I have received some messages with racist insults. But it’s gone, it didn’t affect me.”
Joelinton, who is in line to win his first cap for his country in upcoming friendlies against Guinea and Senegal, received a message of support from his club.
A post on Newcastle’s official Twitter account read: “There is no room for racism. Anywhere. We’re with you, Joe.”
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