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Chelsea beat Gotham as Bronze makes debut

Gotham FC 1-3 Chelsea

Sonia Bompastor's first game in charge of Chelsea started an era she will hope to continue as the team defeated National Women's League Soccer champions Gotham FC 3-1.

The Blues, who are defending Women's Super League champions, were 2-0 up inside 15 minutes thanks to a brace from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.

Aggie Beever-Jones added a third just before half an hour but Jess Carter, who signed for Gotham from Chelsea this summer, scored before the break to see the score 3-1.

There were no more goals in the second half to seal Bompastor's winning start.

Chelsea fans also got to see England international Lucy Bronze in Blues colours for the first time. She signed from Barcelona this summer.

Chelsea agree Felix fee in principle

Nizaar Kinsella

BBC Sport football news reporter

Chelsea have agreed a fee in principle for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, with Conor Gallagher moving in the other direction as part of the deal.

The fee for the 24-year-old Portugal international is undisclosed, but it will allow him to return to Stamford Bridge on a six-year deal with an option for a further season.

Felix's move, which is subject to a medical, will bring him back after a 2023 loan spell at Chelsea.

He scored four goals in 20 appearances in his previous spell in west London.

England midfielder Gallagher, meanwhile, is set to sign a five-year deal with Atletico.

Read the full story.

Strasbourg set to sign Mara

Nizaar Kinsella

BBC Sport football news reporter

RC Strasbourg are set to sign Southampton forward Sekou Mara for £10.2million.

The 22-year-old has travelled to France to complete a medical and sign a new five-year deal at the French top flight club.

The move will see Mara return to France after the Saints originally signed the France Under-21 international from Bordeaux for £11m in 2022.

Strasbourg is Chelsea's sister club which is also owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital under the parent company BlueCo.

The Alsace club shares the same football philosophy as Chelsea and is now managed by former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior, who replaced Patrick Vieira over the summer.

Strasbourg have also signed Diego Moreira, Andrey Santos and Caleb Wiley from Chelsea and have interest in adding goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Southampton, meanwhile, have undergone significant change this summer by signing 10 senior players for Russell Martin's first team, including Cameron Archer, Ben Brereton Diaz and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

What has Maresca said about Sterling?

Raheem Sterling's team released a statement on Sunday saying they wanted clarity over the decision to leave the 29-year-old out of the matchday squad to play Manchester City in the Premier League.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was asked about the statement after the game, which the Blues lost 2-0.

He said: “The only thing I can say was a technical decision and we will find clarity.

“All the players, if they want to be Chelsea players we want to try and see how we can use them. I want Raheem Sterling but we have 30 players. Raheem, we will clarify in the next days.”

Sterling to Juventus?

Raheem Sterling's Chelsea future is being surrounded by rumours after he was left out of their first Premier League squad of the season on Sunday.

One of the latest reports, from the Daily Mail, external, says Juventus have enquired about the England international to potentially sign the winger.

The report says the Italian club had registered their interest prior to Chelsea's game against Manchester City at the weekend.

It is thought Juventus would need to sell some players in order to afford the 29-year-old.

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Solanke's debut in numbers

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur's new striker Dominic Solanke made his debut for Spurs last night following his £65m move from Bournemouth.

Solanke certainly kept Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen busy. The forward had three shots, all from inside of the penalty area and all of them were on target.

The 26-year-old had a personal expected goals (xG) value of 0.34 in the match, the highest of any Tottenham player and the second highest of the whole match, only behind Leicester goal scorer Jamie Vardy (0.8).

However, of Solanke's three shots, one of them was labelled a 'big chance', making him one of three players to not convert a big chance.

Solanke completed 15 of his 19 attempted passes and of the 10 duels he was involved in, he was successful in eight of them.

'Spurs not sharp'

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

Gary Rose

BBC Sport

Tottenham showed off their big summer signing Dominic Solanke in this game, with the ex-Bournemouth forward brought in to provide the cutting edge that was missing at times last season.

But the familiar issues in front of goal were here once again, with Solanke as guilty as any of his new team-mates of missing decent opportunities.

He twice failed to make the most of chances to mark his debut with a goal by directing tame headers at the goalkeeper, but it is early days and plenty of time for both himself and Tottenham to work on their sharpness in front of goal.

In the first half Tottenham looked every bit a side capable of fighting for a top-four finish, but a lacklustre second half shows there's lots of room for improvement.

Bentancur 'up and communicating' after head injury

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

Nick Mashiter

BBC Sport football news reporter

Rodrigo Bentancur is conscious after his head injury at Leicester, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed.

The midfielder clashed heads with Abdul Fatawu and then landed heavily at a Spurs corner. He needed over five minutes of treatment before being carried off with 12 minutes left.

"He is up and communicating," said Postecoglou. "It’s a head injury and we’ll leave it in the hands of the medical team but he’s conscious and communicating. Nowadays we’re always cautious in the moment.

"I don’t know the actual circumstances (of what happened)."

It was more injury woe for the Uruguay international at the King Power Stadium. In February 2023 he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a 4-1 win, in which he scored.

The knee injury sidelined him for eight months.

Match stats

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

If you looked just at the match stats and not at any of the match action from Monday night's draw at the King Power Stadium, you probably would be wondering how on earth Tottenham Hotspur did not take all three points against Leicester City.

Across the whole game, Tottenham had 70.5% of the possession and in the first half, averaged 72.4% of the ball.

Spurs had 15 shots in the match compared to Leicester's seven. Of that seven, the Foxes managed just one in the first half.

In the opposition's box, Tottenham managed 62 touches. Leicester, meanwhile, mustered just 11.

Perhaps the most telling statistic from last night's game is the expected goal (xG) values. Despite Tottenham's dominance for large parts of the match, they both finished with similar xG values. Tottenham's was higher, ending with 1.18, with Leicester only fractionally behind at 1.05.

Wolves make loan offer for Ramsdale

Alex Howell

BBC football news reporter

Wolves have made an offer to Arsenal to take Aaron Ramsdale on loan for the season with the option to make the move permanent next summer.

Ramsdale lost his place as Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper following the arrival of David Raya on loan last season. Raya’s move has since been made permanent and is a key part of the Arsenal backline.

The offer for Ramsdale was sent on Monday.

Ramsdale’s contract runs until 2026 and has the option to be extended for a further year.

We were wasteful - Postecoglou

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou was not as happy with the result, especially with the chances Spurs had.

Spurs had 15 shots at goal and seven of which were on target. They also had 62 touches in the box, compared to Leicester's 11.

Postecoglou said: "A disappointing outcome for us. I thought we were excellent first half, controlled the game and were really dominant with our football, just wasteful in front of goal. The same in the second half."

Watch the full post-match interview here:

'Vardy is the James Anderson of football'

Leicester 1-1 Tottenham

BBC Radio 5 Live

Leicester's Jamie Vardy was compared to former England cricketer James Anderson on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning by The Athletic reporter Jack Pitt-Brooke as the former England player scored his 104th Premier League goal after the age of 30.

Pitt-Brooke said: "[104] Premier League goals in his 30 which makes him the James Anderson of English football.

"His ability to stay as fit and sharp and quick, even now after such a long career is such a marvel. He used his personality to turn the game around. Leicester were no where for that first hour until Vardy turned the game on its head."

And on if Vardy should have scored a second, he said: “That was just such a classic Vardy moment. Everybody expected him to score because we’ve all seen him score that exact goal a million times over the last 10 or 12 years.

"He look devastated to have missed it. Frustrating for him but again just a sign of how sharp his movement still is."

All eyes had been on Tottenham's new £65m striker as Spurs looked to show they had the firepower to battle for the top four, but instead it was a 37-year-old veteran who stole the limelight.

Dominic Solanke is the man Spurs hope will provide the goals that have been missing since Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich last year, and while he was unable to provide the sort of impact he would have liked in Monday's 1-1 draw with Leicester, there is plenty of time on his side.

The night belonged to a player who many would have considered his Premier League days to be behind him - Jamie Vardy.

After Pedro Porro gave Tottenham the lead in a first half they dominated, Vardy equalised with Leicester's first attempt on target just before the hour mark, heading in a cross from close range.

Despite his advancing years, Vardy provided a reminder of his incredible talent in front of goal, something that seems to have improved with age, with this his 104th Premier League goal after the age of 30 - all of them for Leicester.

"I would imagine Vardy is Leicester's greatest ever player," former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.

"He is a special footballer."

The story of this game could have been very different if Tottenham had shown more sharpness in front of goal.

After a strong start last season, injuries hampered their bid to finish in the top four, but their lack of cutting edge at times also played a part.

That was the case in the opening 45 minutes at King Power Stadium, with Tottenham utterly dominant and creating opportunities, but simply failing to take them.

Solanke missed two, putting headers from decent positions straight at the goalkeeper.

But the former Bournemouth striker was taking up good positions and his team-mates were sometimes guilty of failing to make the most of that with some poor passing in the final third.

"They were so much in control, but you always feel like they can let you down and concede a goal," added Carragher.

"It was like a pre-season friendly for them for the first half."

Solanke was lethal for Bournemouth last season, scoring 19 goals in the Premier League, and it is far too early to be concerned by his failure to score in his first competitive appearance for Tottenham.

But with the hefty price tag comes pressure to deliver, and he will want a goal sooner rather than later to show that the investment can prove to be money well spent.

"This is a test for him," former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.

"There will be moments. There were moments and big chances and he will be judged on moments like that. He needs to make sure he doesn't beat himself up in the next few days.

"He probably should have had one or two, but he will get goals if he carries on doing that."

Despite failing to build on their first-half dominance, Tottenham could have won the game in the final few seconds but finishing again let them down as Richarlison headed wide.

"It was a disappointing outcome for us," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou told BBC Sport.

"I thought we were excellent [in the] first half and controlled the game.

"We created chances and weren't ruthless enough and wasteful at times, making poor decisions at other times, lacking composure. It's stuff we need to fix. When you are so dominant you need to make sure it is reflected in the scoreline."

Eight years ago Leicester were celebrating the fairytale of becoming Premier League champions, but this season the priority is to stay up.

They were promoted back to the top flight last term by winning the Championship, but title-winning manager Enzo Maresca left to join Chelsea and a possible points deduction for allegedly breaching profit and sustainability rules still looms.

Amid the change and uncertainty there is the constant of Vardy.

He was Leicester's top scorer last season with 18 goals and could have had two on Monday night, but he saw a second-half effort saved after running clear.

That could have been attributed to rustiness, having barely featured in pre-season because of injury, but with Leicester boss Steve Cooper struggling for fit forwards to face Tottenham, Vardy stepped up.

"Three days ago we were without an experienced striker," Cooper said. "He just showed so much desire to play. He did what he does.

"We know if we can get decent balls into the box we have the guy who can find some space. He got injured a month ago, has trained once really, and he goes and does that."

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Tottenham accept Leicester bid for midfielder Skipp

Leicester beat Tottenham 4-1 in their last Premier League meeting in February 2023, last winning consecutive league games against Spurs in October 1999 (a run of three).

Tottenham have only failed to score in one of their 17 Premier League away games against Leicester, a 3-0 loss at Filbert Street in September 1997.

Of all Premier League fixtures to have been played at least 30 times, Leicester against Tottenham has the highest goals-per-game average (3.8 – 128 goals in 34 games). There have been 28 goals scored in the last five meetings between the sides alone (5.6 per game).

Leicester are unbeaten on the last nine occasions they’ve begun their league campaign with a home game (W6 D3). However, the last three times they’ve lost such a match, they’ve been relegated at the end of the campaign – 1-3 v Newcastle in 1994-95 (Premier League), 0-5 v Bolton in 2001-02 (Premier League) and 0-1 v Blackpool in 2007-08 (Championship).

This is the seventh time Tottenham are starting their Premier League campaign against a promoted side; they’ve won five of the previous six, losing the other 1-0 against Sunderland in 2007-08.

Tottenham’s last four Premier League wins of 2023-24 came against each of the sides to finish in the bottom four (Nottingham Forest, Luton, Burnley, Sheffield United). They won all six of their league games against promoted sides last term, accounting for 30% of their overall victories (6/20).

Leicester have lost half of their Premier League games played on Mondays (21/42) – only in Friday games do the Foxes have a higher loss rate in the competition (61.5% - 8/13).

New Leicester manager Steve Cooper’s last Premier League game in charge was a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham in December last year with Nottingham Forest. This will be the 10th occasion of a manager taking charge of consecutive Premier League games against the same opponent but with a different team, with none of the previous nine losing both matches.

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has been involved in 13 goals in 14 Premier League appearances against Leicester (9 goals, 4 assists), only having a hand in more against Southampton (15). Indeed, the Korean has scored five and assisted once in his last three against the Foxes.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has scored eight Premier League goals against Tottenham, only netting more goals in his league career against Arsenal and Watford (11 each). Indeed, the Englishman has netted seven goals in eight MD1 appearances in the Premier League with only four players scoring more on the opening matchday in the competition’s history (Shearer, Lampard, Rooney & Salah – 8 each).

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Championship newcomers Oxford United have signed Tottenham striker Dane Scarlett on a season-long loan.

Scarlett, 20, has made 17 first-team appearances for Spurs.

He spent the first half of last season on loan at Ipswich Town in the Championship, failing to score in 12 substitute appearances.

Scarlett's arrival follows Oxford’s 2-0 win at home to Norwich City in their first match since sealing League One promotion.

"The team did really well last season, and I see an opportunity here for myself - Oxford for me was the best option to come and prove myself and show what I can do," Scarlett told the club website., external

Scarlett briefly became Tottenham's youngest ever player, aged 16 years and 247 days, when he came on in their Europa League game with Ludogorets in November 2020.

"Dane is such an exciting young centre-forward and we expect that he can begin making a difference straight away," Oxford boss Des Buckingham said.

“Not only does he bring an eye for goal, but his pace and intelligence will be important to us both in the way we attack and in the way we press."

Tottenham have signed teenage talent Mikey Moore in his first professional deal.

Spurs announced the winger had agreed professional terms the day after his 17th birthday, when he first became eligible.

Fifa rules limit clubs to a maximum three-year term for under-18 players, but it is believed Moore has been offered a financial package that reflects his status as one of the best players to emerge from the North London academy in recent seasons.

Moore broke the record to become the club's youngest ever player when making his debut against Manchester City on 14 May, and his performance attracted significant interest from rivals.

Moore has since made another substitute appearance and played a substantial role during Ange Postecoglou's pre-season fixtures, which included a tour in South Korea and Japan.

Postecogolou said last week: "It's fair to say its incredible that he's turning 17.

"We brought him into the first-team environment the back-end of last year. Every time he's played for the under-18s or under-21s, he's had an impact.

"For a very young guy, he adjusted really quickly [to the first team]. He's come back pre-season and done really well in the games and in training. It's great for this football club that he's come through our academy and is already showing great promise.

"But he's a young man. Our role is to have the best possible environment for him to be the best footballer he can be."

Tottenham Hotspur's Yves Bissouma has apologised for a "severe lack of judgement" after footage emerged appearing to show the midfielder inhaling laughing gas.

The 27-year-old posted a video of himself on social media on Saturday which showed him inhaling from a balloon.

Possession of nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas or NOS - for recreational use has been a criminal offence in the United Kingdom since 2023 and can result in a two-year prison sentence.

“I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgment," said Bissouma.

"I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously.”

Bissouma, who joined Spurs from Brighton for £30m in 2022, had played for 45 minutes in Spurs' friendly defeat against Bayern Munich earlier on Saturday afternoon.

“We are looking into the events," a Tottenham spokesperson said.

"This will be dealt with as an internal matter.”

Tottenham's 2024-25 Premier League campaign begins with a trip to newly-promoted Leicester City on 19 August.

Tottenham Hotspur are in advanced talks with Bournemouth about a £60m deal for striker Dominic Solanke.

The 26-year-old's release clause of about £65m was confirmed by Bournemouth owner Bill Foley in an interview with BBC Sport last month.

The two clubs are however negotiating a fee below that for the striker, who has played once for England.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou wants to reinforce his attack after failing to replace England captain Harry Kane following his move to Bayern Munich last summer.

Solanke enjoyed the best season of his career last term, scoring 21 goals in 42 appearances for the Cherries.