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Teenage defender Luka Vuskovic moved between Premier League clubs on Tuesday, joining Brighton from Tottenham after playing at the World Cup for Croatia. Brighton said the 19-year-old Vuskovic signed a five-year deal without stating the transfer fee. British media reported the fee was 46 million pounds ($61.5 million). One month ago Tottenham paid Brighton a reported 52 million pounds ($69.6 million) for the Netherlands defender Jan Paul van Hecke who Vuskovic should now replace. Vuskovic played once at the World Cup, starting in the 4-2 loss to England in their opening group-stage game. Croatia was eliminated in the round of 32 by Portugal after a controversial call to disallow an equalizing goal deep in stoppage time. Vuskovic's game time at Tottenham seemed blocked by the offseason signings of central defenders Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, who was a free agent after his contract expired at Bournemouth. Vuskovic spent last season on loan from Tottenham at Hamburger SV, where his
Manchester United signed veteran goalkeeper Karl Darlow on Tuesday. United said the 35-year-old Wales international signed a contract until June 2028, with the option for another year. Darlow was Leeds' starting goalkeeper last season. He became a free agent after his contract expired. "I am extremely proud to sign for Manchester United. I'm joining an excellent group of goalkeepers and I'm really looking forward to all pushing each other to ensure that we maintain the highest standards, which this club demands," Darlow said. "This is a really special opportunity; everyone can see what an exciting time it is for the club and I cannot wait to play my part in supporting my teammates and helping to drive the group forwards." United's starting goalkeeper last season was Belgium international Senne Lammens, who made a costly mistake in his nation's World Cup elimination against Spain in the quarterfinals after substituting for injured starter Thibaut Courtois. "Karl has proven his abil
Pep Guardiola fought back tears on the sideline as he brought 10 years at Manchester City to an end. His final game ended in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on a day charged with emotion as he said goodbye to the fans he gave so much joy during a decade of dominance in English soccer. "I never could have imagined the amount of love I've found," said Guardiola, standing in the centre of the field at the Etihad Stadium and addressing the crowd on Sunday. "It is an incredible, tremendous honor to be your manager, to be here 10 years." The tears started long before the final whistle, with Guardiola welling up and rubbing his eyes as two of his most loyal servants, Bernardo Silva and John Stones, also said farewell and were given guards of honor when substituted in the second half. Then it was his turn to receive a guard of honour of his own. "This is the man who changed everything," the stadium announcer said as Guardiola ran onto the field wearing khakis and a cream T-shirt, with fans che
Xabi Alonso is set to be named Chelsea coach after reaching an agreement with the Premier League club, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been publicly announced. Alonso talked with Chelsea in the past week and is expected to sign a four-year contract. It would be the Spaniard's first job since lasting less than eight months at Real Madrid. Alonso left Madrid by mutual consent in January after poor results and widespread media reports that he lost control of the locker room. Despite the short tenure at the Bernabeu Stadium, Alonso's reputation remained high across Europe after leading Bayer Leverkusen to a German league and cup double and breaking Bayern Munich's dominance of the Bundesliga. Chelsea has been searching for a new coach since firing Liam Rosenior last month. Rosenior was the second coach to be fired since the turn of the year following the departur
Former Premier League champion Leicester will be playing in the third tier of English soccer next season. Leicester, which sealed the unlikeliest title win of the Premier League era in 2016 at odds of 5,000-1, needed a victory Tuesday to maintain hope of avoiding relegation but drew 2-2 with Hull. The midlands club, which also won the FA Cup in 2021 and played in England's top flight last season, is second to last in the second-tier Championship. In a statement to fans, Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said responsibility sat with him. "There are no excuses," he said. "We have experienced the highest highs and now the lowest lows, and the pain is shared by all of us. I am truly sorry for the disappointment we have caused." Relegation comes after Leicester was docked six points in February for breaching the English Football League's financial rules when it earned promotion in the 2023-24 season. Earlier this month, it lost its bid to overturn that punishment, leaving
Manchester City issued a huge statement of intent in the race for the Premier League title with a 3-0 win at Chelsea. Pep Guardiola's team moved to within six points of leader Arsenal ahead of next weekend's top of the table clash between the two teams. City also has a game in hand. Nico O'Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku all scored in a blistering second-half performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as City took full advantage of Arsenal's shock defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday. "We know that we still have everything in our hands," Doku said. Tottenham's survival fight took another blow after a 1-0 loss to Sunderland left it rooted in the relegation zone. In coach Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge, Spurs fell to a 16th league loss of the season. Its 14-game winless run in the league dates back to Jan. 1. Nordi Mukiele's deflected shot sealed the game at the Stadium of Light and plunged Tottenham's campaign deeper into crisis. Tottenham is two points adrift of safety wi