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Amid all the action at the Euros and Copa America, the summer transfer window has opened for some leagues with Europe’s biggest clubs looking to make a splash in the transfer market. Check out the latest gossip below, and see see all official deals here.

TOP STORY: Barcelona look to Coman as Dembele replacement

Barcelona are interested in signing Bayern Munich‘s Kingsley Coman as a potential replacement for Ousmane Dembele, reports Le 10 Sport.

With just one year left on his deal, the man that signed for Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for £135.5 million could be on his way out as Barca look to recoup part of the substantial fee that they paid. And with talks continuing to stall, the Catalan club have wasted no time in eyeing up a potential replacement in Coman.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, but played a big role in Bayern’s Bundesliga title success last season, scoring five and assisting 10 goals in 23 starts. And such form has seen interest in the winger from the Premier League, with both Manchester United and Chelsea also linked with the winger.

Ronald Koeman’s side was previously linked with Coman last summer, but Barcelona president Joan Laporta could soon escalate the France winger to the top of the shortlist as Dembele continues to look likely to leave Camp Nou.

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09.00 BST: Manchester United are being deterred in their pursuit of Kieran Trippier and Raphael Varane because of high transfer fees being quoted by their clubs, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.

United are interested in signing a right-back and a centre-back this summer with Trippier and Varane among the players on a list of targets drawn up by the recruitment department and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Trippier is keen to return to the Premier League after two seasons at Atletico Madrid to be closer to his family but the fee being quoted by intermediaries is more than £30m, which United consider to be too much for a 30-year-old with very little sell-on value.

Solskjaer already has a regular right-back in Aaron Wan-Bissaka — who cost £50m from Crystal Palace in 2019 — and when Alex Telles was signed last summer as competition for Luke Shaw at left-back, the Brazilian cost around £15m from Porto.

Sources have told ESPN that Atletico are not willing to listen to any offers for Trippier as coach Diego Simeone considers him to be a key member of the squad, and doesn’t have enough faith in backup option Sime Vrsaljko.

PAPER GOSSIP (by Adam Brown)

– BILD journalist Tobi Altschäffl says that Florian Neuhaus is likely to stay with Borussia Monchengladbach for another year. Reports on Thursday suggested that a bid is expected from Liverpool, but after a chat with Gladbach manager Adi Hütter, the highly-rated 24-year-old now looks set for another season in the Bundesliga.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Nicolas Gonzalez looks set to join Fiorentina for €27 million. The Stuttgart winger has been in demand recently and has been linked with a move to a number of Premier League clubs, but it now looks as though the Serie A club have won the race to sign the 23-year-old.

Newcastle United will sign Liverpool youngster Remi Savage, reports Chronicle Live. The 19-year-old has been on Merseyside since the age of nine, but after contract talks have broken down with the Anfield hierarchy, the defender is now ready to swap Liverpool for Tyneside after receiving a contract offer from the Magpies.

Kieran Tierney will be rewarded with a new five-year contract at Arsenal, writes the Daily Mail. The defender has impressed since arriving from Celtic for a fee of £25m and has played a prominent role on the left side of Arsenal’s defence. The 24-year-old featured 38 times for Mikel Arteta’s side last season and is currently on duty with Scotland at Euro 2020 where he started in a 0-0 draw with England on Friday.

Everton are keen on bringing Sporting‘s Matheus Nunes to Goodison Park. Sport Witness writes that the Toffees are interested in signing the 22-year-old on a deal worth £18m, however an agreement is unlikely to be completed until after Euro 2020. The midfielder featured 31 times in the Portuguese Liga last season.

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Irish shut down Georgia to reach CFP semifinals

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Irish shut down Georgia to reach CFP semifinals

NEW ORLEANS — Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score and Notre Dame‘s defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday that sends the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish into the CFP semifinals.

In a game that was delayed by a day because of a deadly terror attack in the host city, Notre Dame (13-1) made enough big plays and got some help from a clever move by coach Marcus Freeman.

“Our coaches called the game aggressive. Our players executed, put everything on the line for this university and this football team,” Freeman said. “I’m really proud of them. Proud of the way they handled the events of the last 24 hours.”

Georgia (11-2) was in position to close within one score when Notre Dame stopped it on fourth-and-5 from the Irish 9-yard line with 9:29 to go.

Minutes later, Notre Dame had a fourth-and-short deep in its own territory when Freeman sent the punt team out before running all 11 players off the field and sending the offense out. Georgia raced to match up and then jumped offside as the play clock ticked down, giving the Irish a clock-sapping first down with 7:17 left.

“They were going to hard-count us. We prepare for that. We do it every week,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We jumped offsides.”

By the time the Bulldogs got the ball back, just 1:49 remained, and Notre Dame was well on its way to playing No. 5 Penn State (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) in a semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 9.

“That’s the aggressiveness in terms of our preparation that I want our program to have,” Freeman said. “That’s got to be one of our edges, that we are going to be an aggressive group and not fear making mistakes.”

The Irish opened as a 1.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions, according to ESPN BET, while Ohio State remains the favorite to win the CFP at +110.

Georgia entered the game without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who injured his right elbow in the Southeastern Conference championship game. He was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who was 20-of-32 for 234 yards and one touchdown.

The Bulldogs outgained Notre Dame 296 yards to 244, but Georgia was stopped on all three of its fourth-down attempts and lost two fumbles – one deep in Notre Dame territory and one inside its own 20.

“The turnovers are the difference in the game, guys,” Smart said. “I mean, you should know when you turn it over twice and they return a kickoff for a touchdown, you’re not going to have a lot of success.”

Leonard finished with 90 yards passing and a team-high 80 yards rushing, including a late first-down run in which he was sent head over heels as he tried to leap over a defender.

“We’re in the playoffs,” Leonard said. “Everybody else can put their body on the line, I’m going to do it right there with them.”

The game had been set for Wednesday night as part of a New Year’s Day playoff tripleheader, but it was postponed after an Army veteran inspired by the Islamic State group drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday, killing 14 revelers. Security was increased at the Superdome — which will also host the Super Bowl next month — and arriving fans said they felt safe.

With some fans unable to alter their travel plans, attendance in the 70,000-seat stadium was announced at 68,400. There were some patches of empty seats in the upper levels, but passionate supporters made no shortage of noise trying to will their teams into the next round of college football’s first 12-team playoff.

The score was tied at 3 before Notre Dame scored 17 points in a span of 54 seconds.

The unusual sequence began with Mitch Jeter‘s 48-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in first half.

Soon after, Georgia paid for an aggressive decision to attempt a dropback pass from its own 25. RJ Oben‘s blindside sack caused Stockton to fumble at the 13, where Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka recovered. Leonard found Beaux Collins over the middle for a touchdown on the next play for a 13-3 lead that stood at halftime.

By the time 15 seconds had elapsed in the third quarter, Notre Dame led 20-3.

Harrison took Georgia’s second-half kickoff to the end zone, slipping a tackle near the middle of the field, cutting toward the right sideline and outrunning everyone.

Georgia closed the gap to 20-10 when Stockton hit reserve running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score before Jeter’s third field goal of the game gave the Irish their winning margin.

Takeaways

Notre Dame: With a dominant defense and the dual-threat nature of Leonard’s playmaking, the Irish look dangerous heading into the semifinals.

Georgia: A team trying to win big games without its starting QB can’t afford big mistakes, and missed opportunities doomed coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs.

Up next

Notre Dame: The Irish resume a series with the Nittany Lions that is currently even at 9-9-1.

Georgia: The 2025 season opener will be at home against Marshall on Aug. 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Van Gisbergen not hurt in New Zealand crash

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Van Gisbergen not hurt in New Zealand crash

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — NASCAR driver Shane van Gisbergen walked away from a multiple-car crash at a dirt track speedway meeting at Auckland in his native New Zealand on Thursday.

Van Gisbergen, who drives the No. 88 Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup series, was driving in a sprint car race at the Western Springs Speedway.

Cars driven by American Jonathan Allard and New Zealander Michael Pickens collided at the front of the field and van Gisbergen’s car was caught up in the subsequent melee and finished pinned against the wall.

All drivers were unhurt but a spectator was treated for minor injuries.

Van Gisbergen also was uninjured in a minor crash at the Baypark Speedway at Tauranga on Dec. 26.

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Milroe, Campbell leave Bama, declare for draft

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Milroe, Campbell leave Bama, declare for draft

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and linebacker Jihaad Campbell each declared for the NFL draft Thursday.

Milroe, a redshirt junior and Alabama’s starter the past two years, announced the news via an Instagram post. He thanked Nick Saban, Kalen DeBoer and his teammates, among others.

“To the entire Alabama family, thank you for embracing a kid from Texas and allowing me the honor of wearing the script ‘A.’ Representing this university has been one of the greatest honors of my life ” Milroe wrote.

Milroe finished sixth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago and played an integral role in Alabama winning the SEC championship and getting to the College Football Playoff.

But he had an up-and-down 2024 season, passing for 2,844 yards and 16 touchdowns but also throwing 11 interceptions. A dynamic running threat, Milroe led Alabama with 726 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, ranking second nationally among quarterbacks. His 33 career rushing touchdowns is tied for eighth in Alabama history.

Off the field this season, Milroe was the recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, commonly known as the academic Heisman.

Milroe is ranked as the No. 3 quarterback prospect for the 2025 NFL draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

Campbell led the Tide in total tackles (117), sacks (5) and tackles for loss (11.5) this season, while adding two forced fumbles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

“These last three years in Tuscaloosa have molded me into a better player and a better man,” Campbell said as part of an Instagram post. “And this experience has been special and something that I will never forget.

“I feel like I am ready now to take the next step in my career.”

A first-team All-SEC selection and a Butkus Award semifinalist, Campbell ranks No. 20 on Kiper’s latest Big Board for the draft. Kiper ranks Campbell as the No. 2 draft-eligible off-ball linebacker, behind Georgia‘s Jalon Walker.

Campbell led Alabama with 11 tackles in Tuesday’s ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan. The New Jersey native became a starter in 2023 and finished third on the team with 66 tackles.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.

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