Since the turn of the year, Villa have been trying to register the 6ft 4in Madjo after his £10m switch from Metz. Players under 18 are not permitted to complete international transfers, but the club maintained that his London birthplace should qualify him for an exemption, despite his three friendly caps for Luxembourg. After those...

Insiders say Mudryk is confident he can recapture his best form, pointing to the work he has done to stay fit during his 20-month absence. They note that Chelsea supported him throughout while respecting the limits of his suspension and the ongoing legal process. The club offered backing from a distance and gave him the...

Como have reached an agreement worth over £30m to sign Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah. The 27-year-old is set to commit to a long-term deal and take on a leadership role under manager Cesc Fàbregas. Como qualified for the Champions League after finishing fourth in Serie A last season. Chelsea will receive an initial £25.7m, with...

When McCrum’s proposal reached the guardians of football’s laws, it was met with skepticism. Some argued the punishment it introduced was far too harsh. But the sport was evolving: matches were getting quicker and more physical. Incidents on the field were already making a compelling case for reform. Earlier that year, an FA Cup tie...

Bologna, Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt are tracking 23-year-old Rangers and Scotland midfielder Connor Barron. (Sky Sports) Partizan Belgrade have added Kenyan defender Timothy Ouma from Slavia Prague, while Rangers maintain interest in 20-year-old Vanja Dragojevic. (Sun) Tromso have turned down all bids for 20-year-old midfielder Jens Hjerto-Dahl, who has been linked with Rangers. (iTromso) John...

Alen Halilovic broke into professional football with Dinamo Zagreb at 16. His promise earned him a permanent switch to Barcelona, where he spent two years before moving on to Hamburg for another two seasons. At the Nou Camp, he featured mainly for Barcelona B and spent the 2015–16 campaign on loan at Sporting Gijon. After...

Both teams were jittery early on, with Malawi repeatedly sending early balls in behind for Temwa Chawinga—an approach that had served them well in their semifinal win over Algeria. The breakthrough arrived when Sikelo misread a right-wing cross from Eto. Grace Mendoua nodded the ball back across goal, and the Malawi keeper tipped it onto...

Wednesday’s deserved victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium booked Pochettino’s team a meeting with Belgium in Seattle on Monday night (01:00 BST Tuesday). It came at a cost. Folarin Balogun, the 24-year-old former Arsenal prospect who launched the campaign with a brace against Paraguay, struck again just before half-time to open the...

Many observers believe the 18-year-old son of former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo has been the standout performer so far. He has logged more minutes than any teammate across the first two matches, filling in at left-back despite a background in midfield, and has effectively covered the gap left by Marc Cucurella’s move to Real...

Available for more than a year England’s World Cup campaign has ended—so what comes next? Rick Edwards and Lloyd Griffith are joined by Guy Mowbray and Adam Crafton to look back on England’s third-place finish, question whether more was possible against Argentina in the semi-final, and consider a future without the likes of Harry Kane,...

Welcome to our daily “Who am I?” challenge. Here’s how it works: each day features a new footballer—try to identify them in as few guesses as possible. Each miss reveals another hint. Crack it using the fewest hints to earn the most points. A score of three is strong; four or five is elite. Jump...