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The NHL's trade deadline season always features the highest volume of deals in the sport. But some of the trades with the biggest impact happen over the summer. Furthermore, a lot of those swaps occur leading into the NHL draft.

With the 2023 edition of the draft set for June 28 and 29, it's time to come up with some potential blockbuster trades that could take place between now and then, setting up each team for 2023-24 and beyond.

NHL reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski devised two trades apiece -- of benefit to both teams, and keeping in mind the relative cap implications -- that would certainly raise some eyebrows this summer.

Sources: Man City, Chelsea agree fee for Kovacic

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 05:30

Manchester City and Chelsea have agreed a fee for midfielder Mateo Kovacic, sources have told ESPN.

City are set to pay £25 million ($32m) up front for the Croatia international with another £5m ($6m) due in add-ons.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Sources have told ESPN that Chelsea were initially hoping to agree a deal worth closer to £35m ($44m) but reduced their demands in order to reach an agreement before June 30. Outgoings completed before then will fall under the first full tax year and help Chelsea comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.

Kovacic will undergo a medical before joining Pep Guardiola's squad ahead of City's preseason tour of Japan and South Korea, which begins at the end of July.

City have moved quickly for Kovacic to bolster their midfield after missing out on a deal for Jude Bellingham, who has joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.

Guardiola and director of football Txiki Begiristain are still hoping to convince Ilkay Gundogan to stay despite interest from Barcelona and Arsenal, while there are also doubts about Bernardo Silva's future at the Etihad.

Gundogan will officially become a free agent on June 30 and has contract offers on the table from both City and Barca.

Silva is under contract until 2025 but is keen for a new challenge after six years in England. Sources have told ESPN he has interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain but City will demand a significant fee before allowing him to leave.

City, according to sources, also hold an interest in West Ham's Declan Rice but are yet to table a bid. Arsenal have already had two offers for the England midfielder knocked back.

Sources have told ESPN that West Ham are keen to explore a deal for Rice with City that would see Kalvin Phillips move to the London Stadium.

Phillips struggled for opportunities in his first season at the Etihad but has said he wants to stay and fight for his place. West Ham boss David Moyes previously tried to sign Phillips during his time at Leeds United.

Information from ESPN's James Olley contributed to this report.

Sources: Arsenal near £65m deal for Havertz

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 05:30

Arsenal are closing in on a deal worth around £65 million ($83m) to sign Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, sources have told ESPN.

The deal is not yet finalised -- a source close to Chelsea said on Wednesday they had not yet received a formal improved offer -- but all parties believe an agreement is nearing as talks continue over the precise structure of the transfer, and personal terms are not thought to be an issue.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

ESPN reported on Monday that Havertz had informed Chelsea he had no interest in signing a new contract with the club.

His present deal expires in 2025, and Chelsea do not want to be in a position where the 24-year-old runs his contract down, therefore depreciating in value.

New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino wants to revamp his forward line this summer and is willing to allow Havertz to depart.

Sources have told ESPN that during conversations, Arsenal have indicated that in addition to being capable of operating as a No. 10 or No. 8, they see Havertz as a possible option in any of three attacking positions in an interchangeable forward line at the top of a 4-3-3 system.

Havertz scored the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final but struggled to find consistency in his performances, scoring 32 goals in 139 games in all competitions.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has spoken without filters about his transfer plans for the summer. Top of his wish list was Lionel Messi and a replacement for the departing Sergio Busquets. However, Messi has already slipped away, announcing his intention to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, and Xavi's top target to substitute Busquets, Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, is, as things stand, out of Barca's price range at €60 million.

Therefore, it's back to square one, with the scene set for another frantic summer of ins and outs at the Catalan club.

Last year, Barca sold off club assets -- including a percentage of future earnings from television rights -- to land the €150m-worth of players Xavi had requested: Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde among others. Even then, they had to wait until the eve of the new campaign to register their new signings.

This year, following a change to LaLiga's financial fair play rules, they will not be able to replicate that strategy. To comply with the league's spending limits, they will have to move players on, reduce the wage bill and find new revenue streams if they want to strengthen the team. Xavi has said it is essential that they do so if, after winning a first LaLiga title since 2019 this season, they are to improve in the Champions League, where they have failed to get out of the group stage in the last two years.

So, as rivals Real Madrid are unveiling Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham at a cost of €103m and being linked with €120m-plus moves for Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, sources have told ESPN that Barca are working on various scenarios from best-case to low-cost alternatives and everything in between. It all depends on how much money they can spend. It is not the most effective way to plan for a new campaign and not all potential signings will be willing to wait -- Messi certainly wasn't.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

The financial situation

Due to asset sales last summer, Barca had an inflated spending limit of over €650m this year. League sources estimate it will fall to no more than €450m next season, although the exact figures constantly change. The spending cap dictates how much a club can spend on sporting costs (wages, amortisation payments, etc.) It equates loosely to a club's revenue minus non-sporting expenses and debt repayments. If a club is in excess of their limit, which Barca are, they are still permitted to invest in signings but can only spend 40% of anything they save or raise.

The departures of captains Busquets and Jordi Alba, two of the biggest earners at the club, have freed up some spending space. The closure of Barca TV, which cost over €10m to run annually, also helps.

Barca have to factor in other sporting costs to their spending limit, too. What they spend on the academy, the women's team, the basketball side and other sports teams is also included in their expenses by LaLiga. That could be why the basketball team's top earner, former NBA player Nikola Mirotic, announced that the club are not extending his contract this week.

All those savings don't equate to €200m, though, which is roughly how much Barca need to raise to move away from the 40% rule. However, they are hopeful it will be enough allow them to register the contract renewals signed by Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto, Marcos Alonso and Inaki Pena in recent months. It could even be sufficient for them to bring in defender Inigo Martinez, who ESPN previously revealed has agreed to join from Athletic Club on a free transfer this summer.

Meanwhile, Barca continue to seek new sponsors. It was recently announced that Ambilight TV will appear on the team's shirt sleeve, while sources say there is also the possibility of adding a sponsor for the shorts. But these are small gains and the quickest way to sign is to move players out first.

With Alba and Busquets gone, there are then different groups of players Barcelona will listen to offers for.

The first consists of those who are returning from loans: Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest, Alex Collado, Nico Gonzalez and Abde Ezzalzouli. Barca need to free up their salary space and, if possible, bring in a fee for those players. Sources say that does not mean the door to the first team is closed -- especially in the case of Nico and Abde -- but the club are courting interest.

In the second group are the first-team players who have not enjoyed regular football under Xavi. Sources say Franck Kessie, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati are among these, although are reluctant to leave.

The final group contains players that, ordinarily, are not available. Club sources insist there are several that are untouchable, although some agents and intermediaries consulted by ESPN suggest there is a feeling Barca would have to listen to big offers for most players in the squad.

play
1:04
Why Lionel Messi's Inter Miami deal is so 'unprecedented'

Sebastian Salazar dissects the details of Lionel Messi's contract that has brought him to MLS and Inter Miami.

What Xavi wants

Xavi never hid his desire to bring Messi back. At any opportunity he said that this Barca side, who won the title on the back of 26 clean sheets, need to add creativity in the final third. He thought the 35-year-old, who he played alongside during the the club's most glorious period, was that player.

The Barcelona coach has also been glowing about Real Sociedad's Zubimendi as a replacement for Busquets. However, he has a prohibitive €60m release clause. For the sake of LaLiga's spending limit, the cost of signing a player annually is roughly their salary plus amortisation payments on their fee. At €60m, if he signed a six-year deal with a €10m salary, Zubimendi's move would cost €20m on the club's books (his wage plus the cost of his transfer broken down over the length of his deal, so €60m divided by six, equalling €10m.) For that level of investment, adhering to the 40% rule, Barca would have to save around €50m.

Even then, Zubimendi is not demanding a move. He recently renewed his contract with La Real and is looking forward to Champions League football next season with his boyhood club.

Xavi is also a fan of Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, but the Germany international is a similarly unlikely option, even as he moves into the final two years of his deal.

The alternative candidates to replace Busquets do not generate a consensus among the club's transfer committee, which is made up of Xavi, director of football Mateu Alemany and new sporting director Deco -- with input from president Joan Laporta, his advisors Enric Masip and Alejandro Echevarria, and vice-president Rafa Yuste. Wolves' Ruben Neves and Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat both fall into that category, sources say, while Fulham's Joao Palhinha and Benfica's Florentino Luis have also been linked.

In-house options include playing Frenkie de Jong deeper, or giving another chance to academy graduate Nico as he returns from a loan spell at Valencia, while defenders Eric Garcia and Sergi Roberto have also been tried there this season. But Xavi has been clear that investment is needed to fill the Busquets hole. Youngsters, such as Marc Casado and Pau Prim, aren't deemed to be ready for that responsibility.

What sources say Xavi really wants is creativity in midfield -- especially if he is to continue playing with a box midfield four instead of a front three. Speaking last week, he said this Barca side lack a "Santi Cazorla-type player."

Bernardo Silva is perhaps the dream option and sources confirmed Barca's interest last year, but there is no indication they believe a possible €70m deal for the Portugal midfielder would be financially possible this summer as things stand.

ESPN has revealed that Ilkay Gundogan, whose Manchester City contract is due to expire, and Villarreal's Alex Baena are both targets. Gundogan scored 11 goals and set up seven more as City clinched the treble this season; Baena, who can also play wide, netted 12 times and assisted six goals for Villarreal.

Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga and Fenerbahce's Arda Guler are also reported targets to create competition for De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Sergi Roberto and, if he stays, Kessie.

Further business will depend on the finances. Reports suggest Barca have already agreed a deal worth potentially €40m for young Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque. The 18-year-old has already been capped by the senior Brazil side and would arrive as Lewandowski's understudy and potential heir. Sources did not confirm those reports to ESPN, but said talks, led by Deco, were progressing well.

Elsewhere, Barca feel safe with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, while Martinez will arrive as a free agent to complement a strong centre-back pool which includes Andreas Christensen, Araujo, Kounde and Eric Garcia. At left-back, Alex Balde and Marcos Alonso will compete for the starting role, but there are doubts at right-back. Kounde has made it clear he would rather play in the middle; new arrival Julian Araujo and Dest (once he returns from loan) are the other options but their futures may lie elsewhere.

Despite that, Xavi has said signing a right-back is not the top priority. If it was, and money was available, he would go for Villarreal's Juan Foyth. The Catalan club, sources have confirmed to ESPN, have also enquired about Real Valladolid's 18-year-old Ivan Fresneda, although given the competition with Dortmund, Arsenal, Milan and Juventus for his signature they may have arrived too late. City's Joao Cancelo, whose agent Jorge Mendes has a close working relationship with Laporta, is another name on the table and they might be able to land him on loan.

Further forward, beyond Roque, any additions will depend on exits. Winger Ousmane Dembele is in talks to renew his contract and Raphinha has made it clear he wants to stay, while Fati and Torres are also, for now, resisting the club's attempts to move them on.

"He will stay," said Mendes of his client Fati this week. "You have a phenomenon on your hands. He is a future Ballon d'Or winner."

Waiting in the wings is Atletico Madrid's winger Yannick Carrasco. Barca have an option of between €15m-€20m to sign the Belgium international, but whether they will execute it or not remains undecided. Abde, following his impressive season on loan at Osasuna, is also pushing for another chance, although sources say the club are not convinced the 21-year-old is consistent enough.

Another player already on the fringes of the first-team attack is Lamine Yamal, the 15-year-old who made his debut in April. Minutes are likely to be hard to come by, but he is one of the youngsters at the club who sources say could be in and around Xavi's squad next season, along with defender Chadi Riad, midfielder Aleix Garrido, and forwards Estanis Pedrola and Angel Alarcon.

Match referee Andy Pycroft ruled that both teams were two overs short of their targets after time allowances were factored in. Teams are docked one WTC point, and 20% of their match fee for each over they are short of their target. Both captains, Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes, accepted the sanctions.

Sammy urges WI batters to show more 'intent to score'

Published in Cricket
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 01:58
Daren Sammy, the West Indies head coach, is wary of the threat posed by the new ball in the early-morning conditions in Zimbabwe, but has called for more intent from his batters. In West Indies' opening game against USA in the World Cup Qualifiers at the Takashinga sports club in Harare, they had a sedate powerplay, managing just 41 runs for the loss of both their openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers.

"We don't have say in how the toss goes, but whenever we bat, that new ball poses a challenge," Sammy told CWI media. "You've got to make sure that the opposition don't get too much ahead when that new ball comes. I thought we could have had more intent because that's one of the things we are talking about as a batting group - intent to score. And when I say intent to score, it's not looking for boundaries but looking for scoring opportunities and when you do that, you could score off good balls and get rotation of strike going.

"Again, it's a work in progress and we have to bowl well and keep creating opportunities. We dropped a couple of catches and that could affect us in the bigger scheme of things. But I'm quite happy with the way we're going; the last six games that we have played we've taken steps in trying to play the brand of cricket we want to move forward with it. Again, it's sticking to our guns, sticking to the plans that we have, and believing and committing to the execution."

Despite King and Mayers scoring nothing or next to nothing, and despite Shamarh Brooks unavailable because of illness, West Indies regained lost ground through their middle order. Shai Hope, who has slid down to No.4 since taking charge of the ODI side, and Johnson Charles, who had replaced Brooks, led a quartet of half-centuries as West Indies posted 297, which proved 39 too many for USA. Though none of the batters could kick on and score a century, Sammy was pleased with the progress of the line-up.

Under Sammy and Hope, West Indies are looking to adopt a more aggressive approach and on Sunday, they had batting all the way down to No.11, with allrounder Akeal Hosein slotting in there. It was this depth that perhaps prompted the likes of Hope and Nicholas Pooran to keep playing their shots.

"I listened to the captain after the post-match," Sammy said. "He said ideally you may want one of them to score a big hundred, but he was happier that performances came from different batsmen in the group. You look at Brandon King, who has been playing well, didn't get a score, Kyle Mayers didn't get a score, so it's good signs for us that even though we were under pressure we came back strongly and ideally you would want one of those to convert it into a hundred and we, as a team, celebrate the milestones after.

"But yeah the guys have prepared well and they are hitting lots of balls and they understand the direction the team wants to go in as a batting group. It is early doors, but the fact that mindset is getting towards what we want to do as a team I believe that you will see improvement in days to come."

West Indies' next game is against Nepal, who had strung together an improbable series of wins to make it to the World Cup qualifier. In their first match of the tournament, they brushed UAE aside by six wickets. Nepal's head coach is Monty Desai who was previously with West Indies as their batting coach under Phil Simmons. Sammy made it clear that West Indies are not taking any opposition lightly in a cut-throat tournament, which allows just two teams to qualify for the World Cup later this year in India.

"Yeah, I guess [in] the first match against the USA, we got the 'W' that we wanted, which was the win," Sammy said. "Great start to the tournament, but we have so much left in the tank. The guys came out and you could see they were not happy with the way they played, which is a good sign for us. We keep challenging ourselves and yeah in the end we have a few things we have to continue. But it's a work in progress - trying to find the identity of our cricket moving forward.

"But, yeah, I was pleased with the victory. You come [up] against Nepal, a team who is on the rise and they've been playing some good cricket, so again we respect all our oppositions, but we focus on the things that we want to do as a team and focus on the brand of cricket we want to play. And it all boils down to our preparation, which we've been doing well and then on game day the execution. I have full confidence and belief in the boys - or men rather - that they will go out and do themselves and the region proud."

Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Labuschagne wasn't the only Australian who dropped places. Travis Head slipped from third to fourth despite a fifty in the first innings, while Steven Smith slid from second to sixth after ordinary scores in both the innings of the opening Test. Kane Williamson, who hasn't played a Test since March 2023 and is out with an ACL injury, climbs up to No. 2 as a result.

Lauren Filer to make England debut in Women's Ashes Test

Published in Cricket
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 02:34
At the opposite end of the career spectrum Danni Wyatt, who has played 245 white-ball matches for England, will earn her maiden Test cap against the Australians starting on Thursday.
Filer, 22, was one of two uncapped players named in England's initial squad of 15 for the Test alongside allrounder and Western Storm team-mate Danielle Gibson, who was overlooked for the final XI, as was Filer's fellow quick Issy Wong, who made her international debut in the Test against South Africa in Taunton a year ago.

Upon announcing the initial squad, Lewis also highlighted Filer's ability to swing the red Dukes ball. Filer went wicketless during England's three-day, red-ball warm-up match against Australia A on a slow, lifeless pitch in Derby last week, conceding 27 runs from eight overs in the first innings as left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone took 5 for 38 to reduce the opposition to 221 all out in the first innings. Australia A were 361 for 7 in their second innings, with Filer returning figures of 11-1-40-0 as the match ended in a draw.

Kate Cross, who has played six Tests during her 73-match England career will spearhead the hosts' seam attack, which has lost stalwarts Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole over the past 18 months, and now includes Lauren Bell, who made her international debut alongside Wong last year.
Despite being part of the original Test squad, Wyatt played for England A last week during their warm-up against a senior Australian side and reached 37 off 46 balls before she was trapped lbw by Australia quick Darcie Brown.

Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards were released from the Test squad on Monday to play for England A in their first T20 against Australia A at Loughborough today.

England Women Test team: Tammy Beaumont, Emma Lamb, Heather Knight (capt), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Amy Jones (wk), Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Lauren Filer, Lauren Bell

The spin duo of Shreyanka Patil and Mannat Kashyap starred with the ball after a sedate batting effort to guide the India A team to the Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup title with a 31-run win over Bangladesh A in the final in Mong Kok.
Electing to bat, India A first posted a modest 127 for 7 before the bowlers rose to the occasion with Patil (4 for 13) and Kashyap (3 for 20) sharing seven wickets between them to bundle out Bangladesh A for 96 in 19.2 overs. Off-break bowler Kanika Ahuja also chipped in with two wickets.

It was complete spin-show from the Indians with off-spinner Patil and slow left-arm orthodox Kashyap ruling the roost on a slow Mission Road Ground pitch. Sobhana Mostary scored 16, while Nahida Akter remained stranded on 17 not out for Bangladesh A.

Vrinda Dinesh was the top-scorer for India with 36 off just 29 balls while Ahuja remained unbeaten on 30 off 23 balls. It was a struggle for Indian batters as only four of them managed double-digit scores with Bangladesh A bowlers picking up wickets at regular intervals, not allowing India to build any substantial partnership. Besides Vrinda and Ahuja, wicketkeeper Uma Chetry (22) and skipper Shweta Sehrawat (13) were the other two Indian batters to reach double figures.

For Bangladesh, slow left-arm orthodox bowler Nahida Akter (2/13) and off-spinner Sultana Khatun (2/30) picked up two wickets apiece.

India progressed to the final after their semifinal against Sri Lanka was washed out without a ball being bowled on Tuesday.

In a bizarre run of events, India played only one game in the run-up to the final, their opener against hosts Hong Kong, which they won by nine wickets. India's other three matches, including the semifinal against Sri Lanka, were washed out without a ball being bowled. In fact, rain played spoilsport throughout the tournament, forcing as many as eight games to be washed out.

Venus gets wild card for 24th Wimbledon entry

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 05:40

Venus Williams is set to make her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after the 43-year-old American was given a wild-card entry Wednesday.

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.

Ranked 697th, Williams beat 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) on Monday at the Birmingham Classic. It was her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years, ending a 12-match losing streak.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion next plays Jelena Ostapenko at the Wimbledon warmup.

Williams' younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. She lost in the first round at last year's tournament and soon after announced her decision to step away from tennis.

Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and British players Heather Watson and Katie Boulter were also given wild cards. Svitolina reached the French Open quarterfinals following a maternity break before suffering a loss to Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova in her return to grass at Birmingham earlier this week.

David Goffin, a Belgian who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022, was among the men given wild cards. Four wild cards, two each for men and women, have yet to be announced.

Wimbledon begins July 3.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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