There has been little time to waste following a period of dramatic change at the club.

Former head coach Eddie Howe has moved on while key players Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon have all left in the last year.

Gallows humour gripped some supporters who made the trip after they adapted a chant which once featured the names of Guimaraes and Isak, who are now with Arsenal and Liverpool.

“We’ve got someone in the middle,” they sang. “He knows exactly what we need. [Sven] Botman at the back, someone in attack, Newcastle are going to win the Premier League.”

But it is not hard to imagine those blanks being filled in as a new generation steps up.

The average age of the squad has been dramatically lowered and, on Saturday, forward Harvey Barnes was the oldest starter at the age of 28.

It felt like a potential sign of things to come as goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, 24, midfielder Aladji Bamba, 20 and forward Toure, 20, made their debuts while 18-year-old Steur impressed from the bench.

Jaissle has a history of developing young players at RB Salzburg, which was a big draw for Newcastle, and he knows better than most what they need.

“Time is the key,” Jaissle said. “They’re young lads. It’s never going to be easy in football, especially at the highest level, but we’re here to do that.”

Malick Thiaw was among the elder statesmen as he led the side out as captain on his 25th birthday and this side will certainly need youthful vigour to play Jaissle’s intense brand of football.

He was a vocal presence throughout on Saturday, as he urged his side up the field, and rarely stood within the markings of his technical area.

He was even running down the touchline in tandem with his players as they advanced on goal at times.

Just as there is a fine balance on the field, so, too is there one off it.

Newcastle are in the market for additional experience, particularly in the middle of the park, and veterans Dan Burn and Fabian Schar will remain important voices in the dressing room.

But Jaissle has also shown the first sign of a ruthless streak.

Nick Pope was a pivotal figure under his predecessor, but the German left the 34-year-old out of the squad altogether against Valencia.

“I had a talk with Nick,” Jaissle said. “I really appreciate what he did in his career so far.

“He knows exactly the situation right now and we need to deal with it in the best possible way, but I always appreciate the player and the human being behind.”

It has been a whirlwind first week in Spain, following a series of double sessions, as Jaissle now returns Newcastle for the first time as the club’s head coach.

The 38-year-old already has a landmark in mind to see before he is formally unveiled at St James’ Park next week.

“For sure I will be visiting the stadium and getting my first impressions,” he said.

CHICAGO — The ongoing Sophie Cunningham saga has another chapter, and another layer thanks to a social media post.

The Indiana Fever guard took a shot to the face from Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington during the first quarter Saturday at the United Center — a foul that resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection for Carrington, followed by an almost immediate rebuke on her social media account.

“WHITE PRIVILEGE,” the post from Carrington’s Threads account read, with the Indiana Fever tagged.

Cunningham responded with a jab of her own after the game, saying Carrington’s hard foul was “her just trying to get attention.”

After an errant pass from the Sky’s Elizabeth Williams, the Fever’s Monique Billings collected the loose ball and threw ahead to a streaking Cunningham. On the shot attempt, Carrington’s left arm connected with Cunningham’s head and jaw, sending her to the floor.

The foul by DiJonai Carrington on Sophie Cunningham that resulted in a Flagrant 2 and ejection.

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/Z27J934irs https://t.co/GAMYI5V151

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 8, 2026

“We got a good steal, we had some good defense, and just went up and got the and-one,” Cunningham said after the game. “From my point of view, I mean clearly I think it was unnecessary. I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her. But I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So get your s— off. That’s fine. I can take it.”

Fever coach Stephanie White said she did not believe Carrington “intentionally came out to get her across the neck,” but Cunningham was not as generous.

She believed the foul was motivated by her own flagrant foul on Sky guard Jacy Sheldon and subsequent ejection from a 2025 game, even though Carrington did not join Chicago until the 2026 season.

“I don’t even know her,” Cunningham said. “She wasn’t even on the team when all that was going on. But I do think when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us. People just want attention. And that’s her just trying to get attention.”

Cunningham immediately popped up, and teammate Makayla Timpson had to separate her from Carrington. After a review, officials upgraded the common foul to a Flagrant 2 and sent Carrington to the locker room. On her way through the tunnel, Carrington grinned and shook her head as Sky fans gave her an ovation.

Shortly after being ejected, the post appeared on Carrington’s Threads account. Carrington was not made available for comment after the game.

Cunningham, an eighth-year veteran reserve, has been in the spotlight since ESPN quoted her in a July 21 story saying she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room” and that “they shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

The ensuing uproar has included demonstrations and counter-demonstrations outside of Fever games, a trend that continued Saturday near the United Center on Chicago’s West Side. In addition, Cunningham has been booed by crowds in Portland and Minneapolis, and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a T-shirt declaring “Trans kids belong” during her team’s game against the Fever on Aug. 2.

On Friday, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association denounced “hate, abuse, and demonization” of the transgender community in a statement that did not reference Cunningham.

Against the Sky, Cunningham checked into the game at the 6:13 mark of the first quarter to a strong but mixed reaction of boos and cheers. After the dust-up with Carrington and the Sky guard’s ejection, the United Center scoreboard showed a fan with a t-shirt supporting transgender rights before quickly cutting away to another attendee.

This was not the first Carrington-Fever imbroglio. In Game 1 of a 2024 playoff series, Carrington inadvertently poked the Fever’s then-rookie Caitlin Clark in the right eye. Debate about Carrington’s motivation nevertheless dominated the following days, even as Clark said it “wasn’t intentional by any means” in a media session two days later.

“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,” Carrington told reporters at the time. “That doesn’t even make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess I followed through and I hit her. Obviously it’s never intentional. That’s not even the type of player that I am.”

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have enjoyed mostly positive health updates through the first two weeks of training camp, but the sight of their newly-minted $140 million wide receiver on the ground, grabbing his left leg, threatened to curtail the good vibes.

It appears that the Ravens may have caught a break.

Zay Flowers, who collided with safety Jaylinn Hawkins during a seven-on-seven session on Saturday, stayed on the ground for a while and then limped off to the side, where he was met by members of the Ravens’ athletic training staff. He ultimately limped back inside the team facility with about an hour left in practice.

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter labeled Flowers as “day-to-day” with a quad contusion, which qualifies as the best-case scenario for the Ravens.

“Thankfully, I think he’ll be OK in the long-term,” Minter said.

Flowers, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, signed a four-year, $140 contract extension earlier this week, making him the fourth-highest-paid wideout in the NFL. With a wide receiver corps that features Flowers, Rashod Bateman and a host of young and unproven pass catchers, the Ravens can ill afford to lose their top receiver.

There was a gasp amongst the 2,000 fans in attendance Saturday when Flowers went down. Several players, including Hawkins, quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, checked in on Flowers, who was being put through different tests by the Ravens head athletic trainer Adrian Dixon. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta also walked over to check on Flowers.

Flowers got to his feet and walked back to the training room with Dixon by his side.

“You certainly don’t like to see that, don’t want to see that,” Minter said. “You kind of hope for the best. That’s the reality of it. There’s stuff that happens sometimes with contact and non-contact with guys bumping into each other. We try to avoid that as much as we can, especially when we’re not in pads ”

The Ravens have their preseason opener on Aug. 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Flowers isn’t expected to play much, if at all, in the preseason.

Minter acknowledged that Flowers’ absence would give some of the team’s young receivers more opportunities to make plays and line up in different spots.

“That’s what camp is about — preparing yourself for a game where you may be missing a guy or whatever,” Minter said. “It’s a great opportunity for other guys to step into those roles, have different guys to run some of the routes that Zay is great at. But, I don’t expect him (to be) out for too long.”

‘If I’m trash, I’m trash’: On Minter’s honesty

Veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey built a close relationship with former Ravens coach John Harbaugh during the nine years they were together. Humphrey admitted that he was taken by surprise when he learned about Harbaugh’s firing in January.

It, however, hasn’t taken him long to gain an appreciation for Minter and the new coaching staff. Minter was a Ravens defensive assistant from 2017 to 2020, but Humphrey acknowledged that he was curious how Minter would present himself in the head-coaching role.

“I’ve been very impressed and surprised at how he’s kind of progressed throughout the years,” Humphrey said. “I think when you come from, obviously, Harbaugh, a very alpha-type, leader-type guy, I was interested to see how much different team meetings would be. It’s been really good how Jesse has addressed the room and how he’s addressed just small situations.”

Humphrey, who is working to bounce back from one of his worst NFL seasons, approached Minter during Saturday’s practice with a request. He wants Minter to provide daily updates to him on what he’s doing well and poorly. Minter obliged.

“I mean, he’ll be honest,” Humphrey said. “That’s the thing: he’s very honest. He has told me I’m trash, and I appreciate that. If I’m trash, I’m trash. I just appreciate honesty. You can tell when a coach is being honest.”

Tomlin breaks the news

First-year Ravens running back coach Eddie Faulkner found out back in February that he had gotten a job on Minter’s Ravens’ staff in an unusual manner: Mike Tomlin told him.

Faulkner, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running backs coach for the previous seven seasons, had a phone interview with Minter for the opening. After the interview, Minter called Tomlin, Faulkner’s former boss in Pittsburgh, to talk more about Faulkner. Tomlin has been a mentor for Minter since the two first met when Tomlin was a defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati.

Minter told Tomlin that his plan was to hire Faulkner. That prompted Tomlin to make a call to Faulkner and congratulate him.

“I’m like, ‘I hadn’t even heard that yet,’” said Faulkner. “That part of it was fun, and then very quickly after that, Jesse reached out and told me. I was super excited, and my family is excited to be here.”

Asked if it was weird to be coaching in Baltimore after the rivalry the Ravens and Steelers had, Faulkner said, “It didn’t take me long to adjust. I like the purple. Part of the reason I’m here is because I know what the roster looks like, and I know what that room is like.”

More camp notes

• Rookie third-round wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane added to his growing training camp highlight reel. He made a superb touchdown catch on a deep ball with cornerback Nate Wiggins draped all over him in coverage during one-on-one sessions. Later during full-team work, Lane made a one-handed catch on a back-shoulder throw with Keyon Martin on him. He later had a drop while working against safety Malaki Starks. Still, the Lane hype train isn’t slowing down.

• The defensive standout in the pass catcher-versus-defensive back one-on-ones was third-year cornerback T.J. Tampa, who forced two incompletions. On one of them, Tampa stepped in front of a Devontez Walker out route and nearly picked it off. Tampa, the former fourth-round pick, entered training camp as the No. 4 cornerback, but he’s pushing for a significant role.

• The offense had three pre-snap penalties during one stretch, with tackle Kendall Lamm, tight end Matt Hibner and center Jovaughn Gwyn all flagged. That prompted offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to huddle up his group for a few reminders.

• Thin at inside linebacker, the Ravens officially signed free agent Jamon Johnson, a Maryland native who played two games (starting one) with the Green Bay Packers last year. Johnson went to high school at Baltimore power Saint Frances, which is less than five miles from the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium. To make room for Johnson on the roster, the Ravens waived undrafted rookie defensive back Matthew McDoom.

• The Ravens had six total players not practicing Saturday: wide receiver Dayton Wade; inside linebackers Teddye Buchanan (physically unable to perform list, knee) and Carl Jones Jr.; and defensive linemen Calais Campbell, Aeneas Peebles and Travis Jones (PUP list, pectoral).

• The Ravens started practice outside, but were forced to finish it in their indoor facility when a major thunder storm rolled through.