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Aston Villa hold talks with West Ham over Aaron Wan-Bissaka transfer

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Image from the waist up of Aaron Wan-Bissaka playing for West Ham

The 28-year-old is among Villa’s list of targets for the right-back position, which has been identified as a key position to address. Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Aston Villa have held exploratory talks with West Ham United over a move for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The 28-year-old is among Villa’s list of targets for the right-back position, which has been identified as a key position to address this summer as the club seek to provide competition for Matty Cash.

A move for Emerson Royal, the Flamengo right-back formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, did not materialise while Villa’s Kosta Nedeljkovic has interest from Scottish club Rangers and elsewhere.

The Athletic reported in the Transfer DealSheet on July 7 that West Ham would be open to selling Wan-Bissaka this summer, and valued the former Manchester United defender at £25million ($33.5m).

His contract at the London Stadium runs until 2031, having signed a seven-year deal upon joining from Manchester United in a £15million ($20.1m) deal in August 2024.

Wan-Bissaka started all four of DR Congo’s matches at this summer’s World Cup, helping his nation to a 1-1 draw with Portugal, while they led England until the 75th minute in the round-of-32 before Harry Kane’s double turned the tie around.

Wan Bissaka, who played 190 games for Manchester United across five seasons, made 25 league appearances for West Ham last campaign as they suffered relegation to the Championship. The east London club will play second-tier football for the first time since 2011-12.

He started two of West Ham’s final seven matches of the season, displaced by Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back, after the former Southampton defender also covered the position when Wan-Bissaka represented DR Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Wan-Bissaka has made 65 appearances across his two seasons at West Ham, having previously played 190 times for Manchester United, where he won the League Cup and FA Cup in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

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Eddie Jones says he shows videos of geese flying in formation to coach his Japan side

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Eddie Jones has revealed an interesting method he uses to coach his Japan side – watching videos of geese fly in formation.

Japan are facing Australia in a two-Test, home and away series this month, and Jones’ side were beaten 35-32 by the Wallabies in Osaka last weekend.

The former England coach has made five changes for the second Test in Townsville, Australia on Saturday, including picking university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and giving Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at centre.

Jones said Japan’s support play “wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked” in the opening game, so he has turned to nature to get his point across.

“The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier,” the Australian said.

“The ball carrier is king, and then everyone else has got to follow after that.

“The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it’s the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does.”

Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.

With his geese videos in hand, Jones said Japan have “set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week”.

He added: “We’re very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game.”

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Ruby Evans: British gymnast on coping with fame and followers

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For someone who routinely sails through the air, her feet are firmly on the ground.

She says she is not driven by medals. Improving as a gymnast is her biggest motivation.

But asked if she’s targeting gold at the LA 2028 Olympics, she smiles.

“Maybe,” she adds. “If I’m good.”

For individual success at an Olympics, she will need to showcase two vaults with different entries on to the vault.

So that is her current focus in training.

“Maybe if I get a second vault, I’d have quite a good chance,” she added.

“But it’s in gear two. It needs to get to gear five.”

At the Europeans, Evans and her team are focusing on a strong performance in Sunday’s women’s team final as that will set them up for October’s World Championships – and with it a chance of Olympic qualification.

As ever, there’s likely to be a lot of attention on Evans – she’s been showing she is someone worth keeping an eye on.

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Fulham fans: How are you feeling about the 2026-27 season?

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A headshot of Alvaro Arbeloa

Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa joined Fulham this summer Denis Doyle/Getty Images

The new Premier League season is almost upon us and we want to gauge the mood among fans of every club going into the 2026-27 campaign.

It is the time of year when a new signing can mean optimism abounds. Alternatively, a less-than-impressive pre-season and a lack of transfer activity can leave supporters fearing the worst.

Let us know how you feel about your club’s prospects this season via our simple poll below and, as has become tradition, George Caulkin will analyse the results and report back with The Athletic’s hope-o-meter, a not particularly scientific reflection of fans’ hopes and fears for the coming season.

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