Ireland’s Kate O’Connor moved into pole position for heptathlon gold with one event remaining at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson is out of medal contention.

Newry-born O’Connor entered Saturday morning in third place after four events, just 42 points behind overnight leader Adrianna Sulek-Schubert, and her personal best form continued in the long jump with a leap of 6.55m.

The 25-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medallist followed up with 50.16m in the javelin to take her overall total to 5,812 points, 51 ahead of Netherlands’ Emma Oosterwegel (5,761) with another Dutch athlete, Sofie Dokter, in third (5,741).

Poland’s Sulek-Schubert dropped to seventh after a disappointing start to Saturday.

Johnson-Thompson’s struggles continued following an injury-hit build-up to the championships.

The 33-year-old entered Saturday 324 points off the pace in 16th and managed just 5.77m in the long jump before throwing 36.92m in the javelin.

That meant the two-time world champion drifted to 19th place, 780 points behind O’Connor.

Her GB team-mate Jade O’Dowda sat 13th, 491 points in arrears of the pace-setting Ireland athlete.

The heptathlon concludes on Saturday evening with the 800m at 19:45 BST.

Newcastle United are in advanced talks with Benfica to sign defender Amar Dedic.

The club have been in the market for a new right-back following the departure of veteran Kieran Trippier, who joined Wolves on a free transfer after his contract expired earlier this summer.

Dedic, 23, previously worked with Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle at RB Salzburg and was a regular in the side that retained the Austrian Bundesliga title in 2023.

Newcastle are understood to be progressing in discussions with Benfica for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, who is valued at around £30m.

If a deal is completed, Dedic could quickly be called upon to feature in Newcastle‘s season opener against Liverpool on 23 August as Tino Livramento is still recovering from a calf injury he sustained on international duty with England in June.

Dedic has been capped 31 times and started three of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s four matches at the World Cup.

He ranked second for full-backs in Portugal’s Primeira Liga last season for carries into the attacking third (49) and third for progressive carries (202) and total carries (325) last season.

Bournemouth have vowed to “do better” after changes to matchday staffing were handled in a manner which “did not reflect the standards” the club expects.

Concerns were raised over the way the Premier League club told some long-serving members of their matchday team that their services would no longer be required for the 2026-27 season.

An email was sent from “the safety team” two weeks before the start of the season.

In a statement,, external the club acknowledged those concerns and said: “We have reviewed the way these changes were communicated and recognise that it did not reflect the standards we expect of ourselves as a club.

“People who have given many years of service to AFC Bournemouth deserve to be treated with appreciation and respect.

“We are contacting those affected directly to listen to their concerns and review their individual circumstances.”

The Cherries made a rapid rise from League Two to the Premier League, taking just five years to reach England’s top flight when they were promoted in 2015.

Despite being relegated in 2020, they returned to the Premier League two years later and this season will be playing in Europe for the first time.

The club reviewed its matchday staffing arrangements for 2026-27 and have made changes to a number of roles and working requirements “as we continue to strengthen the safety and security of the stadium, its perimeter and surrounding areas”.

Their club statement added: “These changes are important, but so too is the way we communicate with and treat the people who have served our club. We should have handled this better, and we will do better.

“We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to AFC Bournemouth over the years, and particularly those who have served the club for decades.”

One post on X, external said that a man who has been a member of Bournemouth‘s matchday staff for nearly 60 years received an email that was four paragraphs long, adding that it was a “disgusting approach”.

After saying their contracts would not be renewed, the email ended with: “We appreciate this will be disappointing news. On behalf of everyone at AFC Bournemouth, I would like to thank you for your commitment, professionalism and contribution to the club during your time with us.

“We are grateful for the support you have provided over the years and wish you every success for the future.”

BBC Sport has been told that the club reached out to the individual involved before the statement was released.

He had been working in the car park but has now been offered employment for next season in a different area.