Author: INDEPENDENT

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsFashion chain Ted Baker will close all its stores in the UK this week, bringing an end to its position on high streets and putting more than 500 jobs at risk.Its 31 remaining stores in the UK and Ireland will close before the end of the day on Tuesday and the website has also been pulled.Ted Baker was founded by Ray Kelvin, who opened his first shop in Glasgow in 1988, and the brand’s clothing…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Since Sergio Aguero’s heyday, two players have delivered 30 goals in a season for Manchester City. As one darted between two defenders to open the scoring for the champions at Stamford Bridge, it may have seemed like Clearlake Capital’s decision to raid the Etihad Stadium in 2022 had paid a rich dividend. As a footballer who has moved between Chelsea and City burst forward to curl in a long-range shot to double that advantage, Todd Boehly got…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsTed Baker’s remaining 31 stores are expected to close this week, five months after falling into administration. More than 500 jobs are set to be at risk, as talks with retail tycoon Mike Ashley over a future licensing partnership appear to have stalled.The business behind the fashion brand’s UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), collapsed in March, with its administrators overseeing the closure of the stores. According to a source speaking to Sky…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Genoa in their first match of the new season.Marcus Thuram netted a brace but goals from Alessandro Vogliacco and a finish by Junior Messias, who scored the rebound from his saved stoppage-time penalty by Yann Sommer, saw the points shared at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.City rivals AC Milan were also frustrated as they failed to take advantage of Inter’s draw in a similar 2-2 affair…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Erik ten Hag was delighted to see Manchester United debutant Joshua Zirkzee hit the ground running and believes his match-winning introduction will provide a huge boost to his confidence.United’s opening game of the Premier League campaign against Fulham was heading towards a scoreless draw as the clock wound down at an expectant Old Trafford.But summer signing Zirkzee ensured United would begin the campaign with a victory as he stretched to smartly direct home fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter “Manchester is red,” read the message on a football club’s social-media account; though not from the Manchester club who play in red. It was a cheeky point made by Ajax, surveying Manchester United’s recruitment drive and the addition of two of their alumni, Matthis de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, on the same day. It means that, in the former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag’s reign, United have now spent around a quarter of a billion pounds on…

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailBritain’s economy is on track to enjoy the fastest growth of any G7 country in the first half of the year, analysts say.The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6 per cent between April and June, in line with economists’ predictions. This totals 1.3 per cent of growth in the first six months of 2024, after Britain fell into recession in late 2023.Although the figures predate the election, they will provide a boost for the…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia says the father of 17-year-old Spain soccer star Lamine Yamal has been hospitalized after being stabbed near Barcelona.Citing unnamed official sources, the paper said Mounir Nasraoui was stabbed multiple times. La Vanguardia said Nasraoui was in serious but stable condition. Some arrests had been made, according to La Vanguardia, without giving details.Local police did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment.Spain won the European Championship in July with…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsUK inflation rose to 2.2 per cent in July, marking the first increase this year and increasing the chances the Bank of England keep interest rates at the same level when they meet next month.The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose from 2 per cent in June, but undershot economists’ expectations who had forecast it rising to 2.3 per cent.However, despite the smaller than anticipated inflation increase, it is still above the Bank’s target of…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter It is a refrain that many Premier League executives have become resigned to – at least in some areas of the country. As part of summer negotiations with foreign players, they have been repeatedly told “he’d prefer to live in London”. The internal research of one Championship club even found that, on average, those outside the capital had to offer an estimated £2,000 more a week to persuade signings to go outside London.This is a modern and…