Author: INDEPENDENT

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 Chelsea will discover their Europa Conference League play-off opponents on Monday when the draw is made in Nyon, Switzerland.The Blues have endured a tough start to pre-season, with defeat to Manchester City on Saturday. And there is an early test in their 2024/25 campaign as qualifying for the Europa Conference League begins.After Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May secured Erik ten Hag’s side a place in the Europa League, 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 Manchester United are exploring options to keep parts of the current Old Trafford stadium, potentially for the women’s and academy teams, should they press ahead with the construction of a new stadium. Such plans would see the club retain iconic elements of the historic ground, especially the pitch, on which so much of United’s mythology has taken place.United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants the club to decide on stadium plans by December after a recent review,…

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 emailsThere’s a scene in The Years, Eline Arbo’s adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s masterpiece memoir, when a version of the author (played by Romola Garai) is describing the book she one day dreams of writing. “It’s about people and memories and time,” she explains, laying out the central themes of not just The Years, but of Ernaux’s oeuvre. At every age and stage, personal and world events have enriched Ernaux’s life and work, which is both fiction and biography,…

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 France forward Kylian Mbappe is reportedly set to become the new majority owner of French Ligue 2 side SM Caen as part of a £17m takeover. The 25-year-old, who signed for Real Madrid earlier this summer after a long-running transfer saga and was unveiled in front of around 80,000 fans, is set to become one of the youngest football club owners in Europe. He has reportedly invested around €15m (£12.6m) of his own money via the Coalition…

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and moreStay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Until a week ago, I had never heard of Hannah Gavron. Now I know that she was a pioneering feminist and sociology lecturer, whose work spoke to a generation of women desperate to break free of the stifling patriarchal conformity of 1960s Britain. But in some respects, perhaps my lack of awareness wasn’t surprising; her seminal book, The Captive Wife, only gained traction posthumously, having been published a few…

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 Arsenal are set to comprehensively elevate their squad after expressing an interest in Mikel Merino and signing Riccardo Calafiori.After losing a fiercely contested title race with Manchester City, the Gunners look to leave no stone unturned by entering this season off the back of a successful summer transfer window.However, while they are eager to strengthen their defensive, midfield and attacking options, Arsenal must find solid replacements for Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey, who are both linked…

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 Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has joined Serie A newcomers Como on a two-year deal.The 31-year-old France international, a World Cup winner in 2018, has headed for Italy after leaving Old Trafford earlier this summer when his three-year stay drew to a close with the expiry of his contract.A statement on Como’s official website said: “Como 1907 are pleased to announce the signing of French defender Raphael Varane, who played for Manchester United last season, on…

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 emailsKit Harington has defended his new play for hosting dedicated performances for Black audiences. Slave Play, now running at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End, attracted controversy earlier this year when it was announced there would be two Black Out nights during the show’s 12-week run.The initiative is aimed at welcoming an “all-Black-identifying audience” that is “free from the white gaze”. A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak, who was prime minister at the time,…

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 Harry Maguire says missing Manchester United’s FA Cup win and England’s run to the Euro 2024 final was the “toughest moment” of his career.Having been replaced as captain during a summer of speculation about his future this time last year, the 31-year-old stayed put and fought his way into the starting line-up under Erik ten Hag.But Maguire was unable to play in United’s FA Cup final win against rivals Manchester City due to a calf injury, 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 emails Suddenly, smaller stocks seem to be making bigger noise on Wall Street.After getting trounced by their larger rivals for years, some of the smallest stocks on Wall Street have shown much more life recently. Hopes for coming cuts to interest rates have pushed investors to look at smaller stocks through a different lens. Smaller companies, which often carry heavy debt burdens, can feel more relief from lower borrowing costs than huge multinationals. Plus, critics…