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Ex-Chelsea youth star Izzy Brown retires age 26

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Former Chelsea youth player Izzy Brown has announced his premature retirement from professional football at the age of just 26 as a result of injury.

Brown became the second youngest player in Premier League history when he made his debut for West Brom aged 16 years and 117 days in May 2013. He soon joined Chelsea and won two FA Youth Cups with the Blues, as well as the UEFA Youth League.

His first-team debut at Chelsea came in May 2015, before embarking on seven loans away from the club, starting with a stint at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.

Brown went on to play extensively in the Championship for Rotherham, Huddersfield, Leeds, Luton and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as a top flight spell with Brighton in 2017/18.

The winger was still on the books at Chelsea until as recently as 2021, eventually leaving the club and signing with Preston North End on a permanent deal. But he never played a single game for the Lancashire side after suffering the ruptured Achilles in pre-season that ultimately ended his career.

Read more on Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea

Brown was released by Preston in May 2022, with his last game as a professional footballer having come as a substitute for Sheffield Wednesday against Swansea in April 2021.

“I just didn’t think this day would come so soon,” Brown said in a statement posted on social media.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that after a long year of struggling from two Achilles tendon surgeries, I now have to retire from professional football.

“I will always remember the memories I have made. They will live with me forever. From being told I was going to be on the bench against Chelsea, to making my debut against Wigan at the age of 16 for West Brom. Then getting to make my debut for Chelsea, the club I dreamed of playing for when I was a little boy. And I’ll never forget getting promoted to the Premier League with Huddersfield at Wembley. That will forever be one of the happiest and greatest moments of my life.”

LISTEN NOW

On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott SaundersGraeme Bailey, Toby Cudworth & Tom Gott discuss Chelsea’s decision to sack Graham Potter, Man City and Real Madrid’s interest in Josko Gvardiol, the futures of William Saliba, Kai Havertz, Randal Kolo Muani & more! If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!





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How Bayern Munich won the 2022/23 Bundesliga at the expense of Dortmund

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It was in Borussia Dortmund’s hands. It should have been Borussia Dortmund’s title. All they had to do was beat Mainz.

They couldn’t do it.

Bayern Munich have won an 11th-successive Bundesliga title, beating BVB to the championship on goal difference after their 2-2 draw on home soil at Signal-Iduna Park.

Thomas Tuchel’s side came from behind to beat Koln 2-1 to wrestle their way to another title.

Here’s how the destination of the Meisterschale changed on a frantic final day.

Note: All times are BST

14:30 – Borussia Dortmund top of the table

Bayern moved to the top of the table for the first time on the day with only eight minutes on the clock when Kingsley Coman fired them in front.

14:38 – Bayern Munich top of the table

The Bavarians’ afternoon got better when minutes later, Dortmund fell behind to a header from Mainz’s Andreas Hanche-Olsen.

Almost immediately from the resulting kick-off, Raphael Guerreiro fell under a challenge from Dominik Kohr, and after a VAR check, Dortmund were awarded a penalty.

Sebastien Haller stepped up, but his low effort was beaten away by Dahmen.

Dortmund’s miserable day went from bad to worse when they went 2-0 down, with Karim Onisiwo’s header too strong for Gregor Kobel to handle.

It’s not even as if Mainz were in hot form heading into this one.

Just before half-time, Leroy Sane thought he had fired Bayern into a two-goal lead at Koln, only for a VAR check to chalk it off for a handball in the build-up.

Dortmund continued to look vulnerable in transition after the break as Onisiwo struck the post, before Haller was inches away from converting a deep cross from Donyell Malen at the other end.

Back in Koln, Yann Sommer had to be at his best to deny Davie Selke and preserve Bayern’s advantage.

After throwing pretty much the kitchen sink at Mainz, Dortmund got on the scoresheet with just under 20 minutes to go through Guerreiro, whose right-footed strike went in via the post.

To Dortmund’s rescue came Serge Gnabry, who was penalised for a handball and Koln were awarded a penalty against Bayern. Dejan Ljubicic levelled from the spot and BVB went back to the top of the table with ten minutes to go.

16:11 – Borussia Dortmund top of the table

But Jamal Musiala came off the bench to save Bayern, curling in an 89th-minute strike from the edge of the box to claw back the title.

16:19 – Bayern Munich top of the table

Deep into five minutes of stoppage time in Dortmund, Niklas Sule fired in a much-needed equaliser.

Every player was thrown forward for one final opportunity, but it was too late.

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Mainz. Koln 1-2 Bayern Munich.

A different story, but the same ending.

16:29 – Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga





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All permutations for Europe and relegation

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The end of the Premier League season is upon us and it has certainly been a thrilling campaign with lots of drama along the way.

While the title may have already been wrapped up by Manchester City at the expense of Arsenal, there is still a huge amount to play for all over the rest of the table on the final day of the Premier League season.

The primary focus will be on the relegation zone where only one team has already had their fate sealed, which is Southampton. Some eyes will also be on the various European qualification spots. Here are all of the permutations you need to know about to enjoy the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season.

Read 90min’s full match previews here

The Champions League race in the Premier League has been thrilling this season, but Manchester United actually brought it to a close on Thursday night when they easily beat Chelsea 4-1. It means that Manchester City, Arsenal, Man Utd and Newcastle will be the Premier League’s representatives in the Champions League next season.

All that is yet to be decided in the top four is who will finish in third place. Man Utd are now two points ahead of Newcastle so they just need to win against Fulham to make sure that they keep third. If they draw and Newcastle win away at Chelsea, the Geordies would nab third due to goal difference. The only real desire to finish third is due to bragging rights and stature, rather than anything too tangible beyond a couple of million in prize money (which, relatively speaking, isn’t a lot).

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

1

Manchester City

62

89

2

Arsenal

40

81

3

Manchester United

14

72

4

Newcastle

35

70

Similar to the Champions League battle, the Europa League battle was expected to go down to the wire. As it turns out, Liverpool are guaranteed to finish in fifth place and Brighton are guaranteed to finish in sixth place, meaning they will be England’s Europa League participants next season.

There is actually a chance that three teams enter the Europa League next season from the Premier League, but only if West Ham win the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina. That has no bearing on the Premier League table going into the final day.

The Europa Conference League slot is where the interest lies on Sunday, with three teams fighting for seventh place in the Premier League. Seventh in the Premier League gets this spot because Man Utd won the Carabao Cup and they already have a European spot. The teams in question are Aston Villa, Tottenham and Brentford.

Aston Villa are the team in pole position so all they need to do is equal or better the results of Brentford and Tottenham. If Villa are beaten, Brentford do not win and Spurs draw, Spurs will get seventh on goal difference.

Tottenham will also get seventh if they win and Villa draw or lose, while Brentford are going to have to beat Man City and hope both Villa and Tottenham draw or lose if they are to qualify for Europe for the first time. The Bees are certainly the outside bet.

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

5

Liverpool

28

66

6

Brighton

20

62

7

Aston Villa

4

58

8

Tottenham

4

57

9

Brentford

11

56

This is where the majority of the focus will be on the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season, as three teams are all vying to finish in the place above the relegation zone.

Everton are currently the team in a position of strength, while Leeds United and Leicester City are in the bottom three. All of the power lies with Everton as if they win their game, Leeds and Leicester’s results are irrelevant.

Leicester and Leeds are level on points. Leicester need to win their game and hope that Everton either lose or draw. Leicester can finish level on points with Everton if they win and Everton draw, but Leicester’s goal difference is better and they would be safe. They also have a better goal difference than Leeds so if Everton draw and both Leicester and Leeds win, it is Leicester that would be safe.

Leeds also simply have to win their game and hope that Leicester lose or draw, with Everton also losing. If Leeds win and Everton draw, they would be level on points and Leeds would need to beat Tottenham by three clear goals in order to get the goal difference swing on Everton.

The clearest way of viewing it is that if Everton win, it is game over. If Leicester and Leeds both lose or draw, it is game over regardless of what the Toffees do.

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

17

Everton

-24

33

18

Leicester

-18

31

19

Leeds

-27

31

20

Southampton

-37

24



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Real Madrid reach Jude Bellingham agreement with Borussia Dortmund

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Real Madrid have agreed the terms of a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham this summer, 90min understands.

Most of Europe’s elite have been chasing Bellingham over the past 12 months but Real moved clear in the race for his signature when they struck an agreement over personal terms with the 19-year-old last month.

Bellingham, whose preference is to join Real this summer, has agreed the terms of a six-year contract in Madrid that will include a €1bn release clause.

All that was left was an agreement between the two sides over a transfer fee. Dortmund have long made it clear that they are looking for around €150m to part ways with Bellingham and sources have now confirmed to 90min that Real have indicated a willingness to meet that figure.

Meetings in Germany this week have seen Real and Dortmund agree the structure of a deal worth an initial €100m, with a further €50m in add-ons, to push the transfer closer to completion.

READ MORE FROM THE 90MIN TALKING TRANSFERS TEAM

90min understands Real attempted to lower Dortmund’s asking price by including a number of players, either on permanent or loan deals, but the German side insisted they wanted a cash-only offer.

That being said, Dortmund have not yet ruled out the idea of returning to Real for potential signings of their own this summer, although any moves will be separate from Bellingham’s proposed switch to the Santiago Bernabeu.

An official announcement has been delayed by Real out of respect for Dortmund’s Bundesliga title push. Edin Terzic’s side sit top heading into Saturday’s meeting with Mainz on the final day of the season and must match Bayern Munich’s result against Koln if they are to get their hands on the trophy.

Once that match is out of the way, Real will push ahead with their plans to finalise Bellingham’s arrival and there is hope among the Spanish outfit that a deal can be announced next week.

Los Blancos are also looking to recruit a new striker to compete with Karim Benzema, while they are eyeing up two new defenders as well.

Carlo Ancelotti recently confirmed that Rayo Vallecano left-back Fran Garcia will join the club this summer but the Spanish side also hope to add an expensive new signing like RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol or Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies – deals which both appear unlikely given the cost.

LISTEN NOW

On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss all the latest transfer news. On the agenda: Tottenham’s pursuit of Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, Bayern Munich’s interest in Declan Rice, Joshua Kimmich, Neymar & more!

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!





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