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Soccer

Chelsea's summer rebuild continues with reported £71M deal for Havertz

Chelsea added Kai Havertz, one of Germany’s most talented youngsters, to their expensive attacking core on Friday, signing the German playmaker from Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal is worth around £71 million, according to BBC Sport.

Havertz joins attacker Hakim Ziyech, striker Timo Werner, left-back Ben Chilwell, and center-back Thiago Silva as Chelsea’s latest big-name signing, and reportedly brings the club’s total spending this summer to around £200 million.

The 21-year-old signed a five-year contract with the Blues.

“Kai is one of the best players of his age in world football, so we are very happy that his future lies at Chelsea,” director Marina Granovskaia said in a statement. “He has proven pedigree in one of the best leagues in Europe, he plays for the German national side and he is an exciting, dynamic talent. We are delighted to be able to add his versatility and quality to the squad before the season begins.”

Havertz lit up the Bundesliga, scoring 15 goals and assisting seven others in 2020 alone. He became the youngest player in league history to reach 100 club appearances and the first to score 35 career goals before the age of 21.

He even wore the captain’s armband in the absence of oft-injured skipper Lars Bender, making him the youngest player to lead a Bundesliga club since Lukas Podolski in 2005.

Havertz started his journey at Leverkusen as an 11-year-old and made his senior debut at age 17 in October 2016. Call-ups to the German national team soon followed.

Bayern Munich and Liverpool were linked with Havertz, but Chelsea eventually solidified their interest with a bid. Leverkusen reportedly rejected an opening offer of £58.6 million plus add-ons before agreeing to a deal.

Known as a versatile midfielder who can play on the right and up the middle, Havertz is likely to form a fruitful partnership with Werner at Stamford Bridge.

Manager Frank Lampard could play Werner on the left wing or at the striker position, with Havertz set to start as the No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Ziyech, the Moroccan international signed from Ajax, is expected to wreak havoc on the right wing.

Chelsea made every attempt to retool their squad this summer, making up for lost time following a transfer ban. The club won its appeal against the embargo in December but waited until the end of the 2019-20 season to spend big.

NFL

What happens to coin tosses? Jersey swaps? 15 obscure NFL coronavirus protocols you need to know

The NFL’s last “normal” moment was the annual scouting combine, held from Feb. 23 to March 2 in Indianapolis.

Amid the routine of that week, league executives focused on finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement with players. Teams locked in on scouting college players and setting plans for the start of free agency. The global spread of COVID-19 had just started to seep into the national consciousness, but few had conceived a future in which the virus could impact a regular season that was six months away.

And yet here we are. The NFL is set to open Thursday night amid a set of coronavirus pandemic protocols that have transformed its operations at every level. You know about the major changes: a virtual offseason program, no preseason games and a softened training camp that centered on preventing soft-tissue injuries after months of football inactivity.

What follows are 15 of the smaller changes, from the slightly weird to the completely wacky, that you might never have imagined would be necessary to safely play football. All of these protocols are subject to change but will be in effect at least for Week 1.

Electronic whistles are in

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The NFL and its teams have ordered hundreds of

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AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Skip the buffet

Like the rest of the country, NFL players and coaches can’t graze the buffet any longer — including at their team facilities. And if they’re going to eat a postgame meal, it must be individually packaged with disposable utensils. Third-party meal delivery is permitted, as long as its delivery is contactless.

Take the stairs

Players will be required to stay in the team hotel the night before games, whether they are the home or visiting team. Team travel coordinators have been instructed to request room blocks on lower floors so that everyone — players, coaches and staffers — can avoid elevators whenever possible.

Cleanliness is next to …

In team facilities, the NFL is requiring all “high-touch” surfaces to be cleaned at least three times a day with solution that qualifies as hospital-grade EPA List N disinfectant. “High touch” is defined as any surface that is in an area accessible to multiple members of the party. That includes tables, desks, countertops, door and drawer handles, cabinet handles, light switches, phones, television remote controls, handrails, toilets, sink handles, touch screens and elevator buttons.

Quarterback quarantine

One thing the NFL hasn’t changed this summer: Its teams’ fanatical desire to cloak personnel strategy. So while we don’t have many details, we do know that some coaches have considered isolating one quarterback from the rest of the team as a hedge against potential breakouts.

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Teams are prohibited from having in-person player meetings with more than 15 people present, and everyone must be distanced at least 6 feet away from each other. Anything larger must take place virtually. No more than 15 people are allowed inside a weight room unless a special exception is approved. And trips to the athletic trainers must be made by individual appointments to keep numbers down.

Two charter planes encouraged

In most years, NFL teams charter one large plane for road games. In 2020, the NFL is encouraging them to charter two in order to maintain social distance requirements. At a minimum, every member of the traveling party must have at least one seat between them. To assist, the league is allowing only 70 non-players to join each traveling party. That count includes coaches, medical officials and all other essential staff.

Private planes on standby

When on the road, teams must hold at least three empty hotel rooms near the game site to be used for any member of the traveling party who reports COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive and needs to be isolated. The NFL has also retained a private air-charter service to transport those people home without coming into contact with the rest of the team.

Soccer

James Rodriguez reunites with Ancelotti by sealing move to Everton

Everton completed the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on Monday.

The Toffees paid £20 million for the Colombian playmaker, according to BBC Sport. He signed a two-year contract on Merseyside, with a club option for a third season.

James played under Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

“I’m looking forward to achieving great things here – and winning things, which is what everyone’s aim is,” James said. “I’ve come here to try to improve, to get better. I’ve also come here to help the team to win, to play good football – entertaining football.

“I’m convinced, with Carlo and his technical staff, we can achieve big things and one of the big reasons (I signed) was the presence of Carlo Ancelotti.”

The 29-year-old rose to prominence after scoring an outrageous volley for Colombia and winning the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup. He moved to Real Madrid later that summer and went on to win two La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Los Blancos. He also collected two Bundesliga crowns during an extended loan spell at Bayern Munich.

He was entering the final year of his contract at Real Madrid.

James will link up with Ancelotti’s ambitious, new-look squad at Everton. Allan was signed from Napoli on Saturday while Abdoulaye Doucoure will reportedly move from Watford for around £20 million.

NFL

Clowney reunites with Vrabel, agrees with Titans

Jadeveon Clowney agreed to a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Terms were not disclosed, but a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the deal is worth up to $15 million.

The New Orleans Saints, the other main suitor, made a very strong push for the defensive end, but their offer was lower by roughly $2 million, sources told ESPN’s Dianna Russini.

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Clowney is reuniting with Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who was his position coach and defensive coordinator when the two were with the Houston Texans.

The seventh-year veteran had his best season in 2017 when he played in Vrabel’s scheme for the Texans. Clowney posted career highs in sacks (9.5), tackles for loss (21) and QB hits (21) that season.

Clowney made an impact following his trade before the 2019 season from the Texans to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Jacob Martin, Barkevious Mingo and a 2020 third-round pick.

While he had only three sacks in 13 regular-season games, Clowney ranked fifth in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate (24.8%), scored two defensive touchdowns and was consistently Seattle’s most disruptive defensive lineman. PRWR measures how frequently a defender beats his blocker in 2.5 seconds or less.

Clowney, 27, suffered a core muscle injury in Week 10 last season and elected to postpone surgery until the offseason. That left him playing in pain for most of the second half of the season. The injury sidelined him for two games; he missed a third game with the flu.

Clowney was named to three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2016 to 2018 with the Texans. Overall, he has 236 tackles, 32 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, 7 recoveries, 51 tackles for loss, an interception and 4 defensive touchdowns since being selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft.

ESPN’s Turron Davenport and Brady Henderson contributed to this report.

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Soccer