Women's Super League newcomers London City Lionesses sign vastly experienced Netherlands midfielder Danielle van de Donk on a two-year contract.

Former Ajax winger Quincy Promes has been extradited to the Netherlands, where he will serve a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and aggravated assault.

The Netherlands midfielder, once Manchester City’s record signing, talks about rejoining the club in her heart, FC Twente, and the upcoming Euros For Jill Roord, even after winning the Bundesliga title and getting to a Champions League final, eight years on from saying goodbye to FC Twente, there is simply no place like home. The 107-time capped Netherlands midfielder is this summer returning to the club where she began her career and, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian, she explains why the opportunity to move back closer to her family and friends was irresistible. “It had nothing to do with City. My time with City was really good,” says Roord, as she explains her decision to leave the club after two years. “I have been away for eight years playing abroad and it becomes tough being alone for that many years. In the past few years I lost my fun and my happiness in football a little bit because of being away, travelling a lot and not being able to be with family and friends, and with busy summers every year I never really got a break. I just felt like now I needed to move back home, enjoy life and enjoy football again, so that’s the main reason.” Continue reading...

Stuttgart striker is tournament’s top scorer so far and could stand in way of England’s hopes of reaching the knockouts If there was any doubting Nick Woltemade’s star quality, a brilliant hat-trick in Germany’s opening match of the European Under-21 Championship against Slovenia showed the beanpole striker with numerous nicknames is the real deal. Known variously as Woltemessi, the Tower of Stuttgart, Goaltemade or just plain old Big Nick, he has been the standout player of the first two rounds of matches in Slovakia, having helped to book his side’s place in the quarter-finals with another goal in their win over the Czech Republic on Sunday. With England up next as Germany attempt to seal top spot in Group B and avoid a meeting with the favourites, Spain, in the last eight, the coach, Antonio Di Salvo, has a decision to make. Such has been Woltemade’s success this season that he was also called up by Julian Nagelsmann for the senior squad’s Nations League games and made his debut against Portugal in the semi-final less than a fortnight ago. Continue reading...

Midfielder arrives from Milan as fourth summer buy He follows Aït-Nouri, Cherki and Bettinelli to club Manchester City have taken their early summer spending to more than £100m after making Tijjani Reijnders their fourth signing in three days. The Netherlands midfielder has arrived from Milan for €55m (£46.6m) and joins Rayan Aït-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki at the club. All four will be available for the Club World Cup, with City’s first match against Wydad AC taking place next Wednesday, after Reijnders signed before Tuesday’s deadline. Reijnders has a five-year deal as Pep Guardiola looks to revitalise his squad after an underwhelming season by the club’s standards, finishing a distant third in the Premier League and collecting no silverware thus far. City were also active in the January window, spending more than £180m on four players. Their outlay in 2025 stands at £288m. Continue reading...

New signing says Spanish giants are ‘club of my life’ Huijsen feels he is good fit for Xabi Alonso’s style of play “I don’t care,” Dean Huijsen said and there was a shrug to go with his answer. The former Bournemouth player had just become the most expensive defender in Real Madrid’s history for £50m, but while the 20-year-old talked about “living a dream” on the day he was presented at their Valdebebas training ground, the price didn’t seem to bother him much. Not least because nothing did. “I’m quite calm,” he said. “I am me and I am going to live my life and I do what I like most.” “Madrid is the club of my life, I think,” Huijsen had said when he stepped on to the stage in the basketball arena, tapped the mic and asked: “Can you hear me?” The son of Dutch footballer Donny Huijsen, who was sitting in the front row with Huijsen’s mother Mascha Wijsmuller. The family moved to southern Spain when Dean was five and it was Málaga he was mad about as a boy, although he said here that Sergio Ramos was his idol. Continue reading...

Brobbey allegedly blackmailed by Amsterdam criminal Incidents included arson, explosions and a shooting The Ajax striker Brian Brobbey has been the target of violent extortion threats involving arson, explosions and a shooting, according to reports in the Netherlands. Het Parool reports that the attacks on Brobbey came after he allegedly refused to pay €150,000 to an Amsterdam criminal who claimed to have “solved a problem” for him. Continue reading...

Today’s rumours are feeling the envy Six days into the first transfer window of the summer and the Mill is churning faster than a well-oiled machine. Leading the charge are Arsenal, whose Premier League sights has led them to add Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Feyenoord’s Igor Paixão to their shopping list of potential attacking targets. Getting Rogers would demand a significant fee – likely north of £50m – with the former Middlesbrough man pulling up trees for Unai Emery’s this season, scoring 14 goals and 15 assists in 54 games. Paixão would be the cheaper option for the north London outfit. The 24-year-old had an outstanding season in the Netherlands, scoring 16 and adding 14 assists in 34 league matches to be named Dutch footballer of the year. Manchester United have joined the lengthy list of clubs eyeing Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting. The Swede is apparently open to a move to Old Trafford despite the club not playing Champions League football next season. Ruben Amorim is reportedly keen to link up with his former player and the pair have kept in touch since he moved to the Theatre of Dreams this season. Sporting want around £60m for Gyökeres, which is a £25m reduction from his original £85m release clause, thanks to a verbal pact he made after committing to staying for the 2024-25 campaign, where he scored 54 goals in 52 games and won the Primeira Liga title. Continue reading...

Reijnders got 15 goals in Milan’s disappointing season He is in line to become City’s first major summer signing Manchester City’s promise of quick summer spending has begun with the agreement of a transfer fee with Milan for the Netherlands international midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. The 26-year-old will cost €55m – around £46m – and has already agreed personal terms for a five-year contract. He will become the first addition of the raft of signings the club chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, pledged before City take part in the Club World Cup. A special transfer window has been opened for Fifa’s new competition. Continue reading...

Bayern Munich’s domestic dominance returned and Arminia Bielefeld’s remarkable cup run provided the shocks It’s Bayern Munich, despite Mainz and Freiburg, unexpected troublers of the European places, deserving praise for their stratospheric improvement from 2023-24. The Rekordmeister is rarely more provoked than when presented with serious opposition, and Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen had done just that with last term’s domestically unbeaten double-winning exploits. Leverkusen were still excellent but could simply not match Bayern’s pace in the end. They played with dazzle but Vincent Kompany also did the one thing that was beyond Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel in beginning to sort out Bayern’s leaky defence, conceding their lowest total in the Bundesliga (32) since Hansi Flick’s treble-winning season of 2019-20. He also made them competitive in the Champions League, in which they were unlucky to lose to Inter. Continue reading...

Visitors score four first-half goals in Swansea Relegated Scotland gain point in Netherlands Rhian Wilkinson said Wales would not suffer any trauma in Switzerland after being thrashed 4-1 by Italy at their Euro 2025 send-off. Wilkinson suffered the biggest defeat of her 15-month reign as Italy scored four times in the first half of a Nations League finale in Swansea – the Wales manager calling it a “little bit of capitulation”. First-half goals from Cristiana Girelli, who struck twice with excellent headers, Elena Linari and Sofia Cantore punished poor Wales defending and secured Italy second place in the group. Jess Fishlock produced some late cheer with a stunning consolation eight minutes from time, scoring off the underside of the crossbar from 35 yards for her 47th Wales goal. Continue reading...

Kelleher was keen to be No 1 after deputising for Alisson Move happens as Mark Flekken joins Bayer Leverkusen Brentford have completed the signing of Caoimhín Kelleher from Liverpool in a deal that could rise to £18m. Liverpool had wanted more than £20m for the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper but, with only a year remaining on his contract and Kelleher keen for regular football, the Premier League champions have accepted an initial payment of £12.5m plus add-ons from Brentford for the 26-year-old. Continue reading...

Scotland will only arrive in the Netherlands for today's final Women's Nations League Group A game this morning after a technical issue prevents their charter flight leaving Edinburgh on Monday.

Brentford agree a deal with Liverpool for goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, with Bees number one Mark Flekken set for a move to Bayer Leverkusen.