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Leader Live
23 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Southampton sell out for opening day showdown with Wrexham
The Saints, relegated from the Premier League last term, face the Reds at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday. Phil Parkinson's side secured an historic third successive promotion in 2024-25 and the fixture has been selected for live television coverage by Sky Sports with a 12.30pm kick-off. But that hasn't stopped Southampton fans snapping up tickets in their droves for the eagerly awaited showdown at their stadium which has a capacity of 32,384. Wrexham have been allocated 3,080 tickets for the match. The club announced: "Tickets for our first home game of the season against Wrexham on Saturday 9th August at 12.30pm have now sold out. "St Mary's will be full for our opening fixture against the Red Dragons as we begin our 2025/26 EFL Championship season." Southampton, with Will Still in the hotseat following his appointment in May, could be without Tyler Dibling for the clash. Everton are said to be considering an improved bid for starlet Dibling having seen an initial £27million offer rejected. The 19-year-old impressed in his breakout Premier League campaign in 2024/25 and the Toffees are reportedly preparing a fresh £35million bid for the winger. However, Fulham, Aston Villa and West Ham are also thought to be keen on the England youth international.
Leader Live
23 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Tuesday's briefing: Alexander Isak back in Toon as Liverpool parade new signings
Alexander Isak is facing showdown talks with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe after returning to Tyneside. The 25-year-old Sweden international headed back to Tyneside over the weekend after spending time working on his fitness at former club Real Sociedad. Isak missed the Magpies' pre-season tour of Asia having cited a thigh injury amid fevered speculation over his future. Newcastle swiftly rejected a £110million bid for the player from Liverpool last week. 'You have to earn the right to train with us,' said Howe before the team flew home from Seoul. 'No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal.' Established stars Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo scored the goals as Liverpool showcased £270million-worth of new signings in a 3-2 friendly win over Athletic Bilbao at Anfield on Monday. Record recruit Florian Wirtz hit the bar in an eye-catching display while fellow new faces Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike also featured for the Premier League champions. Ekitike set up the opener for Salah, who also missed a penalty, and Gakpo struck twice. It was the second of two games against the Basque outfit, with a largely second-string Reds side earlier winning 4-1. Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott, two players linked with moves, were on target along with teenagers Rio Ngumoha and Ben Doak. Tributes were paid to forward Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash last month, in both games. Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has signed a new three-year contract. The 49-year-old Frenchman was appointed in June 2024 and guided the Black Cats back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence in his first season. Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: 'I'm delighted we are announcing this contract extension for Regis. 'It provides clarity going into the Premier League season, but more importantly it recognises his contribution and continued commitment to the club.' Russell Martin claims his criticism of some of the Rangers squad following their deflating 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday came from a position of 'love and care'. The Gers boss hit out following the William Hill Premiership opener at Fir Park, questioning mentality, speaking about 'egos' and accusing some of 'self-preservation'. 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaches that it all comes from a place of love and care for them,' said the Gers boss. Brighton owner Tony Bloom has set his sights on winning the SPL with Hearts after investing in the Edinburgh club. The English entrepreneur completed a £9.86million deal in June to secure a 29 per cent stake in the Jambos in non-voting shares. Bloom said: 'If we have not won the league title in the next 10 years, I will be very disappointed.' Rangers are in action again as they host Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of a Champions League third qualifying round tie.
Leader Live
23 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wrexham's Phil Parkinson happy how pre-season has gone
The Reds secured an historic third successive promotion last term and prepared for a first season in the second tier for 43 years with a tour Down Under. Games in Australia against Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC were followed by a clash against Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand. On the return home, Wrexham had an in-house practice match and then faced Shrewsbury Town in a behind-closed doors friendly before heading to the Netherlands to take on FC Groningen in two back-to-back matches at the weekend. The Reds suffered defeat in both games when all fit first-team players got a run-out but the emphasis was on building fitness levels and Parkinson feels things have gone well ahead of Saturday's first league outing of the season against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium. "It was a hard work-out for us on a heavy pitch but there's more to come from all the players," Parkinson told the club's YouTube channel following the 3-1 loss in the afternoon showdown. "We have had a decent pre-season and now we look forward to the start of the season. "I think the minutes we have got in the players has been good. It has been consistent so I am pleased with that. "We brought the lads back in early so we had some decent training is us before we went to Australia and New Zealand. "We came back and I think we have recovered well from the trip. "We gave the lads a couple of days off and in general the training has been good." The friendlies have been completed and it is now all eyes on Southampton who were relegated from the Premier League last season "If you look back at last week, we had the practice game on Saturday and we played Shrewsbury on Tuesday which was a decent work-out, and then Saturday against FC Groningen," added Parkinson. "The 11 v 11 work is done, we now need to tidy up on detail of how we are going to play against Southampton and get ready for what is going to be a great game for us."
