World Cup 2026: England set to get bank holiday IF Three Lions win World Cup - Paper Talk

The top stories and transfer rumours from Thursday's newspapers...

WORLD CUP

England will bag an historic Bank Holiday if the Three Lions lift the World Cup, Sir Keir Starmer has signalled.

England thrashed by India in women's Test at Lord's as tourists record 270-run victory on day four

England crashed to a second heavy defeat at Lord's in a little over a week with India needing just over 90 minutes on the final day of the historic first women's Test at the ground to wrap up a 270-run victory.

Man Utd transfer news: Ederson deal with Atalanta not proceeding at current price due to issues with medical

Manchester United are not ruling out signing Ederson this summer despite a breakdown in the deal over a medical issue. 

United denied the deal was off to Sky Sports News last week after reports emerged in Italy, and, although it will not progress at the initial price and structure, the club may come back to signing the Brazilian later in the window.

Youri Tielemans: Manchester United in talks to sign Aston Villa and Belgium midfielder

Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for a fee in the region of £36m.

Sky Sports News understands the midfielder has a release clause in his contract that is being triggered by United.

Johan Manzambi: Newcastle set to lose Switzerland World Cup hero to Aston Villa - becoming 10th player to turn Magpies down in two years

Newcastle believe they are set to miss out on the signing of Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi to Aston Villa.

The Switzerland international's preference is understood to be Villa, who have offered to match the £49m deal Newcastle verbally agreed with Freiburg.

Jude Bellingham leads World Cup 2026 England stats after scoring twice against Norway and Mexico ahead of Argentina semi-final

Jude Bellingham fever grips the nation after the Real Madrid midfielder scored two goals - for the second game running - in England's 2-1 win over Norway.

Gary Neville says Bellingham's performances have given him goosebumps and have been "game-changing", carrying England into the semi-finals "almost single-handedly with the support of Harry Kane".

Andoni Iraola says Liverpool need to sign more players as he addresses questions over his style in first press conference

Liverpool’s new head coach Andoni Iraola has said that the club needs to sign more players as he addressed the challenge facing him in his new job.

In his first press conference since being named as the replacement for Arne Slot at Anfield, the former Bournemouth boss made it clear that Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz will not be the only new arrivals ahead of the new season.

Brendon McCullum sacked as England Test head coach but will retain white-ball role

Brendon McCullum has been sacked as Test coach in another staggering twist in the unravelling of the England team.

Two weeks after Ben Stokes made the stunning announcement to step down as captain and retire from international cricket, McCullum's exit brings a definitive end to the Bazball era.

World Cup 2026: France 2-0 Morocco – Kylian Mbappe magic decides quarter-final after his own early penalty miss

Kylian Mbappe shrugged off a missed penalty to star as France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston to clinch their spot in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

The France captain won a penalty in the first half but after a lengthy delay before the kick, his tame effort was saved by Yassine Bounou. Mbappe was not to be denied, scoring one and assisting another for Ousmane Dembele after the break.

Shakur Stevenson signs with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing | 'Line them up, one by one, and I’ll beat all the top guys'

Shakur Stevenson has signed with new promotional powerhouse Zuffa Boxing.

American star Stevenson is regarded as one of the best boxers in the world today.

He became a four-division world champion after defeating Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in his most recent fight in January.