Arsenal and Chelsea dealt transfer blow as Inter strike ‘verbal agreement’ for England star

Arsenal and Chelsea were interested in the England international (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target John Stones has reached a verbal agreement to join Inter Milan on a free transfer, according to reports in Italy.

Stones had attracted interest from a host of top European clubs following his departure from Manchester City at the end of last season, ten years after his £50million move from Everton.

Despite an injury-affected league campaign, the 32-year-old delivered a timely reminder of his quality with his performances for England at the World Cup this summer.

Stones started three games for the Three Lions as Thomas Tuchel’s side made their way to the semi-finals before a late defeat to eventual runners-up Argentina.

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Reigning Premier League champions Arsenal had been weighing up a move for Stones, particularly after news that William Saliba will be out for an extended period due to a back injury.

Chelsea have also been credited with interest in the Englishman, as they seek to add some much-needed experience to Xabi Alonso’s squad.

However, both Premier League clubs appear to have lost out in the race to sign Stones, with Sky Italy reporting that Inter have reached an agreement on a two-year deal for the central defender.

John Stones is set to join Inter Milan (Picture: Shutterstock)

Juventus are also said to have been interested in signing Stones, but Inter now appear set to complete a deal by the end of the week.

Cristian Chivu’s side, who won Serie A last year, have already signed midfielder Aleksandar Stankovic from Club Brugge and goalkeeper Ivan Provedel from Lazio this summer.

Inter also remain interested in trying to sign Cristian Romero, who is poised to leave Tottenham this summer after five seasons in north London.

Speaking to Sky Italy, Inter’s sporting director, Piero Ausilio, said: ‘It’s definitely a deal we are trying to sign with the player and the club.

‘These things take some time but there’s definitely interest. Let’s see.

‘We are interested in signing Cuti Romero. We have met his agent and we have already talked with Tottenham. Let’s see what happens.’

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Farage’s fury after Zack Polanski posts man in ‘making plans for Nigel’ guillotine t-shirt

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Reform UK have said Zack Polanski sharing an image of a man wearing a guillotine t-shirt and the words ‘making plans for Nigel’ is ‘incitement to murder’.

Nigel Farage reacted with fury after Polanski shared a series of pictures of a Green Party event on Sunday with his 713,000 followers.

One features a man with a colourful hat and a t-shirt that says ‘We’re only making plans for Nigel’ – an apparent reference to an XTC song.

It features a guillotine but doesn’t use Farage’s image or name explicitly.

The post was hastily deleted, but not before Farage posted a screenshot, adding: ‘This is what Zack Polanski has just posted on his Instagram.

‘If I were to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.’

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The £20 t-shirt is made in Manchester.

In an online advert, the manufacturer says: ‘Who could Nigel be? And why the guillotine?

‘Whether it’s a nod to the XTC classic or a sharper bit of political satire, this design is for those who prefer their statements with a side of mystery.’

It is sweatshop-free and 100 per cent cotton.

It is understood Reform UK are reporting Polanski to the police over the post. The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said in a video ‘this is incitement to murder’.

Nigel Farage has called for Zack Polanski to be arrested (Picture: Getty)

A Green Party spokesperson said: ‘Once this image was brought to [Zack’s] attention he immediately unshared the post. He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message.’

Nigel Farage has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks with the rise of Andy Burnham, who has announced a host of policies to help ease the cost of living crisis.

A YouGov poll found Labour is up six points from its low of 16% recorded as recently as May, while Reform UK’s figure is the lowest recorded by our tracker since March 2025.

Nigel Farage’s top rival in the race has also taken on the Reform leader directly, with a promise not to ‘accept £5 million gifts from crypto billionaires’.

Binface emerged as an unlikely threat to Farage earlier this month, after the under-pressure party leader unexpectedly resigned as an MP so he could rerun in the resulting by-election.

The move appeared to backfire quickly, when all the major parties decided against taking part in a vote they described as a ‘stunt’ and ‘vanity project’.

As a result, Farage finds himself facing 33 opponents – a record for a UK parliamentary election – almost all of whom are fringe figures or comedy characters.

But it is Count Binface who has most captured the public imagination, with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves among those revelling in the idea of Farage spending his summer ‘arguing with a bin’.

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Arsenal plan incredible response to Vinicius Junior and Jose Mourinho transfer decisions

Arsenal are planning to make an offer to Vinicius Junior (Credits: Avalon)

Arsenal have not been deterred by the early setbacks they have encountered in their bid to sign Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid.

It has been a largely frustrating start to the transfer window for the current Premier League champions.

Winger Christos Tzolis and back-up goalkeeper Illan Meslier are the only senior players to have arrived since Mikel Arteta masterminded the north London club’s first title-winning campaign in 22 years.

The Gunners saw No.1 target Morgan Rogers move from Aston Villa to Chelsea in a British record £117million move, while they have been frustrated in their attempts to sign Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes.

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Arteta had been hoping to add a marquee name to his forward line but Julian Alvarez’s reluctance to return to the Premier League, especially given his desire to join Barcelona, has seen a move for the Atletico Madrid star stall.

In their search for a potentially game-changing new recruit, Arsenal are now understood to have turned their attention to Real’s unsettled Brazil international superstar.

Vinicius currently has just 12 months left on his current contract, but his primary objective is understood to be to find a resolution.

The Brazil forward is out of contract in 2027 (Picture: Getty)

Talks are planned in the coming week, but regardless of any potential contractual agreement, Jose Mourinho is minded not to allow Vinicius to join Arsenal under any circumstances.

Mourinho, appointed for his second spell in charge at the Bernabeu earlier this summer, is understood to be on the verge of completing another blockbuster signing in the shape of RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomiande.

But the Ivory Coast international’s arrival would, it is claimed, have no impact on the future of Vincius.

Vinicius currently earns £400,000-a-week at Real Madrid (Picture: Getty

Rather than be put off by the initial obstacles that have been presented with, Arsenal are understood to be preparing a club-record offer to Vinicius in an attempt to convince him of their ambition and desire to make him the jewel in an already impressive crown.

Arsenal handed their prize asset, Bukayo Saka, a new £350,000-a-week deal midway through last season.

But they are prepared to offer significantly more than that in an attempt to land arguably what would be the biggest signing in the club’s history.

Vinicius currently commands a weekly salary of £400,000 but the Telegraph claim Arsenal are in a position more than match that and would be prepared to smash their current wage structure.

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Bad news for Casualty next week and beyond as it goes off air ahead of big milestone

Some bad news! (Picture: BBC/Metro)

Casualty is going off air again ahead of the medical drama’s 40th anniversary.

The show’s final episode in the latest mini-series, Lethal Legacy, will air on BBC One this evening, but you can watch it right now on BBC iPlayer.

This boxset has primarily focused on exploring Flynn Byron’s (Olly Rix) army past, as well as the relationships Dylan Keogh (William Beck) has with son Matty Linlaker (Aron Julius) and friend Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless).

After learning that Matty and Stevie had been sleeping together, Dylan spiralled as he tried to process their betrayals. In an attempt to get revenge, Dylan reported Stevie to Flynn.

As he continued to struggle, Dylan reached a dark place. Things got so bad for him, he relapsed and started drinking alcohol.

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Thanks to the time he has spent getting to know his dad, Matty knew that turning away from Dylan out of disappointment that he had relapsed would only make things worse. He made it clear that he would be there for Dylan as he got control of his addiction again, leading to the father and son sharing a hug.

Elsewhere in the ED, this boxset saw Rida Amaan (Sarah Seggari) come to terms with her alopecia diagnosis. She was supported by friend and colleague Jodie Whyte (Anna Chell), who helped pick Rida back up whenever her confidence was low.

Speaking of Jodie, the character turned into a bit of a detective this mini-series, as she became passionate about exposing the truth surrounding a local housing development.

And finally, he might’ve taken the long way round, but Rash Masum (Neet Mohan) has been made a consultant, which means he will be wearing some dashing new blue scrubs next time we see him!

Rash got some hugely positive news (Picture: BBC)

With the credits rolling on another fantastic finale episode, we sadly won’t be making any trips to the Holby City Hospital ED department for a little while.

Why is Casualty going off air and when will it return?

Between now and Casualty’s 40th anniversary at the start of September, there won’t be enough time to air another boxset. It’s because each mini series is 12 episodes/weeks long, and we only have just over a month until the start of September.

Teasing the big milestone event, star Neet Mohan told us: ‘I’m not sure how much I can say on this, but let’s say this. I think the team at Casualty constantly push themselves, and they’ve pushed themselves once again in the 40th to be even more ambitious than before and even more creative and really push what the show makes and what we do, and Rash is a part of this, as everybody is in this story in the 40th. 

‘Rash is a part of that team, and hopefully you get to see Rash in the next stage of the character and there’s some really exciting stuff, but it’s great. 

We’ll rejoin the Holby City Hospital ED team in September (Picture: BBC)

‘I’m really proud of that 40th episode of what we did, and I think the fans are going to love it, hopefully. Hopefully the fans are going to love it. Because I think we’ve put a lot of effort into it, and I think we’ve really pushed it, I think it’s good.’

So, while it is disappointing to be without Casualty on our Saturday nights once more, the build up to the anniversary will be even more exciting.

40 years is an incredible achievement for any TV drama, and if taking a short break means the anniversary gets the spotlight it deserves, it’s a trade-off many fans will happily accept.

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Casualty confirms key character death as TV legend exits

A big death in this week’s Casualty (Picture: BBC / Metro)

Casualty spoilers follow for Saturday’s (July 25) episode that is now available to view on BBC iPlayer. The episode in question will air on BBC One at 9:10pm.

Jack Bard (Mark Womack) was left fighting for his life after a gun was fired at the barracks, with Flynn Byron (Olly Rix), Teddy Gowan (Milo Clarke) and Jacob Masters (Charles Venn) subsequently arriving to assist.

The sinister army colonel claimed the incident was an accident but it soon came to light this wasn’t the case after further shots were fired at the doctors as they attempted to take Bard to an ambulance.

The police recommended waiting until they swept the area for the shooter but Flynn ignored the orders, knowing Bard wouldn’t survive if they left it much longer.

Using smoke to keep out of sight, Holby’s Clinical Lead led Bard out of the building and towards the ambulance, with help from Teddy and Jacob.

Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) was on the case when Bard arrived at the hospital but the nightmare escalated when the shooter turned up, making her way into Bard’s treatment room, where she held the army man hostage.

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The person pointing the gun was Penny Sanders (Ellie Spooner), a soldier of Bard’s who has been subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of the sinister colonel.

As viewers know, Flynn suspected that Bard was hazing and physically abusing his soldiers after a number of them were admitted to the ED – with historic wounds unrelated to the reason for their admission.

After some investigating, he was able to get private Rory Dickson (Gwïon Morris Jones) to open up about what Bard puts his soldiers through but after his friend Kev died, Rory felt unable to report Bard – so Flynn did so himself.

Bard was suspended with an investigation soon following but devastation struck last week when Flynn learned that the evil colonel had managed to get away with his crimes.

Colonel Bard was shot (Picture: BBC STUDIOS)

‘He did a hatchet job on me’, Flynn told with Stevie, revealing that Bard had made out like he was a ‘bitter ex soldier with an axe to grind’.

Flynn subsequently headed to the bar where all the soldiers hang out to warn them just how dangerous he is, urging them to speak up. One of the soldiers in question was Penny, who – while holding Bard at gunpoint – detailed the abuse she has suffered due to his heinous methods of ‘training’.

With Bard’s condition getting worse and Stevie unable to tend to him, Flynn encouraged Penny to stand down, with Bard saying they could explain all this away as a ‘reaction to stress’ or a ‘breakdown’.

Flynn, Jacob and Teddy arrived at the scene (Picture: BBC STUDIOS)

Flynn stated that he knows better than most how Bard can ‘get in your head’ but reiterated that if she kills him, he will ‘stay there forever’.

Penny put the gun down and was taken away by armed police, with Rash Masum (Neet Mohan) subsequently checking her over.

Bard, meanwhile, was taken by Stevie and Flynn in the lift for surgery as his condition continued to deteriorate – but the situation took another turn when Bard told Flynn that he intended to ‘break’ Penny himself, claiming that he will continue to ‘stamp out weakness’ in the army.

Flynn was utterly horrified. As Bard lost consciousness, Stevie urged the Clinical Lead to start chest compressions. Flynn, however, did not do as he was told. Stevie repeatedly demanded that he act but Flynn showed no signs of doing so.

Bard met a shocking end (Picture: BBC STUDIOS)

In subsequent scenes, Bard was declared dead. This inevitably marks the end of Bard, with star Mark Womack – best known for his work in Emmerdale as DI Malone and other programmes including Liverpool 1 and Sorted – having exited the show.

Stevie berated Flynn for not acting sooner but an emotionless Flynn claimed that – whether he’d acted or not – Bard was never going to make it.

‘I know what I saw!’, exclaimed Stevie in response, leaving the two friends and colleagues further apart than ever as the credits rolled, concluding the Lethal Legacy saga.

Will Flynn and Stevie be able to get back on the same page?

Casualty airs Saturday at 9:10pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer. 

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TV soap icon fell pregnant to married 55-year-old man at age 19

Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte has spoken about a difficult past relationship (Picture: WireImage
(Credits: WireImage)

Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte has opened up about being in a relationship with a married man, 30 years her senior, when she was just 19.

Best known for playing Izzy Hoyland in the iconic Australian soap, the actress, now 50, recently sat down to reflect on life on screen, on stage, as a singer and all-around TV personality.

During one candid moment of reflection, she recounted a difficult situation she found herself in whilst having an affair with a 55-year-old man, when she was just shy of 20.

First reminiscing on her inner troubles while in the age-gap relationship, she said: ‘The hardest part was feeling deceitful because I’ve always felt like that’s not who I am as a person to the core.

‘But I just fell in love with a person who told me I was amazing and beautiful and talented and funny and what we all want to be told.

Explaining that the hardest part was knowing that she was hurting his wife. ‘When she came to me, and it was the worst day of my life, it was freaking horrible.’

She appeared as Izzy Hoyland in Neighbours in the 2000s (Picture: Fremantle Media/Shutterstock)

The moment Natalie decided to leave, however, came when she discovered she was expecting a baby.

She continued to the Inherited podcast: ‘I got pregnant to him and I did not want the baby. I was like: “Oh my god I’m a child”,’ but the father did want to keep it.

‘I think he’d been trying with his wife before and that didn’t happen,’ she said, explaining that she eventually said yes to keeping the child but then he started ‘not being very nice’ to her.

‘It was very odd, it was almost like: “Great I’ve got you now.”

The TV star later suffered a miscarriage.

She spoke about his wife confronting her (Picture: TikTok/ inheritedthepod)

Eventually the couple also parted ways, with Natalie ultimately reflecting that after going to therapy ‘he was a grown man taking advantage of a young woman’.

In recent years she has been open about her dating life, sharing that she was engaged to her partner Pip Loth in October 2025 after they confirmed their romance in 2023.

Nowadays, Natalie – whose main run on Neighbours was between 2003 and 2007 – is putting all her concentration into her theatre career and recently wrapped her role as Jenna in Australia’s national tour of Waitress.

The tour, however, was abruptly cancelled, with Natalie later sharing a message on social media about her gratitude for all the women she’s had the honour to play on stage.

Nowadays the star is found on stage and engaged to fiancee Pip Loth (Picture: WireImage via Getty)

‘It has been so incredible to sit in the gratitude for all the many amazing women I have had the opportunity to play in my career. These characters spoke to me in ways that are hard to put into words. They always came at a time when I needed them the most.

‘These women were raw and real. Struggling to find their place. But they did. Each story unique, but at the core, a celebration of finding themselves along the way.

‘I was able to share these stories with thousands, nationwide, seemingly at a time when they needed it too. How great to look back with pride and celebrate theatre

‘Keep watching and supporting these stories and experiences. You will be changed for good,’ she concluded.

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Readers weigh in on Burnham’s early plans and attempts to lower cost of living

Readers discuss Burnham’s first moves as PM, how good the new Odyssey film really is and whether we’re actually in a cost-of-living crisis (Picture: Toby Melville / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

Is removing VAT from domestic energy bills a good move?

Andy Burnham’s first attempt to ease the cost-of-living crisis as prime minister – by removing VAT from domestic electricity bills (Metro, Wed) – may be popular but is, from the point of view of economics, wrong-headed.

Economics and experience tell us price is determined by supply and demand.

Energy prices have increased because supply has been restricted due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. If the price we pay is reduced by the tax cut, demand will rise, putting upward pressure again on price.

Thus the net effect of the tax cut will be, at least to a degree, to transfer money which would have gone to the government to the energy companies.

A tax increase, conversely, reduces demand and so depresses the market price, so that, in effect, part of the tax is borne by the energy companies rather than the consumer. Bernard Winchester, Norwood

‘Inflation is down’ so is there no cost-of-living crisis?

We keep reading about the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ but inflation is down to 2.6 per cent. In 1975, soon after I had married, it hit 25 per cent. Let’s get some perspective! Jamie, Chelsea

Right-wing media are resposible for view Burnham is taking is back to the ’70s, says reader

A Martin (MetroTalk, Thu) says Burnham ‘seems to want to take Britain back to the 1970s’. How do we know this? Has Burnham said this? What measures is he introducing 
that reflect such a view? Or, maybe A Martin just gets ideas from the right-wing media? Martin, London

Sound was an issue with the Odyssey

Having read Tori Brazier’s five-star review of The Odyssey (Metro, Jul 16),
I went to see it with high expectations.

First, the sound. During the opening scenes on Ithaca I could hardly understand a word of what was said due to the subdued whispery tone of the actors. This applied to most of the film –except when an actor shouted.

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I was quite bored with scenes leading up to Odysseus’s departure for Troy. Some scenes after the Sack of Troy were good, in particular with the Cyclops.

Other reservations include why Helen of Troy had to be black [Lupita Nyong’o]. She was a Spartan queen, almost certainly white. The goddess Athena [Zendaya] scarcely appears and doesn’t resemble as much of a goddess as Tori seems to think.

Anne Hathaway makes a passable Penelope, though, and Matt Damon is excellent as Odysseus.

However, at nearly three hours, the film is far too long and director Nolan unnecessarily repeats the Sack of Troy a few times. The film also jumps backwards and forwards, which makes it confusing at times. If it’s your first time with the plot, you’ll find it a bit difficult to follow. I was glad to leave when the end finally arrived. Peter, Bradford-on-Avon

More labelling needed on processed foods

Further to calls for more explicit labelling on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in light of their link to fatal heart disease (MetroTalk, Mon).

Companies that produce UPFs should by now realise they cause cancers. As a recovering victim of prostate cancer, caused by eating processed food, surely it is incumbent on manufacturers of these dangerous foodstuffs to advertise this on their labels.

They should follow the example of the cigarette companies who print very clearly that smoking kills, because so does eating UPFs. Melvyn Jacobs, Stockport

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