Vesper

OG

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Mohamed Salah calls out Uefa tribute to Palestinian footballer ‘killed in Israeli aid attack’ Gary Lineker echoes Liverpool forward’s question over governing body’s refusal to be explicit about Suleiman al-Obeid death in Gaza https://archive.ph/6cEd9 Mohamed Salah has called out Uefa over the governing body’s tribute to the late Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid after failing to acknowledge he was killed in an Israeli attack. Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele”, was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid on Wednesday, according to the Palestine Football Association. The statement said that armed personnel “targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip” and that the death of Obeid took the number of footballers killed in the Gaza conflict since the war began to at least 421, the PFA added. ‘‘During his long career, al-Obeid, 41, scored more than 100 goals, making him one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football,” it said. “The number of footballers killed or who died from starvation has reached 421, including 103 children.” Uefa posted a tribute to Obeid on Friday after the news of his death emerged. The European governing body posted on social media: “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pelé. “A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.” However, the post received a fiercely negative reaction for failing to reference the cause of his death, attracting more than 9,000 replies and being viewed more than 26 million times. On Saturday, the furore attracted the attention of Liverpool forward Salah, who quoted the Uefa tribute in his own post on X and added: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?” Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who was sacked by the BBC after he was forced to apologise for a post made in relation to the Gaza conflict, shared Salah’s message before adding: “We can’t hear you Uefa.” Uefa declined to comment when approached for a response. Salah was criticised shortly after the start of the war for not speaking out in support of Palestinians. Nearly two weeks after the conflict first erupted, the Egypt national team captain posted a video on social media in which he said: “It is not always easy to speak in a time like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreak and brutality. “The escalations in recent weeks is unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop, families are being torn apart.” Salah, who has contributed large financial donations towards the aid effort in Gaza, also called for “world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls”. With Gaza in the throes of a hunger crisis, the UN rights office said last month that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,300 Palestinians trying to get food aid in the territory since late May. An ex-player of the Khadamat Al-Shati club in Gaza, Obeid played 24 international matches for Palestine, the PFA said. The midfielder also played for the Al-Amari Youth Center Club in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. While living there in 2010, Obeid was among six players on the national team from Gaza who were turned back at the Jordanian border for “security reasons” on their way to a friendly in Mauritania. An Israeli security official said at the time that the players had failed to renew special permits allowing them to play in the West Bank. “When I heard that we would be forbidden from travelling I was very upset, because any athlete dreams of wearing his national jersey in international forums,” Obeid told AFP in 2010. “We want to be able to travel freely with our families, just like athletes anywhere else in the world.” Israel had previously allowed the six players to travel with the team. Born in Gaza City, Obeid was married and is survived by his wife and five children. Since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, 662 people from the sport and scouting sector have been killed, according to the PFA. Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,258 in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

New executive order puts all grants under political control All new funding on hold until Trump administration can cancel any previously funded grants. https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/08/new-executive-order-puts-all-grants-under-political-control/ On Thursday, the Trump administration issued an executive order asserting political control over grant funding, including all federally supported research. The order requires that any announcement of funding opportunities be reviewed by the head of the agency or someone they designate, which means a political appointee will have the ultimate say over what areas of science the US funds. Individual grants will also require clearance from a political appointee and "must, where applicable, demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities." The order also instructs agencies to formalize the ability to cancel previously awarded grants at any time if they're considered to "no longer advance agency priorities." Until a system is in place to enforce the new rules, agencies are forbidden from starting new funding programs. In short, the new rules would mean that all federal science research would need to be approved by a political appointee who may have no expertise in the relevant areas, and the research can be canceled at any time if the political winds change. It would mark the end of a system that has enabled US scientific leadership for roughly 70 years. We’re in control The text of the executive order recycles prior accusations the administration has used to justify attacks on the US scientific endeavor: Too much money goes to pay for the facilities and administrative staff that universities provide researchers; grants have gone to efforts to diversify the scientific community; some studies can't be replicated; and there have been instances of scientific fraud. Its "solution" to these problems (some of which are real), however, is greater control of the grant-making process by non-expert staff appointed by the president. In general, the executive order inserts a layer of political control over both the announcement of new funding opportunities and the approval of individual grants. It orders the head of every agency that issues grants—meaning someone appointed by the president—to either make funding decisions themselves, or to designate another senior appointee to do it on their behalf. That individual will then exert control over whether any funding announcements or grants can move forward. Decisions will also require "continuation of existing coordination with OMB [Office of Management and Budget]." The head of OMB, Russell Vought, has been heavily involved in trying to cut science funding, including a recent attempt to block all grants made by the National Institutes of Health. What sorts of political litmus tests will these appointees apply to science funding? As mentioned above, they'll need to be consistent with the president's agenda and can't promote "anti-American values." The order also doesn't want any funding for grants that suggest that sex isn't binary, even though it is clearly not. Presumably, researchers who work on the hermaphroditic worm C. elegans are out of luck. Research institutions with lower facility costs—which will typically mean rural ones—will be favored for funding, which appears to be OMB trying to accomplish a previous goal that was blocked by the courts. Another expectation? That grants will go to people who adhere to the administration's vision of "gold standard science," something the administration itself has abandoned when it was inconvenient. An optimistic view would be that the panels of experts that evaluate grants will end up being left with the final say over funding. However, the order specifically calls on appointees not to defer to peer review. "Senior appointees and their designees shall not ministerially ratify or routinely defer to the recommendations of others in reviewing funding opportunity announcements or discretionary awards, but shall instead use their independent judgment," it reads. "Nothing in this order shall be construed to discourage or prevent the use of peer review methods to evaluate proposals for discretionary awards or otherwise inform agency decision making, provided that peer review recommendations remain advisory and are not ministerially ratified, routinely deferred to, or otherwise treated as de facto binding by senior appointees or their designees." Prior funding at risk All funding agencies are forbidden from starting any new grant funding programs until the system for exerting political control over the research is in place. The order also requires agencies to take political control of past funding. The actual process of distributing funds to labs is called grant "drawdown," and the order requires the funding agency to explicitly approve any drawdown. That approval will now require any researcher to essentially rejustify the existence of their grant any time they want money, with agencies requiring "grantees to provide written explanations or support, with specificity, for requests for each drawdown." The explosion of paperwork that this will require is somewhat ironic, given that the order is claiming to be (in part) about making research spending more efficient. Should the agency not feel that any grant is justified, they'll simply be allowed to unilaterally terminate it. "Each agency head shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law and consistent with relevant Executive Orders or other Presidential directives," it reads, "take steps to revise the terms and conditions of existing discretionary grants to permit immediate termination for convenience, or clarify that such termination is permitted, including if the award no longer advances agency priorities or the national interest." It has been clear for a while that the administration is committed to adding ideological litmus tests to science and slashing research funding. However, Congress has shown indications that it doesn't intend to go along with the cuts. This appears to be the administration's response to Congress: An attempt to place a major roadblock to any new funding and establish the structure that will formally exert the ideological control that it wants.

Aaron Bouwman turns 18yo in 18 days, so could join us right before the window slams shut Exclusive: Chelsea eye move for Ajax defender Aaron Bouwman https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-Chelsea-eye-move-for-ajax-defender-aaron-bouwman/ Chelsea are tracking highly-rated Ajax youngster Aaron Bouwman this summer, sources have told Football Insider. Scouts from Stamford Bridge watched the 17-year-old in the recent pre-season Como Cup, where he scored a spectacular goal in a 5-1 win against Celtic on Thursday, 24 July. The defender is regarded as the next top prospect to emerge from Ajax’s famed academy, and Chelsea are keen to be at the head of the queue for the Netherlands Under-18s international. Chelsea have already signed Jorrel Hato from Ajax this summer, and they are now expected to keep tabs on Bauwman’s progress as they weigh up a move for the central defender.

Trump's US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Shares Bizarre Video About Banning Women from Voting, “Submission” to Men Pete Hegseth reposts video that says women shouldn’t be allowed to vote Progressive evangelical group says ideas shared by pastors and amplified by defense secretary are ‘very disturbing’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/pete-hegseth-video-pastors-women-voting The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, recently shared a video in which several pastors say women should no longer be allowed to vote, prompting one progressive evangelical organization to express concern. Hegseth reposted a CNN segment on X on Thursday that focuses on pastor Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist who co-founded the Idaho-based Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), In the segment, he raises the idea of women not voting. “I would like to see this nation being a Christian nation, and I would like this world to be a Christian world,” Wilson said. Another pastor interview by CNN for its segment, Toby Sumpter, said: “In my ideal society, we would vote as households. I would ordinarily be the one to cast the vote, but I would cast the vote having discussed it with my household.” A congregant interviewed for the segment remarked that she considers her husband as the head their household, and added: “I do submit to him.” Hegseth reposted the nearly seven-minute report with the caption: “All of Christ for All of Life.” Later in the video, Wilson says he does not believe women should hold leadership positions in the military or be able to fill high-profile combat roles. A statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell on Saturday said Hegseth “is a proud member of a church affiliated with” the CREC. “The secretary very much appreciates many of Mr Wilson’s writings and teachings.” Hegseth and his family were in attendance at the Wilson church’s inaugural service in Washington in July, according to CNN. Doug Pagitt, a pastor and the executive director of the progressive evangelical organization Vote Common Good, told the Associated Press that the ideas in the video are views that “small fringes of Christians keep” and said it was “very disturbing” that Hegseth would amplify them. Hegseth’s repost on Thursday came as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to promote Christian nationalism. The push follows Donald Trump’s renewed alliance with the Christian right in his second presidential term, whose moves have included an executive order creating a federal taskforce to investigate what he calls “anti-Christian bias” in government agencies. The president also created a White House faith office in February, saying it would make recommendations to him “regarding changes to policies, programs and practices” and consult with outside experts in “combating antisemitic, anti-Christian and additional forms of anti-religious bias”. In May, Hegseth invited his personal pastor, Brooks Potteiger, to the Pentagon to lead the first of several Christian prayer services that the defense secretary has held inside the government building during working hours. Defense department employees and service members said they received invitations to the event in their government emails. The US constitution’s first amendment prohibits the government from establishing a state religion. But the US courts’ administrative office says the precise definition of “establishment” in that context historically has been unclear, especially with the constitution also protecting all citizens’ right to practice their religion generally as they please.

CL football and a whole lot of ££££££

AC Milan star Malick Thiaw to have Newcastle United medical on Monday ahead of switch https://sports.yahoo.com/article/ac-milan-star-malick-thiaw-220100753.html

We should sell Disasi and/or Badi to Bournemouth they are now fucked at CB they have only one decent one: Marcos Senesi (who played only 1,200 minutes, all comps, and had a bad hamstring injury) two who are scrub level: Chris Mepham James Hill and an 18yo yank teen: Matai Akinmboni

Ranking every Premier League home kit for 2025-26: Wavy brilliance, retro styling and a nod to shepherds https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6538413/2025/08/07/premier-league-home-kits-2025-26-ranked/ A new season and new threads to enjoy — unless, of course, your team already wore their 2025-26 home kit last season for marketing purposes. As ever, the beginning of a campaign means new strips for all 20 Premier League clubs and that has stirred The Athletic’s resident kit critic Nick Miller into action. He has cast his eye over every fresh home shirt that we’ll see when English football’s top flight gets back underway next week and has rated them from worst to best. Dive into the list below.

Why is Vinicius Jr out of favour at Real Madrid? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6542208/2025/08/09/vinicius-jr-real-madrid-xabi-alonso-renewal/ A year ago, Vinicius Junior looked to be at the very peak of his powers. Over the previous 2023-24 season he had won the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid, contributing decisively on all fronts with 35 goal contributions in 39 matches. The fans adored him, to the point that many of them argued he should keep his place on the left wing despite the arrival of Kylian Mbappe. Madrid were also delighted with him. The club’s board refused to even consider the dizzying potential of a sale to Saudi Arabia when efforts were made to try and sign him. And he started the new season as a favourite for the Ballon d’Or. There was a sense he was finally fully delivering on his potential, there was excitement over what would follow next. Unfortunately, there is not the same feeling around the 25-year-old Brazilian now, after a challenging 2024-25 campaign that brought great individual disappointment. Multiple sources consulted for this article — who all asked to speak anonymously to protect relationships — agreed that not winning the Ballon d’Or has been a heavy burden for Vinicius Jr, even though he was recognised with The Best FIFA award in December. But the past six months or so have also seen complications over the renewal of his contract, with the displeasure generated by that undoubtedly a factor that has affected performances on the pitch. Some were met with boos from fans at the Bernabeu. It was indicative of his status now that new manager Xabi Alonso planned to bench him for the Club World Cup semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, until Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury changed things. The start between coach and player has not been ideal, although this is just the beginning. But sources close to Vinicius Jr — who, like all those cited here, asked to speak anonymously to protect relationships — predict that “it’s not going to be an easy season”. Why has there been such a turnaround for ostensibly one of the world’s very best players? The Athletic explains the full picture. Like the rest of the Real Madrid squad, Vinicius Jr did not perform at his usual level last season as Madrid failed to win any of the three major titles, which led to the club replacing Carlo Ancelotti as manager. There is always pressure at Madrid to succeed, to win trophies, but Vinicius Jr has been closer to the spotlight in this regard, and not just because he is seen as one of the team’s best players. What You Should Read Next From Kylian Mbappe to Cristiano Ronaldo, why Real Madrid fans whistle their own players The Bernabeu is one of the most demanding stadiums in world sport. This is why the fans expect so much from their stars But complications in his negotiations over a new deal at the club have played a big role in this, too. Particularly towards the end of last term’s domestic campaign, there were audible murmurs at the Bernabeu when his tricks did not work, and several times when he received the ball he would be whistled. Madrid opened negotiations in January to extend Vinicius Jr’s contract, which was renewed in 2022 until 2027. It was at a meeting at their Valdebebas training complex, attended by senior figures from the club and, on the player’s side, two agents and his father. Vinicius Jr is currently earning around €17million (£14.7m; $19.7m) net a year, a figure that includes certain bonus clauses that have now been activated, for example after winning FIFA’s The Best award last season. The club’s offer of around €20m net a year was not accepted, so the board asked the player’s side to propose a figure. His representatives requested a historic contract, in the region of the highest ever at the club (which was given to Cristiano Ronaldo), with a package of around €30m net per season. This included the base salary, performance bonuses and even a renewal bonus, something new at Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr’s agents made the point that if Madrid’s unofficial salary cap can not be broken (there is no formal limit, but a figure in the region of €20m is often mentioned), a player looking to earn more money for himself is forced into seeking a move elsewhere and securing a signing-on fee, as happened with Mbappe at Madrid. They also considered that an exception could be made for players who have given a lot to the club. Alonso and Vinicius Jr in training back in June (Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images) In April, several media outlets in Spain claimed that Vinicius Jr was very close to agreeing a renewal, with some suggesting that the announcement would be made after La Liga’s conclusion. At the time, Madrid sources told The Athletic that these reports were on the right track, while the player’s entourage, reacting with something between surprise and annoyance, strongly denied it. Several months later, Vinicius Jr’s renewal has not been announced, nor even finalised. The same media outlets that claimed he would renew have now said that the process has stalled because the player is asking for more money. This last point does not match with The Athletic’s information on the subject. Madrid have always been extremely cautious about the salary scale, and in that sense, they are not keen on the renewal bonus route. Furthermore, they want Vinicius Jr to recover his real level. But all of this has not helped a player who has been struggling to produce that. Alonso represents a new start. He and his coaching team wanted to use the Club World Cup as an opportunity to inject new purpose into the side, combating the “inertia” they believed had taken hold. When asked about his first encounter with Vinicius Jr, Alonso said before the Club World Cup opener that it had been “very good”. He added: “I didn’t know Vini, I had seen him a lot and everything I saw and heard I recognised in 10 seconds: the way he is, the way he communicates with people. He is a very passionate player. You have to be close to him, I like to have this kind of player. How we can use him in the best way and position is what we have to see now. What we have felt these days is that he has a very good heart.” Vinicius Jr in training this week. Madrid start the new season on August 19 (Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images) With just one goal and one assist (both against Red Bull Salzburg, when he was named player of the match) in five games in the United States, Alonso planned to bench Vinicius Jr for the semi-final against PSG. A muscle injury to Alexander-Arnold forced him to change that plan, which meant the Brazilian started against Luis Enrique’s side on the right wing, with 21-year-old academy product Gonzalo Garcia as the No 9 and Mbappe on the left. Vinicius Jr was disappointed with this decision, after years of performing at the highest level and establishing himself on the left. After the holidays, sources close to Alonso at Valdebebas preferred not to dwell on this fact and emphasised that they expect Vinicius Jr and Mbappe to both be very important this season. The coach’s initial idea is to play both in attack, although his tactical flexibility will lead him to vary this over the season. However, they also acknowledge that Vinicius Jr needs to improve and suggest that if he continues to play as he has been, he could cease to be irreplaceable, and that this new status would not be difficult for team-mates, fans or the club itself to accept.

https://www.espn.com.au/football/story/_/id/45926246/psg-lucas-chevalier-transfer-gianluigi-donnarumma-goalkeeper Paris Saint-Germain have signed Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier on a five-year contract, the French champions confirmed Saturday. Sources told ESPN that PSG agreed a fee of €40 million ($47 million) plus an additional €15 million ($17m) in potential bonuses, with Chevalier set to be their new No. 1 goalkeeper. It leaves Gianluigi Donnarumma, who played a key role in PSG's history-making season last year, to find a new club this summer. PSG do not want to keep the Italy international and have two top keepers in the squad this season, sources said. The clubs expect an offer from Chelsea, Manchester United or Inter Milan who have all had contact with Enzo Raiola, Donnarumma's agent, sources added.

Better question: How can someone watch the entire 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons (all comps for clubs and countries) and not want all of the following over Sanchez? Sanchez made a tonne of insane errors that cost us points over that time. In order of valuation and yes, some of these are now not available or are on the old side (but we have Penders coming in down the road), BUT I list them all to prove my point about how many are better GKers: Bold are still technically available (some of the bold are almost impossible pulls though). Diogo Costa Gianluigi Donnarumma Gregor Kobel Giorgi Mamardashvili (my main want for ages, Pool stole him, arfff) Lucas Chevalier (my 2nd choice and now gone to PSG, ffs) Mike Maignan Guillaume Restes Jan Oblak Thibaut Courtois Ederson Emiliano Martinez Alisson Zion Suzuki (really impressed with him after watching some games plus videos) Alex Meret Bento big names (€20m and up in valuation) I do not rate to buy: bold I could change my mind on David Raya Guglielmo Vicario Bart Verbruggen Anatoliy Trubin Unai Simon Joan Garcia Marco Carnesecchi Mile Svilar André Onana James Trafford Marcin Bulka Caoimhín Kelleher Matvey Safonov Dean Henderson

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Chelsea https://thedailybriefing.io/i/170511342/Chelsea Chelsea are expected to submit an offer for the PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (ESPN) Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson wants to stay in the Premier League, and he would be open to a Newcastle United switch. (Sun) Along with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga are all set to leave the club before the transfer window closes. (Fabrizio Romano) Chelsea will look to sign a central defender before the window closes. Enzo Maresca: “It’s a priority for me to get a new centre back. We will see if we go for it”. (Channel 5)

lol, no we have not Do we have problems with certain types of immigration and the amounts? Of course, and I predicted those problems long ago (and predicted the foolish refusal to deal with it by most all of the other parties here would lead to the rise of a RW party, the Sweden Democrats, into our Riksdag (parliament). But we are hardly 'destroyed'. That is RW hyperbolic framing. Of course we (I am mixed race part black) can be racist. I do not think that racism by itself led to more black voting for Trump (especially young black men). I think that many factors played a role, some malign (misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, a twisted take on fundamental christinaity, etc) and some (a good deal) disatisfaction with the economic situation. The thing is, the economy had turned a major point and inflation was coming down, AND a lot of the other bad parts (exploding rents, predatory profit taking with Covid (and the Covid wreckage was very much driven by Trump's and MAGA's poor handling of it) used as an excuse by corporate forces) were actualised by non Democratic party pushed practises. I hate HATE. Hate is a fundamental foundation of what animates Trump, MAGA, Project 25, etc. (Along with fear, misogyny, homophobia, utter disdain for science and rational thought, a disdain for the rule of law, a disadain for education itself, white grievance culture, scapegoating of the 'other', the Big Lie about the 2020 election being stolen, authoritarian christian nationalism, the attempted erasure all that these forces I speak of deem to be 'the enemy' of their ultra-narrow definition of what is proper and acceptable, etc etc.) Trump himself repeatedly said 'I will be your retribution'. All those malign forces listed combine with an annihilation of objective truth and a fascistic disdain for pluralism and the rule of law, to set the US (and thus a lot of the world) on a course for ruination, chaos, a distruction of civil society, a destruction of the global economic sytems (which was FAR from perfect but what is replacing it is FAR worse and will likely eventually lead to armed conflicts erupting at a pace far exceeding where it would be without the destruction). So no, this is not a 'hate thread'. Much of this forum is a pushback against hate and all the ill effects that it engenders.

Guehi prefers to play on the left and he is good on the ball, good at passing, as I showed with my in-depth analysis post

Take Your Ass to Cracker Barrel they eviscerate Trumpers and racist, misogynistic, christofash white trash American culture I had to lol when one of them used 'WUMing' never heard an older yank use that before, or if I have, I forgot

Levi Colwill is fundamental to Chelsea on many levels – replacing him will be tough https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6541231/2025/08/08/levi-colwill-Chelsea-injury-analysis/ If anyone needs a reminder of just how dizzyingly — and, at times, brutally — fast football moves, consider that less than two weeks ago, Levi Colwill was talking about competing for the Premier League title with Chelsea this season, and how he felt about an impending Champions League debut at his boyhood club. “When that anthem comes on, it is going to be a dream,” he told The Athletic at a pre-season friendly between Sholing FC and Chelsea Under-18s. “I could get a bit emotional, to be honest.” That particular dream is going to have to wait, and Colwill would only be human if he had got more than a bit emotional in the days since he felt his knee give way towards the end of Chelsea’s first pre-season training session at their Cobham HQ on Monday. A scan confirmed he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but footballers tend to know immediately when something is badly wrong. Enzo Maresca’s ominous words in his press conference at Cobham on Thursday left little room to avoid the conclusion that Colwill had suffered a significant injury. “We know each other from last year, and we know how important he has been,” Maresca said. “I spoke with Levi yesterday (Wednesday) and I told him that if we achieved what we achieved last year, it’s also because of him.” Colwill’s absence from Chelsea’s trophy celebration in front of several thousand supporters at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday provided the first public indication that something was amiss. A club statement issued on Thursday evening attempted to soften the blow while confirming the reality: “Levi Colwill has today undergone successful surgery to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.” Colwill was key as Chelsea won the Club World Cup (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) There are many sentiments deployed at moments like this, most of them empty. The timing is awful for Colwill before a Chelsea season rich with promise, leading into a World Cup where he could credibly start for England. But then, there is never a good time for a footballer to tear their ACL, given the long and gruelling nature of the rehabilitation process. For some, it will feel worse because Colwill gives every impression of being one of football’s genuine good guys, devoting his time and his money to Sholing and the new academy that bears his name, as well as organising a training session for children while on holiday in Trinidad. But good, bad or anything in between, it is always a sporting tragedy when football is deprived of an elite talent in this manner. Many will express the belief that Colwill can emerge stronger from this, but that is a reach for reassurance rather than a reliable predictor. Even in 2025, injuries as severe as a torn ACL or ruptured Achilles can disrupt and even derail athletes’ careers. As a Chelsea player, Colwill will have every available resource to achieve a full recovery to elite competition, but there is no escaping the physical and mental challenges that lie ahead. Perhaps the most effective source of comfort to Colwill in the coming weeks and months will be the difficulty Chelsea have replacing him. Last season, he emerged as the foundation of Maresca’s defence, playing more than twice as many Premier League minutes as any of the other centre-backs in the squad. His recognition of defensive danger sharpened with greater experience, and he warmed to the physical demands of battling opposing strikers. He formed effective partnerships with Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and fellow Cobham graduate Trevoh Chalobah, adjusting subtly to fit with each. On the ball, his ability to punch progressive passes through opposition lines gave Maresca’s patient build-up style a more direct option it desperately needed against low blocks. Colwill’s unflappable assurance was critical to the team’s success in playing out from the back through intense pressure. Put together, it is a rare, coveted skill set for a centre-back, which is why Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion tried hard to prise Colwill away from Stamford Bridge in the weeks before he signed a new long-term contract in the summer of 2023. It is also why Chelsea rebuffed all advances and always insisted they considered him untouchable, as he has been ever since. Then there is Colwill’s strength of personality, which always stood out in one of the youngest squads ever assembled. No other regular Chelsea starter could be relied upon so consistently to field questions from the media after a match, win, lose or draw, and few others were as loud or outwardly forceful on the pitch. Within the squad, there are no easy solutions. Tosin and Chalobah have both grown in stature and performance in this Chelsea squad in recent months, but are untested as a partnership in the Premier League. Benoit Badiashile has not proven as reliable as Colwill despite being regarded as a close to equivalent talent when he arrived from Monaco in January 2023. Maresca has a headache in defence (David Ramos/Getty Images) Fofana is arguably Chelsea’s most gifted defender, but the 24-year-old has also spent much of his time at Stamford Bridge on the sidelines. Summer signing Jorrel Hato has some similarities to Colwill in profile — left-footed, elegant on the ball, shorter but faster — but elevating the 19-year-old to the status of Premier League starting centre-back so soon would be a big call. The same could be said of another 19-year-old, Josh Acheampong, who Maresca has generally preferred to pick at right-back. What You Should Read Next Chelsea are back in pre-season training. What issues must Enzo Maresca address? The FIFA Club World Cup winners had three weeks off but must now rediscover their rhythm and integrate new arrivals in double-quick time The transfer market will always be a consideration for Chelsea at a time like this, but any exploration must be tinged with wariness of radically altering the dynamic at the heart of Maresca’s defence for the long term. Until he went down this week, Colwill was a fundamental component of the core that is powering the team’s sharp upward trajectory. Any defensive plan that Chelsea decide upon in what remains of August must allow for the desired scenario that Colwill is fundamental again as soon as he returns.

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