As Europe's most prestigious clubs fly back to the Old World from preseason tours of all corners of the globe, it's the surest sign yet that the return of club football is just around the corner. As ever, the summer transfer window has seen teams splash stacks of cash, so ESPN FC enlisted Nick Miller to break down some of the new arrivals who are preparing for their debut campaigns in a new league.

- When does the transfer window close?
- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- When does the 2019-20 La Liga season start?

Premier League

It's always a fun, if slightly pointless exercise to look for weaknesses in Manchester City's side. At the end of last season, the best you could probably come up with is "Fernandinho's getting on a bit," so naturally City promptly fixed that weakness with probably the best option available. Rodri arrived from Atletico Madrid for a hefty €70 million fee, but if the 23-year-old stays and excels for as long as Fernandinho did, then it will look like a shrewd purchase.

At the other end of the spending scale, Tottenham have very much kept their hands in their pockets for the past 18 months, but went big when they eventually did splash out. In theory Tanguy Ndombele is exactly what Spurs need, combining the best qualities of Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko to give them many more options in central midfield. Not all theories work out, but for a team cautious about their business as Spurs are, Ndombele looks like as close to a guarantee as you can get.

It is slightly baffling that, at the time of writing, Arsenal appear to have little interest in buying a central defender who can help them this season. Still, newcomers further up the pitch look quite exciting, with the apparent imminent arrival of Nicolas Pepe and the signing-on loan of Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid. The latter can play in a couple of different roles in midfield, including No. 10: could he displace the already semi-marginalised Mesut Ozil even more this term?

The good news for Chelsea is that Christian Pulisic is used to dealing with expectation. The U.S. men's national team's leading man from an early age, Pulisic will now need to take that experience from the international stage to the Premier League, not only being the only genuinely new face in the Chelsea squad but now carrying the added pressure of having to replace Eden Hazard. With a rookie manager in Frank Lampard having to deal with limited resources, he really needs everything at his disposal to function properly. There's more emphasis on this signing than most.

La Liga

The saga of Eden Hazard's move to Real Madrid was one of the longest running in recent history. The question now is: with that epic brought to a merciful conclusion this summer, will he make the sort of impact to justify the time spent getting him there? Hazard's talent verges on the genius, but regular Chelsea watchers will tell you that he can have long spells of anonymity, even whole seasons when he's below par. Will he get away with that at the most demanding club in the world?

It's an indication of where the transfer market is that Atletico Madrid paying €126m for Joao Felix was of course remarkable, but didn't exactly cause colossal shockwaves. Quite apart from seeing how he deals with the pressure of that fee, it will be fascinating to see how he adapts to Atletico, or maybe more accurately if and how Atletico change their style to reflect their new recruit.

It was only a year ago that Nabil Fekir was a point of obsession on Merseyside, a €60m move to Liverpool agreed only for it to break down over concerns about his knee. Now, after a season in which the playmaker made 29 league appearances with no major injury concerns, Real Betis may have got themselves a bargain, paying a third of that price for Fekir, where he could line up alongside Giovani Lo Celso (assuming he doesn't depart for Tottenham), Sergio Canales and William Carvalho. What a midfield that could be.

Serie A

The continent's most ambitious clubs formed a not-so-orderly queue to pick off the best from Ajax's extraordinary young side this summer, and Juventus snagged maybe the very best, Matthijs de Ligt. Even at just 19, he seems so mature that he'll be able to deal with the pressure and expectation, but we'll only find that out for sure as years ahead pass. De Ligt has been signed at a point where he won't have much time to learn from Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, almost replacing them straight away.

Perhaps the wider point about Juve's new arrivals this summer is how they will knit together with a new regime, Maurizio Sarri's appointment representing a shift in emphasis from simply winning to doing so in a certain style. It won't be easy, and another challenge could be dealing with Adrien Rabiot, a man who comes with a tricky reputation from his time at Paris Saint-Germain.

The appointment of Antonio Conte and the signing of the grizzled warhorse Diego Godin are two definite signals that this will be a different Inter this season. But how different? How much can these two men of iron will do to turn around a club notorious for incompetence and bad decisions at every turn?

Bundesliga

Another season, another Bayern Munich procession to the Bundesliga title? Perhaps. This is a Bayern in flux, with a head coach who had a variable first season and who have lost their two most experienced players in Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. There has been a concerted effort to make the squad younger this summer, and the headline arrival has been Lucas Hernandez from Atletico Madrid, for a whopping €80m. Will the revolution of youth prove successful?

Of course, Bayern's biggest challengers will be Borussia Dortmund, but all of their major recruits have been from within the Bundesliga. Snapping at the heels of both will be RB Leipzig, who finished third last term but now have Julian Nagelsmann at the helm and have made a clutch of interesting signings. Chief among those is Ademola Lookman, who curiously didn't get much of a chance at Everton but clearly impressed those in Leipzig enough for them to pay north of €25m for him this summer. This isn't the most eye-catching deal, but if Nagelsmann and Leipzig can get the best from Lookman's talent then it could be among the shrewdest.

Also arriving in Leipzig is Christopher Nkunku, who could probably count himself as among the unluckiest players in Europe in the past couple of years, given that he came through at PSG at just the time they ramped up their spending to recruit the world's best and shiniest attackers. You can't really blame anyone for not dislodging Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, so hopefully a new start will give him more opportunities.

Ligue 1

Perhaps the days of lavish and glamorous expenditure at PSG are over. At the time of writing, it seems that there will be no global superstar arriving, instead the sort of signings that a club with money but also sense would make. Like defender Abdou Diallo, for example, who cost around €30m from Borussia Dortmund, and is an interesting addition for a couple of reasons. Firstly, how often will Diallo play this season will presumably depend on how frequently Thiago Silva and Marquinhos are available. Also, does this arrival mean PSG have moved on from Presnel Kimpembe?

Perhaps even more remarkable than PSG making a shrewd signing is them making a free one. Ander Herrera's arrival from Manchester United probably doesn't signal a huge shift in approach, but does suggest they recognise the value of a functional player who will do a job when it is asked of him. Much like he was at United, Herrera will probably turn out to be a man who gives you 7/10 every week, and even teams like PSG need that.

Joachim Andersen was linked with a number of Europe's biggest clubs over the past few months, so it was interesting to see him rock up at Lyon. Of course this season will see the annual question of whether anyone will challenge PSG domestically, but if Andersen fits in then they will at the least be solid enough to allow their silkier attacking talents to flourish.

What is this World Test Championship all about?

Essentially, it is a league, like the zillions of T20 leagues out there, but this one is for Test cricket. It will be contested over two-year cycles, the first of which starts on August 1 with the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston. The group phase officially began on July 16, 2019 and will run until March 31, 2021 after which the top two teams will contest a final.

How many teams will participate?

Nine of the 12 Full Member countries will contest in 27 series during the window. The nine teams are: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Why has the WTC been brought in?

For a long time, there have been attempts to bring additional context to Test cricket beyond the result of individual series. There are the Test rankings where the top team is anointed on April 1 each year, but that is just based a rolling table. The idea of the WTC is to have a Test 'winner' every two years - like the World Cups in other formats - creating something else to play for outside of the series result. It is also hoped that it will increase interest in all series within the WTC, regardless of who is playing, because it can have a knock-on effect on other team's chances of reaching the final.

How many series will each team play and do all series count?

The teams will play three series each at home and away. Each series will comprise a minimum of two and maximum of five Test matches. Therefore, all the teams do not play each other in the WTC in the two-year cycle. There can also be series played outside the WTC - an example being the New Zealand v England in November which is part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) but not the Championship.

Who decided on which series will be played under the WTC?

The competing countries. Some of the series already committed in the previous FTP will now be played as part of the WTC with each team playing against some higher-ranked opposition and some lower-ranked opposition.

How are points allocated?

This is where things get a little complicated because, well, cricket can be complicated. For every series under the WTC, there are 120 points available, distributed evenly over the number of Tests in the series. So, for example, in the Ashes, which is a five-match series, there will be 24 points for each win. In a two-Test series (such as Sri Lanka v New Zealand and West Indies v India which also start in August) there will be 60 points for a win. A draw is worth one-third of the points for a win: so eight in the Ashes scenario above and 20 in a two-Test series. A tie, just in case we need to know, is worth half the points for a win.

Anything else about the points we need to know?

Recently the ICC had announced that teams will be docked points in the WTC for slow over-rates. Two points will be deducted for every over a team is behind at the end of a match.

How will the finalists be determined and when will it be played?

The top two teams on the points table at the end of the league phase will play the final which is scheduled in 2021.

ALSO READ: 'We want every game in the Test championship to count,' says Geoff Allardice, ICC general manager of cricket

What will happen if the final ends in a draw or is tied?

If the final ends in a tie or a draw, the two teams will be joint champions. Although the playing conditions allow for a reserve day, it can only be used if net playing time is lost during the scheduled five days of the final. Net playing time for every Test amounts to 30 hours of play (six hours per day).

The reserve day kicks in only if the time lost during regulation play on each day is not made up on the same day. For example, if you lose an hour of play due to rain and then make it up by the end of the same day, then that is zero net time lost. But if you lose an entire day's play due to rain and then make up, say, only three hours over the remaining four days, then you are short of net playing time for the match. That is when the reserve day kicks in.

What about the other three Test-playing nations?

Zimbabwe and the two latest Test nations, Afghanistan and Ireland, are the three who will not be part of the inaugural WTC. Zimbabwe are currently suspended by the ICC till October for government interference into cricket affairs. However, Afghanistan and Ireland will play Test series as part of the FTP, points from which will be considered for the Test rankings, but not the Championship.

After winning just twice in 2018, Middlesex have already bettered their record from last season, and are now third-favourites with the bookies to win the Vitality Blast - not to be sniffed at, given they have reached the knockouts just once since their 2008 success.

They have managed that despite the absence of AB de Villiers, who conveniently picked up injuries to both hands in last week's win at The Oval to miss the only two non-London games of his seven-match stint as Middlesex's overseas player.

That injury was a source of frustration for Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, whose marketing departments had both appealed to the AB factor in advertising those games; Middlesex themselves have plastered his face on billboards at various London stations, and are confident he will return for Thursday's fixture against Kent.

De Villiers' replacement for those two games was Berkshire batsman Dan Lincoln, who hit a useful 30 in defeat at Cheltenham. In a throwback to the 1920s ideal of playing one sport in the winter and another in the summer, Lincoln also plays in goal for non-league side Bognor Regis Town. "Congratulations, Dan," the club tweeted. "Just some minor shoes to fill."

***

Yorkshire are set to go into the second half of the T20 Blast group stages without an overseas player, with coach Andrew Gale admitting that the hectic nature of the worldwide schedule meant they would struggle to find a replacement for Nicholas Pooran.

"You can't really do it like-for-like", he told the York Press, "because there aren't many of those players out there. There's a lot of cricket going around the minute. There's the Canada [Global T20] tournament going on, and there's a lot of players playing in that."

Pooran's impact on the Blast was minimised by rain, though he did plunder 122 runs at a strike rate of 184.84 in his three games. Eyebrows were raised when he came in at No. 7 in Yorkshire's first game against Derbyshire, but the move simply represented the irrelevance of traditional batting orders in T20.

"[Pooran] is at his best… in the last ten overs of the innings," said Gale. "It just so happened at Chesterfield that he was coming in at seven because we'd lost more wickets than we would have wanted at that stage."

Yorkshire will welcome Adil Rashid back into their squad this week - with Moeen Ali and Jack Leach ahead of him in the Ashes pecking order, he is likely to be available for the rest of the tournament.

***

It was a long weekend to remember for Alex Carey, the wicketkeeper-batsman who was one of the World Cup's breakout stars.

After missing out on Australia's Ashes squad, Carey travelled from the Ageas Bowl to Hove on Friday morning, only to realise that he was ineligible for Sussex's game against Surrey since he was still in the country on his national team visa.

That meant booking the first possible flight out of the country - not as easy a task on a mid-summer Saturday morning - to have his visa stamped on the way back, resulting in a quick round trip to Geneva before a Sunday morning ride down to Taunton.

Characteristically, Carey was unfazed, and hit a 46-ball 78 to set up a vital Sussex win. If this start is anything to go by, Sussex will be booking him a pre-match city break on a weekly basis.

***

Leicestershire were roundly thrashed in their first three games of the Blast, to the extent that coach Paul Nixon had to engage in some firefighting on Twitter.

"3 international bowlers, bowled well we hit our shots 5-10 yards away from where we wanted to and that's the game... we will do the same to the oppo next ...." he replied to a fan, in what appeared to be a case of foolhardy optimism.

But lo and behold, in a rain-reduced 11-over game against pre-tournament favourites Nottinghamshire, they blitzed 125 for 3 thanks to Arron Lilley's 66*, and defended it comfortably.

Nixon's bio says he is an "Ex Eng Cricketer, Leicestershire CCC Head Coach and After Dinner Speaker" - perhaps he should throw prophet in there, too.

***

Hampshire are longing for the glory days of 2010 and 2012, after a win and two defeats has left them languishing towards the bottom of the South Group.

Back when they won the competition, Hampshire were innovators, using a series of top-quality spinners and skiddy medium-pacers, with specialist wicketkeeper Michael Bates often stood up to the stumps for all 20 overs.

Their attack is much-changed, but they still have possess an excellent gloveman in the shape of Lewis McManus. His sharp-thinking brought about an MS Dhoni-style run-out in Wednesday night's loss at Sussex, and he waited for Laurie Evans to leave his crease before whipping off the bails.

It was no surprise, then, to learn that Bates has been working with McManus, and that the club are benefitting from his genius behind the stumps despite his premature release.

Bates is the subject and co-author of a newly-released book, Keeping Up, in which he opens up about his struggles with the bat and the difficulty of coming to terms with his axing.

While it seems unlikely that Bates' role - keeping wicket and batting in the tail - will become part of the mainstream, his book offers an unusual and intriguing perspective on the changing demands on keepers, and the demise of the specialist.

WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – Matt Sheppard took down yet another victory during Sunday night’s Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100 at New York’s Weedsport Speedway.

Sheppard starred in the 100-lap event, starting fourth but taking the lead from Billy Whittaker on a lap-21 restart. Once out in front, Sheppard never trailed again, defeating Erick Rudolph for his sixth series win of the year and third in the last four races.

The seven-time Super DIRTcar champion lapped all but the top eight drivers and took the checkered flag a whopping 9.619 seconds ahead of Rudolph in the end.

“This car was just unreal tonight,” said Sheppard after his 22nd-career big-block modified win at Weedsport, tied for seventh most in track history. “We didn’t time trial well … in fact, it was probably our worst qualifying effort of the year and worst one here in a long time. We were faster on lap 100, though, than what we were then and that’s what counts.

“The key to this place is to be able to move around, and we did just that tonight.”

Polesitter Mat Williamson, Jimmy Phelps and Larry Wight completed the top five.

The finish:

1. 9S – Matt Sheppard, 2. 25 – Erick Rudolph, 3. 88 – Mat Williamson, 4. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 5. 99L – Larry Wight, 6. 32R – Ronnie Davis III, 7. 91 – Billy Decker, 8. 5H – Chris Hile, 9. 21J – Danny Johnson, 10. 35 – Mike Mahaney, 11. 109 – Billy Whittaker, 12. 21A – Peter Britten, 13. 26 – Ryan Godown, 14. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 15. 3B – Chad Brachman, 16. 42P – Pat Ward, 17. 111 – Demetrios Drellos, 18. 70R – Ryan Arbuthnot, 19. 2L – Jack Lehner, 20. 37 – Paul St. Sauveur, 21. 2R – Rusty Smith, 22. 49 – Billy Dunn, 23. 23 – Kyle Coffey, 24. 83 – Tim Sears Jr., 25. 63 – Adam Roberts, 26. 14J – Alan Johnson.

DODGE CITY, Kan. – Not even a brief shower during Sunday night’s feature events could prevent eight drivers from cracking victory lane atop the seventh-mile Little DCRP clay oval at Dodge City Raceway Park.

After Shae Ricke captured his first Non-Wing A Class feature win, a brief shower opened up over the track as Deeken McRoberts raced to a fifth consecutive Novice Junior Sprint feature victory.

Track crews worked to get the track back in shape before Mal Mullens streaked to a second consecutive Winged A Class victory. Jayce Caldwell followed that with a third straight Advanced Junior Sprint win and Trey Zorn made it five in a row in the Restricted A Class.

In the Karting ranks, Randle McRoberts raced to a second Open Outlaw Kart win, Jonathan Smith made it two in a row in the Adults Karts and Reise Ochs put a stop to Caleb Berthof’s winning ways in the Junior Karts.

The finishes:

Winged A Class: 1. 41T-Mal Mullens, 2. 86-Tanner Johnson, 3. 65-Kohl Ricke, 4. 75m-Buddy Mullens, 5. 27-Shae Ricke, 6. 3z-Trey Zorn, 7. 24-Zach Harrison, 8. 9-Jaden Holder, 10. 49-Zak Moore (DNS).

Non-Wing A Class: 1. 27-Shae Ricke, 2. 9-Jaden Holder, 3. 49-Zak Moore (DNS).

Restricted A Class: 1. 3z-Trey Zorn, 2. 49-Ace Moore.

Junior Sprints (Advanced): 1. 14-Jayce Caldwell, 2. 49h-Isabella Holt, 3. 3k-Keenan Hernandez, 3. 57a-Kaydon Looney.

Junior Sprints (Novice): 1. 75-Deekan McRoberts, 2. 1-Cam Smith, 3. 57b-Bryan Isenbart, 4. 05J-Jett Pack, 5. 98-Maddox Tabor, 6. 8-Maiz Blackburn, 7. 77-Brody Caldwell.

Open Outlaw Karts: 1. 75-Randle McRoberts, 2. 12-Caleb Crockett, 3. 16-Adam Duesing, 4. 66-Oscar Rosenblatt, 5. 7-Steven Blackburn, 6. 01-Trevor Smith (DNS), 7. 57-Tanner Brunson (DNS).

Adult Karts: 1. 44-Jonathan Smith, 2. 8J-Jared Smith, 3. 5-Gage Robertson, 4. 9x-Dakota Schellhamer, 5. 2d-Derek McDonough, 6. 7r-Josh Smith, 7. 3L-Austin Lampe, 8. 21-Jaden Smith, 9. 212-Daniel Williams 10. 15-Maurice Andrews (DNS).

Junior Karts: 1. 1x-Reise Ochs, 2. 21c-Caleb Berthof, 3. 01jr-Rase Smith, 4. 22p-Riley Perkins, 5. 81J-Max Cunningham, 6. 8T-Travis Pack, 7. 7-Taiya Clanton, 8. 38-Kye Ricke, 9. 22-Aidan Correll, 10. 05-Chasity Farr, 11. 51-Caleb Peterson.

SALINAS, Calif. – The Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour wrapped up its 11-weekend, 22-race season Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during an event hosted by SCCA’s San Francisco Region.

Once again, amazing memories and great finishes were added to the history books as the Sports Car Club of America continued its 75th Diamond Anniversary celebration.

The Spec Racer Ford Gen3 class generated several fantastic races this year, and this weekend was no exception on Laguna Seca’s 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit.

During Saturday’s 25-minute SRF3 race, T.J. Acker jumped out front early and led most of the race until Mike Miserendino, driving the No. 11 MBI Racing car, took the lead and went on for the win. On Sunday, Acker again took the front spot at the start and was ahead when a full-course yellow came out after eight laps.

But on the first racing lap after the restart, Acker went out with a mechanical issue and it was Umberto Milletti who briefly took the lead. Soon enough, however, Miserendino made a pass for the top spot and went on to victory, sweeping both races for the weekend.

Miserendino has competed at a number of Hoosier Super Tour events over the last couple years, and claimed many, many victories. What keeps him coming back?

“Checkered flags. They’re fun to get,” Miserendino joked.

“But in all seriousness, it’s the comradery,” Miserendino added, while his two young children stood alongside him on the victory podium. “We race with a great group of people. We have fun doing this and the racing is just kind of a bonus. We just keep coming back, and we’ll keep on doing it.”

Speaking of “it,” Super Touring Under racer Nathan Pope got “it” done this weekend as he swept class wins both days, but not without a lot of work and some timely decisions.

On Sunday, competitor David Fiorelli and his Subaru BRZ had the pole and immediately moved to the lead at the start. About five laps in to the 35-minute race, Pope and his No. 24 El Dorado Motorsports Honda CRX found a way around Fiorelli.

For the rest of the race, the duo was nearly nose-to-tail on track as Fiorelli hounded Pope one lap after another. In the end, Pope held strong and claimed the Sunday victory.

“It was a longer race today and I knew my tires would last a little bit better because I’ve got a lighter car,” an exhausted Pope said after the race. “It’s a lot less stressful running second, but I knew I maybe wouldn’t get another opportunity to get around David. So when I saw the chance, I took it. I needed to make something happen.”

The Super Touring Lite race was certainly a happening, too, thanks to competitors Thomas Lepper, Wilson Powell and Morgan Trotter. To begin the race, Powell made an incredible start to gain the lead.

Lepper was able to grab the top spot after a few laps, but Trotter filled his rear-view mirrors in second and applied a lot of pressure. As race laps dwindled, Lepper was able to pull away and secured the win in his No. 42 Thomas Lepper Associates Honda Prelude.

“I wanted to make sure I conserved tires, but I also had to make sure I stayed in front of Morgan,” Lepper noted after the race. “Morgan just never gives up. It gave me a little motivation and I kept him behind me.”

Prototype 2 produced quite the thrilling race Sunday. Tim Day Jr., who has numerous Hoosier Super Tour wins on the season in his Stohr WF1, was again out front when a second full-course yellow bunched up the field late in the 35-minute race.

After the restart, P2 action got hot and hectic. The win was up for grabs, and several determined P2 warriors had their eye on the prize.

Things got crazy among the top four drivers, and Chuck Bona in his No. 42 Campbell Dental Care and Aesthetics/Kevin Mitz Motorsports/One Motorsports Stohr WF1 got alongside Day for the lead. Day fought back, but the move sent him off track with some mechanical damage resulting.

Bona forged ahead for the win after that, with Robert Kazen’s West WR07 and the Stohr WF1 of Kevin Mitz closing out the top-three positions.

“It was just back-and-forth the whole race. It was close the whole way through,” a grinning Bona said afterwards. “Kevin Mitz went flying by me at one point, and Tim Day was just fantastic. It was crazy. It was just totally amazing. A great time and a great weekend.”

GT-3 races this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca were part of the new GT-3 Challenge presented by MPI – a series supported by Mazda, Max Papis Innovations, Penske Racing Shocks, AiM Sports and Hoosier Racing Tire.

By winning both races over the weekend, Collin Jackson and his No. 53 Specialty Engineering Nissan 240SX became the GT-3 Challenge representative from the Western Division at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in October.

That is where the four GT-3 Challenge Division champs can face off during the year-end SCCA event for overall GT-3 Challenge championship honors.

To view a full list of class winners, advance to the next page.

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa – Tony Stewart powered to victory during the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race on Sunday night at 34 Raceway, capping off a four-day weekend for the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions.

Stewart charged past early leader Rico Abreu on lap 11 of 30 and led the remaining distance for his fifth-career All Star win and second of the season.

Abreu hung on to finish second, but was 1.655 seconds adrift of Stewart at the checkered flag. Christopher Bell completed the podium, followed by Aaron Reutzel and Cory Eliason.

The finish:

Tony Stewart, Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, James McFadden, Dale Blaney, Skylar Gee, Justin Peck, Austin McCarl, Brock Zearfoss, Kerry Madsen, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Shane Golobic, Brian Brown, Parker Price-Miller, Terry McCarl, Paul Nienhiser, Paul McMahan, Lynton Jeffrey, Gerard McIntyre, Greg Wilson, Josh Schneiderman, Wayne Johnson, Marcus Dumensy.

PORT COLBORNE, Ontario – Adam Leslie headlined the list of feature winners as Shadow Auto Sales presented Tops Off and Belly Flops Night at New Humberstone Speedway on Sunday.

For Leslie, it was his first win of the season in the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman.

Rob Pietz won the feature event for the Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models. Jeffery May scored the feature win in the Mod Lites. Dave Bailey scored the JC Auto Thunderstocks win and Alex Riley was victorious in the Glo & Go Tanning Mini Stocks.

Finally, Dylan Llord won the feature event for the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks.

Jordan Cosco and Leslie would bring the Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman to the green flag for their main event, with Cosco showing the way.

Leslie would take the lead on lap three, but Rouse went back to the lead on lap 10. Rouse and Leslie would see-saw back and forth for the lead, with Leslie regaining the lead on lap 11, and Rouse regaining the lead on lap 15 while working lap traffic.

On an attempted lap 20 restart, the field got bunched together, resulting in contact and having several cars get tangled together in turn four.

That would put Leslie back on the point, and he would hold off a hard-charging Greg Panunte to get his first win of the season.

Sam Pennacchio would use the outside line to take the lead off the start in the topless main event for the Pro Fabrication RUSH Late Models. Pennacchio would be challenged by Pietz off an early-race restart, with Chad Homan racing in third.

Pietz would be able to take the lead away on lap four from Pennacchio. With Pietz out front, Homan would be able to pass Pennacchio at the halfway mark for second as David Pangrazio raced from fourth place.

Homan would reel in Pietz and would challenge for the lead, but Pietz hung on to score the feature win.

The annual appearance by the Mod Lites saw May take the lead off the drop of the green flag. Tyler Winger moved into second with Brent Begolo racing in third. Winger would take the lead prior to the halfway mark, but May regained the lead with five laps remaining.

May would pull away after that and went on to score the feature win.

Jason Fontaine would take the lead off the start of the JC Auto Thunderstock main event while being pressured by Billy Bleich Jr., Bailey, and Jim Lampman. Bailey took the lead away on lap six and started to pull away from the field.

A late-race caution bunched the field up, but it was Bailey who pulled away to score the win.

Cole Hardy and Sam Iftody led the Glo & Go Tanning Mini Stocks to the green flag, with Hardy showing the way. Leroy Buscumb would take the lead away on lap three, with Jay Moulton and Evan Curtis moving into the top three.

The top three, along with Alex Riley, slowly pulled away from the rest of the field. Moulton and Curtis brought out the caution on lap 13, allowing Riley to move into second place.

The restart would see Buscumb and Riley battle for the win. Riley used a last-lap pass on Buscumb to get the checkered flag.

Brian Aube had the lead at the start of the 15-lap feature for the Airhardt Deliveries Pro 4 Trucks. Mitch Dumont would take the lead away at the end of lap one, with Llord moving into second place.

Dumont and Llord pulled away from the field and would battle for the lead. Llord would take the lead on lap six and went on to score the win, his fifth of the season.

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TOP STORY: City to spend big if Sane goes to Bayern

Manchester City will move to trigger Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal's €75m release clause, if they sell Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich, according to AS.

Oyarzabal, 22, scored a cracker for Spain's senior side in a 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifier win against Sweden June, then shone as La Roja's U21s won this summer's European Championship in Italy.

City manager Pep Guardiola has chosen the direct and powerful Basque player as the best replacement for Sane should the Germany international leave, and the Premier League side could offer a big salary rise.

However it remains possible that La Real will themselves look to keep him by improving significantly a current contract which was agreed last summer when Athletic Bilbao tried to tempt the Eibar born player to San Mames.

Bayern boss Niko Kovac told German broadcaster ZDF at the weekend that the Bundesliga champions are optimistic over sealing a deal for Sane.

"We want to sign a top player," the 47-year-old said. "Leroy is a great footballer who has proved that in England and with the national team. We want him.

"Our club management is very committed behind it. You can see that it's not easy otherwise the deal would have been done by now. But I am confident and would like to think that we can get him."

LIVE BLOG

08.29 BST: Valencia are about to part company with director general Mateu Alemany, according to multiple reports in Spain, due to serious differences of opinion with owner Peter Lim over transfers.

Widely respected figure Alemany was credited by many with bringing stability behind the scenes at Mestalla as the team have qualified for the Champions League in the last two years and beat Barcelona in last season's Copa del Rey final.

But AS says that his relationship with Lim has broken down due to regular intervention by the Singapore billionaire in the buying and selling of players, and the Balearic Islander could resign during a meeting on Monday with the club president Anil Murthy.

Valencia had been close to signing Barcelona midfielder Rafinha, however that deal has not yet been completed. Alemany's departure would place doubt over the long term future of coach Marcelino Garcia Toral, given the close bond between the two.

08.00 BST: Mathias Pogba has denied that he has joined Spanish fourth tier side Manchego Ciudad Real as his brother Paul Pogba is about to sign for Real Madrid from Manchester United.

The signing of former Celta Vigo youth-team player Mathias, 28, was announced by Ciudad Real on Sunday, prompting speculation that he was returning to Spain so as to be nearby when his World Cup 2018-winning brother Paul completes a big money move from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu. Ciudad Real is about two hours by car from the Bernabeu.

However the striker told AS on arrival at Madrid's Barajas airport that this was not necessarily the case.

"We can do nothing about rumours," Pogba said. "I am here because I am here, not because my brother could be coming. Mathias Pogba wants to be here."

PAPER TALK (by Steve Wright): Napoli open door for Arsenal to sign Tierney

If Kieran Tierney does leave Celtic this summer, it won't be for Napoli, as Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out a move for the left-back, BBC Scotland reports.

"Honestly, I'm not interested in signing him," Ancelotti said. "We have two good left-backs, so good luck to Tierney."

That might be music to the ears of Unai Emery, as Arsenal have targeted Tierney for weeks. However, the Gunners' most recent bid of £25 million was deemed too low by the Scottish club.

PSG beckons for Gueye

Idrissa Gueye is on the verge of becoming a Paris Saint-Germain player, as the French club prepare for his medical, according to Sky Sports.

The Ligue 1 champions have had a long-standing interest in the Everton midfielder, stretching back to January, and are now ready to offer £28 million for his services.

Gueye made no secret of his intentions to leave Goodison Park when he handed in a transfer request in the winter window. The Toffees rejected PSG's bid of £21.5 million but have since signed Fabian Delph from Manchester City, clearing a path for the Parisian club to finally get their man.

The medical is expected to take place in the next couple of days.

Everton told Zaha not for sale

Everton's interest in Wilfried Zaha is set to be tested, after Crystal Palace told Marco Silva's side that the forward won't be sold at any price, the Sun writes.

The Toffees submitted a bid of £55 million for the Ivory Coast international but had it rejected.

Following Aaron Wan-Bissaka's £50 million departure to Manchester United, Roy Hodgson's side aren't exactly desperate for money this window and are happy to keep Zaha's price tag at £80 million.

Arsenal also had a £40 million bid turned down, but Zaha made no secret of his desire to play for the Gunners, his boyhood club.

Arsenal finalising Pepe deal

Unai Emery has told the media that Arsenal are working hard to bring in the best players for their squad, with a deal for Lille's Nicolas Pepe nearing completion, the Evening Standard reports.

Pepe will cost the club £72 million, but Emery is keen to spend money on other areas of the pitch too.

Outlining his plans, the Arsenal boss said: "It's one centre-back, one midfielder and one winger, and we are going to [try] to do that. I want a team that is better than last year, so the players can achieve a lot being with us this season."

Tap-ins

-- Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's rumoured move to Manchester United is gathering pace, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have reached a verbal agreement with the player, according to Corriere dello Sport. The 24-year-old carries a hefty price tag of around £81 million, and United might be able to bring him in only if Paul Pogba leaves Old Trafford.

-- A potential transfer of Marseille winger Florian Thauvin to Arsenal will hinge on whether the North London club sign Pepe from Lille, La Provence reports. The Gunners aren't blessed with time to make the decision because Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid are all reportedly interested in Thauvin as well.

Josh Hazlewood has declared that Aaron Finch's recent struggles to convert an aggressive ODI game into Test match runs should raise questions about how well Jason Roy might be able to adapt to a similar role change at the top of the order for England during the Ashes series starting this week in Birmingham.

Having dominated as an opener in England's World Cup winning campaign, Roy was parachuted into Joe Root's Test squad for the Ashes, and made 72 in the second innings on debut against Ireland at Lord's. England selector Ed Smith has remarked that Roy is now a more complete player than ever. But Hazlewood had little hesitation wondering aloud whether Roy, who is a middle order batsman for Surrey when he turns out for his county side, was capable of doing the job in Tests.

"We'll see how Roy goes in Test cricket. He's has only played one Test match and it's a lot different opening the batting in a Test than a one-day game, that's for sure," Hazlewood said. "In England, opening is probably the toughest place to bat which probably made Alastair Cook's record all the better. To play attacking cricket in those conditions is tough.

"Aaron Finch found it tough last summer against a quality India attack on wickets that didn't do too much to be honest. I think he found it a big step up to be honest. He found the ball swung and seamed around and the wickets were a lot different to a one-day wicket. He'd played a lot of his four-day cricket at five or six and I think Roy is the same at Surrey. It's hard to bat five at a level below and then open in Test cricket. We'll see."

Finch's experience, after a promising start against Pakistan in the UAE, was to be worn down by the diligence and skill of Jasprit Bumrah. Hazlewood was conscious too that the Australians had the opportunity to make early inroads at Edgbaston to build mental hurdles for the hosts that only compound over five matches, much as Moeen Ali was cornered by Nathan Lyon across the 2017-18 series down under.

"Absolutely, we've had some [experience] I guess, with Nathan Lyon with Moeen in Australia," Hazlewood said. "If you can really build the pressure on one guy and get him early in the first Test especially, you can sort of create that doubt in that mind and get the upper hand and just keep driving that in as the series goes on. This is the only team we play in a five-Test series so it's a little bit different than others, but definitely that's key.

"Their top order is under a little bit of pressure probably, with just the fact they haven't played that much Test cricket. The more we can put them under pressure early and get stuck into that middle order when the ball is nice and hard and new, that's great."

David Saker, the former bowling coach of both Australia and England, noted this week that while he loved working with Hazlewood, it was true that the New South Welshman can tend to pitch too short. The Australians have been thinking for some months, dating back to the time before Saker resigned in late January, that a balance between hitting the stumps and not floating up the swinging ball too gently would be critical to an Ashes win.

"I've spoken a lot to Sakes over the last few years about bowling in England," Hazlewood said. "I think the main thing is I think English batsmen play swing bowling really well, they're used to it. They play it all the time. So he really focused on more the seam aspect and bowling a scrambled seam or whatever it is, how you're going to get the ball to move off the wicket.

"The length is key with that. I think I tended to bowl a bit full last time. Seeing it swing you get quite greedy and might go a touch full and get driven. We've spoken a lot about it on the Australia A tour, James Pattinson especially. Just hitting that right length. He said the same thing, he thinks seam is the way to go. It's great if you can do both and I feel pretty comfortable with where I am at now."

As for how Hazlewood sees his own role, he admitted that a series in which he played three or four Tests would be reasonable, in acknowledgement that a deep and adaptable Australian bowling group could be quite effectively rotated over the course of five tightly packed matches. "I think it would be a very good effort to play all five, especially with my last two years, I've missed a few Tests with injury," he said. "I'd be really happy with four, three or four even. It's such a tight schedule.

"Five would be great if we got away with a couple of cheap innings, bowling 30 (overs) for the Test or something like that, it'd be great. We'll play it by ear and see how we go. I guess, just with how tight the scheduling is, it's probably the tightest we've seen the five-Test series and a couple of tour games thrown in there as well ... I think the guys are happy to play it by ear a little bit, obviously depending on how much we bowl per Test.

"You can't look too far ahead I think. You can map certain things out if things happen but you've got to play it by ear I think with Test cricket. You might get away with a Test with 30 overs under your belt which is fine. It's when it goes up to 45 to 50 that you start to reassess things and look at different options. There's six quicks here, which is great, so more than happy to rotate or conditions based picking those bowlers, we'll see how we go."