Emma Meesseman is headed back to the WNBA, signing with the New York Liberty on Monday. That’s big news for the league and the defending champions.

When Meesseman was drafted to the WNBA in 2013, she didn’t attract a lot of attention as a 19-year-old forward picked in the second round. But it was soon clear that then-Washington Mystics general manager Mike Thibault had selected a superb young talent.

Meesseman had played professionally in her native Belgium since she was 16. She continued to blossom in her time in the WNBA, culminating with her WNBA Finals MVP performance in 2019 when the Mystics also had the season MVP in Elena Delle Donne.

Meesseman, 32, has not played in the WNBA since 2022, but has continued to stand out overseas. She was MVP of the recent EuroBasket tournament won by her Belgian team.

Meesseman joins a Liberty team that has dealt with injuries this season and saw its post game impacted by the expansion draft. Alexa Philippou, Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel look at what signing Meesseman means for New York and the rest of the WNBA.

Does adding Meesseman make the Liberty the favorite in the 2025 WNBA title chase?

Philippou: They are the clear favorites now. Yes, Meesseman will have to be incorporated into the fold, and doing that mid-season isn’t always the easiest. But the Liberty now have three Finals MVPs on their side — Breanna Stewart (2018, 2020), Meesseman (2019) and Jonquel Jones (2024). That’s a ridiculously talented, versatile frontcourt that is going to wreak havoc on opponents, and Meeseman is a player whose skill set and temperament should allow her to fit in seamlessly with her new group. She also has plenty of familiarity with several Liberty players who she played with on other squads across the globe, and was even coached by Sandy Brondello and Olaf Lange in Russia.

Something to note: Meeseseman’s arrival in Brooklyn is subject to how long the visa application process takes, so it’s not like she’ll be able to suit up Tuesday against the Fever.

Pelton: I think so. There was already a reasonable case that New York deserved that title despite being just .500 since a 9-0 start. Most of those losses have come without Jones, whose absence has helped trigger the Liberty’s stumbles. New York is 8-1 when Jones plays, and she left the lone loss after nine minutes with the ankle sprain that has sidelined her ever since. Jones is already expected to return to the lineup this week.

My pre-injury piece considering whether the Liberty might be better than last season hasn’t aged well, but with Meesseman — whose presence could make it easier for New York to shift Stewart in smaller lineups when Jones is on the bench — the question is again worth asking.

Voepel: It probably does make New York the favorite, but let’s see how things go once Meesseman arrives and how well the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury play in the coming weeks. We have a pretty good idea of what the Lynx look like at their best, but injuries have kept us from seeing that for the Mercury.

How does Meesseman’s return impact the rest of the league?

Pelton: The biggest impact is cementing the Liberty and Lynx as Finals favorites. The Mercury, a half-game back of New York in the standings, could have plausibly entered that tier had they added Meesseman to the All-Star duo of Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. With Meesseman on the other side in a plausible semifinals matchup, preventing a 2024 Finals rematch will be more difficult for Phoenix.

Voepel: It’s hard not to see this as a game-changer at the top of the league. But by the same token, the Lynx have put some separation between themselves and every other team during the first half of the season.

Both the Lynx and the Mercury might also lean into some of the narrative that this move puts more pressure back on New York to repeat. There is still a lot of confidence among Lynx and Mercury players.

Philippou: Meesseman wasn’t just going to join any team in the league. She wants to win a championship. We have yet to see the best from Phoenix, which has had players in and out of the lineup due to injury, and only recently brought in DeWanna Bonner. And the Lynx are still the top team in the standings for a reason.

But the Meesseman sweepstakes felt destined to tip the scales on the title race, particularly if she chose either the Liberty or Lynx as the teams looking to run it back after last year’s Finals appearances. On paper, her arrival solidifies New York’s talent and depth as the best in the league — and now other title hopefuls have an even greater challenge ahead of them as they look to knock off the defending champs.

Meesseman hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2022. What should we expect from her?

Philippou: Newer WNBA fans might not have been around when Meesseman helped the Mystics to a championship in 2019, when she became the first reserve player to win Finals MVP — she averaged 19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game that postseason. She was a huge free agent get in 2022 for the Chicago Sky, where she was one of their top scorers before the then-defending champs were shockingly eliminated in Game 5 of the semifinals.

And even as she has been absent from the WNBA the past couple seasons, Meesseman has made a strong case as one of the best players in the world as she dominated with Turkish power Fenerbahce and the Belgian national team.

Pelton: She has been as good as ever internationally. Meesseman led all players in scoring during last year’s Olympics with 23.3 PPG on 58% shooting for Belgium, which reached the semifinals before missing out on a medal. And she continues to star alongside WNBA teammates for Fenerbahce, averaging 16.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 4.3 APG last season in EuroLeague play to win MVP honors.

Voepel: Meesseman has the type of personality in which she can fit in anywhere quickly and seamlessly. Even though she is the longtime star of the Belgian national team, she has never needed to be the center of attention in the WNBA. She will play a complementary role when that’s required, but she can still take over in games when needed. In addition to her talent, her adaptability and the ease with which she gets along with others were also part of the reason the Liberty, Lynx and Mercury wanted her so much.

Manchester United have announced the signing of forward Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford for a transfer fee sources told ESPN was worth in excess of £70 million ($94m).

The 25-year old joins on a long-term deal and becomes United’s second signing of the summer after they brought in striker Matheus Cunha from Wolves.

Mbeumo could make his debut for United during their three-match preseason tour of the United States. Ruben Amorim’s side are set to fly to the U.S. on Tuesday ahead of playing three games during stops in Chicago, New York and Atlanta.

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After six years at Brentford, the Cameroon international leaves with 70 goals and 51 assists in 242 appearances for the club.

United were in negotiations to sign for Mbeumo for several weeks, with sources telling ESPN that Brentford made it clear during negotiations that they value Mbeumo above the £62.5 million paid for Cunha.

According to sources, there’s some frustration at United at how Brentford handled the negotiations.

They believe Brentford’s valuation changed repeatedly and at one point it was as high at £70m plus £7m in add-ons.

Some United sources believe that Brentford put pressure on Mbeumo to reject United in favour of Newcastle or Tottenham and were keen for the forward to reduce his personal terms to allow for a larger club-to-club offer.

United were also made aware of interest from Arsenal and a late move by Chelsea to hijack the deal.

Brentford sources, meanwhile, believe United purposely negotiated a high wage with Mbeumo to convince him to move to Old Trafford before offering lower than expected transfer fees during formal negotiations.

Information from ESPN’s Rob Dawson was used in this report.

SINGAPORE — Mikel Arteta has said he “100%” believes Arsenal followed the correct protocols regarding Thomas Partey‘s time at the club after the midfielder was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

Partey left Arsenal earlier this month after his contract expired and he was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service just four days later.

The allegations related to three women who reported incidents between 2021 and 2022. Partey denies all the charges against him.

He was first arrested on suspicion of rape in July 2022, triggering an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

The case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in December 2024. Partey continued to play for Arsenal during this time and Arteta suggested in May that the club wanted to offer the Ghana international a new contract.

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Upon confirmation of his charge, Arsenal released a statement which read: “The player’s contract ended on June 30. Due to ongoing legal proceedings the club is unable to comment on the case.”

Speaking in Singapore as Arsenal began their pre-season tour to Asia, Arteta was asked for his reaction to the news of Partey’s charges and said: “The club was very clear in its statement. There are a lot of legal matters that are very complicated so I cannot comment on any of that.

Pushed on whether he was confident the club has followed the right processes, Arteta replied: “100%.”

GENEVA — England midfielder Georgia Stanway said those who have sent racist abuse to Jess Carter are not proper fans of the Lionesses and explained the players decided to no longer take the knee before matches because the action was no longer doing “what we wanted it to do.”

Carter released a statement on Sunday in which said she was stepping back from social media due to the racist abuse she has been subjected to while at Euro 2025. The Lionesses rallied round her and said as a result, they would no longer take the knee before their Euro 2025 semifinal against Italy in Geneva on Tuesday as they felt the anti-racism gesture is losing its meaning.

The team said it “is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism.”

“It’s really sad that we have to be occupied by this,” Sarina Wiegman said. “It is ridiculous and disgusting what is happening and that goes beyond football. We had to pay attention to that and support Jess. Of course, she’s not the only one who gets this abuse or racism. That’s why she wanted to address it and she’s fully supported by the team.”

Stanway said the players have noticed the abuse on social media has gotten worse as their profiles have grown since Euro 2022. She said the players do not regard those who have sent abuse as real supporters of the team.

“The people that are being abusive and saying these things and doing things like this, they’re not fans,” Stanway said.

“So it makes absolutely no difference to us putting that shirt on because we know that we’re wearing it for the people we stand next to, our families, the actual fans that are here to watch the game, to enjoy the game. I say it with power because I really believe it. I believe that people like that don’t deserve to be called fans.”

The Bayern Munich midfielder said Carter is not alone in this fight, as she has the Lionesses, the staff and the English Football Association behind her.

“If we want to make change, we can do it as a collective,” Stanway said. She added that the team as a group decided to no longer take the knee before a match.

“We want to change things up,” Stanway said. “We felt we got to a point where the knee wasn’t doing what we wanted it to do. So we decided to stand and hopefully that brings up more conversation and change.”

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“We want to create more of a talking point and a point to make more change. That starts with social media and people having access to be able to do certain things. So our stance and opinion stay the same, and that’s what we’ve decided as a collective,” Stanway added.

Wiegman said Carter is ready to face Italy on Tuesday in the Euro 2025 semifinal if selected.

“Of course we had conversations,” Wiegman said.

“Although it is a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person and she wants to move on too. She also felt — as we did — that we had to address this. You can’t just let it go, so we did [not]. And then we know that there’s a match going on. We want to perform. We’re ready to perform. She’s ready to perform and compete, and that says a lot about her and the team.”

Luis Díaz remains determined to leave Liverpool during the summer transfer window and is hoping that Bayern Munich will make a new offer in the coming days to try to convince the English club, a source has told ESPN.

Liverpool rejected a €67.5 million ($78.6m) bid from the German side last week, but a source told ESPN that the Bundesliga giants are preparing a new offer of around €70m plus add-ons as they have earmarked the Colombia winger as a priority signing.

Díaz had his most prolific season with Liverpool last year, scoring 17 goals to help them win the Premier League title. However, at 28, he has decided to move on and, according to a source, has made this clear to Liverpool officials on several occasions.

In fact, Díaz’s initial idea was to continue his career at Barcelona as the Catalan club saw him as the ideal signing to complement Lamine Yamal and Raphina in attack.

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According to sources, Barça made an offer of around £65m to sign Luis Díaz but after Liverpool turned it down, they decided to look for other alternatives.

Barça also tried unsuccessfully to sign Nico Williams and have decided to opt for the signing of Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United. The source told ESPN that Bayern are now the European club bidding the highest to sign Diaz.

Liverpool have been inflexible so far, but with more than a month to go before the transfer window closes, the source expects the English club to lower their stance at some point.

Díaz still has two years left on his contract with Liverpool, who have tried, unsuccessfully to extend his contract.

Information from ESPN’s Beth Lindop was used in this report.

CHICAGO — The Kansas City Royals plan to call up 45-year-old pitcher Rich Hill from the minors for a start against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, marking the left-hander’s 21st season in the majors.

Hill has been at Triple-A Omaha after joining the Royals as part of an offseason trade. He is 4-4 with a 5.36 ERA in nine starts at Omaha.

Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro confirmed the club’s plans after Monday night’s 12-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Hill appeared in four games last season for Boston. A start on Tuesday will make him the oldest active player in baseball.

Hill made 11 postseason starts during his four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, including two World Series starts in 2017 and another in 2018. He went 11-5 during the latter regular season.

Hill is 90-74 with a 4.01 ERA in 368 career MLB games. He has pitched 1,409 innings and has struck out 1,428.

Liverpool are finalizing a move for Hugo Ekitike after they reached a deal worth up to £79 million ($106m) with Eintracht Frankfurt, sources told ESPN.

The deal includes an initial fee of £69m ($92.7m) with £10m ($13.4m) in potential add-ons.

Ekitike has agreed terms on a six-year contract. A source told ESPN he has been granted permission to travel to the UK to complete the deal and is expected to arrive for a medical on Tuesday.

It is hoped that he will be able to join Liverpool for their preseason tour of Asia, which begins with a clash against AC Milan in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Sources told ESPN that Ekitike had long been keen on the idea of joining Liverpool, despite being linked with Newcastle United and Manchester United.

ESPN previously reported that Newcastle saw a £64.5m ($86.3m) bid rejected by Frankfurt last week. They also rejected an approach from Liverpool for their own star striker, Alexander Isak.

Ekitike has already spoken to Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who detailed his vision for him as a No. 9 in his side.

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The move comes after he scored 15 goals in 33 games for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last season.

Ekitike joined Frankfurt in February 2024 from Paris Saint-Germain, who are due 20% (£13.8m) of his transfer fee this summer.

He is yet to make his international debut for France, but a source has told ESPN he believes that signing for Liverpool and playing in the Premier League could enable him to break into the national team ahead of next summer’s 2026 World Cup.

Manchester United are set to axe Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho from their squad for the preseason tour of the United States, sources have told ESPN.

The four players are available for transfer this summer and have been training away from their teammates at Carrington.

United have now decided they will stay behind in Manchester when the squad jets off to Chicago on Tuesday.

It’s being billed by the club as another show of support for head coach Ruben Amorim, who has deemed the quartet surplus to requirements.

Last summer, manager Erik ten Hag was forced into an uneasy truce with Jadon Sancho, who travelled on tour despite a major falling out with the Dutchman.

This time, United have backed Amorim and agreed to leave Garnacho, Malacia, Sancho and Antony at home to avoid any unwanted distractions on the three-game trip to the United States.

Sources have told ESPN that United are willing to listen to cut-price offers for the group in an effort to offload them before the transfer deadline.

Antony has been linked with Real Betis, where he had a successful loan spell last season, and Atlético Madrid. Juventus are one of the clubs to have shown interest in Sancho.

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Sources have told ESPN that Garnacho’s preference is to stay in the Premier League. United quoted a fee of around £70 million ($94.4m) for the winger in January, but are now set to listen to offers closer to £40m.

United have already agreed to allow Marcus Rashford to join Barcelona on loan for the season.

The Spanish side will pay 100% of Rashford’s wages and have the option to make the move permanent next summer for a fee of around €30m.

Rashford arrived in Barcelona on Sunday to tie up the deal. He hasn’t featured for United since December and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.