CHELSEA have rekindled their transfer interest in Barcelona star Jules Kounde… while they keep eyeing Bournemouth ace Dean Huijsen.

The Blues have been looking for a highly-rated centre-back ever since Thiago Silva’s departure from Stamford Bridge last year.

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According to Sport, the West Londoners are planning another bid for Kounde, 26, whom they tried to sign from Sevilla in 2022 before Barca hijacked the deal with a €50million (£41.8m) swoop.

The same source claims Chelsea need a central defender that can also cover at full-back, making the France international the perfect pick for manager Enzo Maresca.

Kounde was initially supposed to play at centre-back under previous Barcelona boss Xavi but the Spanish tactician quickly realised how good he is at right-back as well and changed his position.

Current Blaugrana manager Hansi Flick has continued to field the Frenchman on the right flank of his defence and the player has proven to be among the best in Europe.

Kounde is “very happy” in Catalonia and is keen to sign a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2026.

However, the defender is fully aware he could earn more at Stamford Bridge amid Barcelona’s ongoing financial woes.

Plus, Kounde would almost certainly play in his natural position at centre-back with the Premier League giants.

Barcelona are full in that position and are planning a move for Bayer Leverkusen ace Jonathan Tah this summer.

Chelsea, though, are prepared for another potential transfer blow involving the ex-Bordeaux star.

And that is why they are also eyeing Bournemouth‘s Huijsen, 19, ahead of the summer transfer window.

However, the same source claims Real Madrid are also keeping tabs on the Spain international.

BOLOGNA star Jens Odgaard has been forced to rule out being bitten in a ZOMBIE ATTACK – after sporting a bizarre injury.

The Serie A star was spotted with a huge red mark on his neck during a clash with Venezia.

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Bologna’s Jens Odgaard has been forced to speak out after fans noticed a strange mark on his neck[/caption]

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Fan theories ranged from a shark bite to a zombie attack[/caption]

Odgaard, 25, played a starring role as Bologna recorded a priceless 1-0 win on the road.

But fans were left distracted after spotting a bright red ring on the Dane’s neck.

Social media was ablaze with speculation during the contest at the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo.

The painful-looking injury was noticeable throughout DAZN‘s broadcast of the match.

One confused fan wrote on X: “What is that thing? A zombie bite?”

Another said: “Did he just get his neck scraped?”

While a third added: “Is that a tattoo or a shark bite on the back of Jens Odgaard’s neck?”

The striker played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 win, with Riccardo Orsolini netting a second-half winner.

After the match, Odgaard clarified the mark’s origin on social media.

Responding to fan concerns, he wrote on Instagram: “It’s just a medicine I’m using for my neck, nothing serious.”

One relieved fan replied: “Good to know. You had us worried for a while. There were some crazy theories floating around.”

Odgaard has enjoyed strong season playing as a central striker for Bologna.

He joined the club in the summer of 2023 after a move from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

The 25-year-old has netted 6 times in 25 Serie A games, including two in his last three matches.

Bologna have now won five games on the bounce to put themselves back in the Champions League spots.

Saturday’s win over relegation-threatened Venezia sent them above Juventus into 4th place.

CUSTOMERS have been left fuming and unable to access their accounts after Nationwide’s services reportedly went down.

Countless users of the building society took to social media to complain about the “blackout” which appears to have occurred earlier today.

Almost 1,500 issues were reported with Nationwide’s services shortly after 5pm today, according to website Downdetector.

Of these complaints, 58 per cent were related to mobile banking, while 39 per cent focused on failures with the building society’s online banking.

4 per cent of issues were also recorded in relation to credit card usage.

One user on X raged: “Once again Nationwide down with bank transfers got direct debits due tomorrow and need to transfer money.”

Another fumed: “Nationwide gone down and it won’t even let you pay for anything… how on earth do you expect us to buy food”.

A third tagged the building society, saying: “How long roughly will Nationwide be down for again today?

“This is becoming a regular thing”.

Others have also complained saying they will be unable to make essential payments today and fear the costs of not completing these transactions.

One asked the building society: “So [I’m] paid tomorrow and have a short window to pay into government childcare and then pay nursery.

“System’s down.

“If I’m fined late payment will Nationwide cover?”

Another added: “Nationwide down again.

“I got bills to pay.

“What’s going on?”

Nationwide has been approached for comment.

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Nationwide appears to have experienced issues with its online services earlier today[/caption]

SUN Racing’s Sunday tips are below.

Back a horse by clicking their odds below.

LONGSHOT

UNDER CURFEW (4.55 Wolverhampton)

He has decent form over this course and distance and was a solid third here last time. A repeat of that would take him into the frame.

EACH WAY THIEF

CHARLIE’S CHOICE (6.30 Wolverhampton)

He was in winning form on his last visit here when scoring over this trip last month. He’s only 1lb higher so should be right there.

ALEX THE GREAT (7.30 Wolverhampton)

He was an easy winner at Newcastle two runs ago before not getting the run of the race there last time.

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• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

LEBARA customers say they’ve been hit by a major outage, with hundreds reporting problems with their mobile service on Sunday evening.

The first issues were flagged around 4.32pm, and by 6.32pm, reports had surged to more than 831, according to DownDetector.

Press Association

A majority of users – 72% – said they were unable to access mobile internet, while 25% experienced a total blackout.

A smaller number, 3%, reported problems with texting.

Lebara Mobile, known for its budget-friendly international calling plans, has yet to release an official statement on the cause of the outage.

A live outage map shows the issues are widespread, though it remains unclear how long services will be affected.

You can follow our blog below for all the latest updates …

TWO spectators in the VIP seats at the Miami Open were kicked out after being confronted by Grigor Dimitrov.

The popular Bulgarian faced Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Friday.

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Grigor Dimitrov confronted a spectator who heckled from the VIP sets at the Miami Open[/caption]

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The supporter was ejected after just three games of the semi-final with Novak Djokovic[/caption]

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Chair umpire Greg Allensworth helped sort the problem out swiftly[/caption]

But the match was halted in the early stages when Dimtrov had to deal with heckles.

Djokovic prepared to serve at 1-1 in the first set.

But Dimitrov became distracted and frustrated by events in the crowd inside the Hard Rock Stadium.

The world No15 walked over to the side of the court and was filmed animatedly talking to the so-called fan who had apparently shouted out.

Dimitrov was clearly aggrieved with his behaviour and remonstrated before going to his towel.

And the umpire jumped into swift action.

Greg Allensworth got down from his chair and raced over.

He then got on his radio for Gerry Armstrong to request security intervened.

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He said: “Gerry, Gerry, I need someone removed from the stands now.”

Allensworth reassured Dimitrov security was on the way to deal with the heckler at the change of ends after Djokovic’s service game.

Play continued as Djokovic held before the players returned to their seats.

And at the same time, two troublemakers were ejected.

Tennis fans booed and jeered the pair in question – before cheering as they made their way out of the stand.

One social media user captured both the initial incident with Dimitrov and the moment they were dismissed.

They wrote: “Guy in the 45-47 hat starting trouble talking s*** to this sweet angel @grigordimitrov.”

They later added: “Wow. This felt really good. 10/10 recommend.”

Sky Sports commentator Colin Fleming was not afraid to air his anger, too.

He said on the live coverage: “Why would you come to this match, sit in the front row and heckle someone?

“I just don’t understand that mentality.

“There’s no place for it. We see it more and more in tennis but in all sports.”

Dimitrov went on to lose 6-2 6-3 as Djokovic booked his place in the final against Jakub Mensik – but the Serb also got a ticking off from Lionel Messi.

But the heckling drama was not the only incident of note with a fan during Dimitrov’s run to the Miami Open semi-final, which also saw him carried off court after one win.

He found himself in a hilarious awkward moment with two fans as part of a social media initiative which saw the trio ride in a cable car over the stadium together.

The girls asked which player on tour Dimitrov would most like to marry and pressed him when he refused to give an answer.

He then asked: “Who do you think will be a good fit for me to go for dinner with? Let’s see that.”

But when one replied that her favourite player is Maria Sharapova, he admitted: “She was my ex-girlfriend.”

The girl replied:  “Actually? Sorry to bring that up,” before Dimitrov broke into laughter.

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Dimitrov confronted the man shouting out[/caption]

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Security ejected two individuals[/caption]

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Fans jeered the heckler being booted out[/caption]

BRAVE Jesy Nelson has given fans a much-needed update after undergoing emergency surgery while pregnant with twins.

The Boyz singer, 33, who is expecting with boyfriend Zion Foster, 25, has had a tough pregnancy and has been in hospital for days.

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Jesy Nelson is expecting twins with her partner Zion Foster[/caption]

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Pregnant Jesy, 25, found out she was high risk earlier this month[/caption]

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The couple asked fans to pray for them last week[/caption]

The former Little Mix singer previously explained one or both of her babies could be at risk of dying because they were “living off one placenta”.

But in a heartfelt Mother’s Day message, Jesy revealed her unborn babies are “going strong” after a critical operation.

Speaking from her hospital bed, Jesy looked in good spirits as she told fans: “We just wanted to give you guys an update, as we know it’s been a while.

“I don’t know if you can see, but we are still in hospital, I’ve been recovering, but we have some amazing news.

“The TTTS has cleared up; the operation was a success, which is just absolutely incredible. We are so, so lucky to have the most amazing doctors.”

But despite the good news, the ex-Little Mix star explained she won’t be leaving hospital any time soon following her emergency procedure.

She continued: “Basically, the situation we’re in now is my cervix is very, very short, so I can’t leave the hospital because my waters could break at any point and I’m still very, very early.

“I can’t leave the hospital until I’m a certain amount of weeks, so every week we’re just like, ‘Please, please, please, stay in there!’”

Jesy, clutching her bump, added that she and Zion are “so grateful” their babies are “going strong”.

Sitting close to his girlfriend, Zion said: “One week at a time, but we’re in such a blessed position to even be able to make this video.”

He then told fans he had signed up to run the London Marathon next month and will be raising money for the charity Twins Trust.

“We spoke with them and we heard so much about the amazing work that they do for twins, for families of twins, for midwives, and they literally save lives.

With Jess going through what she’s going through, as much as I’m going through it too, I feel like I’m not really carrying the babies… this was my way of saying, ‘I’m gonna throw myself in the deep end!'”

Expectant mum Jesy went to hospital after experiencing tightness in her stomach.

Taking to Instagram last week, Jesy and Zion shared an emotional update with fans after she revealed her twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) diagnosis.

The Cleveland Clinic calls TTTS “a rare, serious condition in pregnancies involving identical twins who share one placenta”.

The site states that most identical twins equally share blood and nutrients from the same placenta.

However, with TTTS one twin receives less blood supply than the other twin resulting in a blood imbalance.

Days ago Jesy was emotional at the prospect of losing one of her babies as she spoke candidly about the pregnancy.

PEP GUARDIOLA might be having a bit of a nightmare – but he was still able to wreck the nation’s hopes of a dream FA Cup semi-final line-up.

Pretty much everyone, apart from fans of Manchester City, wanted Bournemouth to join Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in the last four of the tournament.

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City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the FA Cup to set up a semi-final clash against Nottingham Forest[/caption]

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Erling Haaland had his penalty saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the first half[/caption]

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Evanilson put Bournemouth ahead inside 21 minutes at the Vitality Stadium[/caption]

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But Haaland was set up by super sub Nico O’Reilly in the 49th minute[/caption]

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City have O’Reilly to thank for his two second-half assists[/caption]

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Haaland was subsequently subbed with an ankle injury on the hour mark[/caption]

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Before Haaland’s replacement Omar Marmoush put Pep Guardiola’s side 2-1 up[/caption]

But while Brazilian striker Evanilson put Bournemouth ahead Erling Haaland – having wasted three first half chances, including a penalty- scored the equaliser just after half-time.

And within a couple of minutes of replacing Haaland, Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush scored only his third goal since joining from Frankfurt for £59million in January.

So, while this is proving to be a lousy season by City’s ridiculously high standards, a seventh successive appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals is in the bag.

Let’s not forget that City’s semi-final opponents Forest are six points clear of them in the Premier League so they have every right to fancy their chances.

But as we saw here, Guardiola has the expertise – and a pretty decent subs bench – to change the game.

On a glorious day on the south coast, Guardiola saw that his team were struggling and brought on 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly at the break for centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov.

Although he was playing as a left-back, and has played there in the previous two FA Cup ties, O’Reilly is not really a left-back.

His favourite position is as an attacking midfielder and while he can play as a No 10, he has also filled in as a defensive midfielder.

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Yet here, O’Reilly helped change the game by assisting both goals and although he has only played a handful of first-team games, you would not have guessed it.

So, City scraped through but this is still proving to be a terrific year for the cups.

While Liverpool have all but won the Prem, the three promoted teams are going down and it looks as though two of the relegated club will be coming back up automatically, this term will be celebrated as a triumph over the so-called elite of English football if either Forest, Villa or Palace can follow Newcastle’s success in the Carabao Cup.

Bournemouth will be annoyed with themselves after putting themselves in such a good position but they were unable to match their highly-charged first half performance after the break.

They were missing suspended defenders Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen with left-back Julio Solar making only his second appearance in English football.

And they were creaking at the back early on as Haaland could have scored a hat-trick within the space of six minutes.

Although he steered Mattheus Nunes’ cross wide, you would have bet your life on him to stick away a penalty three minutes later after Tyler Adams handled.

It was not the greatest of penalties but Kepa still had to guess the right way and he flung himself to the left.

https://twitter.com/itvfootball/status/1906372469952319663

For Haaland, it was his third miss from the penalty spot in six which followed a run of 11 successive spot-kicks.

Incredibly the match was only 16 minutes old when Haaland had another clear but after galloping clear, he lifted his shot over the bar.

So it was inevitable that Bournemouth would tear up the other end and score.

Nunes was to blame by giving possession away to Lewis Cook and then the City defender was caught out at the far post with Justin Kluivert beating him to David Brooks’ cross. While Kluivert thought he had scored, Evanilson made sure on the line under pressure from Khusanov

Marcos Senesi would have made it 2-0 had his leg been an inch longer but he was unable to prod Brooks’ free-kick over the line.

https://twitter.com/itvfootball/status/1906385563185258561

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Super sub O’Reilly turned the tie around for City[/caption]

At half-time, Guardiola unleashed O’Reilly and the England under-20 international clearly carried out his manager’s orders to perfection.

Within four minutes, O’Reilly made his mark as he punished Bournemouth for pushing up too far.

His cross was outstanding and while Haaland was not having a good day, he was never going to miss this one.

Guardiola celebrated widely but was then booked by sarcastically clapping Stuart Attwell who, quite rightly, did not stop play because Haaland had fallen awkwardly.

Yet Haaland was immediately replaced by Marmoush and within a couple of minutes, he scored the second.

Again it was O’Reilly who delivered the assist, capitalising on a slip by Antoine Semenyo although Marmoush’s shot went through Kepa.

So, although the FA Cup is going to have one of the so-called big boys in the semi-finals, three out of four unfancied teams is not bad.

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City’s timely subs proved the difference[/caption] https://twitter.com/itvfootball/status/1906389096559157570

SHEFFIELD star Tai Woffinden has been involved in a high-speed horror crash in Poland.

Britain’s most successful speedway rider was airlifted to hospital in Krosno after a three-man pile-up on Sunday.

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Tai Woffinden has been airlifted to hospital after a crash in Poland[/caption]

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An air ambulance landed at the facility with Woffinden believed to have suffered a broken femur[/caption]

It’s being reported in Poland that the three-time World Champion has broken his femur and both hands while racing for his club Rzeszow.

Woffinden, 34, was at Sheffield’s media event just three days ago.

He was due to race his first meeting of the season in the UK on Thursday at Birmingham.

Sheffield put out a statement today: “Sheffield Speedway are aware of a racing crash involving Tai Woffinden in Poland this afternoon.

“Out of respect for Tai and his family, we politely ask supporters not to respond to, or share, any rumours.

“We will provide supporters with an official update when it is appropriate to do so.”

The Scunthorpe-born racer has only just returned to the track after a serious elbow injury prematurely ended his 2024 season, also sustained in Poland.

Just a week ago at the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership media day, he told SunSport: “I’m racing a motorbike with no brakes.

“I’m not in a car with a roll cage.

“It comes with the sport. It’s what we do, it’s dangerous.

“If you worry about getting injured when you race, you might as well quit. I love what I do, I enjoy it.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries but I’ve got a lot to achieve still.

“I want to win the British Championship and do the Grand Prix qualifiers and get back into the Grand Prix series.”

GERI Horner aka Ginger Spice has dropped a big hint that Spice Girls might reunite for their 30th anniversary.

The band – completed by Emma Bunton, Mel B, Mel C and Victoria Beckham – propelled to fame with their debut single, Wannabe, in 1996.

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Geri Horner is the latest Spice Girl to tease a reunion for the band’s 30th anniversary[/caption]

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Geri was part of Spice Girls along with (L-R) Emma Bunton, Mel B, Victoria Beckham and Mel C[/caption]

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The band have reformed over the years, including at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games[/caption]

Spice Girls would go on to become one of the biggest pop groups in history and have reunited over the years, including a memorable performance at the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012.

Now as the group is inching closer to the 30th anniversary of their formation, Geri has opened up about another possible reunion.

“My hope is we come back together as a collective. It’s more respectful to come as one,” Geri told The Times.

“There will be something. We’ll come as one. We love each other. I love them, I care about them, we want the best for each other.

“We shared something so monumental. We’ve always believed in each other, had trust in each other, which is beautiful.”

Geri is not the only Spice Girl to address the topic, with Mel C, aka Sporty Spice, also keen to do “something special.”

“It’s 30 years next year since the release of Wannabe. We have to do something special,” she said on Australia’s 2Day FM radio show.

“Obviously I can’t say too much but we are talking about things. Hopefully a nice little world tour!”

The band performed a tour in 2019, but with only four of the members as Victoria did not take part.

But another impromptu reunion happened at Victoria’s 50th birthday party last year where they came together to perform the dance routine to their hit single, Stop.

Victoria’s husband, David Beckham, was on hand in the front row to film the special moment.

Mel B, whose nickname is Scary Spice, has been the most vocal about wanting to get the Spice Girls back together and hit the road for a tour.

“I get so excited on stage with my girls, I end up running round the whole stage, I kind of lose myself,” she told Gabby Logan on Magic FM earlier this month. 

When asked directly if the band will reunite, she said: “I’m hoping so. You know me, I’m always saying ‘yeah we’re going on tour tomorrow’.” 

In her interview with The Times, Geri also spoke about how her marriage to F1 boss, Christian Horner and rubbished claims she’s legally changed her name amid rumours their marriage was on the rocks last year.

“That’s a load of crap,” she said.

“It’s my writing name. I haven’t legally changed anything — Horner is the name on my passport.”

Geri also revealed Christian had adopted her daughter, Bluebell, who is now 18.

“Christian formally adopted her. It’s public knowledge,” she said.

The married couple are also parents to Christian’s daughter, Olivia, 10, from a previous marriage and share son Monty, seven.

Splash News

They also toured without Victoria in 2019[/caption]

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Geri is married to F1 boss, Christian Horner[/caption]

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They share three children, including two from previous relationships[/caption]