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The Chelsea forward is a unique talent and showed against Austria just how important she could be in this tournament

I would always want my former teammate Fran Kirby in my England team. Who wouldn’t? It did not look like it would be a possibility in the months leading up to the Euros because of fatigue issues but in the 63 minutes Kirby played of the opening-game victory over Austria she showed how important she is to this England side.

It might not have been the 5-0 or 6-0 victory the 68,871 inside Old Trafford wanted but it is the perfect platform to build on, especially after all the pressure on the hosts coming into the Euros. Tournament football is all about momentum and three points against Austria puts England in a good position going into their second match with Norway. I have had my concerns about England’s goalscoring and this was shown at Old Trafford but when it mattered Kirby made the difference.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Robyn Cowen and Ceylon Andi Hickman as England open the Women’s Euros with a victory

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On the podcast today: England start the Women’s Euros with a 1-0 win over Austria. Some 68,000 fans were in Old Trafford to see what felt like a monumental moment for the sport.

In the second part of an exclusive investigation, the Guardian can reveal that multiple organizations and institutions tasked with the welfare and protection of athletes failed to consider, investigate or address repeated allegations of sexual misconduct against Toledo soccer coach Brad Evans

• ‘It shattered my world’: an Ohio soccer coach, sexual misconduct and the system that has protected him

The Universty of Toledo knew in 2015 about an allegation of sexual misconduct by Brad Evans, coach of its women’s soccer team, but sidelined the claims to allow the coach to eventually resign citing “inappropriate relationships”. The university was also aware of concerns raised by players and families about his behavior since 2012.

The university took five years to acknowledge the sexual misconduct allegation – only after the current coach of the University of Toledo women’s team filed a report to the school’s Title IX office in 2020. The reported victim of the alleged sexual misconduct was Candice Fabry, a former student, athlete and assistant coach at the university, as exclusively reported by the Guardian.

UToledo did conduct an investigation following a report by a student-athlete in January 2015 of verbal harassment by Brad Evans, who was at the time the Head Coach of the women’s soccer team. The investigation did find that Mr. Evans’ conduct toward student-athletes may have violated the University’s Standards of Conduct policy, however, the case was not referred for possible disciplinary action because by the conclusion of the investigation in March 2015, Mr. Evans had already resigned his position effective Feb. 23, 2015.

• Barcelona midfielder deferred payments to help club financially
• Ronaldo again absent from training day before tour starts

Frenkie de Jong’s proposed transfer to Manchester United is being held up by about £17m the midfielder is owed in deferred salary payments by Barcelona.

The Guardian understands that United and the Catalan club are working to resolve the issue because it is a major barrier to De Jong being signed for an agreed €65m (£56.2m) plus add-ons fee.

• Adams has played under Jesse Marsch at New York and Leipzig
• Colombia winger Sinisterra is a likely replacement for Raphinha

Leeds have signed the USA midfielder Tyler Adams from RB Leipzig on a five-year deal for a fee that could reach £20m with add-ons and followed that by buying the Colombia winger Luís Sinisterra from Feyenoord.

The deal for Sinisterra is worth €25m (£22.3m) plus add-ons and has taken Leeds’s summer spend to more than £90m, although £45m was recouped this week through the sale of Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City.

• Former midfielder steps up to replace Spaniard
• Terriers lost Championship playoff final to Forest

Carlos Corberán has resigned as Huddersfield’s head coach. The Spaniard, who guided the club to the playoff final last season, met the head of football operations, Leigh Bromby, on Wednesday night before quitting. His assistant Jorge Alarcón has also left.

The club have acted quickly to replace Corberán by announcing Danny Schofield as the new head coach. The former Huddersfield midfielder spent 10 years at the club as a player and returned in 2020 to coach the their under-19 team. He will be assisted by Narcis Pèlach.

• Chelsea aim to finalise fee of about £45m with Manchester City
• Sterling has been told by Tuchel he will be key player at club

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Raheem Sterling after agreeing personal terms with the Manchester City forward.

Sterling has told City it is the right time for him to leave and he is expected to become the first marquee signing under the new ownership at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are aiming to finalise a fee of about £45m in the next 24 hours and they hope the England international will join the squad when they fly on Saturday to the US for their pre-season tour.