Sports

Eddie Howe stepped down as Newcastle United head coach on July 30, 2026, following a 12th-place Premier League finish, with the club stating a successor search was already at an advanced stage. Matthias Jaissle, who won two Austrian Bundesliga titles with RB Salzburg and back-to-back AFC Champions League titles with Al-Ahli, is reported as the leading candidate, with Sky Sports citing a £9.5 million compensation fee and a four-year contract through 2030. As of August 1, Newcastle had not officially confirmed the appointment, and the club's first league match is scheduled for August 23 against Liverpool.

Mykhailo Mudryk became immediately eligible to compete on July 31, 2026, after the FA and WADA settled his anti-doping case through a case-resolution agreement under Article 10.8.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code, with his ineligibility period counted as time already served since his October 2024 positive test. The resolution was influenced by an updated WADA technical document setting a 100 ng/mL minimum reporting level for meldonium, meaning a sample at his concentration collected today would not trigger a violation, though that standard does not apply retroactively. Despite his restored eligibility, Chelsea's 28-player travelling squad for its 2026 pre-season tour of Australia and Asia does not include him.

The New York Mets, sitting 17.5 games back in the NL East at 47-64, traded left-handed reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins on July 31 for shortstop prospect Bruin Agbayani and Double-A third baseman Billy Amick. Minter, who posted a 2.35 ERA in 23 games this season, is a rental set to become a free agent after 2026, and the Twins needed left-handed bullpen depth after Anthony Banda underwent season-ending surgery in July. Additional Mets players including Freddy Peralta, Luis Robert Jr., and Clay Holmes have been identified in media reports as potential trade candidates ahead of the August 3 deadline, though no further deals have been officially confirmed.