Kieran Trippier is set to join Newcastle United after a fee, reportedly an initial £12m with add-ons, was agreed with Atlético Madrid.

The England right-back has also agreed personal terms after further discussions between the club and the player’s representatives. The Premier League club are now organising Trippier’s medical before he is officially unveiled as a Newcastle player.

Trippier will become Newcastle’s first signing since the club were taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium in October. Negotiations for the 31-year-old have been taking place since December, with Atlético agreeing to sell when it became clear that Trippier wanted to leave and return to England.

Men’s transfer window January 2…

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Nick Ames’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 2nd

Prospects

Nobody doubts Arsenal’s seriousness these days. For several years they had flown by the seat of their pants but their dealings this summer have been conducted with chilling efficiency.

Mikel Arteta’s top targets were identified and bedded in by the time they set sail for their pre-season tour, meaning that they should be ready to go when Nottingham Forest visit on 12 August. It is as serene a camp as anyone can remember and the luxury for Arteta is that, finally, he can…

Peace to reader A.J. Travis for suggesting Wright Thompson's ESPN story, "Shadow Boxing": The old man opens the door and shuffles into a familiar room. The air smells of stale beer and discount brand cigarette smoke. The tables are taken by men with no names. They are all friends. They are all strangers. A different journey brought each of them here, to the pool hall on NW Second Avenue, but that doesn't matter anymore. Their journeys are over. Most don't share the details, not even their last names. Some don't remember the year, or how long they've been coming here. They have no past. The old man walks clumsily to a table. He has a story. The act of telling it, of having people hear it, keeps him from disappearing forever. One night, he says, he foug…

Mike Trout’s greatness is all-encompassing and unrelenting. There are no holes to be poked in it, and no complaints to be made about how he chooses to deploy his skills every day. If you were, however, some kind of sick freak who believes that Trout could be doing more to help his team win, you might say that he should be stealing more bases. Trout would tend to agree. After leading the league with 49 steals in 2012, his stolen base numbers went on a steady yearly decline, all the way down to 11 in 2015. He vowed to swipe more bags at the start of the 2016 season and mostly followed through, taking 30. Last year, he managed to steal 22 in 114 games. So far this season, he’s maintained his commitment to reinvesting in his speed. He’s got 10 steals so far, and shouldn’t have much …