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By Rebecca English

Published: 12:27 EDT, March 12, 2024 | Updated: 1:30 PM EDT, March 12, 2024

CHELSEA have been linked with England defender Archie Brown from Genk, while Premier League rivals plus Juventus and AC Milan are also floating.

The 21-year-old Brummie has rebuilt his career on the continent after leaving Wayne Rooney’s Derby in 2021 to pursue first-team football.

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Now Chelsea have reportedly joined the list of admirers of the £15m-rated star, joining West Ham, Fulham and Brentford.

Championship promotion chasers Leeds, as well as French teams Lyon and Nice, have also been mentioned.

HITC say Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues “scouted” Brown, also last weekend.

That’s when Gent lost their mid-table Belgian top-flight match at Standard Liège 4-2.

Brown’s rise over the past three years has been as unusual as it has been incredible.

He turned down a new contract from Rams in a bid to accelerate his progress – the same summer Rooney resigned as manager.

Brown was a regular for Derby’s Under 23 side, where he was switched to both left back and central defense after his days as a left winger for the U-18s.

It is believed that Brown subsequently turned away championship clubs in favor of FC Lausanne-Sport.

His first season brought just four senior appearances and relegation from the Swiss Super League.

But he shone at the second level and immediately helped Lausanne gain promotion back to the elite.

Brown’s standout performances led to a move to Ghent on a four-year contract last August.

Now Chelsea’s desire for cover at left-back could boost his chances of a move to Stamford Bridge.

Blues boss Pochettino would want cover for Ben Chilwell – not least because three other players in that position have been tipped for the exit door, led by £62m flop Marc Cucurella.

Newcastle could convert Lewis Hall’s loan deal into a permanent move and Ian Maatsen could be sold when his temporary spell at Borussia Dortmund ends.

An American woman who made the move from the US to England has revealed all the ‘cute little observations’ and quirks she’s noticed about English people.

Content creator Jenna McKone moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Cambridge with her husband in January of this year.

The couple lived in England for some time four years earlier, but eventually moved back home.

Posting under her TikTok handle @jennamckonethe American decided to share the love she has for English people by listing her favorite things about them.

The video has already been viewed by more than 166,000 people, with one British commentator writing that she is the “American number one who really gets us.”

Jenna told her 7,000 followers: ‘I’ve been back in England for just over a month now, so I thought I’d share some random little things about England and the English people I love.’

Call appetizers appetizers

The first niche quirk that the American likes about English people is that we have a unique name for snacks.

The TikToker gushed: “Number one is naming snacks.

“That’s cute, and every time we get to a pub and there’s snacks on the menu, my husband and I say, ‘Do you want some snacks?’

In the comments, someone explained, “Appetizers are what we all enjoy. Nibbles are like little snacks.’

Etiquette on the road

The second thing on the list of content creators may be surprising to many English people – and it is that we have good traffic etiquette.

She explained, “Then you thank other drivers who let you in by flashing your hazard lights once. I had never seen that before I came here.

“Usually Americans just raise their hands, but it’s a great way to thank people. Plus, you guys are simply the most courteous drivers I’ve ever seen.

“Americans look, you know how when you turn left and there’s a lot of traffic coming both ways, ask yourself how long it’s going to take before someone lets you in.”

“Maybe the 12th car will let you in. In England this is almost always with the second car, even though the roads are sometimes really scary.

But she added that she was “more afraid” for her life driving in America than here.

Orange egg yolk

Jenna’s next point is about food and not people, and how delicious English eggs are, especially the yolks.

She told viewers: ‘The next thing is how orange your egg yolk is.

“I know people are talking about this and I know it’s not surprising that an American would say this is one of the greatest things ever.

“But let me tell you, in the US you have to pay twelve dollars to get the yolk as orange as here, and it’s probably still not that orange, and I pay £2.50 here.”

Telephone voices

Another thing that American citizens find funny is the English ‘telephone voices’ and our unique customs.

She laughed, “The next thing is how your voice goes three octaves higher when you say goodbye on the phone.

‘In Britain a man will say in a very deep voice, ‘Okay bye!’ (in a high voice).

She adds that she also loves that it takes “a solid 10 seconds to get through the entire farewell spiel.”

She did an impression of our long goodbye and said, “Cheers, yes, have a nice day, be well, yes, okay, yes, okay, goodbye.”

Freshly baked bread

Coming back to food, the content creator revealed that she is also a big fan of English bread.

Jenna said: ‘Next is a love for a nice freshly baked sourdough loaf.

“Some of my favorite brunch and coffee shops are here because of how much you love your bread.

“I could never find a good sourdough loaf even within driving distance of where I live, and there are about four that I can walk to.”

Adaptable people

Another compliment for the English from the American is that we are ‘very flexible’ and do not let the weather hold us back.

She explained, “I know you guys don’t like this, I know you guys don’t like the weather, but I will say you guys are very adaptable.

“Because you have to, and I realize that, but honestly, it’s inspiring that you’re all going to keep going no matter what.

‘You cycle in the rain, there are often no parasols, you just do your thing regardless of the weather, so thank you for that, I love that.’

UK viewers flocked to the comments to comment on how ‘accurate’ Jenna’s list is, calling her observations ‘sweet’.

One user wrote: ‘We do something on the phone where we gradually become quieter.’

A second wrote: ‘I hung up too early once so called back to apologize.’

Meanwhile, a third joked: ‘Funny how accurate this is. Umbrellas don’t bother me, because no umbrella has yet been invented that can withstand the conditions.’

Satisfied, another added, “You’re the number one American here who really understands us!”

Someone else said: ‘I assume your husband is also American.

‘I also hung up too early during the farewell ritual, felt bad, so the person called back to make sure I had said goodbye properly. The shame I felt because I cut off their goodbyes.’

One English viewer joked: “I’m finding this post makes me feel strangely patriotic,” alongside a laughing emoji.

Another wrote: ‘These are such sweet observations! My partner does the ‘goodbye until only dogs can hear the last’, while someone else adds: ‘The goodbye saga is often as long as the phone call that preceded it’.

Meanwhile, someone else wrote: ‘Just got back from the US and surprised we survived the roads. Britain does have road etiquette!’

DENNIS BERGKAMP, Dirk Kuyt and Henrik Larsson are in the process of purchasing an English football club.

According to football agent Rob Jansen, the three ex-players have their sights set on a team in League One or League Two.

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Bergkamp has previously discussed his desire to buy a team in League One.

The Arsenal legend now looks one step closer to realizing that dream alongside Kuyt and Larsson.

Jansen has revealed that the group will take a hands-on approach if they are successful with their takeover bid.

Celtic icon Larsson would be appointed as manager according to their plans.

Meanwhile, Bergkamp would oversee the academy after holding positions within the Ajax youth system since his retirement.

Jansen also confirmed the involvement of Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman.

He told the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast: “We are in the process of buying a club in England. I am not allowed to say which club yet.

“I can say with which group we will do it. Ronald Koeman, Dennis Bergkamp, ​​​​Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt.

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“We are now looking at League Two or League One. We do this with some people around us and we also have the financiers. It does not have to be in London.”

“The plan is to run the football club in the broadest sense of the word. So as we think it should be. Training, hospitality, merchandising, marketing, everything. We have a group and maybe one or two more will join ..

“The names I mention will also have a certain function within the club. Henrik Larsson would like to become head coach. Bergkamp will set up the academy. And Koeman will also do his thing.”

Larsson has managerial experience in his native Sweden, including two spells at former club Helsingborgs.

He fulfilled his last coaching role under Koeman at Barcelona between 2020 and 2021.

As for Koeman, he began a second term as Dutch boss last year and is currently under contract until 2026.

Ex-Liverpool striker Kuyt is also a manager, having taken over Belgian second-tier side Beerschot in December.

However, in 2019 he was linked with a surprise move to buy Bolton, although a takeover never materialized.

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Austin Butler gushed about his encounter with Sting while promoting Dune: Part Two on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday.

The 32-year-old actor in the highly anticipated sci-fi sequel plays Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, who also played Sting, 72, in the 1984 film directed by David Lynch, 78.

Jimmy, 49, as he peered over Austin’s work, revealed a quiet character of his and was surprised that he didn’t even look like him.

“I heard the director described your character as a psychopath swordmaster mixed with Mick Jagger,” Jimmy said.

Austin noted that Mick, 80, would go on to play Feyd-Rautha in director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to make a Dune movie in the 1970s, “which they called the best movie never made.”

“And then Sting obviously played the part in David Lynch’s,” Austin added.

Austin said he met Sting at the Dune 2 premiere in New York City on Sunday.

‘It was so surreal. …I was blown away by it,” Austin said.

Austin said Sting came up next and was “so sweet and just warm.”

“He said he still has the codpiece from the original and he’s going to dry clean it so I can wear it,” Austin said.

Jimmy asked how he got into character. Austin said he had never played a villain before and didn’t want to judge him.

“It was a lot of imagining what his childhood was like,” Austin said.

He said he simply imagined what it would be like to grow up with the character Baron Harkonnen as his father.

Austin said he watched the film in Mexico City with more than 4,000 screaming fans in the audience.

“I had never been in a movie with so many people,” Austin said. ‘It was incredible.’

Jimmy then played a clip from the new Dune movie.

Austin also admitted that he enjoyed going to movie theaters incognito to see fans’ reactions to his films.

‘I did that with Elvis. I’d like to put on a hat and go in the back,” Austin said. ‘If you feel it in the audience, that’s the best. I can’t wait to see this in IMAX.”

Dune star Zendaya, 27, was also supposed to be on the NBC talk show, but Austin revealed she was sick.

“She was supposed to be here tonight,” Austin said. ‘She is ill. Her voice has completely disappeared.’

“She was such a real trooper showing up at the premiere last night,” Austin said. ‘You would never know she was sick. She’s such a queen.’

“You guys met on the Disney channel,” Jimmy said.

“We overlapped a little bit,” Austin said. “But as kids we did this Teen Vogue thing together and she brought it up to me.”

Jimmy then played Austin and Zendaya’s 2012 interview for Teen Vogue.

“I could be the first American James Bond,” Austin said in the clip. “I would do it with a British accent.”

‘What was I thinking?’ Austin said. ‘I grew up loving James Bond.’

Austin also took part in a Family Feud-themed skit called “Search Party.” Austin played on the team with Jimmy, producer Mark Ronson, Chance the Rapper and Quest Love against the band members of Kings of Leon. They had to complete what they thought was the end of an internet search.

Austin was asked “people like it best when you kiss there…” Austin guessed “at the bottom,” but Jared Followill, 33, wrote lips and won the points.

COPA 71 is the story of women’s football, miles away from current football.

The rise of the WSL and Sarina Wiegman’s lionesses have made people like Chloe Kelly, Leah Williamson and Mary Earps household names.

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But in 1971, when women’s football was banned by the FA, England’s Lionesses were forced to secretly participate in a Women’s World Cup.

For years nothing was known about the event in Mexico, with the FA deciding to ban all women involved in the tournament from football and the press not interested in covering it.

But the story of the tournament is about to be in the spotlight thanks to a new documentary produced by Venus and Serena Williams called Copa 71.

In it we discover how a 60-year-old bus conductor from Luton named Harry Batt gathered a team from England to take part in the secret tournament.

Batt found players by scouting playing fields and parks and managed to round up fourteen talented female players to fly to the tournament in Mexico.

Although there was nothing about it in the British press at the time, the women who played in the tournament spoke about the experience with the Sunday Times.

Trudy McAffrey, 69, Carol Wilson, 72, and Chris Lockwood, 67, said they were treated like celebrities in Mexico – with paparazzi following their every move and the team invited to lavish parties at foreign embassies.

Lockwood talked about how the tournament energized Mexico and described “all the young kids wanting autographs.”

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Although England were knocked out in the group stage, this did not detract from the side’s experience, with Lockwood saying: “At the end two children came with a plaque drawn in chalk which said: ‘You may have lost the match, but you conquered the heart of Mexico.”

Instead of flying home, the lionesses were invited to stay in Mexico until the finals. “We were invited to a cocktail party at the British Embassy – it was a grand affair,” says Wilson, who was 19 and could drink. ‘I still remember. See Leah [Caleb, the youngest member of the squad] She reached for the drinks tray – she was only 13!

But the story takes a sad turn when McAffrey described the team ‘coming home to nothing’ when they returned to England.

“Just a few weeks before, we were playing football in a packed stadium,” she said. “No one wanted to know. It was bizarre.”

The FA blacklisted manager Harry Batt for life and all women were banned from playing football for between three months and 12 months.

The embarrassment of being shunned by the FA led to the team losing contact. “I think because it was banned, it felt like we did something wrong,” McCaffery says. “Not too long ago, I was close to just throwing my stuff away [souvenirs from the tournament] away. I thought: who would be interested in this? It doesn’t mean anything to anyone.”

It was not until 47 years later that the team was reunited after Lockwood, McCaffery and Wilson launched a call for the team to be reunited on BBC Radio 4 and The One Show.

The documentary also interviews women from the Danish, Mexican and Italian teams, with many of them requiring a lot of convincing to speak on the record.

Copa 71 co-director Rachel Ramsay said: “The women were traumatised. The shame they felt was so intense. Many of them had not even told their families that they had taken part.”

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The documentary not only shines a light on the England team, but also highlights how much the development of women’s football has been hampered by a ban on women playing football in several countries.

With national teams becoming celebrities in Mexico, the final at the Azteca was sold out, attended by 112,500 spectators.

Despite this being the highest ever attendance for a women’s football match, FIFA only recently officially recognized this as the tournament was not officially sanctioned.

One of the members of the England squad, Jan Emms, the mother of badminton star Gail, told the Sun last year that she was full of joy when she saw the England Lionesses reach the final of the Women’s World Cup, this time in a FIFA sanctioned competition.

She said: “This World Cup final is the ultimate vindication of what we have done.”

“All fourteen of us are still alive and can see this happening. We never in our wildest dreams imagined that an England women’s team would reach a World Cup final.”

King Charles will have plenty to keep him occupied at Sandringham House in the coming days and weeks as he embarks upon his treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

There will be the usual red boxes full of government paperwork, of course. Like his mother before him, Charles will attend to these assiduously. There will be conversations with his Prime Minister and with other figures of note, here and abroad.

There are, though, some other, more congenial, projects at hand in and around the redbrick country mansion should the King feel in a mood to take his mind off things.

I’m told he has been making enjoyable improvements in the house, stripping walls and laying down rugs that he’d found hidden away in distant corners.

He is a man of culture and taste and probably feels that refreshing Sandringham was something his parents had neglected during their tenure. 

The King has already redesigned and installed a new garden at Sandringham since his accession. Before that, he had embarked upon modernising the farm on the estate, introducing organic methods.

Sandringham has a number of advantages for a man who must suddenly concentrate upon his health.

The rural estate offers privacy and seclusion, for example, although London is readily accessible by helicopter.

There are important family memories, too, including the many Christmases spent together there in the long reign of his mother and before.

Yet I believe there is one personal association in particular that has helped draw the King back to Norfolk rather than, for example, the immaculately maintained comforts of Highgrove House, the home and garden in Gloucestershire which has been his creation for over 40 years.

Sandringham is filled with the spirit not just of his parents but of his gentle grandfather, George VI, from whom King Charles has taken inspiration.

The house is filled with happy memories for him, extending back to 1952, as he can remember being there when his grandfather died.

By coincidence, news of the King’s condition came on February 6, a poignant date as this is the anniversary of his grandfather’s untimely death – from cancer, of course – at the age of 56.

Charles and George had much in common.

Following her husband’s death, the Queen Mother wrote to Winston Churchill telling him that the King had been looking forward to ‘fairer things, such as making gardens, which he loved, planning vistas and rehanging the pictures at Windsor and other very English things which he never had time for.’

The Queen Mother loved Sandringham. She was never drawn to anything European, having been brought up almost exclusively in England and Scotland.

In the Second World War, it was significant that she collected modern British paintings, and the day before George VI died, she had spent time with the landscape artist Edward Seago, a favourite of King Charles.

When considering what kind of King he was going to be, Charles turned to the example of his grandfather, the last time this country had a King as head of state.

It is clearly easier for him to have a man as his role model, than his mother.

Similarly I have no doubt he will have had his grandfather in mind as he commenced his own alterations, inside and out, personalising the house and making it his own, for his benefit and for the benefit of future generations.

They include, appropriately, a new ‘health garden’ featuring 5000 ‘healing yew tree hedging plants’ on what was once the West Lawn at the front of the house.

It is said to have been inspired by the King’s childhood memories of a topiary garden at Sandringham, which no longer exists.

Plants in the garden chosen for their health benefits include lavender, delphinium and phlox.

This and other projects have been some time in the planning: Charles took over the main house in 2017, before his parents died. 

If Balmoral in Scotland is still redolent of Queen Victoria, then it is the taste of Alexandra, Queen Consort to Edward VII, that dominates at Sandringham. 

Her extensive Fabergé collection is still there.

Queen Victoria bought Sandringham for the Edward and Alexandra, then Prince and Princess of Wales, in 1862.

Between 1870 and 1900 they rebuilt it with a red brick façade in what architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner called a ‘frenetic Jacobean’ style.

It became a place for the future Edward VII to entertain and to hold shooting parties. 

He loved it, but the style of the house was not to everyone’s taste.

Did it perhaps resemble a miniature version of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington? Or possibly a railway station. 

According to Biographer James Pope-Hennessy,  Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (and Queen Victoria’s granddaughter) once jokingly suggested to Queen Elizabeth that she might burn the house down for her. Would she mind? 

And the Queen had replied: ‘I am not sure whether I should mind.’ 

She did pull down one redundant wing.

Along with the house go 600 acres, mainly country park, but some of it extensive gardens. 

Distinguished gardeners such as Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Sir Eric Savill have had influence over the gardens and there are two lakes.

In widowhood, Queen Alexandra lived in the ‘Big House’ while George V, Queen Mary, their family and household were squeezed into another property, York House, also on the estate.

With Queen Alexandra lived her faithful courtiers, General Sir Dighton Probyn and Hon Charlotte Knollys, her lady in waiting, an ageing household which muddled along in some harmony.

In July 1924 the young Cecil Beaton caught a glimpse of the old Queen at the flower show, now very old, ‘still beautiful, thinner and haggard’, her face ‘painted scarlets and whites and black and magenta.’

Queen Alexandra died there in November 1925, and there was the poignant account of Charlotte Knollys, heard wailing at an upper window, as the Queen’s coffin was carried to St Mary Magdalene Church.

King George V and Queen Mary could not wait to move in. They were soon busy rearranging everything. The King made his first Christmas broadcast from the house in 1932.

The young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were staying for Christmas 1935.

They were whisked away when the King fell ill. He died at ‘dear old Sandringham’ in 1936 ‘the place I love better than anywhere else in the world.’

King George VI bought Sandringham from the Duke of Windsor after his brother’s Abdication. In 1952 it was to Sandringham that he retreated with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret after seeing Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip off on their Commonwealth tour.

On the night of 5/6 February a night watchman was aware of the King opening a window. He never woke up. When his valet came in with his morning tea, he found he had died in the night.

After that, every year, on the anniversary of his death (6 February) the Queen and the Queen Mother would attend a small private service in his memory, either at Sandringham or sometimes at Windsor.

The Queen Mother entertained a large house party for the annual flower show each July. One year towards the end of her life, the fire alarm went off in the night. Various guests emerged in their nightwear.

The Duke of Grafton could be heard snoring in his room, so he was all right. The question was asked: would the Queen Mother be coming down? The answer was: ‘No, but she has put her pearls on.’

Christmas 2001 was not easy for the Queen. She greeted a BA 146 plane – at an airfield within reach of the house – from which both her mother and sister both emerged in wheelchairs.

The Queen Mother would have stayed on at Sandringham indefinitely but, not long after returning to London, Princess Margaret died (on February 9, 2002) and so the Queen Mother flew down to Windsor for the funeral. She passed away at Royal Lodge on March 30.

Queen Elizabeth II spent nearly two months there every year over Christmas. The youngsters in the Royal Family who stayed with her loved the moment on Christmas Eve when she threw open the doors to the dining room, and they all rushed in to get their presents.

Her stud was at Sandringham so when she was there, she would spend a lot of her time with her horses.

 Whenever a new foal was born, her manager would call her to tell her the good news. She also set up a gun dog breeding programme at the kennels.

Very often the Queen and Prince Philip did not open the Big House, preferring to stay at the considerably more modest Wood Farm, a few miles away.

The Duke of Edinburgh retired to Wood Farm in 2017 (though he moved back to Windsor Castle just before lockdown in March 2020), another sign of the affection in which the Sandringham estate is held by the family.

So for Charles, there will be no shortage of memories as devotes his strength to recovery in the coming weeks and months. 

NOAH OHIO will look to his best friend Jude Bellingham for inspiration as he looks to finally shine in English football.

The 21-year-old striker received a text message from the England midfielder straight after his first Hull goal sealed a 2-1 midweek win over Rotherham.

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The loan signing from Standard Liege in January knows he has a lot to do to match £115million star Bellingham's 20 goals for Real Madrid this season.

But Ohio said, “He's someone to look up to. He helps when he can, gives me advice. He's on top of the world, but still so grounded and a humble guy.

“His text said: congratulations and well rounded – but I still need a few more to catch up!

“He's the best in the world, but to me he's just Jude. He's been my best friend for four or five years now. We played for England Under-16s and we came close.

“It's been fun to see his growth. I'm really proud: he's a superstar.”

Holland Under-21s chief executive Ohio added: “You know it's possible because your friend is there.

“So anything is possible and everyone's journey is different.

“He tells me to stay focused, don't look left or right, it's your own journey and your own path. Don't compare and keep going. The more focused you are, the more success you will achieve.

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“He's very happy for me when I do well, just like I am when he scores every week.”

Ohio was signed by Manchester United at the age of 12, but left for City's academy derby rivals in 2016.

Three years later he turned down a professional deal with Pep Guardiola in the hope of getting more first-team opportunities elsewhere.

He joined RB Leipzig but struggled there and at Vitesse, Austria Vienna and Standard as he tried to establish himself.

Ohio craves a taste of the Prem, but doesn't view its past as unfinished business.

He said: “I chose to go abroad when I was very young and I had to make a decision for myself. I am very grateful to both clubs.

“I've had a great time and most of my friends are playing in the Championship or the Premier League and doing so well.

“I hope to follow myself and make a name for myself in England. I think the ambition of all boys is to play as high as possible.

'Now it is the right project to return to England. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't feel like it was the right time.

Eighth-placed Hull go to 20th-placed Huddersfield today and Ohio said it was a 'no-brainer' when Tigers boss Liam Rosenior called.

He added: “The manager, the style of play and the owners have really impressed me.

“Any young player that Hull City wants, when he has the conversation, he will be sold immediately because there is a clear project.”