EPL clubs splash the cash as transfer window closes; China athletes grab gold in Paris

Careers potentially hanging on last-minute decisions, millions at stake on the outcome of one sporting moment, pressure building like never before – yes, the Paris Paralympics is still going on, but the football transfer window has just closed too. Whether you live and breathe depending on how your club splashes its cash, or think disabled athletes performing extraordinary feats against the odds is more inspiring, there was something for everyone happening overnight. Here’s what went on while you were sleeping.

So apparently, Chinese athletes can win in track and field. Maybe those in charge of the Olympic team could ask their Paralympic betters for some advice. And on a day when China added 12 golds to its medal tally, three came in athletics alone.



Zhou Xia started things off when she sprinted to the women’s T35 100m title, for competitors with impaired coordination, in a time of 13.58sec. Di Dongdong then added the men’s long jump title for athletes with visual impairment by smashing the world record, which had gone unbroken for 10 years, with a 6.

85m jump. Chen Shichang took silver with a leap of 6.50m, and Spain’s Joan Munar bronze with 6.

32m. “I’m very happy and excited,” Di said. “The world record has been my target for a long time but getting the world record here tonight was unexpected, so that makes me even more delighted.

” Wen Xiaoyan was third up, taking gold in the T37 women’s 200m in a time of 25.86, with teammate Jiang Fenfen finishing third, behind Ukraine’s Nataliia Kobzar. It should go without saying, but there was table tennis gold too.

Liu Jing and Xue Juan grabbed the first of the day in the women’s doubles WD5 final, beating South Korea pair Yoon Ji-yu and Seo Su-yeon 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9. Next up were compatriots Huang Wenjuan and Jin Yucheng in the women’s doubles WD14 final. They saw off Germany’s Juliane Wolf and Stephanie Grebe 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8.

Elsewhere, Hong Yang added a third swimming medal for China as he won the 200m individual medley SM6, and the swim team ended the night on a high with victory in the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay. Having lost the gold medal to the US in sitting volleyball at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, China are apparently “very serious” about changing things this time around. They got off to the perfect start on Friday in Paris, beating the defending champions despite losing the first set.

Still, China’s Xu Yixiao refused to get carried away with the 21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24 win. “We are very happy to get this win, but it’s just the first game, so more important matches lie ahead,” Xu said. “This year we have prepared a lot, and we’re very serious about these Games.

” Zheng Qinwen might have made a less than convincing start to her US Open campaign, having to come from a set down in the first two rounds, but she put a stop to that against Germany’s Jule Niemeier. The Olympic champion dispatched her opponent 6-2, 6-1, with some raucous support roaring her on at Flushing Meadows, with regular shouts of “ jiayou ” from the stands. “Finally, it’s the first match I won in two sets.

It’s not [been] easy for me to play after Olympic Games,” said Zheng, who has noted previous struggles with focus after deep tournament runs. “ Jiayou means ‘come on’ in English. In Chinese, saying jiayou to me, I feel a lot of energy and I feel it really brings me up.

” Up next is Croatian Donna Vekic, who beat beat American Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-4, in a rematch of the Paris Games gold medal match. Elsewhere, China’s Wang Yafan also made it into the fourth round, beating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Another transfer window, another day of eye-watering amounts of money being spent on humans who can kick a ball slightly better than other people.

According to some records, English Premier League clubs have spent about US$2.4 billion and counting so far, with Chelsea shelling out almost US$300 million of that. And they still aren’t going to win anything.

In one of the day’s big moves, Manchester United signed Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported initial fee of £42 million (US$55 million), with a further £8.4 million in performance-related add-ons. Will it make United title contenders, will it stop Erik Ten Hag being sacked before Christmas.

Massively unlikely on both counts. England’s Gus Atkinson is having himself quite a summer. He completed his maiden Test century against Sri Lanka on Friday at Lord’s, and will now find his name on all three honours boards at the home of cricket.

His 12 wickets against the West Indies in July tick the two boxes for bowling - five wickets in an innings, and 10 in a match. For the record, England were all out for 427, bowled Sri Lanka out for 196, with Atkinson getting two of those wickets, and then ended the day 25 for one, and with a lead of 256..