Manchester City have signed Niamh Charles from Chelsea on a three-year deal.
The left-back had one year left on her contract with the Blues after winning five WSL titles since joining from Liverpool in 2020.
Charles has now returned to the north west, signing a contract that will keep her with the WSL champions until 2029. She will wear the No 21 shirt at the Joie Stadium.
The 27-year-old has 34 England caps and was part of the Euro 2025-winning squad, scoring in the penalty shoot-out win against Spain in the final.
Discussing her move to Man City, Charles said: "I've seen from the outside and played against City over the past few years, they've had great success this year, and I think what they're building as a team, the players and the staff, it's something I wanted to be a part of.
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Charles spent six years at Chelsea, winning multiple trophies
"It suits and fits me, the culture we're building and the style of play. I just think it's the perfect fit and hopefully we can have some good times together.
"I've got a few good friends here from past times and internationals. I've spoken to them about it and they feel they're improving every day as players in training and every game and that is something I want to do.
"They can see the project going on here, they're happy here and they feel looked after on and off the pitch. That is where you get your best football out and that is what I've spoken to them about and it's what I think works for me and what I've been looking for.
"I'm really excited for that, and they really seem to enjoy the group together and that makes the good times even better and bad times a little easier. You can sort of get through and be even better."
Charles is the second player to make the move north from London, with Man City signing Beth Mead after her departure from Arsenal.
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Charles was part of England's Euro 2025-winning squad
Man City making statement of intent
Analysis by Sky Sports' Charlotte Marsh:
After winning the FA Cup final, Man City boss Andree Jeglertz said he wanted to keep developing his team so they can compete again in upcoming seasons.
By signing a player of Charles' calibre, Man City are making a statement of intent.
She will likely become the starting left-back after Leila Ouahabi's departure this summer. Alex Greenwood can also play there and has done so for England, but she plays centrally for her club.
Charles has struggled for game time under Sonia Bompastor. After three consecutive seasons where she featured in over 20 WSL matches under Emma Hayes, she has made just 12 and 11 league appearances respectively in the last two years, with injuries also playing their part.
Chelsea's signing of Katie McCabe will also have further reduced her opportunities to play and, at 26, Charles has the perfect blend of youth and winning nous having won 12 major titles with the Blues. %!s()
The stutter. Like it or loathe it, it's a technique that has been increasingly adopted by penalty takers since the time of Pele in the 1960s. But after some faltering spot-kicks at this World Cup - might it be time up for one of football's most polarising tricks?
That question gained fresh weight on Thursday night, when Bono saved Kylian Mbappe's stuttered penalty in France's 2-0 win over Morocco.
Stuttering during a penalty run-up can give takers a boost of as much as 10 per cent compared to traditional methods, according to analysis of five years' worth of Premier League penalties undertaken by leading football psychology professor Geir Jordet.
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The advantage of the technique has been deemed so excessive that the laws of the game were amended in 2016 to prevent players from making goalkeepers dive early by feinting with their final touch - though that did little to curtail its success.
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The stutter has felt the ire of fans' frustrations for much of that time. It is difficult to fully define why, beyond a perceived level of unnecessary added theatrics. And when things go wrong, an acrobatic run-up presents an easy target. Just ask Eberechi Eze after the Champions League final.
And following high-profile shoot-out exits for Germany and Netherlands at this World Cup, both including stutters from the losing side, that exasperation has reached what may be a peak. But there are signs of a growing justification behind those grievances.
Of the 19 stuttered penalty run-ups at this World Cup, nine have resulted in missed spot-kicks. The conversion rate has edged above 50 per cent, but only just - and remains well below the 71 per cent success rate for non-stuttered penalties.
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Why? Goalkeepers have begun to fight back. And not before time.
"The majority of the top, top penalty takers in the world use the stutter," Jordet, whose book Pressure explains the psychology behind penalties, tells Sky Sports. "And until quite recently, goalkeepers have struggled against this.
"It seems crazy to say it, but they haven't had effective counter-measures. I've seen professional analysts for big clubs and national teams getting their analysis completely wrong by just reducing a penalty taker to direction.
"But with and without a stutter technique is a completely different technique, even with the same placement."
Netherlands' shoot-out loss presents a perfect case study because of the role of Morocco goalkeeper Bono, long admired for his hoodoo over penalties with eight of the previous 12 he had faced being missed.
He has refused to be coaxed into moving early, instead turning the uncertainty back onto the penalty taker by feinting to go one way in response to a stutter but diving the other - or in some cases, feinting twice. Arguably, he has deployed the goalkeeping equivalent of the same technique he has to face.
"He has this ability to get into penalty takers' minds, and sow some doubt about themselves and their technique. That's quite a feat as a goalkeeper," says Jordet.
Bono's bluffing planted enough doubt into Justin Kluivert's mind for the Netherlands winger to miss the goal entirely after a stuttered spot-kick.
His high jinks during Crysencio Summerville's penalty put the West Ham winger off too. But this is just the latest step on a wider goalkeeping redemption arc he has been leading for some time.
And he did it again against France. Mbappe's stuttered attempt was saved by Bono, even if Morocco could not turn that moment into another knockout escape.
"I first noticed Bono when he faced a penalty from my countryman Erling Haaland in 2021," adds Jordet. "Bono faked twice which way he was going to go up against Haaland's stutter, and he saved the penalty.
"He had been just off his line and Haaland retook it, but he still almost saved that one too. After that, Haaland changed his approach completely."
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Bono has other impressive scalps. Ivan Toney, England's penalty specialist at this World Cup, has been labelled the best spot-kick taker on the planet and prides himself on waiting for a goalkeeper to blink first before picking his spot.
But the Moroccan's technique thwarted him when the two faced each other in a penalty shoot-out in the Saudi King's Cup earlier this year, with Toney's missed kick decisive in his side's defeat.
The forward was so rattled by Bono's technique that he, too, altered his style in response - and missed another in his next game.
"This is an arms race," says Jordet. "It's about staying ahead. We need a bigger sample size but from the start of this World Cup, the goalkeepers are winning.
"If you think what brought you success six months or a year ago is going to be enough today, you're probably going to lose this race.
"I spoke to Robert Lewandowski a few years ago, who traditionally has been a huge spokesperson for the stuttered approach - and he had a good run of about 10 years in the Bundesliga where goalkeepers would just go down for him.
"But even when I spoke to him, he had a realisation he needed to adapt. He knew goalkeepers were about to catch up with him."
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Bono put Crysencio Summerville off sufficiently to read the Netherlands winger's penalty in their shoot-out win
So what more can penalty takers do? Sadly for critics of the stutter, it probably still has a future. Even the success rate of a good old-fashioned penalty into the corner drops to about 55 per cent if a goalkeeper guesses the right way. Little better than the flip of a coin.
Theoretically, there is always room for a whole new technique - the next Panenka, or an alternative to the stutter. But the laws of the game are so prescriptive that the prospect of creating something completely different is severely limited.
Realistically, the revolution comes back to what made the stutter so successful in the first place. Keeping goalkeepers guessing.
"It's about being unpredictable, being difficult to read - so the goalkeepers don't know what's coming," says Jordet.
"Mikel Oyarzabal is excellent at this. He has mastered finding the corner, he's mastered the stuttered run-up, sometimes he just hits it high - sometimes he does a Panenka.
"It's impossible to know what's coming, he doesn't give away any clues until he does his run-up."
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Mbappe had been another player bucking trends - until Bono added him to the list of stuttered run-ups stopped at this World Cup.
The Frenchman has flown in the face of advice to avoid beginning his run-up too quickly after the referee's whistle - generally associated with hurried penalties from nervous takers.
"He has a technique somewhere in between depending on the goalkeeper and not, as well," adds Jordet. "His gaze is locked onto the goalkeeper as he runs up to say to him, I think, that he sees him and wants to keep him still as long as possible.
"When he gets to the ball, he's decided where to shoot it. And he doesn't make that decision based on anything the goalkeeper might do in the build-up."
Whatever happens, this World Cup has likely not heard the end of the penalty stutter.
Not just because of its continued derision from the stands, but because of the role it will still play as penalty styles evolve - potentially, even as this tournament progresses.
"Information is travelling so fast now, there's a velocity of adoption of it that we've never seen before in the world," Jordet says.
"So we're probably going to see a development within this World Cup, I expect. After all, that is what World Cups are for, right?" %!s()
Sophie Ecclestone became England Women's leading wicket-taker across all formats as the hosts dismissed India for 285 on a see-saw opening day of the historic first women's Test at Lord's.
Spin bowler Ecclestone (3-68) removed all-rounder Deepti Sharma (57) and tailenders Sayali Satghare (1) and Kranti Gaud (1) to increase her haul across 10 Tests, 84 ODIs and 113 T20Is to 338, above previous record holder Katherine Sciver-Brunt (335).
Only India's Deepti (357) and compatriot Jhulan Goswami (355) have more wickets in women's internationals than Ecclestone, with the England star also eclipsing Australia great Ellyse Perry (336) during her late-innings burst in London on Friday evening.
As it happened on day one of the historic Lord's Test
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Score summary - England vs India, Women's Test, Lord's, day one
India 285 all out in 74.5 overs (put in to bat after losing toss): Smriti Mandhana (83), Harmanpreet Kaur (58), Deepti Sharma (57); Sophie Ecclestone (3-68), Lauren Filer (2-40), Issy Wong (2-41), Mady Villiers (2-79)
England 21-1 after 11 overs (trail India by 264): Maia Bouchier (17no), Tammy Beaumont (2), Heather Knight (1no); Kranti Gaud (1-8)
Full scorecard
Watch day two of the Women's Test live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Saturday (11am first ball at Lord's)
Teams for the Women's Test at Lord's
England: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wicketkeeper), Mady Villiers, Sophie Ecclestone, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer.
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Sophie Ecclestone became England's leading wicket-taker across all formats of international cricket as she struck three times on day one against India at Lord's
Ecclestone's three breakthroughs in six balls came amid India losing their final four wickets for 11 runs after a previous wobble of 3-39 from 190-3 once an 89-run stand between Smriti Mandhana (83) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (58) had been broken as the set batters and Richa Ghosh (13) fell.
England came out to bat around 45 minutes before stumps with Tammy Beaumont - playing her last match for her country after a 17-year international career - pinned lbw for two by Gaud, who would also have ousted Heather Knight (1no) in the same fashion had India reviewed, with her delivery poised to clatter the stumps.
The hosts closed on 21-1 from 11 overs - Maia Bouchier is 17 not out after a brace of boundaries - cutting their deficit to 264.
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Tammy Beaumont was trapped lbw for two in what is likely her penultimate England innings
The day, which began with home captain Nat Sciver-Brunt opting to bowl in roasting conditions, was also notable for an excellent 19-over spell of off-spin from England debutant Maddy Villiers, whose 2-79 included bowling Harmanpreet through the gate with a gem of a delivery on the cusp of tea.
Lauren Filer (2-40) struck in just the second over of the match while fellow seamer Lauren Bell (1-50) - one of six players in the XI to figure in Sunday's T20 World Cup final defeat to Australia at Lord's - took a wicket at the end of the seventh as India slipped to 37-2.
However, Mandhana shared half-century partnerships with Jemimah Rodrigues (35) and Harmanpreet, while Deepti's knock rallied India from 229-6 before the innings ended in a hurry thanks to Ecclestone.
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Lauren Filer picked up the first wicket in a Women's Test at Lord's as she had Shafali Verma caught behind for a duck
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Watch how Lauren Bell bowled India's Yasika Bhatia in the morning session
England, who handed a Test debut to all-rounder Alice Capsey as well as Villiers, were wayward with the ball in the morning session and perhaps fortunate to end up bagging as many as three wickets.
Shafali Verma (0) edged Filer behind, Yastika Bhatia (12) had her off stump knocked back by a Bell beauty and Rodrigues dragged a driveable delivery from Issy Wong (2-41) on to her stumps.
There was far greater accuracy after lunch, with Wong rewarded for a particularly probing spell when she induced an edge behind from Mandhana shortly after a pause in play due to Harmanpreet suffering from cramp.
The livewire Villiers - who has played 22 white-ball matches for England - cleaned up Harmanpreet with a sharply-turning delivery, while she later trapped Sneh Rana (13) lbw on the sweep.
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England off-spinner Mady Villiers' maiden Test wicket on debut was a ripper through the gate to bowl Harmanpreet Kaur
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Issy Wong secured the huge wicket of Smriti Mandhana, with the India opener falling 17 runs short of a century
Mandhana, Deepti among those to fire for India
Mandhana profited from England's morning looseness to notch a 50-ball half-century - her sixth fifty-plus score across nine Tests - with her innings including trademark gorgeous cover-driven boundaries as well as powerful pulls and a scorching slog-swept six.
Deepti's fifty, which ended when she failed to get the elevation to clear Knight at midwicket and holed out off Ecclestone, was her fifth in Tests and could prove crucial come the final analysis.
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Deepti Sharma hit a half-century for India at Lord's
Around dismissing Deepti, Ecclestone pinned Satghare leg before and castled Gaud, while Filer's second wicket of day came when she had Ghosh flicking to Wong at deep fine leg off the bottom of the bat.
This is the 16th Women's Test between England and India, with the previous 15 seeing 11 draws, three India victories - including the most recent meeting in Mumbai in December 2023 - and a sole England triumph in Jamshedpur way back in 1995.
After day one at Lord's, the latest instalment remains in the balance.
Wong: England have had a brilliant day
England fast bowler Issy Wong, speaking to Sky Sports Cricket:
"I think we've had a brilliant day. When you win the toss and bowl, getting yourself into a position where you bowl the opposition out before the end of play is a really good effort.
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Wong recorded figures of 2-41 at Lord's on Friday
"All of the bowlers chipped in, so we're really happy. There's enough in the pitch, enough movement off the seam.
"[Villiers] bowled unbelievably. It's been a long time coming for her as she's obviously played the other two formats a while ago.
"We were all buzzing for her to come back in, get the whites on and show exactly why she's in the team. She bowled fantastically."
Watch day two of the standalone Women's Test between England and India at Lord's live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Saturday (11am first ball). Stream cricket contract-free with NOW.%!s()
No action will be taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Ben Stokes' retirement video.
Stokes' farewell address to the England dressing room, in which he announced his retirement during the fourth day's play of last month's final Test against New Zealand, is understood to have attracted the attention of the world governing body.
The video was released on England's social media channels and later broadcast on TV but, under the ICC's anti-corruption minimum standards, there are restrictions on filming inside dressing rooms without prior approval.
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England hand abject India their biggest T20I defeat to take 2-0 series lead
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The Press Association understood the ICC wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), but the matter has now been resolved.
England captain Stokes had returned for the third Test after missing the second match of the series following an off-field incident.
His retirement announcement on the fourth day came as a surprise. It was made public while Stokes was bowling, and he took a wicket with the very next ball.
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Ben Stokes takes a wicket moments after announcing his retirement from international cricket on day four of the third Test against New Zealand.
England went on to lose the match and the series 2-1 the following day.
Reacting on social media to a report on the initial story about the ICC looking into the video, Stokes on Thursday wrote on X: "Sack him …"
Dressing rooms are part of a protected zone known as the players and match officials area (PMOA), which is governed by a set of principles known as the ICC's minimum standards. The governing body upholds these in order to comply with its anti-corruption code.
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Eoin Morgan and Michael Atherton debate what the next steps are for England cricket after Ben Stokes' retirement.
For international matches article 2.2.11 of the standards says national federations must ensure "there are no fixed or temporary video cameras or other recording equipment set up within any dressing room used by the teams for the purposes of broadcasting video or audio footage". Any exceptions must be agreed ahead of time with the nominated anti-corruption manager.
An additional guideline suggests any such exceptions of video footage should feature no audio and be for a maximum of two minutes.
Watch the fifth T20 international between England and India on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2pm (first ball 2.30pm). Not got Sky? Stream cricket and more with NOW.%!s()
On the day which saw Sophie Ecclestone become England Women's leading wicket-taker across all formats, there was another standout spinner on day one of the women's Test at Lord's - one who was making her debut.
Mady Villiers, who has played just five matches for England - three ODIs and two T20s against Ireland at the back end of the 2024 summer - in the past five years, impressed when making her Test bow, taking 2-79.
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It was her spell in the afternoon session, bowling in tandem with seamer Issy Wong (2-41), that helped wrestle things back England's way as India, well-placed at 190-3, were bowled out for 285 late on the first evening.
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Mady Villiers celebrates one of her two wickets in India's first innings when making her Test match debut for England at Lord's
Record-breaking Ecclestone helps England dismiss India for 285 at Lord's
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"She's on her Test match debut, but she's had a day as if she's played 10 of them," Sky Sports Cricket's Nick Knight said of the 27-year-old off-spinner.
"She really has been hugely impressive in hauling England very much back into this contest."
'Dream dismissal' on debut for Villiers
Wong triggered India's late-afternoon wobble with the dismissal of Smriti Mandhana (83), caught behind, before Villiers followed up with a stunning maiden Test wicket, bowling India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (58) through the gate with a wicked delivery that spun sharply.
"It's a dream dismissal and one she'll be talking about forever," Sky Sports Cricket's Ebony Rainford-Brent said.
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Mady Villiers dismisses Harmanpreet Kaur with a superb delivery just before the tea break.
"Mady is very well liked in the dressing room, and you could just sense that first wicket not only meant a lot to her but the squad too.
"The thing that really stood out for me is that she's coming here confident; she took 4-14 for Durham just prior to this, and she's been prepared to give it a bit of air and bowl full early on to induce the drive.
"In the end she got one just right, with one to dip and spin for the wicket."
Wong, speaking to Sky Sports Cricket at the close of play on day one, was full of praise for her team-mate.
"She bowled unbelievably today," Wong said. "It's been a long time coming for Mads. She's obviously played the other two formats a while ago.
"We were all buzzing for her to come back in, get the whites on today and show exactly why she's in the team."
Sky Sports Cricket's Mel Jones also picked out Wong, herself, for praise.
"She did superbly well, on so many fronts," the former Australia cricketer said.
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Issy Wong claimed her second wicket of the day for England as she took out India's Smriti Mandhana, who had 83 runs.
"Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer didn't quite get it right in that first hour of play, and Wong in her first spell of six overs. But she adjusted a little bit for her second spell. It was a player thinking on her feet.
"Her tussle with Harmanpreet led to her Mandhana wicket, and she teamed up well with Villiers."
'Hard slog' ahead for England?
But despite Villiers and Wong's success, as well as Ecclestone's three late wickets that saw India skittled for 285, Jones believes it could be "hard slog" ahead for England.
Nat Sciver-Brunt opted to put the visitors in after winning the toss but, on a turning track that is set to break up more over the four days, Jones thought England needed to dismiss India for less than 200.
"England had patches of good. But I feel like when you win the toss and put India in - on a wicket that is going to wear and tear later on - you're not looking for 280 plus," she said.
"You'd want to get them out prior to that. But I don't think England got things right and applied enough pressure.
"We've already seen some balls go up and down, beating both sides of the bat, at the back end of day one, so if India get it right tomorrow it will be a hard slog for England.
"I think 285 is a really good score; they got off to flier, three got past fifty - they'd have loved someone to get on the honours board, though they couldn't quite get there.
"But India will be sitting up in the changing room at the moment, saying 'that is a very good day.'"
Watch day two of the standalone Women's Test between England and India at Lord's live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Saturday (11am first ball). Stream cricket contract-free with NOW.%!s()
