Joshua won back his WBA, IBF & WBO titles when he overcame Andy Ruiz Jr last December, while Fury beat Deontay Wilder for the WBC championship in February.

Hearn said; “We’re making great progress. There is still a lot to overcome. We are looking at venues and dates.

“We have the Dillian Whyte mandatory which is due before this fight.

“It’s fair to say [Joshua and Fury] are in agreement regarding the financial terms of the fight.

“We’ve been talking to [Fury’s management team] MTK, giving them the assurances from Joshua’s side that all the details on the structure of the deal is approved from our side. And it is from Fury’s side, as well.

“We’re in a good place. It’s fair to say that, in principle, both guys have agreed to that fight. Two fights.

“There’s a lot to overcome in the meantime. We’re moving in the right direction. I’m confident that both guys have given their blessing for the fight to go ahead.

“The point of Fury, Joshua and the teams agreeing to the structure of the deal? The first fight could happen next summer. It will be 2021.

“There is a big period of time where Whyte should get his shot at the title. That’s important to us.

“The main positive news is that Joshua and Fury have agreed to a two-fight deal, in essence.

“The most difficult part of any deal is the financial element. I believe we’re in a great place where both guys have agreed to what that should be.

“We have not signed contracts because there are still things to be worked out.

“We’re pushing towards a place where they can be drafted, for 2021.

“There is a big period of time where Whyte should get his shot at the title. That’s important to us.

“Both guys are in agreement. The structure of the deal has been put forward, and agreed to by both parties. There is a model in place that both parties are happy with.

“It’s the biggest fight ever in British boxing. It doesn’t get bigger, and there will never be a bigger fight in our generation.

“Two guys, very different, who fight differently, have experienced different things and have come back from adversity.”

Fury confirmed the news on his Instagram page, saying he would knock Wilder out in their trilogy bout, before taking on Joshua in the ‘biggest fight in boxing history’.

La Liga returns to action on Thursday today and there is plenty at stake with the title race, European places and the battle to avoid relegation all wide open.

A tight title race is in store, with Barcelona two points ahead of Real Madrid.

But neither team has convinced. Barca have particularly struggled away from home, dropping points on 11 occasions on their travels in all competitions. Financial problems are forcing coach Quique Setien, appointed in January, to work with a threadbare squad containing only 18 senior professionals (excluding Ousmane Dembele, who is out indefinitely through injury).

Setien’s resources are especially stretched in defence. With Clement Lenglet suspended and Samuel Umtiti returning from the latest of many injuries, Gerard Pique could be the only available central defender for Saturday’s trip to Real Mallorca.

Young Uruguayan Ronald Araujo, who was sent off 14 minutes into his only previous first-team appearance, could be thrown in at the deep end.

Barca’s strength, of course, lies at the other end of the field. Lionel Messi is once again the league’s leading scorer (19 goals in 22 appearances), and a huge bonus is the return of Luis Suarez, who was set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury before the pause in action allowed him to recover.

But it will take more than the magical Messi-Suarez combination to secure the title, and Barca were looking disjointed and disconnected both on and off the pitch before the break.

Repeated speculation over the futures of midfielders Arthur, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal will hardly help restore unity, and guiding a small, ageing and dissatisfied squad through a hectic schedule (there is already concern over Messi after he picked up a knock in training) will be a severe challenge for Setien, who has never won a major trophy.

There is no such shortage of options for Zinedine Zidane, especially as the Real Madrid boss can now call upon Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio after their returns from injury.

The question, however, is which of the many front men at Zidane’s disposal can hit the target. Other than Karim Benzema, who netted 12 of his 14 league goals before January, Real’s seven forwards – including Hazard, Gareth Bale and Luka Jovic – have scored a measly 12 league goals between them all season.

Real had lost three of their four games before the interruption and, although their overall play has generally been more convincing than Barcelona’s, their lack of penalty-box precision could cost a title that should be there for the taking.

One potentially significant factor is Real’s temporary move away from the Bernabeu, which is undergoing reconstruction work. Instead, Zidane’s men will host games at the 6,000 capacity Alfredo di Stefano Stadium, located within the club’s training complex and normally used by the reserve team. (Mid-table Levante, based in Valencia, will similarly stage their home games nearly 100 miles away, near Alicante).

Playing within the confines of their training ground, Zidane’s players are obviously familiar with their temporary matchday surroundings. But the prospect of visiting a humble 6,000-seater rather than the vast Bernabeu is a far less daunting proposition for opponents and that lack of home-field advantage could be telling.

The race for Champions League qualification is extremely close, with five teams separated by five points.

Third place is currently occupied by Sevilla, who will get the ball rolling on Thursday today at home to city rivals Real Betis, but two highly contrasting teams are in hot pursuit. Real Sociedad are arguably the most exciting young side in Europe, with classy playmaker Martin Odegaard supported by midfielder Mikel Merino, winger Mikel Oyarzabal and Swedish striker Alexander Isak to create a free-flowing collective.

Getafe, on the other hand, are widely regarded as ugly but effective. Barca boss Setien once raged that their rugged style “makes my blood boil”, but Jose Bordalas’s team play to their strengths better than anyone else and deserve huge credit for making the most of what they’ve got.

The chasing pack is completed by Valencia and Atletico Madrid, who are psychologically lifted following their extraordinary Champions League triumph at Anfield but who have already suffered another injury blow after Portuguese starlet Joao Felix broke down in training.

At the bottom, the big storyline is whether Espanyol can escape the drop. The rock-bottom Barcelona-based club have spent 85 of La Liga’s 89 seasons in the top flight, but they are currently six points from safety and on their third manager of the season (former Barca defender Abelardo) after winning four games out of 27.

Five other teams are in danger, including Ronaldo-owned Real Valladolid, but Espanyol’s demise – a year after they qualified for Europe – will take some avoiding.

Lewandowski sealed a 2-1 success against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena in the DFB-Pokal Cup semi-finals.

Bayern created a series of first-half chances but all they had to show for their dominance was an Ivan Perisic goal.

Eintracht, sporting a Black Lives Matter slogan on their white away shirt, came out fighting in the second half and levelled in the 69th minute when substitute Danny Da Costa fired home.

But Bayern took just six minutes to get back in front when Lewandowski netted.

The goal was initially ruled out for offside but the video assistant referee ruled in Bayern’s favour.

The Bavarians are set to win their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title but need an added option in attack to turn that dominance into European success

Willy Sagnol understands exactly what it takes to be a success at Bayern Munich.

The former France international played over 250 times for the club, winning five Bundesliga titles from 2000 to 2009 and even helping them win the 2000-01 Champions League.

The retired full-back believes he knows what is best for the club, advising them against signing Manchester City winger Leroy Sane, telling RMC: “He doesn’t correspond at all to Bayern in terms of his character.

“He’s someone whose form is very inconsistent and who is very withdrawn. 

“For me, he doesn’t suit the club at all. He’s had a lot of problems at Manchester City and with the national team.”

Sagnol is wrong.

Bayern Munich are currently looking for a specific type of player, someone who can take them to the next level and help them challenge for the Champions League every single year.

Remember, the Bavarians haven’t lifted the European Cup since 2013, yet they are presently on course to win an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title.

Current boss Hansi Flick will be well aware that head coaches come and go in Munich; only one thing secures legendary status – and that’s European success.

Bayern always have the players to win the Bundesliga, even when they struggle against Europe’s elite, like last season, when Niko Kovac’s side stuttered in the Champions League.

After a scoreless night at Anfield, where Bayern set up to draw rather than win, the writing was on the wall for the Croatian coach.

Even a league-and-cup double was not enough to convince fans or the board that he could bring Bayern back to the top following a tame European elimination at the hands of Liverpool.

Flick has done a sterling job since succeeding Kovac at the helm, first as interim boss, and then after being given the job on a full-time basis in December.

Indeed, during the suspension of football caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Bayern handed Kovac’s former assistant coach a new contract that will now run until 2023.

What’s more, Flick now finds himself in charge of the favourites for this season’s Champions League.

Having dismantled Chelsea in the first leg of their last-16 clash at Stamford Bridge in February, the Germans are already effectively through to the quarter-finals, which are now set to be played in August.

Given the Bundesliga returned in the middle of May and La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League are only now ready to resume, Bayern are likely to benefit enormously from having had an additional month of competitive football in relation to their rivals from Spain, Italy and England.

Still, while Champions League success would be an amazing achievement in truly extraordinary and unexpected circumstances, what the club’s directors want is to be in the mix every season. That is where Sane comes in.

In that pivotal Champions League loss to Liverpool, Bayern were missing an X-factor – something which has also been an issue for Manchester City this season with Sane sidelined since August due to an ACL injury.

It was Sane’s introduction that provided the spark for Pep Guardiola’s side in last season’s win over Schalke in the round of 16, with the winger coming off the bench to score the equaliser as City came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in Gelsenkirchen. In the second leg, meanwhile, Sane started and was involved in four of City’s seven goals.

Sagnol raised doubts over Sane’s character but the 24-year-old is a winner. He has the sort of mentality Bayern look for to match their ‘Mia San Mia’ ethos. He is the kind of character Robert Lewandowski demanded more of a few seasons ago when he considered leaving for a team that could win the Champions League.

Bayern have been very public in their desire to sign Sane, having courted him all last summer before his injury in City’s Community Shield clash with Liverpool at Wembley.

New club president Herbert Hainer has picked up where Uli Hoeness left off and has his sights set on bringing him to Munich this year, both for Sane’s skills and his popularity off the pitch as a member of Germany’s exciting new generation of talent.

“Leroy Sane is a good player that every team would like to have,” Hainer told BR. “It has been known for a year now that we have been interested. He is still under contract with Man City. We have to see how things develop.

“But he is certainly an interesting personality, above all because of his performance on the pitch. But he is also a marketable player, especially for the young demographic.”

Even accounting for Sane’s injury, the financial impact of the coronavirus and the fact that he is entering the final year of his contract after repeatedly turning down a renewal, City are determined not to let Sane leave for a knockdown fee.

After being frustrated in their attempts to sign Sane last summer, though, Bayern will be determined not to let the saga drag on too long this year.

Sane can be the final piece in Flick’s Bayern jigsaw, turning them from perennial Bundesliga winners into perennial Champions League contenders.

Everton’s first team players have agreed to defer up to 50% of their wages for the next three months to help mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the English Premier League club’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti, his support staff and board members had accepted pay cuts and deferrals of up to 30% back in March.

“This remarkable show of unity has enabled the club to maintain the salaries of all … full and part-time employees and … directly engaged matchday and non-matchday casual staff,” Denise Barrett-Baxendale said in a statement.

The Premier League has been suspended since mid-March due to the pandemic and several clubs have announced wage deferrals.

Everton are 12th in the league and will resume their campaign against Liverpool on June 21.

Following a detailed assessment of the bid books and visits to the bidding countries, today FIFA confirmed that three bids will be submitted to the FIFA Council in order for it to select the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ host(s) at its meeting to be held online on 25 June 2020. The three qualifying bids are:

• joint submission by Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football;
• submission by the Colombian Football Association;
• submission by the Japan Football Association.

The Brazilian Football Association informed FIFA on Monday, 8 June, of its decision to withdraw its bid.

 “One year after the record-breaking eighth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, the FIFA Council will decide on the host(s) for the ninth edition of the tournament in 2023, which we hope will be even bigger and better. The quality of the bids is testimony to the tremendous momentum women’s football has generated and we are looking forward to building on this to take women’s football to the next level at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023,” said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.

FIFA has developed a robust evaluation model for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 bidding process that comprises the following key components:

• a technical evaluation: an assessment of the main infrastructure and commercial criteria, applying an evaluation system established by FIFA;
• a risk assessment: an assessment of the risks associated with certain criteria, including but not limited to human rights and sustainability, applying a specific rating;
• a description: a summary of relevant information provided in the bid, such as the hosting vision and strategy, highlighting potential issues (without a technical evaluation or risk assessment).

The methodology and application of the scoring system used for the technical evaluation are specified in the Overview of the scoring system for the technical evaluation of bids.

The most competitive bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ will see the appointment of the host(s) of the 2023 showpiece following an open voting procedure by the FIFA Council, in which the result of each ballot and the related votes by the Council members will be made public on FIFA.com.

Following on from the astounding success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ in France and the subsequent unanimous decision by the FIFA Council, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be the first edition to feature 32 teams.