Arsenal signs England forward Noni Madueke from Chelsea

LONDON (AP) — Arsenal's transfer spree continued with the signing of England forward Noni Madueke from Chelsea on Friday.

He is Arsenal’s fourth signing of the offseason after midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgard and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The 23-year-old Madueke's move comes after two and a half years at Chelsea, where he won the Club World Cup and Conference League.

“Noni already has valuable experience at the top level and we know he will make a big impact at Arsenal," sporting director Andrea Berta said.

Madueke reportedly signed for a fee of 48.5 million pounds ($65 million) on a five-year contract.

Madueke is also a part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad and is in contention to play at next year’s World Cup if the team qualifies.

“Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “At just 23, Noni already brings experience of club and international football, and he knows the Premier League very well. Having seen the quality of Noni’s performances up close in recent seasons, we’re really excited he is joining us."

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Portuguese striker Joao Paulo Fernandes Paulinho scored a hat-trick on Thursday and Mexican reigning champion Toluca had a 4-2 victory over MLS side LA Galaxy in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series.

Nicolas Castro open the scoring in the 12th minute and Paulinho added goals in the 43rd and sealed the win in the 73rd and 85th minutes for the Diablos Rojos.

The 33-year-old Paulinho, who played for Sporting Clube before joining Toluca in the summer of 2024, has won three scoring titles in Mexico and recently was called up by Portugal for friendly matches against Mexico and the United States ahead of the World Cup.

Gabriel Pec in the 66th minute and former Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus in the 77th scored for the Galaxy which has not won in Mexico in this tournament since 2008.

The teams will play again next Wednesday in California.

Midfielder Ozziel Herrera scored a first-half goal and the UANL Tigres defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal.

Herrera put the home side ahead in the 51st minute before center back Jackson Ragen scored an own goal in the 76th minute.

The second leg will be played next Wednesday in Seattle. The winner will face either Nashville or Club America in one of the semifinals.

Tigres could have taken the lead toward the end of the first half, but former Atletico Madrid player Angel Correa missed a penalty, sending it over the crossbar.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer