Category: Sport News

MANCHESTER, England: Angel Gomes remains Manchester United’s main target under new boss Ruben Amorim.

Red Devils transfer experts Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox believe the four-capped England star could be a key pillar in Amorim’s plan to achieve success.

The Portuguese coach is fully supportive of bringing the player home as he has long admired the 24-year-old midfielder.

Gomes left United to join Lille on a free transfer in 2020 and his five-year contract expires next summer.

The French club could lose Gomes, who is valued at £25 million with Tottenham also interested in signing the London-born player.

Gomes can negotiate with several clubs this January to tie a pre-contract agreement.

But United believe the star player, who grew up at Salford, could be brought back to Manchester as a long-term replacement for Casemiro.

Gomes said of the chance to return to Old Trafford last month: “There’s always going to be that sentimental soft spot, so of course it’s hard to say no.”

He joined United at the age of six and broke into the Under-18 squad at 14.

Gomes became the club’s youngest player since Duncan Edwards in 1953 to make his top-flight debut at the age of 16 years and 263 days, coming on for the final two minutes of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in May 2017.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool reportedly want to sign Lyon star to replace Mohamed Salah, with the French club desperate to sell players due to financial problems.

Salah is a Reds legend after scoring 221 goals, and assisting a further 99 in 366 appearances since joining the English club in 2017.

The Egyptian winger, who lifted the Premier League and Champions League trophies with Liverpool, continued his excellent run of form this season – netting 10 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions under Arne Slot.

The English Premier League leaders are now running out of time to keep the star whose contract will expire in the summer.

Liverpool are said to be preparing to face the challenge without Salah and have shown interest in French star Rayan Cherki.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the services of the Lyon winger.

“My future will be known at the end of the season. Lyon is my priority. When the time comes to ask that question, ask it, but now is not the time,” said Cherki when asked about the future at Lyon.

Cherki’s contract expires in 2026 but it will be extended by another year should he remain at the club until next summer.

The club’s management wants to keep the young star, who was recently listed for France’s under-21 squad.

Lyon, the seven-time Ligue 1 champions, will lose their French top-flight status at the end of the season if they fail to resolve the club’s financial problems.

MANCHESTER, England: Ruud van Nistelrooy urged Manchester United players to fully support their new manager Ruben Amorim before ending his tenure as interim boss with a 3-0 win over Leicester.

The Dutchman signaled to first-team players he was expected to leave Old Trafford when the Portuguese manager arrived in Manchester yesterday and the club later announced Van Nistelrooy was leaving the team.

The United legend – who made a huge impact in the first-team dressing room despite only being appointed assistant manager four months ago by the sacked Erik ten Hag – has called on his star players to work hard to restore glory under the new boss.

Van Nistelrooy told them he was proud to be back at Old Trafford and that his stint as interim manager – which saw him win three games and draw once – only helped strengthen his managerial career.

A source said: “Ruud explained to his boss that he wants to stay at United because he loves the club.

“But he is also pragmatic and expects Amorim to want to control everything, including his coaching staff.

“He told the players he was delighted to be back and to have the opportunity to manage the club for the last four games.

“It has helped his coaching career, strengthened his already established relationship with United and he has not ruled out a return one day.

“He explained to his players and demanded that they give everything to the new manager.”

Previously, it was reported that the main squad wanted to see Van Nistelrooy stay and work under Amorim after their relationship grew closer on the training field and in the dressing room.

Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games for United under legendary manager Alex Ferguson before moving to Real Madrid after falling out of favor with the Scotsman.

He stepped in as caretaker manager after United sacked Ten Hag following a 2-1 defeat at West Ham, which saw them languish in 14th place in the English Premier League (EPL).

He inspired a 5-2 win over Leicester in the fourth round of the League Cup and then a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

United then beat PAOK 2-0 in the Europa League before winning 3-0 over Leicester in the EPL last Sunday – his last game in charge.

Amorim was seen in Carrington yesterday waiting to get his work permit.

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola is optimistic of being able to overcome the problems that plagued Manchester City after the team recorded three consecutive defeats for the first time since 2018.

Defeat at the hands of Brighton, early this Sunday morning will cause Guardiola to create his own personal record, losing four games in a row for the first time in his managerial career full of championship trophies.

The English Premier League champions are currently facing serious injury problems, including the loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri who has been confirmed to be out of action for the rest of the season.

Guardiola was also unable to list some of his star players who were injured this weekend, but he hopes the upcoming international break can bring much-needed recovery to his side.

“This is football, things like this do happen. We know the reason behind this difficulty,” said Guardiola in a pre-match press conference today.

“I’m looking forward to this game and after the international break, some players will come back in better condition. For all the problems we have, the little problems that every player has, we will solve them.”

City’s three-game losing streak came in three different tournaments.

After being knocked out of the League Cup by Tottenham and losing for the first time in the Premier League since December to Bournemouth, City suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.

However, Guardiola rejected the notion that this defeat allowed him to get to know his players better than when they won four Premier League titles in a row.

“They have proven many times what they are capable of,” added Guardiola.

LONDON: Martin Odegaard is about to return to action with Arsenal after being sidelined since last September due to an ankle injury.

Odegaard, who suffered the injury while on duty with the Norwegian national team, has been seen training again in recent weeks.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the matter by stating that the 25-year-old has entered the final phase of his recovery.

“He’s been training on the pitch for the past few weeks, but he still has a lot to do,” Arteta said.

“As far as we can do in this last stage of recovery, we will have to answer once we have players around him and he starts competing with the team. He is still doing it again.”

It is understood that the Arsenal captain is working hard to be listed on the visit to Newcastle tomorrow. However, what is clear is that he may be back in the squad for next week’s clash against Inter Milan.

In addition, Arsenal also received positive news regarding Gabriel’s fitness level. The player from Brazil was injured during the team’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last Sunday, but Arteta confirmed that the issue facing the player was not very serious.

Riccardo Calafiori will be ruled out until the international break after picking up a knee injury during the team’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Kieran Tierney is also close to returning to action while Takehiro Tomiyasu is also on the injury list in the Gunners squad.

LONDON: Liverpool head coach Arne Slot continued to raise questions about his team’s expectations when they drew 2-2 at Arsenal early this morning, although he praised the Reds’ fighting spirit after falling behind twice.

After a record-breaking start to his Anfield career, winning 10 of Slott’s first 11 games in all competitions, Liverpool recorded their first draw of the season in a thrilling clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Slott, who has repeatedly said it is too early in the campaign to judge his team, returned to his familiar theme after they grabbed a late point.

“I know you (the media) like to talk about the title contenders and where we actually are in the league – and that’s part of your job too,” he said.

“The only thing I see: can you get a result in a tough match on the opponent’s court like this?

“The way we did it pleased me… to see that we can compete with a strong team like Arsenal in their stadium, it’s very pleasing.

“But where exactly it will take us at the end of the season, I can’t tell you yet.”

Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser put Liverpool second, one point behind champions Manchester City with Arsenal five points adrift in third.

Liverpool made the title race a three-way tie for most of last season before collapsing at the bottom of the competition and impressive performances of late have raised the prospect that they could challenge for the Premier League title for a second time.

“To go down twice against a very strong and good Arsenal team, then to get a point is nice to see, especially because we have to play away in Europe this week, we have one less day to recover and prepare,” Slot said. .

The Dutchman picked up his second yellow card of the season leaving him just two yellow cards away from serving a sideline suspension.

LONDON: The supercomputer predicts Manchester United will end the season in such an embarrassing position after Erik ten Hag’s coached squad is predicted to finish 10th.

Not only that, the problem of dullness in the attack also saw them close this season with the achievement of seven goal difference even though Andre Onana currently holds the record without conceding the most.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are expected to ‘cry’ when they miss out on the English Premier League (EPL) title again this season with supercomputers predicting Arsenal to be just one point behind Manchester City who retained their title.

Liverpool also finished third, four points behind City, while Maresca’s Chelsea are predicted to complete the top four with 73 points.

Tottenham is predicted to be in fifth place to overcome Newcastle United who also confirmed their return to the European football competition.

Brighton secured the final slot in European competition when they edged out Aston Villa on goal difference.

Brentford are predicted to get the best finish for Thomas Frank who lost Ivan Toney in ninth place.

The three teams predicted to be eliminated are Wolves, Ipswich and Southampton.

At the moment, the three EPL teams are Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United are ready to accept a lower offer for Harry Maguire ahead of the January transfer window.

The 31-year-old former United captain is nine months into his contract at Old Trafford.

United have the option to extend the England defender’s contract by another year, but will try to sell the player first.

The squad managed by Erik ten Hag is reported to be ready to consider an offer as low as 10 million pounds for Maguire.

In the summer of 2023, the England star attracted the interest of several teams, among them West Ham.

Despite losing his place in the starting line-up under Ten Hag, Maguire opted to stay at Old Trafford and began to regain the trust of the Dutch manager.

This season he started three of Man United’s first seven games in the English Premier League.

If sold at the reported price, it would be a huge loss for United who paid 85 million pounds to sign him in 2019.

In the summer of 2023, Maguire will be worth at least 30 million pounds.

Man Utd signed Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, putting Maguire’s position under further threat.

However, based on statistics, Maguire’s achievements this season surpass De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez.

Before the international break, Maguire scored a last-minute equalizer in a 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League.

United are back in action on Saturday, hosting Brentford at Old Trafford.

LONDON: Antony reportedly wants to play on loan outside Manchester United as he looks to reignite his career.

The 24-year-old Brazilian winger has endured a difficult time at Old Trafford since moving from Ajax for £86 million in 2022.

He has only played one minute in the Premier League so far this season and has looked out of touch under Erik ten Hag.

The player has been linked with a move throughout the summer, with several clubs already expressing an interest.

According to The Sun newspaper , Fenerbahce – managed by former United boss Jose Mourinho – emerged as the leading club to secure Antony’s services.

The report says Antony has told United he wants to move with the club willing to work on a loan deal.

The winger is also said to be attracting interest from his former club Ajax, alongside teams in Spain, France and Saudi Arabia.

WOLFSBURG, Germany: Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich come from behind to win 3-2 at Wolfsburg on Wednesday as new manager Vincent Kompany made his Bundesliga debut.

Jamal Musiala put Bayern 1-0 ahead after 19 minutes but Wolfsburg took the lead through Lovro Majer’s brace in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Bayern struggled with Ralph Hasenhuettl’s men punishing some of the visitors’ defensive mistakes.

Kane’s header forced Wolfsburg’s Jakub Kaminski into an own goal after 65 minutes and the England captain set up Bayern’s third, producing a fine pass that allowed Serge Gnabry to fire home the winner in the 82nd minute.

“It’s not perfect yet,” Kane told Bayern TV after the match, noting his side were “punished a bit” in the second half.

“We are obviously still adjusting to some of the coach’s ideas.

“Obviously, this team is stronger than this. I’m glad we have a week to work now, to practice the ideas the coach wants.”

Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich agreed with Kane’s statement on DAZN channel, saying “we lost control of the game because of too many mistakes”, adding they “acted well” when trailing 2-1.