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Manchester United have now reportedly set their sights on signing an impressive Ligue 1 defender, who has left their scouts blown away.

INEOS draw up 2026 transfer plan

To their credit, Man United got their summer transfer window fairly spot on. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Senne Lammens all look like solid signings, whilst Benjamin has shown flashes of his true quality. And results proved before the international break that a turnaround under Ruben Amorim is still possible.

Even if Monday’s 1-0 loss against the 10 men of Everton brought them back down to reality, one defeat in their last five games represents much-needed improvement.

INEOS have never stopped backing their manager and recent reports have claimed that they’re ready to return to the transfer market to improve his squad even further in 2026.

The plan, according to the Express, is to sign two wing-backs and a midfielder next summer, with the likes of Elliot Anderson among their top targets.

The Nottingham Forest star has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season even as his side sacked Nuno Espirito Santo and then Ange Postecoglou before hiring Sean Dyche.

Thomas Tuchel has been impressed enough to grant Anderson a starting place next to Declan Rice in his England side, which is now his to lose ahead of the World Cup.

The unfortunate news for Man United is that his price will only increase if he enjoys a successful tournament, even though reports have already claimed he’ll cost them over £100m.

The midfielder is also not the only name on United’s shopping list. INEOS have also reportedly set their sights on signing Ligue 1 defender Jeremy Jacquet.

Man Utd plotting "bargain" Jeremy Jacquet move

According to Caught Offside, Man United are now plotting a move to sign Jacquet from Stade Rennais after the young defender impressed their scouts in France.

The Red Devils have reportedly joined Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace in the race to sign the 20-year-old and it’s easy to see why.

Dubbed “imposing” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Jacquet is reportedly available for as little as €30m (£26m), which Caught Offside’s Mark Brus described as a “bargain” deal.

Having already signed Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven in recent years, adding Jacquet to their ranks would complete Amorim’s back three for years to come.

Man Utd receive bid for "insane" £105k-p/w player, he's said yes to January move

The Red Devils have received a proposal ahead of the January transfer window, with a sale now edging ‘closer’.

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By
Dominic Lund

Nov 27, 2025

With Harry Maguire still yet to sign a new contract ahead too, the young centre-back may have the chance to come straight into Man United’s starting side next summer in an attempt to make an instant impact.

Worse than Bruno & Casemiro: Amorim can't start Man Utd duo together again

Arthur Okonkwo admits there is “no point thinking let’s aim for 10th”, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney building another Wrexham promotion dream.

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• Hollywood co-owners calling the shots
• Overseen back-to-back promotions
• Red Dragons riding high in League One

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Hollywood co-owners at SToK Racecourse have overseen a meteoric rise to prominence for the Red Dragons. That cause has been aided by an award-winning documentary series that opened up a window to the world.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  On the field, Wrexham have enjoyed back-to-back promotions – rewriting the history books along the way – and have made no secret of the fact that they intend to reach the Premier League at some stage. For now, clambering out of League One is the main target for all concerned.

• WHAT OKONKWO SAID

  Okonkwo forms part of that project, with the highly-rated goalkeeper telling the podcast of why he is sticking with a pre-season prediction of pushing for a place in the Championship: “I’m not more confident. I’m as confident as I was then, still think we will go for promotion. Like I’ve said before, there is no point us thinking about ‘let’s aim for 10th’. We are not going to do that. We are really positive and we are definitely going to try our best to reach as high as possible. If we don’t achieve that, I’m sure we will go through it again next season.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham are very much in the promotion mix at present, with 20 points collected from 10 third tier fixtures. That return is enough to have them sat second in the table, with Reynolds and McElhenney having made the funds available that allow Phil Parkinson’s squad to remain fiercely competitive.

Manchester Originals captain proud to lead her side out on historic occasion at the Kia Oval

Valkerie Baynes21-Jul-2021Unlike in The Smiths’ song, there is evidence to suggest that our star – T20 cricket in England – is not in fact dead. But, some three years in the making – longer if you count the time it spent percolating as a concept before being refined, wrapped and released into the world – then a false start due to Covid, followed by a period of and the Hundred is here.The women will take the stage first, Oval Invincibles hosting Manchester Originals as the first-ever match of a new tournament which may or may not achieve its aim of attracting a new audience to cricket. Whether the hundred-ball concept is different enough from the T20 format played around the globe and over which nations battle for World Cup honours remains to be seen.For Kate Cross, Manchester Originals’ captain, the least we can all do is give it a go. It’s still cricket after all.”I’m looking forward to actually playing some cricket and stopping talking about cricket,” Cross told ESPNcricinfo. “We played two warm-up games last Friday and, to be honest, the cricket is the cricket. We’ve said as a team that that will pretty much take care of itself.”Yes there are five-ball overs and a change of ends after every 10 deliveries. Yes, there will be a DRS for the first time at domestic level. And yes, each of the eight teams has their own DJ act and social-media influencer. But is it different enough?”When I was a kid, the women’s professional scene wasn’t really a thing so it was never an ambition to get in front of a packed crowd at The Oval and make history,” the 29-year-old Cross said.”We’re very lucky, we’re a generation of cricketers that are getting to do things for the first time.”We spoke in the team meeting the other day around how, in 2003 when T20 was first introduced to the world, everyone said it was never going to catch on, it was too short a format. You look at T20 now, it’s your big money-maker, it’s played all round the world.”The Hundred might revolutionise cricket. It might not. But it’s exciting that we’re going to get to go out there and give it a go for the first time.”For the women’s game in particular, the Hundred fills a void. Whether it’s a void of the ECB’s own creation in killing off the Kia Super League or not, the Hundred has attracted some star players from India, South Africa and West Indies.There would have been more star power had Covid-enforced travel restrictions and quarantine requirements not been, in many of the top Australians’ view, too insurmountable, even with a £10,000 bonus offered for their trouble.When Cross suggested to the that the money could be used to top up the incomes of women who were having to choose between their ‘other’ jobs and playing in the Hundred which, due to Covid-prevention protocols did not enable them to enter their non-cricket work environment, it caused more talk – about gender equality.Related

• Women's Hundred team previews: Trent Rockets, Southern Brave and London Spirit look strong

• English cricket's atomic option highlights failure to capitalise on T20 revolution

• Katherine Brunt on Women's Hundred pay row: 'Equality doesn't happen overnight'

For a tournament that has sold itself on placing its women players on an even footing with the men, it was an awkward moment. And, while Cross stands by what she said, she was at pains to highlight the opportunities that the Hundred has offered women.”In terms of the Hundred being a massive stepping stone for the women’s game, I absolutely believe it is,” she said. “There’s been so much progression over the last five years in that parity that we’re striving for. We strive for equal opportunity, we don’t strive for equal pay.”One day out from the tournament now, we’re talking about something other than cricket, which is a shame. However, if it pushes the game forward and it means that the girls are more comfortable with money, then that’s also a positive thing for me that has come out of this.”Oval Invincibles allrounder Marizanne Kapp agreed on the opportunities presented by the tournament: “I think it will be the first time ever that a women’s team plays a match, or the sport, ahead of the men’s team so that’s absolutely amazing for me.”I’ve felt in the past the Big Bash and the Kia Super League really helped my cricket because you learn so much… the reason women’s cricket is moving forward so rapidly is because of these leagues.”Former England international turned broadcaster Isa Guha said the concept had arrived “at the right time” with increased professionalisation in the domestic women’s game thanks to the introduction contracts for 41 players outside the group of 17 on central England contracts.”You’ve got some amazing players coming over, the domestic contracts, the England players,” Guha said. “It’s not just about what they’re doing out in the middle, it’s all the stuff that goes around it. That builds confidence. It makes you feel like they can achieve that as a player coming through.”Cross’s role as captain follows a match-winning and ODI series-sealing five-for against India in Taunton last month. And, while she would take a five-wicket haul in international cricket any day, with England preparing to defend their 50-over World Cup title next year and the Hundred upon us, it was rather timely.”As a cricketer, it’s massively a confidence sport,” Cross said. “Getting the opportunity to go out and perform for England and be a match-winner for once, that’s not often my role in that team, so it was really nice to feel a real part of that team.”I’ve not really often come out of international series feeling very confident. I don’t play in the T20 stuff too much and then I feel like I’m in and out of the one-day team, so to be able to come out of that series feeling good about bowling and about cricket hopefully will set me up for this tournament.”As captain, that’s really important that I feel confident going out there because if I want to get the best out of the girls and the best out of this team, I’ve got to portray that.”Cross will lead out the likes of India’s Harmanpreet Kaur and South African duo Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee against an Invincibles side boasting three South Africa internationals in Shabnim Ismail, Dane van Niekerk and Kapp along with England’s Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers and Fran Wilson.
“We just want to go out and play cricket now,” Cross said. “I feel like I’ve talked so much about the Hundred and now we get the opportunity to colour the tournament because we get to play some cricket and put some pictures to the words now.”The least we can do as onlookers is refrain from assuming that this tournament will .

Alan Shearer says Rodri's injury will have a big impact on the Premier League title race, with the Manchester City star facing a "horrible" recovery.

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• Rodri went off injured against Arsenal
• Has suffered ligament damage in right knee
• Shearer warns of huge impact loss could have on title race

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rodri went down in agony clutching his knee early on against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday and it has now been revealed that the Spanish midfielder has suffered ligament damage that will keep him out for an extended period. Shearer believes Manchester City's loss could have a serious impact on the title race and admitted it is a long and agonising road back from such a serious injury.

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  WHAT SHEARER SAID

  Speaking on behalf of Betfair, Shearer said: "There's no doubt that a potential season-ending injury to Rodri will have an impact on Man City’s title hopes. It's one thing knowing you're not having him for two or three games, like they had at the beginning of the season, but it's another thing knowing that he's probably not going to come back this season. That's a big blow and I don't care who you are and what resources you've got, and Man City have a lot, when you lose a player of that calibre and quality, for that amount of time, there's no doubt it'll hurt them.

  "I've been there myself in terms of an ACL injury and I was out for six or seven months so I know exactly how Rodri will feel and how the football club will feel. It's a long road back. Whether it's five months, six months, seven months or whatever it may be, it's a long road back. You've got the operation, if Rodri is going to have that, then you're in a rest period and then you're in rehab period. It's a long road back and you have to be really strong mentally to get over it."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  City have won the Premier League four times in a row and are looking to make it five under Pep Guardiola. But without their star midfielder – someone who has been tipped to challenge for the Ballon d'Or this year – it could have a serious mental and physical impact as they manage a hectic schedule in 2024-25.

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR RODRI?

  It has not yet been confirmed that Rodri will be out for the entire season, but it is rare for players to quickly recover from serious knee injuries. He will have to watch from the sidelines as City challenge on all fronts without him for the next few months at least.

In a fairytale return to Test cricket, the allrounder demonstrated just how far he has come as a red-ball offspinner

Deivarayan Muthu24-Oct-20241:56

Manjrekar: Small sample but Washington shows promise as Ashwin’s successor

Washington Sundar wasn’t supposed to be in Pune for the second Test against New Zealand. He was supposed to be in Coimbatore with his Tamil Nadu team-mates for the Ranji Trophy. He was not in India’s Test squad three days ago. Before Thursday, he had last played a Test match three-and-a-half years ago. As it turned out, he made a serendipitous return to Test cricket, bagging career-best figures of 7 for 59.”It was all God’s plan,” Washington said.Washington. Pune. God’s plan. Sounds familiar?Related

• Shastri: Washington Sundar 'is the future' for India

• Washington Sundar: 'I consider myself a top-order batter'

• Washington added to India's squad for second and third Tests

• Washington's career-best 7 for 59 spins out New Zealand

In 2017, Washington wasn’t supposed to be part of the IPL, but after an injury to R Ashwin, he bowled Steven Smith at a trial with Rising Pune Supergiant, and they picked him to replace the senior offspinner. At 17, Washington emerged as a powerplay specialist in T20 cricket.Seven years later, at the scene of his T20 emergence, Washington showed he could grow into an all-format player. Ravi Shastri certainly saw it coming, telling ESPNcricinfo he would go on to become India’s “premier allrounder across all three formats of the game.”But even Shastri couldn’t have seen Thursday coming.Washington Sundar exactly matched R Ashwin’s career-best Test figures of 7 for 59•AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s fairly unusual for this India team to make additions to their squad in the middle of a home Test series unless there are any concerns around players’ fitness or availability. While there were hints on Tuesday that Washington might play on a low-bounce, black-soil pitch in Pune – he had a long bowling stint alongside Ashwin in the nets – it still felt like a stretch that he would replace Kuldeep Yadav in India’s attack. And no one could have expected him to do that, and then outshine Ashwin.Washington ended up matching Ashwin’s career-best Test figures exactly, with the senior offspinner clapping his potential successor off the field at the end of New Zealand’s innings.At the start of the day, it was all about Ashwin. Midway through the seventh over, bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma gestured Ashwin to be ready to bowl. Ashwin got his fifth ball to turn and pin New Zealand captain Tom Latham lbw. Ashwin then had Will Young caught down the leg side with another offbreak that turned. It felt like Ashwin and India were onto something. Fans scrambling for shelter from the sweltering heat quickly filled up the stands.Washington wasn’t having quite the same effect on the Pune crowd, but he was quietly working his way back into Test cricket. There were signs of rust, especially when he bowled short and wide of off stump to Young with the leg side packed with six fielders.Then came the ball to Rachin Ravindra.Washington went wide of the crease from around the wicket and put more revs on the ball, which led first to dip and then turn. There was also inward drift, which led Ravindra to play down the wrong line. The ball slid past the outside edge and hit the top of off, providing a flashback to Ashwin’s dismissals of Alastair Cook in both innings of the 2018 Edgbaston Test.2:47

Washington opens up on Ashwin’s influence

For much of his career, Washington’s bowling has been tuned to the demands of white-ball cricket, and has generally been characterised by pace through the air and flatter trajectories often delivered with undercut. Of late, he has worked on refashioning himself into a more conventional offspinner. After IPL 2024, where he finished with zero wickets and zero runs in all of two games for Sunrisers Hyderabad, he called up S Sriram, the former India and Tamil Nadu allrounder who has worked with Australia and Bangladesh as a spin consultant, for his inputs on how he could become an all-format bowler. Having already worked with Washington at Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sriram suggested a few technical tweaks.”So one thing we spoke about was his run-up speed, you know, just get more energy into his run-up rather than just ambling, and more of overspin,” Sriram, who was following Washington’s spell from Chennai, told ESPNcricinfo. “He had a little bit of a finger issue also recently, so he was recovering from that. So one of the things we spoke about is always going back to that overspin, which gives him more bounce. And overspin is possible only when you have that momentum in the run-up.”If you don’t have momentum in the run-up, it’s very difficult to get that overspin. One of the things we discussed was obviously bounce was his main weapon. And how he can use that to his advantage in both white ball and red-ball cricket.”In his next over, Washington got the ball to drift away from Tom Blundell, then dip and rip through the gate. Washington is usually a man of few emotions, but this wicket meant so much to him that he brought out an animated fist pump. Washington was primarily picked to counter a left-hander-heavy New Zealand line-up. This was evidence that he could pick off the right-handers as well.”I think once he gets that seam angle right and the release right, and with the revs, automatically the drop and the drift takes care of itself,” Sriram said. “He used the shine to get the drift with the right seam angle. And also, if the seam is upright, it drops. Like that Blundell one, it dropped on him a little bit. He went to play with the spin, but the slight drift and drop got the wicket.”Washington then kept hitting the drier, good-length band on the pitch with laser-like precision and kept the stumps in play. He was rewarded with five more wickets in nine overs.Tom Blundell was bowled by Washington on the stroke of tea•BCCI”The first two spells, I think he was settling in,” Sriram said. “He was finding the right pace and also the right sort of rhythm. But once he got those two wickets around tea, his confidence also built up. It just happened so quickly for him, which made it look casual. But it wasn’t that casual.”Gautam Gambhir welcomed Washington back into the dressing room with a round of applause and a big smile. Like Shastri, Gambhir sees an all-format player in Washington. He had trusted him with bowling the Super Over in the Pallekele T20I in July, and Washington responded by bowling India to victory from out of nowhere.Gambhir then promoted Washington up the order to No.4 in the next match – the first ODI in Colombo. He didn’t score too many in that game, but his batting potential is clear: he already has three Test fifties, including match-turning interventions in Brisbane and Ahmedabad, and his Pune call-up came on the back of a Ranji Trophy 152 while batting at No. 3.Sriram is hopeful of Washington coming of age as an allrounder under Gambhir, with whom he worked as an assistant coach at Lucknow Super Giants.”Yeah, I think credit to Gauti also,” Sriram said. “Because I think he always rates him high. Whatever little conversations I’ve had with Gauti in LSG also, he always rated Washy very high. And he is someone, I think, he’ll use him very well as an allrounder. Both with bat and ball, he’ll promote him in certain times with the bat. And he’ll make best use of him with the ball as well and give him the ideal situations where he can succeed in all formats of the game.”Perhaps that, then, is God’s long-term plan.

Rangers boss Danny Rohl was left to settle for what he described as a “fully deserved point” at Tannadice on Wednesday night, although for a club of such stature, these are the type of games that the Ibrox side simply have to win.

Just a few days on from the drab stalemate against Falkirk, the Light Blues were left relying on a last-gasp Nedim Bajrami penalty to bail them out of trouble this time around, having been abject at both ends of the pitch on the night.

Indeed, Bojan Miovski’s dry spell continued, having scored just one Premiership goal since his return to Scotland, while the centre-back pairing of Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez were all at sea up against a lively Dundee United forward line.

Rohl, undoubtedly, is paying the price for the chaos that came before him under both Russell Martin and Kevin Thelwell, with the summer recruitment yet again under the microscope.

With question marks over how much will be available to spend in January, the German coach will largely have to make do with what he’s got for now, albeit with key decisions needing to be made.

Record of every Rangers summer signing

Perhaps it is still too early to judge the business that was carried out this summer, although the transfer failures have already helped claim one manager and could well prove fatal for another, unless Rohl can turn things around.

Of course, the biggest backfire appears to be the £8m investment in Everton’s Youssef Chermiti, with a player who failed to score in two years at Goodison Park having since scored just once in his new surroundings.

Former Aberdeen talisman Bojan Miovski hasn’t exactly fared much better, it must be said, with just two goals himself in all competitions for the Glasgow side, ensuring that – perhaps unsurprisingly – captain James Tavernier still leads the way with seven goals from right-back this season.

Despite looking brighter since the change in the dugout, more was certainly expected of Tottenham Hotspur’s teenage sensation, Mikey Moore, with the Englishman joining Thelo Aasgaard and Lyall Cameron in having scored just once in 2025/26 thus far.

Oliver Antman, another marquee summer addition, hasn’t even got off the mark at all, while perhaps the biggest concern lies defensively, with regard to Djiga, in particular.

Already seemingly looking finished at Ibrox, following a string of errors in recent months, the on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers man has been this season’s key disaster, epitomising a transfer window that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

The Burkina Faso international has at least been consistent in struggling right from the off, with there perhaps more confusion over the shifting form of fellow new addition, Djeidi Gassama.

Martin's "shining light" now needs to be benched by Rohl

If there was just one positive from the brief Martin era, it was the early performances of young Gassama, with the ex-Sheffield Wednesday starlet looking particularly impressive in Champions League qualifying.

Four goals in just six games in that early round of European games suggested that Rangers had hit the jackpot with their £2.2m addition, with former England international Chris Waddle among those lauding him as a potential “bargain”:

From looking like the “shining light” under Martin’s watch, in the view of former Gers defender Alan Hutton, the France-born winger has frustratingly failed to kick on since then, with that Champions League form looking like a red herring on current evidence.

Indeed, since then, the underwhelming wideman has scored just once and provided only two assists in the Premiership, alongside chipping in with a further goal in the Europa League against Sturm Graz.

An asset in continental action, Gassama has been unable to replicate that form domestically, even despite reuniting with Rohl in recent weeks, following their prior link at Hillsborough.

The youngster was particularly poor during the draw with the Tangerines, having lost the ball 20 times from just 56 touches, while boasting a dismal pass accuracy rate of just 67%, as per Sofascore.

Part of a forward line that just isn’t clicking into gear, Gassama also squandered two big chances and completed just a solitary successful cross, having perhaps been fortunate to last the full 90 minutes in truth.

With young Findlay Curtis among those waiting in the wings, Rohl must forego any potential favouritism and shake things up next time around.

Gassama just isn’t looking like the player he did back in July and August…

Rangers "passenger" has been so bad that he makes Dowell look good

This Glasgow Rangers flop is currently making Kieran Dowell look like a good player by comparison.

By
Dan Emery

Dec 3, 2025

The coach hopes to be able to bring James Vince back but does not expect to see much of the Australian players

Andrew McGlashan11-Jun-2021Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd is not in favour of the proposed BBL draft for overseas players and admitted the uncertainty over how it could work has added a layer of complexity to planning for next year’s competition where the club will aim for a hat-trick of titles.Plans for a player draft were put on hold last year due to the pandemic but it is expected to be added to the tournament for this season although Shipperd, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Sixers on Thursday, said details were still thin on the ground.The Sixers have Tom Curran locked in as part of a three-year deal (he sat out last season due the complexity of traveling during Covid-19) and they are hopeful of having James Vince return after he scored 537 runs at 38.35 in last season’s campaign.”I know there’s been meetings going on…but there’s been no finality and no crystallisation of any position that I’m aware of at the moment,” Shipperd said. “We’re hanging on the edge trying to understand if there is a draft or not, whether there’s two or three international players, how many domestic players, any rule changes. All of those things are being juggled behind the scenes but none of them have consolidated to the point where we can start to strategise around that.”My personal preference is to go out and source your players as we’ve done in the past, but I’m not sure if that position is universally held across other coaches or franchises. I like to fit the people I source to the people and combinations and personalities in our group and be really specific around that.Related

• BBL draft postponed again, tournament to finish in late January

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• Who won what in the 2020-21 Australian domestic season

• Sydney Sixers BBL chief exits despite back-to-back titles

• 'Fearless' Dan Christian ideally suited to Australia's T20 World Cup needs

“That’s served us very, very well and a draft takes a bit of that preparedness out of play. I’d be a little bit nervous about how that all unfolds and I hope that those deliberating around whether or not it does go ahead canvas all possibilities around how you can make the media attention around the draft…by proposing an alternative method.”Should the draft come into being, one element that has been proposed is a system that allows clubs to retain overseas players they have had lengthy associates with such as Rashid Khan at Adelaide Strikers. That could help the Sixers keep Vince with Shipperd clear that club loyalty and keeping his squad together is a high priority.”I like to provide stability within my groups and that’s why we signed Tom Curran straightaway once we saw the quality of him as a young player, a young man and young leader within our group – we wanted him for a long-term,” he said. “James Vince has hit that zone as well so I would be disappointed if, potentially, we missed the opportunity to have both of those players in our franchise this year because of the quirk on the draft.”Conversations have been had but our squad is going to look very similar from a domestic point of view. I’m a big believer in, as best as we can, giving this group that has achieved so much in the last two years a strong crack at a third opportunity. Some would say that’s a big risk but there’s a lot of faith in the group from our coaching staff that they’re good enough to do it again.”Greg Shipperd is hopeful of having James Vince return for another season•Getty Images

With the men’s Ashes series running until January 18 then a limited-overs visit by New Zealand starting at the end of that month, Shipperd is not expecting to see much, if anything, of those involved in the national squads.Last season Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc were contracted but did not play a match due to the restrictions of moving between bubbles, with Starc later agreeing not to take part in the final so as not to disrupt a successful team. In a testament to the group put together by Shipperd, Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott were also absent for a large part of the regular season. The previous summer Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Steven Smith all appeared in the latter stages of the tournament.”This year I think it’s probably going to be the worst year for availability for our international players, given where we predict the tournament will be played with a significant Ashes series,” Shipperd said. “I’m tipping those big name international players are unlikely to be available for us which is again just a problem that confronts us every season. And it’s a difficult problem to ever solve given that the international programme is the one that takes priority.”

Jose Mourinho says he feels the same motivation to win trophies as he did when he guided Porto to an incredible Champions League triumph in 2004.

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• Mourinho off to good Fenerbahce start
• Coach insists he still wants to win trophies
• Turkish giants face Twente in Europa League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Mourinho was propelled to fame when he guided the Portuguese club to an unlikely European success more than 20 years ago, and he built a reputation as a serial winner through his trophy-laden spells at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, before going on to win further silverware with Real Madrid and Manchester United.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  However, spells at Tottenham, Roma and current club Fenerbahce have sparked questions about the legendary coach's ambition. Mourinho, though, says he still wants to win trophies despite admitting he faces 'difficulties' in achieving the Turkish team's objectives.

• WHAT MOURINHO SAID

  "I still have the ambitions I had 20 years ago," Mourinho said at a press conference. "The situations we are in to achieve our goals here are very difficult, the Turkish people understand what I mean. I feel the fire inside me. Nothing has changed except my appearance."

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MOURINHO?

  The Portuguese manager will hope to guide Fenerbahce to Europa League success in his debut season with the club. After beating Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last week, they are out to get three points against Twente on Thursday.

And was James Anderson the oldest player to feature in a Test at Lord’s?

Steven Lynch16-Jul-2024Where do Gus Atkinson’s figures stand on Test debut for England? asked Terence Piper from England

Gus Atkinson, making his debut, rather upstaged the retiring Jimmy Anderson in the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s last week. Atkinson’s first-innings figures of 7 for 45 were the third-best on England Test debut, after John Ferris’ 7 for 37 against South Africa in Cape Town in 1891-92 (Ferris had previously played eight Tests for Australia), and Dominic Cork’s 7 for 43 against West Indies at Lord’s in 1995.Atkinson’s match figures of 12 for 106 have been bettered on England debut only by Ferris (13 for 91 in the match mentioned above) and the Kent left-arm seamer Fred “Nutty” Martin, who collected 12 for 102 against Australia at The Oval in 1890. Martin won only one more cap – in the same Cape Town game as Ferris played his only Test for England.Atkinson was only the sixth bowler – and the first for more than 90 years – to take two five-fors in his first Test for England, following Martin, Ferris, another Surrey fast bowler in Tom Richardson (5 for 49 and 5 for 107 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1893), Kent legspinner Charles “Father” Marriott (5 for 37 and 6 for 59 in his only Test, against West Indies at The Oval in 1933), and the Essex fast bowler Ken Farnes (5 for 102 and 5 for 77 against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1934).Gus Atkinson dismissed Jason Holder first ball at Lord’s, and Holder then got Atkinson first ball too. How often has this happened in Tests? asked Martin Richardson from England

Helped by the Melbourne statistician Charles Davis, who has made a detailed study of old scorebooks, we came up with five previous instances of two players inflicting golden ducks on each other in the same Test before Gus Atkinson and Jason Holder did it last week at Lord’s.The first known instance was by the Hampshire fast bowler Christopher Heseltine and South Africa’s slow left-armer George Rowe in the first Test in Johannesburg in 1895-96; both were making their Test debuts.It didn’t happen again for nearly a century, before Kapil Dev of India and the Pakistan debutant Azeem Hafeez traded golden ducks in Bangalore in 1983-84. There was another case in Bridgetown in 1990-91, the players being Courtney Walsh of West Indies and Australia’s Bruce Reid.And there had been two previous instances in the current century: by Stuart MacGill of Australia and Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran in a match in Galle in 2003-04, and by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and the man of the moment Jimmy Anderson for England in Centurion in 2015-16. We don’t have full ball-by-ball details for all Tests, so it’s just possible there may be one or two other instances.WG Grace, immortalised in sculpture at Lord’s, played his last Test at the ground when he was almost 48 years of age•Nigel French/PA Photos/Getty ImagesWas James Anderson the oldest player to figure in a Test at Lord’s? asked Ricky Dooley from Scotland

Jimmy Anderson was about two weeks short of his 42nd birthday (July 30) during last week’s Test against West Indies at Lord’s . Rather surprisingly perhaps, 20 players older than Anderson have appeared in a Test there, the most recent being 42-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq for Pakistan in 2016, when he scored 114, and led the team in a series of press-ups to prove his fitness.The oldest of all in a Lord’s Test was WG Grace, who was nearly 48 when he captained England against Australia in 1896. The great Surrey opener Jack Hobbs was also 47 when he played his last Lord’s Test, against Australia in 1930. Hobbs was 43 when he made 119 against Australia in 1926, but Australia’s Warren Bardsley, who was exactly one week older, set the age record for a Test century at Lord’s in that same match by carrying his bat for an unbeaten 193.Anderson is the oldest bowler of any significant pace to appear in a Lord’s Test, beating 40-year-old Geoff Chubb, who opened the bowling for South Africa in 1951, and took 5 for 77 in the first innings. Another South African, “Old Dave” Nourse, played at Lord’s in 1924, when he was 45, and sent down 15 overs of medium-pace without taking a wicket.Gus Atkinson’s name is now on the Lord’s honours board after his Test debut. Shamar Joseph got his name up at Adelaide and Brisbane after his first two Tests. Who’s on the most such boards around the world? Is it Jacques Kallis – 45 hundreds and five five-fors? asked Glenn Rogers from Australia

I don’t think all the grounds have physical honours boards for Test centuries and instances of five wickets in an innings. But assuming they did, Jacques Kallis would be on 29 such boards around the world – but he has to give best to Sachin Tendulkar, who scored hundreds at 31 different Test grounds.Rahul Dravid scored centuries at 26 different Test venues, while Muthiah Muralidaran took five-fors at 25. Next comes Alastair Cook with 24 – level, for now at least, with Virat Kohli, the only one of these who is still playing.I noticed that no new players made their Test debuts in the 2023 Ashes series. How many five-match series have there been with no debutants at all? asked Simon Harrison from England

I was surprised to discover that apart from the 2023 Ashes, the only five-Test series which introduced no debutants at all was the Ashes in Australia in 2006-07. England could perhaps have done with some new blood in that one, which they lost 5-0! There are also two four-Test series with no debutants: England vs Pakistan in the summer of 2006, and the Pataudi Trophy series between England and India in 2011.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Despite the £200m spending spree in the summer transfer window, Manchester United have failed to address the need for a new central midfielder in Ruben Amorim’s side.

His 3-4-2-1 system requires two dominant ball-playing options, with Bruno Fernandes currently occupying one of the two positions at the heart of the side.

The Portuguese international is primarily a number ten, but the arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have seen him drop into a slightly deeper number eight role.

Casemiro has often been the man to partner him in the middle of the park, but with his contract expiring at the end of 2025/26, it’s evident that a long-term solution is needed.

As a result, the Red Devils have since been drawing up a shortlist of potential options, with the January transfer window now rapidly appearing on the horizon.

Man Utd’s hunt for a new central midfielder in January

In an attempt to improve the options in the midfield department, the United board have identified Stuttgart star Angelo Stiller as a potential addition this January.

The German has developed into one of Europe’s leading performers, but he could be available for a fee in the region of £53m – a potential bargain given his recent rise in the Bundesliga.

However, he’s also seemingly on the radar of European giants Bayern Munich, which could lead to a huge battle for the 24-year-old’s signature in the months ahead.

He’s not alone in being a potential target for Amorim’s men, with Joao Gomes another talent that’s currently being considered for the central midfield role.

According to one Brazilian outlet, the Red Devils are advancing in talks for the 24-year-old, with a £44m transfer fee being mooted for his services this winter.

The report notes that a deal is ‘widely expected’ to be completed and that the player is ‘close’ to transfer clubs over the winter.

It also states that the Wolves star would be open to a switch to Old Trafford, but it remains to be seen if his current employers would sanction a move during the mid-point of the campaign.

Why United’s latest target would be a better signing than Anderson

Over the last couple of weeks, Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson has been another player who has been on their radar to bolster the central midfield department.

The Englishman has been one of the star men in the Premier League this campaign, leading to a first string of international appearances under Thomas Tuchel.

He’s featured in every single minute of the Reds’ league campaign to date, even playing a key role in the recent 3-0 triumph over Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.

His form has led to huge rumours over a potential switch to Old Trafford, but his current side are demanding a fee in the region of £100m to part ways with him in the near future.

Such a deal would be a club record, breaking the £89m fee paid for Paul Pogba way back in the summer of 2016 – potentially making a transfer somewhat unlikely this winter.

As a result, cheaper alternatives will likely have to be considered by Amorim and the board, which could result in a transfer for Gomes in the coming months.

When comparing the Brazilian’s stats to those of Anderson from the opening months of the season, the Wolves star has managed to outperform him in numerous areas – that’s despite his side sitting rock bottom.

Gomes, who’s been described as “one of the best pressers in the league” by one analyst, has completed more of his attempted passes and notched more passes into the opposition box per 90 this season.

Such numbers in possession showcase that the Brazilian thrives at finding a teammate, which could benefit some of the £200m additions within the final third at Old Trafford.

He’s also won more tackles per 90 whilst making more clearances and interceptions per 90 – numbers which make him the perfect ball-winning option for the Red Devils.

Gomes’ all-round dominance is further reflected in his higher take-on success and aerial duels won per 90, which could make him an absolute steal at his current asking price.

£44m in the current climate would be an excellent piece of business, with the midfielder having the opportunity to improve further in the years ahead given he’s just 24.

There’s little denying that Anderson would be the dream addition for many fans, but it’s evident that Gomes would be a cost-effective addition for the short term.

However, that shouldn’t discredit the Wolves star’s talents, with his numbers this season certainly going under the radar, which could make him a stellar addition for Amorim.

He's "much better" than Sesko: Man Utd pursuing "one of the best CFs in PL"

Manchester United could land a new centre-forward just months after landing Benjamin Sesko.

By
Ethan Lamb

Nov 21, 2025