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AC Milan have made contact with Nottingham Forest over a deal for a £26m Nuno signing who now wants to leave.

Forest on the up under the helm of Dyche

Ange Postecoglou didn’t last long after replacing Nuno earlier this season, but Sean Dyche has really managed to turn things around, with his side now four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone, after defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.

The Tricky Trees edged out a 1-0 victory against the bottom-placed side, courtesy of an Igor Jesus goal with just under 20 minutes left to play, meaning they finally have some breathing room, and survival is looking increasingly likely.

Dyche praised his side’s mindset in the narrow victory, saying: “They kept going and throwing things at us. I’m pleased with our mentality. You saw the way we dug it out, they threw a lot at us second half and we dealt with it well.”

In fairness, given that Forest qualified for the Europa League last season and spent heavily in the summer, relegation shouldn’t be on the cards, but it would be fair to say some of their recent additions haven’t hit the ground running at the City Ground.

Arnaud Kalimuendo, who arrived from Rennes for £26m, has particularly struggled to make an impact, having failed to score in his opening seven Premier League games, predominantly being utilised as a substitute.

According to a report from Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), the striker could be offered an exit route soon, with it being revealed that AC Milan have made contact with Nottingham Forest CEO Lina Souloukou over a potential deal.

Kalimuendo now wants to leave Forest, amid a lack of game time, featuring for just 81 mintues across his seven Premier League appearances this season, and clubs from Italy are lining up to sign him, with AS Roma also being named as potential suitors.

Forest should sanction Kalimuendo departure this January

In truth, it is probably best for all parties if the centre-forward moves on this summer, given that he clearly hasn’t managed to impress all three of Forest’s managers this season, given the lack of game time in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old has impressed at times in the Europa League, most recently scoring in the 3-0 victory over Malmo FF, but he was unable to make an impact as a substitute against Brighton in the following match, failing to register a single shot.

Nottingham Forest now eyeing £15m Europa League midfielder after Anderson update

The Tricky Trees have joined the race for a new central midfielder.

ByDominic Lund Dec 3, 2025

In fairness, it is difficult to have a major impact coming on late in the game, and Kalimuendo may need to be given a Premier League start if he is to prove himself.

However, with Jesus recently scoring his first Premier League goal, and Chris Wood still to return from injury, opportunities are likely to be even more limited going forward, and it may be worth Forest cutting their losses in the January transfer window.

Labuschagne’s recall looks certain but debate remains about where in the order he will bat

Andrew McGlashan21-Oct-2025Steven Smith has revealed that Marnus Labuschagne told him before the season that he would be back in the Test side by the start of the Ashes.Though that decision has yet to be rubberstamped by the Australia selectors, Labuschagne is all-but certain to earn a recall having made two Sheffield Shield centuries in two matches – and four hundreds in five innings across the early domestic season – in a prolific return to form after being dropped in the West Indies earlier this year.”I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him,” Smith said. “He’s just gone back and he’s got his fourth hundred in five hits. It’s a pretty big statement. He said to me at the start of the summer, he goes, ‘I’ll be in that Test team come the first [Ashes] Test’. He’s backed up his words, probably. He’s obviously not selected yet, [but] he’s done a lot of things right.”Related

Australia's top order: What are the selectors' options?

Labuschagne makes emphatic Ashes case

Weatherald makes a statement as Boland primes for Perth

'Takes me two hits' – Smith already feels in the Ashes groove

During the first ODI against India, Labuschagne spoke about some of his struggles having come from getting “too deep” into his technique and “trying to be too perfect”, which echoes advice Smith had given him.”We’ve all been there [dropped] at some point in our careers and it’s difficult to hear it,” Smith said. “But I think he knew he probably wasn’t batting as well as he had been over probably four years ago when he was scoring a mountain of runs.”I think my advice to him was ‘stop thinking so technically, just go and play the game; watch the ball and react’. I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely.”While Labuschagne’s return looks certain, a significant question remains about where he bats in the order amid the ongoing debate around who opens alongside Usman Khawaja with Sam Konstas’ challenges continuing. Labuschagne was promoted to the top in the World Test Championship final against South Africa and there remains a realistic chance he will be asked to do it again.Steven Smith has been prolific since returning to No. 4•Associated PressA large part of the final decision may revolve around how many overs the selectors are confident in Cameron Green getting through and whether Beau Webster’s bowling is also required.”He can open, as we saw in the Test championship final,” Smith said. “He can bat three. He’s versatile. We’ll see where it all stands when the team gets picked. I mean, it’s not too different to batting three, to be honest. He could be in first ball. So, it’s essentially the same thing.”I don’t think he needs to change anything if that’s the case. Just play the game, play how he has been, and see the ball hit it, and trust his instincts.”Smith, who had a four-Test stint as opener in early 2024 before returning to No. 4 last season where he averaged 53.27 against India and Sri Lanka, may also become part of the batting-order debate over whether he returns to No. 3.”I’m not too fussed, to be honest,” Smith said. “I’m happy kind of wherever. But, yeah, we’ll see what happens when the team’s picked where we’ll talk to the coaches and Patty [Cummins] and see where everyone fits in best, I suppose, and keep it as simple as that.”Sam Konstas is struggling to retain his Test place•Getty ImagesWith regards Konstas, who has made 4, 14, 0 and 53 in his four Shield innings of the season having scored a century for Australia A in India last month, Smith said there was a balance to strike for young players between overloading them with advice and allowing them to problem solve.”He’s obviously going through a bit of a period right now where he’s trying to figure out how he wants to play,” he said. “I think at times you’ve got to let these young players figure it out for themselves and find the way that they want to play. I think back to when I was young, I had to figure it out.”There were people that I could speak to, but ultimately you’re the one out in the middle playing. It’s your career and you need to figure out how you want to go about it. He’s so young, he’s got plenty of time to figure out how he wants to go.”From what I’ve seen, he’s got so much time as a batter when he’s facing fast bowling. That’s something you can’t really teach, so that’s a good starting point. Then there’s a few things that he has to obviously work on, but he’s a bright talent as we’ve seen and he’s got a bright future.”

Eberechi Eze opens up on his journey to becoming an Arsenal and England star with former team-mate Adebayo Akinfenwa on the latest episode of GOAL’s Beast Mode On podcast.

GOAL’s Beast Mode On Podcast, hosted by Adebayo Akinfenwa, welcomes guest Eberechi Eze as he discusses a whole host of topics including making an emotional return to his boyhood club Arsenal in the summer.

After scoring the winner to help Crystal Palace win their first piece of silverware in last season’s FA Cup final, Eze joined the Gunners in a move which saw him head back to the club who released him from their academy 14 years ago, when he was just 13.

Keen to taste Champions League football by switching to Arsenal, the 27-year-old has revealed a hilarious anecdote from his debut in the competition, which you can read more about below. You can also watch the full episode of the Beast Mode On Podcast via YouTube and Spotify.

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  'Oh my days, it's playing!'

  Speaking exclusively to GOAL's Beast Mode On Podcast, Arsenal forward Eze has revealed he was so in the zone ahead of his tournament debut against Athletic Club that he was unable to take in the Champions League’s iconic pre-match anthem.

  Sitting down for a chat with host Akinfenwa – whom Eze played alongside during a loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers between 2017 and 2018 – the England international said: "First of all, I heard the music… I wasn't focused. So disappointed in myself. Halfway through the song, I said, ‘oh my days, it’s playing!’ So I was too locked in. I was too in the moment. Which is a good thing. But the first time around I didn’t really deep it."

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  'It's crazy because these are things that you dream of'

  However, Eze was able to tune into the music when he was named on the bench for Arsenal's second fixture against Olympiacos on 1 October, though not for too long.

  He continued: “Second game, I didn't start so I was able to actually take in the music, and I said, ‘Okay, this is it’. But I feel like now, it's crazy because these are things that you dream of, and then you get to a point where it's like ‘OK, but what does that mean?’ I'm [going] to work, to do business.

  “I'm not a fan of the happy to be here thing. I'm happy if you think that about me. And you have that perception of me. Good. Because then you think I'm sleeping. But for me, the idea of, like, celebrating things excessively, I'm not the biggest fan of it.

  “So for me, it's been fun to get to work in the Champions League, to get to do my stuff and to play at the highest level, because that's what it's about.”

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  'Sometimes it's a lot more chess being played'

  Relishing the opportunity to compete against the best players in the world via the Champions League, the former Queens Park Rangers attacker has lifted the lid on the differences between Europe's elite club competition and the Premier League.

  He said of the Champions League: “It's different to the Prem in the sense that you're facing teams with a different way of thinking about football, a different way of approaching a game.

  “Guys are a bit more technical and a bit more tactical. Not as much fighting and running around. Sometimes it’s a lot more chess being played. But it’s fun, it’s enjoyable, it’s still football, you’ve still got to find a way to beat your opponent.”

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Zak Foulkes made a huge impact in New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep of England and Peter Fulton expects him to be an all-format allrounder soon

Deivarayan Muthu04-Nov-2025The OG swing kings Trent Boult and Tim Southee are done with their New Zealand playing careers. Matt Henry is currently on the sidelines with an injury, and is approaching the wrong side of 30. But there’s a new swing bowler in New Zealand cricket. Meet 23-year-old Zak Foulkes, who is “almost Trent Boult-ish,” according to New Zealand bowling coach Jacob Oram.In his first ODI bowling innings in Mount Maunganui against England last month, Foulkes made the world sit up and take notice of his swing, more specifically his late swing, when he stormed through the defences of Joe Root with a hooping inswinger in his first over. It was full, but not a drive ball, and veered back in late to make a world-class batter look like an amateur. The wind was blowing from left to right and Foulkes harnessed it to his advantage like Southee and Boult used to do back in the day. Then, in the third ODI in Wellington, Foulkes bested Root with another booming inswinger, this one rapping his pads.Foulkes made a huge impact in New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep of England, coming away with seven wickets in three innings at an average of 14.42 and economy rate of 5.05. Only Blair Tickner took more wickets than Foulkes.Related

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Foulkes’ stock ball to the right-hand batter is the inswinger and to the left-hand batter, it’s the outswinger. After his 4 for 41 in the first ODI, Oram was so impressed with Foulkes that he likened his skills to Boult’s.”It’s his talent and composure,” Oram said. “We know he can swing it at a decent enough pace – mid-130s – and he’s got a bit of a funky release point, which is a bit different for batters to get used to. The fact that he swings it and swings it late is so handy and you saw that ball to Root that went late through the gate and also to left-handers. It’s tough to play, almost Trent Boult-ish with the swing away from the lefties to play and when he gets it right, it’s hard for batters to overcome.”Late swing is Foulkes’ forte, according to former New Zealand batter and current Canterbury head coach Peter Fulton, who has had a front-row seat to Foulkes’ rise from domestic cricket to the New Zealand team.

“His action is just a little bit unusual – he doesn’t quite bowl off the wrong foot, but I think just the nature of his action means he rushes on to guys a bit quicker than probably what the speed gun shows”Peter Fulton on Zak Foulkes

“Look, he swings the ball late, which is a really good attribute to have,” Fulton tells ESPNcricinfo. “Probably, there’s not too many players in international cricket that swing it into the right-hander the way or as much as what he does. So I guess that gives him a little bit of an advantage because it’s not that common.”Foulkes usually operates in the lower 130-kph range, but has the tendency to get the ball to skid off the pitch and hit the bat hard.”Probably the other advantage he has is his action is just a little bit unusual – he doesn’t quite bowl off the wrong foot, but I think just the nature of his action means he rushes on to guys a bit quicker than probably what the speed gun shows,” Fulton says. “So yeah, he’s certainly a little bit quicker than probably what he appears to be.”There was a bit of a running gag that Foulkes could only dismiss left-hand batters – “[Mitchell] Santner was leading that charge,” Foulkes had joked at a press conference – but the twin dismissals of Root provided ample proof of his ability against right-hand batters.Zak Foulkes can bat too, but hasn’t got too many chances to prove that internationally yet•AFP/Getty Images”There’s strengths and weaknesses for every bowler,” Fulton says. “He’s been very, very dangerous to left-handers [in domestic cricket], especially with the ball swinging from around the wicket. But there’s no reason why he can’t be equally as threatening to right-handers. He’s got Joe Root twice now, who is obviously one of the top batsmen in the world. So, Zak is certainly not a one-trick pony.”In his first full Super Smash season, Foulkes was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the difficult overs and he responded by emerging as Canterbury’s joint-highest wicket-taker, with 12 strikes at an economy rate of 7.36 in their run to the final. Two years on, he took a match haul of nine wickets on Test debut in Zimbabwe and made a striking impression against England in his first ODI innings.Club and T20 stints in England have contributed to his development as a bowler. Besides playing for Warwickshire and Durham in the T20 Blast, Foulkes has turned out for Lytham, a club that Fulton had also played for in the past, as an overseas professional.

“I have no doubt in the next two or three years, if he gets those opportunities with the bat, then hopefully he can be the guy that maybe bats at seven in all three forms for New Zealand”Peter Fulton on Zak Foulkes’ batting

“It [playing in England] definitely helped,” Foulkes said at his press conference after the first ODI against England. “Just being around the type of guys like… played a few games with Jacob Bethell a couple of years ago and played with Matt Potts at Durham. Familiar with a few players, which is cool, and you just learn as much as possible from those guys and hopefully holds me in good stead to go forward.”Foulkes hails from a cricketing family – his father Glen and his brothers Liam and Robbie have all represented Canterbury country. Robbie also played for New Zealand in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.Fulton reckons that Foulkes’ time away from his family in New Zealand and taking on the responsibility as an overseas professional in England have also shaped Foulkes as a person.”It was probably just a good life experience for him to be away from friends and family,” Fulton says. “I suppose, you have to sort of stand on your own two feet. I was happy to obviously send him to a club where I knew people and knew he was going to have a good experience. Then he picked up some county opportunities with Warwickshire and with the [Birmingham] Bears. So, those sorts of experiences have probably also helped him as a cricketer. I’m sure it’s definitely helped him as he’s made that transition to international cricket.”Foulkes is also a capable batter. He had slotted in at No. 3 for St Andrew’s College in the Gillette Cup, a one-day competition for secondary schools boys, before bowling became his primary skill. In the third ODI against England in Wellington, he showed his batting chops with an unbeaten 14 off 24 from No. 9, which helped seal New Zealand’s 3-0 series win. Fulton believes that Foulkes’ ceiling is so high that he can bat at No. 7 and become an all-format player for New Zealand in the future.Ben Foulkes’ emergence will give New Zealand’s selectors a happy headache when the likes of Will O’Rourke, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Adam Milne are back•Getty Images”I think all through age-group cricket and high school cricket, Zak was probably more of a batsman,” Fulton says. “He probably bowled medium pace. He finished school and maybe just got a little bit fitter and stronger and decided to run in a little bit harder and try to bowl a bit quicker. Yeah, the part about his game that really excites me is his batting; there’s a lot of potential there.”He’s shown glimpses of that at first-class level for Canterbury, but he just hasn’t had the opportunities in international cricket yet. I have no doubt in the next two or three years, if he gets those opportunities with the bat, then hopefully he can be the guy that maybe bats at seven in all three forms for New Zealand.”Foulkes’ immediate challenge is a five-match T20I series against West Indies, who are coming off a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in Bangladesh.”They [West Indies] are obviously a great team and they have been in Bangladesh recently,” Foulkes said on the eve of the first T20I in Auckland. “We know they’re going to come pretty hard with the bat, especially in this T20 stuff. Things I’m expecting as well, which is quite cool.”Foulkes’ emergence will give New Zealand’s selectors a happy headache when the likes of Will O’Rourke, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Adam Milne are fit. It’s also a reflection of New Zealand’s depth despite a limited talent pool.

Tottenham recruitment chiefs have reportedly set their sights on an “elite” talent who Man City boss Pep Guardiola called “unbelievable”, with the looming January transfer window set to be an intriguing one for Spurs and Thomas Frank.

The Lewis family, after parting company with ex-chairman Daniel Levy, have made their intentions to back the club pretty known.

After injecting £100 million worth of new capital into Spurs via ENIC, they sought to re-appoint transfer guru Fabio Paratici as a co-sporting director, where he’ll work alongside Johan Lange overseeing their drive for new signings.

Amid their striker conundrum, with Randal Kolo Muani now sidelined with a jaw problem, Dominic Solanke still recovering and Richarlison largely out of form, Tottenham are exploring the possibility of a new striker arriving mid-season.

Frank has even reportedly held direct talks with Ivan Toney about a potential loan move to N17 with the 2026 World Cup looming and his England place in doubt, while Juventus star Dušan Vlahović is believed to be another Spurs target as his contract ticks down towards expiry.

According to other reports, the Lilywhites also have plans to bring in another winger and centre-back at the turn of the year, even if Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski are poised to return from their long-term injuries fairly soon.

Dejan Kulusevski

Knee

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James Maddison

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Radu Dragusin

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22/11/2025

Ben Davies

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Kota Takai

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Mohammed Kudus

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Randal Kolo Muani

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Yves Bissouma

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Lucas Bergvall

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Dominic Solanke

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Archie Gray

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Cristian Romero

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via Premier Injuries

However, according to a new report from TEAMtalk and journalist Dean Jones, Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is also attracting their attention.

Tottenham chiefs really want Spurs to sign Bournemouth sensation Alex Scott

The 22-year-old has started nearly all of high-flying Bournemouth’s 11 Premier League games this season and was a surprise inclusion for Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad to face Serbia and Albania. More interestingly, Tottenham hold an historic interest in Scott, which dates all the way back to 2022 during his Bristol City days.

Once likened to Jack Grealish, the Guernsey-native was dubbed an “elite” level talent on the rise back when he was 18 and making a name for himself at Bristol, with Guardiola confessed to be among his many admirers.

With Scott now making a name for himself in Europe’s most competitive division, Spurs’ admiration for the player hasn’t gone away.

As per Jones, some members of Tottenham’s transfer team are “very hot” on Scott right now, and a move for him in the near future could be on the cards.

According to Opta, no Bournemouth midfielder has made more dribbles than Scott or won more ground duels than the new England international — demonstrating his ability to excel both defensively and in the forward areas.

Scott also started in England’s victorious U21 European Championship final against Germany in June, with Spurs chiefs potentially taking interest in one of the country’s next rising stars who’s perhaps less talked about.

According to another report, though, he won’t be let go on the cheap.

Bournemouth could demand as much as £65 million for Scott, or more, with the Cherries aiming to make a near-triple profit on a player they signed for just £25 million.

Fifteen years ago, Manchester City were so enamoured with the all-conquering Barcelona that they sought to replicate the same structure. They began by hiring chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, before eventually landing Pep Guardiola to manage the team. All that was missing was Lionel Messi – though they nearly signed the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner at the very start of the Abu Dhabi-led project by mistake!

Ever since Guardiola moved to City in 2016, speculation was rife that the coach wanted to prise Messi from Barcelona and bring him to the Etihad Stadium. Throughout his first season with City, the coach had to deny reports that he had tried to sign Messi, as well as Neymar and Sergio Busquets. 

The closest Messi came to being reunited with Guardiola at City was in the summer of 2020 when he informed Barcelona in a Burofax message that he wanted to leave and held a meeting with his former coach at his house, before eventually opting to stay in Catalunya.

Messi was subsequently offered to City in 2021 when he was forced to leave Barcelona due to the club's financial problems, although Paris Saint-Germain showed a greater interest in signing him. On none of these occasions, however, did the Manchester club actually lodge a bid for the Argentine. 

City only reached out to Barca about signing Messi on one occasion, all the way back in 2008, days after the club had been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United group and before the Argentine had won his first Ballon d'Or. The bid, however, caused great confusion both at Barcelona and back at City. That's because it was made in error, all stemming from a misunderstanding amid the excitement of City becoming billionaires overnight…

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  Not fit for purpose

  City had begun the 2008-09 season in gloomy fashion, losing 4-2 at Aston Villa. It was not entirely unexpected, given they had lost the final game of the previous season 8-1 at Middlesbrough. Their transfer business had been unremarkable, signing Brazilian forward Jo from CSKA Moscow and Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea, plus a little-known defensive midfielder from Hamburg by the name of Vincent Kompany for £6 million. But later in the month, it became clear that change was coming and that the club, and indeed English football, would never be the same.

  With City owner Thaksin Shinawatra facing legal trouble back in Thailand and running out of cash due to his assets being frozen, the club were on the brink of financial collapse, leading to them having to ask for a loan from a former owner just to pay their players. Meanwhile, new coach Mark Hughes was shocked at the state of the club he had just landed at. 

  He recalled to : "The training ground was not fit for purpose. I was quite shocked by how run down it was. I assumed that people and facilities would be top quality and it was patently obvious they weren't. I made the switch from Blackburn because I thought City was a club with potential, in a good financial position, and there would be money available. The reality wasn't exactly what was described and sold to me." 

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  Billionaires overnight

  But everything changed on September 1. Hughes was playing golf when he got a call from CEO Garry Cook informing him the club had been bought by the Abu Dhabi United group. He continued hitting balls, but soon he was being followed by a crew from . Suddenly City were a lot more than a club with potential. And oh boy would money be available now, and Cook informed Hughes that the new owners "wanted a marquee signing" as soon as possible. 

  Hughes had the pick of the best players in the world; the problem was that it was also transfer deadline day. There was another issue, too: City were still seen as a bit of a joke of a club.

  "They just asked me ‘Who do you want?’. They had a load of bids out for pretty much every top player in the world," Hughes told the podcast. "They had just put all of these bids out to see if anyone would actually come back, but people forget that at that time, Man City were a mid-table Premier League club – mid-table to bottom if we’re honest. There weren’t that many takers because players were thinking, 'Man City, who?'.

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  From 'getting messy' to 'let's get Messi'

  "They had all these bids out and nothing was happening, then all of a sudden they had a little nibble from Robinho and Real Madrid," Hughes added. "It was a crazy day, there were bids going out for Lionel Messi and all sorts! We finally managed to get Robinho over the line which was a hell of a statement, and the rest is history."

  Robinho left Madrid on the assumption he was going to join Chelsea, and when he headed for Manchester, he assumed it was United, and not their nouveau-riche rivals who he was going to play for. He wasn't the only one who was confused. Although Shinawatra had just sold the club, his right-hand man Pairoj Piempongsant was still involved in City's transfer negotiations. 

  He and Cook jumped on a conference call with the club's then-COO Paul Aldridge to discuss who to sign, as Cook explained to in 2019: "So picture the scene. There's Paul with his London accent: 'Pairoj, you got to tell me what we're doing, it's getting out of control'. Pairoj was lying on a chaise lounge, getting a massage, and shouting: 'Yes, yes, yes! Very messy, messy, it's getting messy.' Something got lost in translation and – on my daughter's eyesight, this is the truth – that was misheard as "We've got to get Messi'.".

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  'Are you mad?'

  "Paul came to me afterwards: 'Garry, this is getting confusing, I don't know what we are doing here.' I said: 'Put the offer in, let's see what we come up with'." According to Cook, City put in a £70m bid for Messi which would have smashed the previous world transfer record of £50m, the fee Madrid had paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. 

  Messi was 21 at the time but was well on the way to stardom, having scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid two seasons previously and finished third in the latest Ballon d'Or voting, behind Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. He had scored 10 goals and provided 14 assists during previous season, but given City's sudden change in fortunes, signing Messi was not as outlandish as it seems now. Indeed, Robinho had scored one goal more than the Argentine for Madrid in 2007-08.

  Such was City's low standing in the global game, Barcelona did a double take when they learned of the bid. Cook added: "Then Dave Richards called me the next day from the Premier League: "Garry, have you put in an offer for Lionel Messi? Seventy million pounds? Are you mad?"'

Manchester United are now on red alert in the race to sign a Real Madrid star ahead of Manchester City in a shock £69m deal next year.

Amorim "angry" at "frustrating" West Ham draw

Like the rest of Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim was left angered by Man United’s 1-1 draw against West Ham. The Red Devils were in control for the large part and deservedly got their opener through unlikely goalscorer Diogo Dalot in the second-half, but that’s when things started going wrong.

With seven minutes remaining, the visitors sent a timely reminder of United’s struggles courtesy of Soungoutou Magassa, who scored his first Premier League goal to snatch a point for West Ham.

Amorim, left frustrated at full-time, told reporters: “Yeah, it’s frustrating, it’s angry. That’s it.”

The former Sporting CP manager also pinpointed where things went wrong, saying: “Yeah, but there are second halves that we lose control of the game.

“Today, I think it was not that case. Maybe after the first goal, we lost some second balls and Matheus [Cunha] won one or two second balls there and made it a transition.

“We try to defend all the time far from the goal because we knew it. They tried to make a cross, win a corner. Like it happened, long ball, they win a second ball against three guys of us in the defence. So, we need to be better in the second half.”

Any assumption that United have turned a corner under Amorim is quickly evaporating and the Old Trafford boss desperately needs further reinforcements in 2026.

Midfield stars such as Conor Gallagher and Elliot Anderson have already been mooted, but United could still set their focus on welcoming Rodrygo from Real Madrid. The Brazilian is attracting plenty of interest and could yet swap the Bernabeu for the Premier League.

Man Utd on red alert in Rodrygo race

According to reports in Spain, Man United are now on red alert in the race to sign Rodrygo next year and could land the talented winger ahead of rivals Man City, as well as a number of other Premier League sides.

The Brazilian has struggled for game time under Xabi Alonso – starting just three La Liga games all season – and looks destined to leave Real Madrid next year.

Sparking a flurry of interest, Madrid reportedly value their winger at around €80m (£69m). Whether INEOS and others deem that fee reachable for a player who’s yet to impress Alonso remains to be seen, however.

Related Man Utd now rivalling Liverpool to sign £87m forward who Klopp loves

The Red Devils have joined the race for a new attacker, who has made an impressive start to the campaign.

Posts ByDominic Lund Dec 5, 2025

At his best, Rodrygo played a key part in Madrid’s success in the Champions League and in La Liga. Now, he’s been cast aside to hand United the opportunity to land arguably their best signing yet under Amorim.

Dubbed “spectacular” by former Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti in 2023, Rodrygo is still just 24 years old and is full of potential – even if he’s forced to realise it with a move to Old Trafford in 2026.

Amorim's £150k-p/w star just had his worst game for Man Utd vs West Ham

The allrounder entered at 179 for 5, with Ruturaj Gaikwad seemingly running out of partners, and did what he does best

Ashish Pant05-Sep-2025Around an hour and a half after lunch on the opening day of West Zone’s Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone, Tanush Kotian jumped down the track and smashed offspinner Saransh Jain for two straight fours. It is unlikely these two boundaries will be spoken about too much in the broader context of this match, but when Kotian hit them, they seemed to shift the momentum of the innings.West Zone were 179 for 5 in the 44th over. Shreyas Iyer and Shams Mulani had fallen in the space of eight overs, and while Ruturaj Gaikwad had reached his century, he seemed to be running out of support. Enter Kotian, Mumbai’s crisis man. He began steadily, getting right behind the line against the quicks, moving his feet swiftly against the spinners, the ball pinging off the centre of his bat. But he couldn’t find the gaps at the start. That changed with his charge against Jain. It changed things not just at his end but at Gaikwad’s too.Related

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West Zone went into the tea break on a high, and kept their foot on the pedal when play resumed. They crashed 73 runs in the first 11 overs after tea, and while Gaikwad did most of the scoring, Kotian ensured he did not clog up the strike.”I’ve played for Mumbai for the last three to four years, so I have an idea of how to bat down the order and how to absorb the pressure,” Kotian said of his innings. “I know how to take chances, when to take chances, and where to rotate the singles and build the game. That’s what I’ve implemented in this match.”Ruturaj was a set batsman in front of me. I just wanted to build a partnership with him, taking it ten runs at a time. That’s what I was planning. I was trying to play as many balls as I could and just wanted to rotate.”Kotian was happy to be the bystander in a 148-run stand with Gaikwad, which came off 184 balls. It was the first time the two had batted together in a first-class game, but Kotian said he “developed a good bond” with Gaikwad and learned a lot along the way.”We have played on the same team before but because he is an opener, we haven’t had a chance to bat together,” Kotian said. “It was quite fun to bat with him, the way he was rotating the singles, and he was also guiding me on how to play, what to do on this wicket, where to take a single.”I learnt a lot from him in this game and the way he was batting, the shots he was playing, it was fun to watch. He was giving me a lot of confidence with the shots he was playing. I think we were batting at a run rate of close to 4 or 4.5 yesterday; that was a plus point.Kotian has been part of the Test squad, but he isn’t worrying about when he’ll get to wear the India cap•PTI “Strike rotation was a key part of our partnership. We were hitting the ball straight to the fielder and running. It was about understanding, just the eye contact and we were off. I think we developed a good bond and that contribution benefited us.”Since his comeback to the Mumbai team in 2022, Kotian has often rescued Mumbai from tricky situations. Now, he was at it for West Zone, his 76 vital to their reaching 438 in the first innings. Kotian says he thrives on the challenge of batting with the tail, and, as a bowler himself, understands the importance of extra runs down the order.”It’s all about how I can utilise myself, because I have the capability to bat well,” Kotian said. “Whenever I go [to bat], I don’t think about how many wickets have fallen, or that the team is in trouble. I have confidence. I just focus on my game, analyse it properly. ‘How can I play my shots, and how can I get the team out of that pressure situation?’ That’s my game plan.”I try and play time and take it one hour at a time. My goal is to reach the next drinks break and take it from there. If I can take it one small session at a time, the opposition automatically gets bogged down and after that it gets easy to score.”Kotian has had a busy couple of seasons. Apart from being a regular in the Mumbai line-up, he has also been part of India A squads in Australia and England. When R Ashwin retired midway through the Border-Gavaskar series in 2024-25, Kotian was the offspinner India called up as his replacement. The India cap seems like the next step, but Kotian says he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.”I have not changed anything in these last six months,” he said. “What I have always done, I am continuing the same. I am not thinking too far ahead. I just like to stay in the present and plan each session accordingly.”Whatever happens in the future is in the selectors’ hand, but I try to give my 100%, whether it is batting or bowling.”Kotian is one of the few genuine allrounders in the Indian first-class setup. Before this semi-final, he averaged 25.93 with the ball and 43.50 with the bat after 38 matches, numbers that would make specialists in either discipline proud. With Ashwin’s retirement, a space has opened up in the Indian Test side, and with the numbers Kotian has accumulated, that cap may not be too far away.

The Colorado Rockies were cheered heartily by fans at the 2025 MLB draft after Rob Manfred announced that the organization had selected Ethan Holliday with the No. 4 pick in the first round.

Holliday, 18, is the youngest son of former Rockies All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, who played the first six seasons of his career in Colorado and was a fan favorite.

After Ethan followed in his father's footsteps as a Rockies draft selection, some old photos of him supporting the organization throughout his youth emerged on social media, courtesy of both the Rockies and MLB.

Ethan has been making trips to Coors Field since his youth, and now he'll get to look forward to playing there on a daily basis in the future.

Matt played in Colorado from 2004 to '09 and finished his career with the team in 2018. He was a seventh round pick by the organization in 1998 and rose to stardom at Coors Field, where he earned three of his six career trips to the All-Star Game.

Ethan is a standout shortstop and third base prospect who played high school baseball at Matt's alma mater, Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Okla. He launched 16 home runs and had a stunning 1.309 slugging percentage in 32 games during his senior year.

Giuliano Simeone has spoken candidly about life under his father, Diego Simeone, revealing how he balances the weight of a famous surname with the responsibility of earning his place at Atletico Madrid. With the club preparing a new long-term contract after his breakout season, the 22-year-old reflects on his journey from Calderon ball boy to first-team contributor, and the expectations that come with both roles.

• Giuliano Simeone's relentless push to be an Atleti

  Simeone’s story with Atletico began long before he stepped onto the pitch as a professional. As a long-haired eight-year-old, he served as a ball boy at their former stadium, but his path to the first team required a long diversion. 

  After years n River Plate’s youth academy, he was finally snapped up by the Atletico youth academy while his father was building a solid reputation as coach of the senior team, but it took spells on loan to Real Zaragoza and Deportivo Alaves to lay the foundation for his breakthrough in the capital. 

  The 2024-25 campaign finally opened the door: his first senior goal, his first Champions League moment, and his growing influence in his father's demanding system.

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  "At Cerro, he's the coach. Outside of training, he's my dad"

  For years, Simeone has lived with a familiar accusation: that every opportunity he receives is because he is Diego Simeone’s son. Every debut, every promotion, every appearance has come with someone claiming he is “only there because of his father.” The criticism follows him everywhere, from the youth system to La Liga, and he knows it will never fully disappear.

  Asked directly about the nepotism narrative in an interview on , he delivered a clear response: "I've said it many times, I think we have a coach-player relationship where we both have a lot of respect. When we go into training at Cerro del Espino, when we cross those gates, he's the coach and I'm a player. And the player always does what the coach says. Outside of training, obviously he's my dad and he loves me a lot, like any father, and we have a different relationship. Outside of training, we talk a lot about football. We have a WhatsApp group with my brothers, and they send us videos of their plays, highlights, and we discuss them. Everyone gives their opinion. We're all big football fans in the family, of course."

  The 22-year-old added: "I was told that a lot when I was very young. When we played matches at 12 years old: 'You play because you're your father's son.' At first, you kind of get used to it, but then it becomes a habit, and you know you play because you love it and you give it your all. I don't know if I kept quiet or silenced them, I swear I try to isolate myself from what's said, I focus on myself, on growing and improving."

• Simeone battle odds to become Atleti's first-team player

  Simeone describes his biggest transformation in recent years as a physical one, an evolution forged inside Atletico's famously demanding training environment. The club’s conditioning standards reshaped him, making him stronger, quicker, and far better suited to the defensive intensity that defines his father’s footballing philosophy. Working daily alongside top-level teammates pushed his technique to a higher level.

  He reviews every match the following morning, once the adrenaline has faded and his judgment is clear, as he looks to improve on an important aspect of his game: "Technically, my striking, my finishing… There are many aspects or facets of the game that help you raise your level. I always watch all my matches. But not with my dad, please, there are already enough videos at the Cerro, no, no, no… (laughs). I watch myself quite a bit because I like it and I think it's a way to learn and improve. Before, as soon as I got home, I'd put on the match and wouldn't sleep. Now I do it better and watch it the next day. Sometimes I say: 'What a great match I played!' And then I watch it and say: 'Does this really seem like a great match to you, Giuliano?'"

  His rise has not been smooth, but it has been steady. Giuliano scored three goals across two seasons with Atletico B, then proved himself in the physically demanding Segunda Division with Zaragoza, scoring nine goals and playing a leading role in their attack. His momentum was halted by a serious injury during his loan at Alaves, a moment that forced him into long months of rehabilitation and mental resilience. But he returned to Atletico stronger and soon delivered his first La Liga and Champions League goals.

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  Atletico eye contract extension talks with Giuliano

  Los Colchoneros are finalising an extension that will keep Giuliano at the club until 2030, accompanied by a salary correction that aligns with his new role. Until now, he was among the lowest earners in the first-team squad which is typical for academy graduates—but his increased importance has made the renewal a priority. Giuliano says he dreams of a career like Koke’s.

  "I'm very happy to be at Atlético. Very happy, I hope to be here for many years. I hope to have a career like Koke's. I would love to be here for many years," he says.