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After a disappointing campaign, Erik ten Hag's future at Manchester United has been thrown into doubt, particularly after the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. And now, following links with England boss Gareth Southgate, another top manager has been name-dropped.

Man Utd's next manager

It seems as though not even a dramatic FA Cup last-eight victory over Liverpool can mask Ten Hag's failure at Old Trafford this season, which could see him become part of Ratcliffe's clear-out this summer. Some of the Dutchman's failures were laid bare despite the victory over Liverpool, with the gap between United's defensive line and frontline highlighting exactly why they sit outside of the Premier League's top four.

With that said, reports suggested earlier this week that Ratcliffe has made Southgate his number one choice to replace Ten Hag this summer in what would be a shock move. Southgate, of course, has enjoyed relative success with England but has seen his side fall at the final few hurdles on one too many ocasions. Now, Euro 2024 could be his final shot at international glory before United potentially come calling.

Man United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe planning to move for “important player”

The update comes courtesy of journalist Fabrizio Romano.

By
Henry Jackson

Mar 10, 2024

If it's not Southgate, however, then it could be Roberto De Zerbi. According to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, De Zerbi is a top target to replace Ten Hag at Manchester United and has leapfrogged Graham Potter on their shortlist. This comes as little surprise, given the success that the former Sassuolo boss has had at Brighton & Hove Albion, transforming the Seagulls into a Europa League club.

The thought of De Zerbi is certainly more enticing than Southgate, who has earned critics for his less exciting style of football when in charge of England. But, it remains to be seen whether the Italian is keen to leave Sussex just yet.

De Zerbi is better than Southgate

There are not many more exciting managers in the Premier League than De Zerbi. His transformative impact at Brighton has come whilst working on a budget created by selling his best players and then finding cheaper solutions in arguably the most impressive model in English football. And whilst injuries have caught up to his side this season, resulting in a slight dip, the conclusion about De Zerbi remains the same; the Italian is a top manager.

Southgate, meanwhile, wouldn't be an upgrade on Ten Hag. He would be a safe option who may level things out at Old Trafford, but ultimately not the man to take the Red Devils back to the top. What's more, if England fail to win the Euros this summer with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Trent Alexander-Arnold to choose from – just to name a few – then Southgate's critics will be louder than ever.

Of course, before De Zerbi, Southgate or another name can enter the hot seat, Ten Hag must be displaced and that's still not a certainty in itself after the victory over Liverpool.

The 18-year-old took four wickets on his first-class debut at the SCG last season

Andrew McGlashan24-Jun-2020Wil Parker, the 18-year-old legspinner, has opted for a professional cricket career over Australian Rules Football by signing a full contract with Victoria for the 2020-21 season.Parker made his first-class debut late last summer and impressed in his first outing at the SCG where he claimed four wickets to help Victoria to victory.He is also a talented footballer, who was tipped as a top-20 pick in the AFL draft and had earned interest from some clubs, so he had a decision to make as to which sport he would pursue at the professional level. The lack of football being played in age-group competitions due to Covid-19, which left Parker unable to showcase his ability, was a big part in the process.ALSO READ: Wil Parker dreams of meeting Shane Warne after ‘special’ debut“It was a very hard decision, one I weighed up for a long time, I love both sports,” Parker said. “I had to choose one eventually. Especially in these circumstances with Covid-19 I couldn’t pass it up. There’s been no footy on so it didn’t give me the chance to see where I’m at and how good I am. Having the experience last year in cricket it gave me a good idea that I’m a chance to make it in cricket rather than hedge by bets in footy.”If I’d had the chance to play footy I could have been in a totally difference position at the moment, I could have had a great season and made the draft, but in the current circumstances I didn’t feel confident going for the draft and had the opportunity for cricket.”Parker began as a medium-pacer before a back injury forced him to turn to spin – “I took up legspin for fun and it came out alright,” he said – and he has been mentored by former Australia legspinner Jim Higgs in club cricket.”Wil is a talented athlete and we’re excited he’s chosen to pursue cricket,” Cricket Victoria’s general manager of cricket Shaun Graf said. “He gave us a glimpse of what he’s got to offer in his two Shield games last season, we believe he’s got the skill and temperament to succeed in what is a difficult cricketing artform. His initial experiences last season will hopefully give him some added confidence moving forward in his career.”Elsewhere on Victoria’s contract list their pace-bowling resources have taken a hit with Chris Tremain moving to New South Wales which follows the departure of Peter Siddle to Tasmania. Andrew Fekete has also retired meaning a lot will be on the shoulders of Scott Boland, Will Sutherland and James Pattinson when the latter is not on Australia duty.”‘[Chris] had a taste of first-class cricket in New South Wales but he really established himself as one of the leading fast bowlers in Shield cricket with us over the last few years,” Graf said.”That form has seen him go very close to Australian Test selection on a number of occasions, hopefully he achieves that ambition one day. He has been a consistent performer and a good team person to have around our group during the several seasons he was with us.”While we’re disappointed to see him go, it was a contract that gave him long term security while fulfilling a desire to return home to NSW to be closer to his family.”Aaron Ayre, Jackson Coleman, Jake Reed, Eamonn Vines were also not offered contracts for the next season. Peter Handscomb and Marcus Harris have returned to the Victoria books after losing their Cricket Australia deals.Victoria are still without a coach for their men’s set-up after Lachlan Stevens, who took temporary charge last year when Andrew McDonald became Justin Langer’s assistant, took on the head coach role with the women’s team.Victorian Men’s squad Scott Boland, Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch*, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sebastian Gotch, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell*, Jonathan Merlo, Tom O’Connell, Wil Parker, James Pattinson*, Mitch Perry, Will Pucovski, Matthew Short, Will Sutherland*CA contractedRookies Brody Couch, Sam Elliott, Tom Jackson, Cameron McClure, Todd Murphy, Patrick Rowe

Switzerland star Alisha Lehmann scored a brace in Juventus' 9-1 demolition of FC Zurich in a pre-season friendly on Friday. One of the two goals scored by Lehmann was a top-corner banger from the edge of the box, while the forward also performed her famous fishing celebration. The 26-year-old rejoined the Juventus women's squad earlier this week after taking part in Euro 2025.

• Lehmann scored a brace in pre-season
• Juventus beat FC Zurich 9-1
• Performed 'fishing' celebration

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Lehmann was on fire on Friday as she contributed two goals in Juventus' thrashing of FC Zurich in a pre-season friendly. Lehmann's first goal of the match was an absolute banger, which entered the goal through the top corner after the forward unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box. After scoring her second goal of the day, the 26-year-old was spotted performing a 'fishing' celebration, which involved her pulling out an imaginary fishing rod to reel in her catch.

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  After reaching the Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final with the Swiss national team, Lehmann had jetted off to Ibiza on a well-earned vacation after a hectic 2024-25 campaign. She returned to Italy earlier this week to join her Juventus team-mates for pre-season. 

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  WHAT NEXT FOR JUVENTUS?

  The Italian club still have plenty of time to get ready for the upcoming campaign. The 2025/26 Serie A Women's season is due to kick off on the weekend of October 4-5, with Juventus set to begin the start of their title defence against Sassuolo.

Leeds United had a squad clear out last summer following their relegation from the Premier League, as they allowed a number of first-team players to move on either permanently or on loan.

The likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Jack Harrison, Max Wober, Robin Koch, Brenden Aaronson, and Marc Roca all left on loan, whilst Tyler Roberts and Rodrigo were sold, and Luis Sinisterra has since been sold to Bournemouth.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Whites will go on to regret any of the decisions made on any of those departures in the years to come.

Famously, Leeds lived to regret their decision to cash in on French forward Eric Cantona to bitter rivals Manchester United in November 1992, as they had a big shocker with him.

Why Leeds sold Eric Cantona

It was reported that the attacker did not have the best relationship with then-manager Howard Wilkinson, having had a falling-out with the boss, and that opened the door to an exit from Elland Road.

They were not prepared to rule out a move away from Yorkshire for the gem due to the 'toxicity' around him at the club, which allowed the Red Devils to swoop in and sign him for just £1m.

It was reported to be £1.6m at the time of the move before it was later revealed that the actual fee was £600k less, with the initial valuation given to temper the frustration of Leeds supporters.

In less than one full year at the club, Cantona had racked up 14 goals and five assists in 34 appearances in all competitions, and The Mirror claimed that high-profile stars within the squad could see the potential he had.

Unfortunately, that was not enough to make up for the fractured relationship with Wilkinson, and Leeds had to watch on as the France international went on to become a legend in England with Manchester United.

Eric Cantona's Manchester United career in numbers

The legendary star hit the ground running at Old Trafford with a terrific return of nine goals and 11 assists in 22 Premier League matches during the 1992/93 campaign.

Cantona then plundered a staggering 18 goals and 12 assists in 34 outings in the top-flight throughout the subsequent season, which earned him the PFA Players' Player of the Year award in the division, which shows how highly he was rated by his peers.

As you can see in the table above, the former Leeds star consistently provided quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals to help United to win four Premier League titles in those five seasons.

The mercurial talent, who former teammate Peter Schmeichel claimed "oozed confidence", ended his playing career with 81 goals and 62 assists in 183 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions.

Leeds, therefore, had a big shocker when they sold him for £1m, even with his less-than-ideal relationship with the manager, as he went on to win a Player of the Year award in the top-flight and played a crucial role in their rivals winning four of the next five league titles.

The Australia opener conceded he didn’t capitalise on his good form last season and is determined to put it right against India should the series take place

Andrew McGlashan07-May-2020Australia opener Joe Burns has conceded he didn’t capitalise on his good form last season as he returned to the Test team and is determined to put it right against India should the series be able to take place later this year.Burns’ stop-start international career resumed last summer as he partnered David Warner through Australia’s unbeaten campaign against Pakistan and New Zealand. He made 97 at the Gabba, his home ground, as part of an opening stand of 222, but managed just one further half-century in seven innings to finish with 256 runs at 32.00.However, he finished the truncated Sheffield Shield season strongly with Queensland, including a century against Victoria, and last week was handed a Cricket Australia contract to confirm he remains the favoured man for the role next season, having seen the chance of two Tests in Bangladesh scheduled for next month ended by Covid-19.”I feel like I batted pretty well and left a lot of runs out there,” Burns said. “As an opening batter you get through the first hour of the first session – they’re the times you set yourself up to go on and get a really big score.”Unfortunately, I didn’t go on and get too many big ones but I felt like I did my role pretty well. The satisfying thing for me was to go back to Queensland once the Test series finished and going on and getting those bigger scores. That confirmed to me I was in a really good spot with my batting.”I’m just looking forward to the next season now and continuing that. If I am in that form and in those positions where you get through the first session or lunch [on] day one, you’re in a position to get a big hundred and drive the game as an opening batsman.”ALSO READ: Players’ association casts doubt on Cricket Australia’s financial warningsThis time last year Burns was about to abort a county stint with Lancashire and would eventually be diagnosed with post-viral fatigue disorder. Though he returned in time for the Australia A tour of the UK, he did not make the cut for the Ashes. Even before the pandemic he did not have plans to return to county cricket this season although he would look at another deal in the future – instead focusing on some downtime, which included a now-cancelled trip of the United States – and believes he has learnt from the illness.”I certainly managed myself a lot differently this summer,” he said. “I was in a really good spot physically. An enforced lay-off now for everyone gives you the opportunity to get yourself right and reset. It’s probably the longest off-season anyone has had for a long time. From a physical perspective, it gives us the opportunity to be in a strong position. In the back of our minds we know once we do start playing again, it will be non-stop looking at the calendar.”If the 2020-21 home season, which is also meant to include a one-off Test against Afghanistan, is able to take place as scheduled – albeit probably without crowds – the major challenge facing Burns will be the India Test attack which vies to be the most potent in the world. It could feature the same names who were successful in Australia in 2018-19 when they won the four-match Test series 2-1, although the home side were without David Warner and Steven Smith, who were serving their year-long bans at the time following the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, while Marnus Labuschagne has since emerged as a formidable force.”I look at Australia and India as having two incredibly strong bowling attacks and that’s going to be so exciting to watch the teams go at it,” Burns said. “As an opening batter, that’s why it’s so exiting for myself; it’s going to be a huge challenge this summer, a big role to play in nullifying the Indian bowlers, especially early in the match, morning of day one with the new ball.”There remain a lot of questions about how next summer will look with a report in The Australian saying the Sheffield Shield could be cut to eight rounds without a final, the WBBL reduced and pathway programmes stripped back as part of Cricket Australia’s cost-cutting measures. Burns acknowledged the pandemic was leading to huge challenges, but hoped the Shield could retain its current 10-round format.”For me, I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system, the 10 games where you play everyone twice is really strong,” he said. “It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don’t want to see that get changed or adjustments made to that. It’s pretty unique circumstances at the moment. There’s a lot of things to work through. Speaking purely as a player, I love the fact that it’s 10 rounds.”

The oft-injured midfielder is set to face another spell on the sidelines after playing a limited role in Dortmund's season

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• Reyna will be out for "a few weeks"
• Returned from USMNT duty before pair of friendlies
• Played just 10 minutes for Dortmund this season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Gio Reyna is once again facing time away from the pitch. The attacking midfielder, who has struggled for fitness for nearly two years, has suffered yet another setback, Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin revealed. He left the USMNT camp at the end of last week, and didn't feature in either of the U.S.'s friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.

  The USMNT struggled without him, losing to Les Rouges before stumbling to a 1-1 draw with the All Whites.

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  Reyna hasn't managed to stay fit for more than a year. The USMNT regular played just 280 minutes for Dortmund in the first half of the 2023-24 season, and managed 235 after an ill-advised January loan move to Nottingham Forest. He finished the season with just one goal contribution.

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  WHAT SAHIN SAID

  Sahin spoke on Reyna's injury woes in a press conference: "Gio Reyna will be out; he has picked up an injury with the national team," Sahin said. "He came straight back [from the national team] and I found him extremely sad; unfortunately, it will take a few weeks. And then I hope that he can continue on this good path afterwards."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR REYNA?

  The attacking midfielder is set to undergo a period of rehabilitation from his latest knock. While his club return seems up in the air, Reyna will hope to be in contention for the next USMNT camp in mid-October – when new manager Mauricio Pochettino takes over.

After another afternoon to forget in the Premier League, Mauricio Pochettino failed to provide a positive update on the return of one of Chelsea's key players to further compile the Blues' misery.

Chelsea injury news

In a week to forget, Chelsea lost the Carabao Cup final against a young Liverpool side, before edging past Leeds United in an unconvincing performance and drawing 2-2 in a similarly shaky display against Brentford. Stuck in the Premier League's mid-table, Pochettino is running out of solutions and his injury list certainly isn't helping.

With the visit of Newcastle United up next, the Blues will have to cope without a number of players once again as they battle to somehow turn their season around. Now more than ever, Pochettino needs a result after Chelsea fans aired their discontent over his tenure alongside Todd Boehly's in their 2-2 draw against Brentford.

One man they'll have to cope without is Reece James. Pochettino failed to provide a return date for James, who posted an update on social media recently. The Chelsea boss said via Football London: "We don't know. I cannot say the date of when it is possible."

James, of course, was just as cryptic with an update of his own, posting a picture on Instagram with the caption: "All these setbacks I took would break you. The comeback is coming."

As things stand, however, Pochettino and Chelsea are unsure when exactly that comeback will be.

"Impressive" James is vital to Chelsea

There will be no one more frustrated by his injury history than James himself. The Chelsea captain just can't get a consistent run of games under his belt, which has created quite the problem for Chelsea. Even during Thomas Tuchel's tenure, the full-back found himself providing an injury boost by returning to earn the praise of the German.

Tuchel said back in 2022 after James returned from injury via The Sport Review: “We missed him for such a long time that you get used to it. It was nine weeks and in this time we had something like 25 matches so we were constantly trying to find solutions and we did it as a team.

“We managed to win games and even titles in this period but once he’s back and plays three times, today the first time from the beginning you see what you missed. It’s such huge quality and very impressive how decisive he is in training and now even in the games.

With the Euros coming up this summer, not only will the right-back be eyeing a Premier League return, but also a place in the England team as he faces a race against time to make the tournament fully fit.

A member of the public at the T20 final attended by more than 86,000 has subsequently tested positive for COVID-19

Daniel Brettig13-Mar-2020Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has denied it was “irresponsible” to play Sunday’s women’s T20 World Cup final in front of more than 86,000 spectators at the MCG.However, he has acknowledged the potential exposure of many in attendance to the coronavirus helped lead to the decision to play the men’s ODI series between Australia and New Zealand in empty stadiums over the next week.Speaking in Melbourne on Friday morning, Roberts said that CA has been receiving constantly updated advice from health officials in recent days, with Thursday’s news that a spectator in the MCC members area of the MCG on Sunday had subsequently been diagnosed with coronavirus contributing to the call to lock crowds out of the three ODI matches, two at the SCG on Friday and Sunday and concluding at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval next Friday.ALSO READ: Coronavirus newsfile: ICC Board to hold March meeting via conference call only“We’ve taken what we believe is a well-balanced decision,” Roberts said. “We obviously experienced last Sunday night that a member of the crowd at the women’s T20 World Cup, was later diagnosed with coronavirus, and it’s important that we learn from that.”What we’ve learned from that, the decision we’ve made, is to go ahead with these ODIs today and on Sunday and next week, but they’ll be played without crowds in attendance. We think it would’ve been excessive to cancel the matches. Had we gone ahead as planned, we think that would’ve been a failure to learn from what we experienced last Sunday. so we’re confident that in a situation that’s not ideal, we’ve made a well-balanced decision.”Asked directly whether it had been irresponsible to host such an enormous crowd on Sunday for the final of the ICC event, Roberts was adamant that it was not. “A lot of things have changed since last Sunday,” Roberts said. “Based on the information that was at hand at that time it was the right thing to do to inspire a world of women and girls, and to give cricket for men, women, boys and girls a massive springboard. It was the right thing to do to host that final on Sunday night, and inspire the cricket world.”We’ve been getting updated advice almost hourly. It’s really important that we navigate that calmly and we make well balanced decisions, rather than getting into a situation of panic. So there’s no rigidity or regularity about those updates, our eyes and ears are open all the time and will continue to be, so we’re as informed as possible.”Roberts said that he was hopeful that the weekend’s round of club cricket finals across the country would go ahead as planned.”Certainly our information is that it’s safe for our people to be working in the office over the road today, provided that we keep a safe distance from each other and make good decisions with the information we’ve got,” he said. “So I hope people can get out there in club cricket this weekend, there’s many finals on in club cricket around the country this weekend, so all the best to all the players and teams getting out there, having a crack and staying safe while they do it.”The day of the World Cup final was also notable for lengthy meetings involving Roberts, the CA chairman Earl Eddings and the ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney among others, as they contemplate the resolution of a series of disputes around the nature of the game’s future calendar – notably Sawhney’s proposal for an dramatic increase in the number and scale of global events from 2023 to 2031.”We had good discussion with Manu when he was down for the T20 World Cup final,” Roberts said. “We’re really conscious, as much as we all love cricket, and perhaps billions of people around the world love cricket, this situation is bigger than cricket and that’s what we’re focused on at the moment, the safety of our players, our people and the public. That’s where our focus lies, and we’ll continue to deal with business as usual activities when we’re confident this situation is in hand.”

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has explained why somebody had to babysit Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal during a triumphant Euro 2024 campaign.

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• Records shattered by hottest of prospects
• Claimed continental crown day after turning 17
• La Roja will continue to handle him with care

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The record-setting teenager – who made his senior bow at club level when just 15 years of age – is now the proud owner of a European Championship winners’ medal. He helped his country to see off England in a major international final the day after celebrating his 17th birthday.

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  Spain had to bend German labour laws during that tournament – with anybody under the age of 18 not supposed to work beyond 8pm on any given day – and they also had to make sure that the youngster was not included in any team outings to local bars and restaurants.

• WHAT DE LA FUENTE SAID

  With that in mind, De la Fuente has told of how Yamal had to be supervised in the team hotel: “It is important we do our work as educators and developers; there’s no escaping the fact that he was 16, a kid. There are questions of privacy, protection. When the players went out to eat, he couldn’t because he was underage. Someone with responsibility would stay at the hotel, looking after him. There are parental authorisations but, more so, a responsibility to society. The federation’s institutional responsibility goes beyond rights, legal requirements, authorisation, parental consents. So there are some inconveniences to being young – although we would all love to take a few years off.”

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  While Spain are handling Yamal’s undoubted potential with care, De la Fuente admits that the hottest of prospects is a special talent that deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Co. He added: “Lamine is very good. It’s true what I said: that he’s touched by God’s wand. There are players that are different. I don’t want to get into those comparisons, because I know we’re going to start [that], and they’re different footballers, different eras. But the talent? Pfff… there’s something that sets them apart. The super mega cracks, football geniuses, those who [made] history, all have something. At that young age they all seemed different, older.”

As Everton anxiously anticipate the result of their appeal against their 10-point deduction for breaching Financial Fair Play rules earlier this season, Sean Dyche is beginning to turn his attention to the summer transfer window and preparing to make some ruthless decisions at Goodison Park, according to reports.

Everton transfer news

The Everton headlines have been centred around potential exits rather than incomings for a few months now and that's unlikely to go away anytime soon with the summer transfer window fast approaching.

The two biggest names linked with a move away are Amadou Onana and Jarrad Branthwaite. Onana is still reportedly attracting interest from Chelsea and has a price-tag of £51m. Branthwaite, meanwhile, has seen his name linked with clubs as big as Real Madrid in what would likely be a dream move for a hefty fee.

Everton's 6/10 star with fewer touches than Pickford was Dyche's villain

He only managed 34 touches during last night’s 1-1 draw.

By
Ethan Lamb

Feb 20, 2024

It's no major surprise that big-money moves could be possible out of Everton this summer, given their need to balance the books after two FFP charges. If the Toffees do drop down from the Premier League, they will be left with no choice but to sanction the sale of a number of key players. There is one player who Dyche isn't exactly desperate to keep, however.

According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, Mason Holgate no longer has a future at Everton whilst Dyche is in charge. The defender is currently on loan at Sheffield United and made the headlines for the wrong reasons last time out when his horror tackle on Kaoru Mitoma resulted in a red card inside 13 minutes.

Holgate's loan spell is his second of the season, having failed to earn a place in Russell Martin's Southampton side on a consistent enough basis earlier in the campaign, before being recalled by Everton and sent to the Blades.

"Brilliant" Holgate needs fresh start

Holgate's Everton career has taken a downward dive in recent years, having initially got off to a promising start after completing a move worth a reported £2m in 2015. 18-years-old at the time, Holgate is now 27 and may look back on what might have been in Merseyside, with his time at Everton seemingly destined to come to an end.

There was a point in which the defender was at the centre of praise from the likes of Peter Crouch, who told the Daily Mail after Everton's victory over Liverpool in 2021.

Three years later, however, and Holgate isn't the player that Crouch predicted and must now go again at the end of the season, when he may finally get a permanent move away from Goodison Park.