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Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has now identified a “special” Real Madrid star as a priority target, joining several other Premier League clubs in the race for his signature.

Man Utd's attacking prowess on show in win at Molineux

Man United returned to winning ways on Monday night, putting in a quality attacking performance to secure a 4-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, with Bruno Fernandes bagging a brace.

Bryan Mbeumo also bagged his sixth goal of the Premier League season in the rout, with Mason Mount getting in on the act too, and Amorim was very impressed by the Englishman’s performance.

After the attacking midfielder scooped up the Player of the Match award, Amorim said: “He can defend, he can attack, the quality when he touches the ball is really good, so it’s not a surprise for me,”

“He’s a different type of leader. It’s not like Licha [Lisandro Martinez], for example. It’s a guy that leads by the example.”

With Matheus Cunha also grabbing an assist in the routine win, which lifted United to sixth in the table, Amorim clearly has plenty of top-quality forward options at his disposal, but a Real Madrid attacker is now of interest.

That is according to a report from Caught Offside, which states Man United are now stepping up their pursuit of Arda Guler, who has been identified as a priority target by Amorim ahead of next summer.

Arsenal and Liverpool are also in the race for Guler’s signature, with Arne Slot’s side believed to be leading the race as things stand, although Madrid aren’t planning to sanction a departure easily.

The Turk is viewed as an important part of the Spanish side’s long-term project, so it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils can tempt them into a sale.

"Special" Guler could be fantastic long-term signing for Man Utd

Just 20-years-old, the attacking midfielder has managed to establish himself as an important player for Real Madrid this season, amassing three goals and seven assists across 21 matches in all competitions.

Former manager Carlo Ancelotti has also waxed lyrical about the starlet, saying: “I think the closer to goal, the better. He is very effective, he scores a lot with little space, he has a special talent. He shows it better closer to the goal.”

Beckham loves him: Man Utd submit £100m+ offer to sign England superstar

INEOS are chasing their biggest deal yet…

1 ByTom Cunningham 4 days ago

Having already proven himself at a high level, setting up two goals in the Champions League in 2025-26, and scoring six goals in 26 appearances for Turkey, the £87k-a-week youngster could be a fantastic long-term addition to Amorim’s squad.

He’s been described as “the single best midfield prospect in world football” by writer Neal Gardner and the fact he finished second in the 2025 Golden Boys rankings, only behind PSG’s Desire Doue, says a lot.

That said, it is somewhat difficult to envisage Madrid sanctioning a sale, given that Guler remains under contract until 2029, so there is no pressing need to cash-in, and he has been a key player for Xabi Alonso this season.

He had suffered a neck injury while batting during the Kolkata Test last month

Alagappan Muthu06-Dec-2025Shubman Gill will be back playing for India at the start of the T20Is against South Africa on Tuesday with head coach Gautam Gambhir confirming that he is “fit and fine, hungry to go.”Gill suffered a neck injury last month – understood to involve a pinched nerve – while batting during the Kolkata Test match. He had moved to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to recover – the initial timeline that the BCCI had drawn up for him involved five weeks of rest before resuming training.After completing a 2-1 victory over South Africa in the ODIs on Saturday, Gambhir addressed the press saying, “yes, Shubman is ready to start. That’s why he has been selected. And obviously he is fit and fine, hungry to go.”In the absence of Gill, Rishabh Pant had stepped in as captain in the second Test in Guwahati, where India suffered their biggest Test defeat, in terms of runs. In the following ODI series, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting, in place of Gill, along with Rohit Sharma and helped India win the decider in Vizag with his maiden ODI hundred. Gill is now set to return to the top in T20Is and reunite with his good friend Abhishek Sharma.India have been bolstered further by the return of allrounder Hardik Pandya after an injury had layoff kept him out of action for over two months.The five T20Is against South Africa will be played on December 9, 11, 14, 17 and 19 in Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Gill will be his deputy.India’s T20I squad for South Africa seriesSuryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar

Tottenham are reportedly determined to give Thomas Frank time to succeed at the club despite their 4-1 thumping away to rivals Arsenal. Spurs have lost three of their last five Premier League games and have dropped to ninth in the table following their wretched performance at Emirates Stadium. But the Dane's future at the club is not under threat for now.

• Frank apologises for Tottenham drubbing

  Head coach Frank admitted he felt confident going into the north London derby but Arsenal dismissed Tottenham with apparent ease, with Spurs mustering an Expected Goals tally of just 0.07 and a paltry three shots on goal. After the loss on Sunday, the former Brentford manager, who joined Spurs on a three-year deal over the summer, apologised to the travelling fans. 

  He told Sky Sports: "I think it is extremely painful. I won't talk away from that. It was a bad performance. It was completely the opposite of what the intention was when we came here. We can only apologise to the fans for the performance. I think no matter if both teams wanted to play shirt, they got more out of that and we couldn't get out. When the team went long, we didn't win enough duels. That is exemplified by the 2-0 goal and the 3-0 goal, where a player went through two or three players. Bad performance and we lost. I have seen a lot of character and fight in this team but we didn't win enough duels. We can call that whatever we want but we didn't win enough."

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  Tottenham to stick with Frank

  According to The Telegraph, Tottenham want to give Frank enough time to get things right but there are concerns he is making life hard for himself by chopping and changing too much. The report adds that Spurs believe Frank's numerous rotations have contributed to their inconsistency and creativity problems. Some players are keen for Frank to focus more on his team's strengths, rather than the opposition's, but it is unclear how widespread that feeling is. The club's owners, the Lewis family, are targeting long-term success under the Dane, which suggests that no short-term decisions are being considered. Incidentally, Frank took the number of changes he has made to his starting XI to 29 for the Premier League so far – the third-most in the league after Wolves (39) and Chelsea (31).

• Tottenham tactics go awry

  Frank also said that he tried to deploy the same tactics Tottenham used in their agonising UEFA Super Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain in August, but what he got was an "extremely bad" performance. 

  He added: "That's an extremely hard defeat to take. We are all emotional and frustrated and need to look at it with calm heads. I was very confident going into the game that we could be competitive and we weren't, which was disappointing. We tried to do something different that was very successful against PSG. Today it wasn't and I always take responsibility for my decisions and then when it doesn't go the way we want it to go, that's on me. We changed it at half-time but I am 1000% sure that no matter what formation you play if you don't win enough duels or are aggressive enough, it doesn't matter what formation you play."

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  What comes next for Spurs?

  The games don't get any easier for Tottenham as after the loss to table-topping Arsenal, they travel to defending Champions League holders PSG in Europe's elite competition on Wednesday. And one area Frank is eager to fix is their toothless attack. 

  He said: "That [lack of creativity] has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve. It doesn't look good today or against Chelsea. We need to keep working on it. There were a lot of things in this game we need to do better. We are four months into it and they are further in their journey as a team and that was very obvious today. Of course there will be noise. We played against our biggest rivals and we lost badly. But we keep noise out and we focus. I know this tam is very competitive. I know this team is competitive and we showed that against Man City and PSG. Of course it looks bad today and it was not good enough."

Gloucestershire 65 for 3 (Bracey 18*, Price 16*) trail Northamptonshire 206 (Zaib 76, McManus 44, van Buuren 3-23, M Taylor 3-48) by 141 runsMatt Taylor and Graeme van Buuren produced standout performances with the ball as Gloucestershire made up for lost time on day two of their match Rothesay County Championship Second Division match against Northamptonshire at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.Following a first-day washout, left arm seamer Taylor returned figures of 3 for 48 to take out the top-order, while slow left armer van Buuren claimed 3 for 23 to rip through the tail as Northants were dismissed for 206 in 63.5 overs in their first innings after losing the toss.Only Saif Zaib mustered meaningful resistance, the in-form left-hander top-scoring with 76 to take his first-class run tally for the season to 1,268 at an average of 63.4. Stubborn opener Lewis McManus contributed an obdurate 44, but too many Northants batters surrendered their wickets cheaply on a day when bowlers held sway.Gloucestershire fared no better in the final session, reduced to 40 for 3 by some incisive new-ball bowling from Northamptonshire’s seamers. Ollie Price and James Bracey then held firm to reach the close unbeaten on 16 and 18 respectively, bad light curtailing play with 11.4 overs unused. The fourth wicket pair will resume on 65 for 3 in the morning, still 141 runs behind.Stand-in Gloucestershire captain Bracey won the toss, elected to bowl and looked on from behind the stumps as Northants openers Luke Procter and McManus negotiated the first hour without any major scares on a green-tinged pitch. Only when Matt Taylor switched to the Bristol Pavilion end did Gloucestershire enjoy success, the left arm seamer hitting the top of Procter’s off stump with a ball that nipped back. Having chiseled 21 from 40 deliveries with three boundaries, Northamptonshire’s skipper departed with the score on 34. Taylor struck again three balls later, new batsman Calvin Harrison playing on as the visitors slipped to 39 for 2 in the 14th.That soon became 54 for 3, Josh Shaw locating James Sales’ outside edge and Ben Charlesworth taking a tumbling catch at first slip as the home side registered a first bonus point. Mindful of the need to shore things up, McManus continued to eschew risk as he moved to within seven runs of a half century, but Zaib adopted a more forthright approach, twice driving Ajeet Singh Dale for four and punching Zaman Akhter to the deep mid-wicket boundary as the fourth wicket partnership advanced to 46 by the time lunch was taken with the score on 100 for 3.The stand was worth 65 when Taylor made the breakthrough Gloucestershire so badly needed, McManus playing down the wrong line to a ball that hit off stump and terminated his patient innings on 44. He had faced 92 balls and accrued 3 fours and Northants were back under pressure at 119 for 4. Broad never looked comfortable against Singh Dale’s pace and was caught at the wicket for 12 with the score 147 for 5 as Gloucestershire’s seamers made further in-roads.Unfazed by events at the other end, Zaib continued to play positively, raising 50 from 78 balls with 9 fours and prompting Gloucestershire skipper Bracey to introduce spin in the form of van Buuren from the Ashley Down Road end. Zaib issued a statement of intent, hoisting the slow left armer over deep mid-wicket for six as he progressed towards three figures.Bidding to become only the fifth Northants player and the first since Rob Bailey in 1990 to score seven first class hundreds in a season, the 27-year-old left-hander fell short on this occasion, pushing defensively at a delivery from Akhter and edging a catch behind. His score of 76 from 112 balls included 10 fours and a six and served to keep his team afloat. Rob Keogh and Aadi Sharma mustered resistance thereafter, the seventh wicket pair making it through to tea with the score 194 for 6.Sharma fell soon after the restart, hitting van Buuren’s first delivery high to mid-on where Matt Taylor took a comfortable catch to reduce Northants to 199 for 7. Gloucestershire’s experienced all-rounder struck a further blow with his next delivery, pinning Ben Sanderson lbw without scoring as the visitors displayed signs of lower-order fragility. Ben Whitehouse survived the hat-trick ball, but the home side sensed an opportunity to dismiss their opponents cheaply.When Keogh was bowled for 13 in the act of playing across the line, van Buuren had claimed three wickets in a remarkable nine-ball burst and Northants were in freefall. Singh Dale wrapped up the innings in quick time, bowling Sanderson for six in the next over, at which point the visitors had lost their last five wickets for just 28 runs in 10 overs.If Gloucestershire’s intention was to see off the new-ball threat posed by Sanderson, it proved easier said than done, the veteran seamer summoning a superb in-swinger to bowl Charlesworth for 14 in an impressive spell of 1 for 10 in six overs with three maidens. Broad then accounted for Joe Phillips, who nicked off to Harrison at second slip, while Procter bowled Miles Hammond as the home side lurched to 40-3 inside 19 overs.Bracey and Price batted diligently thereafter, staging an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 25 to keep the visitors at bay.

It has not been the season Chelsea fans would have been hoping for in the summer so far this year.

With nine games played in the Premier League, Enzo Maresca’s side are currently sat in ninth, with four wins, two draws and three losses to their name.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the club are without several of their star players, and for the most part, those that are fit have looked impressive.

Moreover, one star in particular is starting to embody some of the qualities that the legendary Frank Lampard had, and now, it’s not Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea's greatest players in the Premier League

Chelsea have been blessed with some of the greatest players in Premier League history, and while there are so many to choose from, there are usually three that stand out above the rest.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The third player on that list is none other than the iconic Didier Drogba.

The Ivorian legend joined the Blues from Marseille in the summer of 2004, left in 2012, and then rejoined for a year in July 2014.

During his time with the club, the sensational striker racked up 164 goals and 82 assists in 381 games and had a real habit of scoring crucial goals in finals.

By the time he left Stamford Bridge for the second time, the 47-year-old had won four league titles, one Champions League, three league cups and four FA Cups.

Now, this is where it might get a little controversial, as while he could easily go down as the club’s greatest player in the Premier League era, Lampard comes in second on this list.

The game-changing midfielder joined the club in 2001 and finally left in 2014, with a tally of 211 goals and 149 assists in 648 games and one UCL, one Europa League, three leagues, two league cups and four FA Cups.

Moreover, the 106-capped Englishman remains the top-scoring midfielder in the league’s history and has more than his fair share of iconic strikes for the West Londoners.

Finally, when it comes to the number one player for Chelsea in the PL era, it’s impossible to ignore Mr Chelsea himself, John Terry.

The legendary defender made 717 appearances for the side between 1998 and 2017, and despite playing as a centre-back, racked up a tally of 67 goals and 27 assists.

Moreover, his trophy cabinet is the most impressive of them all, containing five league titles, five FA Cups, one UCL, one UEL and three League Cups.

However, while Terry remains the greatest Chelsea player of the modern era, the legend being emulated by one of Maresca’s current players is Lampard.

The Chelsea player emulating Lampard

Now, there will be plenty of you who’d make the assumption that the player in question is Caicedo.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

After all, while he’s not as attacking as Lampard was, the Ecuadorian is a sensational midfielder who has a brilliant strike on him.

However, the current Chelsea star who is starting to emulate Lampard’s game is Reece James.

The first significant area where the 25-year-old overlaps with the Blues legend is leadership.

He was named club captain in the summer of 2023, at just 23 years old, and since then has fought tooth and nail to overcome constant injury problems and is now consistently demonstrating that he has what it takes to lead this squad.

Moreover, thanks to his coming up through the academy, he has a closer connection to the fans, which is something the legendary midfielder also had during his time at the club, even though he came up through West Ham United’s Rush Green.

Furthermore, so long as he remains fit, he now feels like a shoo-in for that right-back position in England’s World Cup squad, and could therefore go on to become as important to the Three Lions as Lampard was during his day.

With that said, the Redbridge-born monster could also see himself pick up some minutes in the middle of the park, as he’s no stranger to filling in there for the West Londoners, thanks largely to his having a decent shot on and sensational delivery on him.

Now, he’s never going to be as prolific a goalscorer as the former Blues star was, but that ability to whip a ball into the mixer and cause chaos is something he certainly shares with him.

Finally, aside from a loan spell with Wigan Athletic, the “joke of a footballer,” as dubbed by reporter Felix Johnston, has spent his entire career with the Pensioners, already racking up an impressive tally of 205 appearances.

Therefore, so long as he keeps performing and staying fit, he could end up finishing his career with a huge number of games played for the Blues and become a legend himself, just like Lampard.

Ultimately, there is a long way to go, but in James, Chelsea have an international superstar who could end up joining the pantheon of greats who have come before him.

Forget Guiu: Maresca can unleash Chelsea's "new Drogba" in 18-year-old star

The incredible youngster could become a world-beater like Drogba for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 28, 2025

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has now approved a move for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, with a huge opening bid in the works.

The Blues retain an interest in the left-winger despite signing both Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens in the summer transfer window, with the latter finally getting off the mark in front of goal in the 4-3 EFL Cup triumph against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.

At 21-years-old, however, both the former Borussia Dortmund man and Garnacho are still in the infancy of their careers, with Paul Merson making it clear he believes the west Londoners need to bring in players with more experience.

The former Arsenal man said: “The team is too young. The oldest player there is 23, 24?”

“When you get a young team, you’re up and down, they have wingers who are very inconsistent. [Pedro] Neto on his day will be outstanding, the next minute…

“There’s no 7/10s all the way through, it’s either eight, nine or fives. They can’t win the Premier League like that.”

Chelsea making strong push to sign Rafael Leao

According to a report from Spain, Chelsea are now looking to bring in a forward with a lot more top-level experience, with it being revealed they are making a strong push to sign Leao, having emerged as frontrunners in the race for the winger’s signature.

Maresca has personally approved a move for the Portuguese forward, and the Blues would be willing to pay around €120m (£105m) to get a deal over the line, which could be enough to tempt the Italian club into a sale.

The 26-year-old is a priority target, having proven himself as one of the most dangerous attackers in Europe on his day, and the left-winger could be the cornerstone of Maresca’s project.

The Almada-born forward has been impressing in Italy for a number of years, having reached double figures for Serie A assists in each of the last four seasons.

Season

Serie A appearances

Assists

2021-22

34

10

2022-23

35

10

2023-24

34

10

2024-25

34

10

Having chipped in with a whopping 74 goals in 267 appearances for the Italian club, there is every sign the Portugal international could be capable of taking Maresca’s forward line to the next level.

Scout Ben Mattinson has also waxed lyrical about the AC Milan star in the past, singling him out for very high praise on X earlier this year.

Leao could be a top signing for Chelsea, but Maresca may have to offload one of his current wingers before signing him, given that the manager already has a plethora of options in attacking areas.

Rafael Leao has been named as one of the best wingers in the world Related The Best 15 Wingers in World Football Ranked (2025)

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Posts ByCharlie Smith Nov 28, 2025

Sydney Thunder say they would be “working closely with R Ashwin on a revised schedule of activity”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2025

R Ashwin has been ruled out of his BBL debut season with Sydney Thunder after undergoing knee surgery.Ashwin said he was “gutted” to miss the opportunity, which would have made him the first capped India player to play in the BBL, while Thunder said they were “working closely with him on a revised schedule of activity” that could include appearances at games in a non-playing capacity.The offspinner released a letter on Instagram to Thunder fans explaining that he had hurt his knee while training in Chennai and had undergone a procedure, which meant he would be unavailable to play for them this BBL season, which runs from December 14 until January 25.Ashwin’s retirement from the IPL earlier this year made it possible for him to play in overseas leagues, but the deal with Thunder, who he had committed the entire BBL season to once he went unsold in the ILT20 auction, was the only one that had been confirmed.”I’m gutted to miss BBL|15,” Ashwin was quoted as saying in a Thunder statement. “My focus now is recovery and coming back stronger. I’m grateful to the Thunder family and the fans for the warmth they’ve already shown me. Trent [Copeland, Thunder general manager] and the entire management made me feel part of the club from our very first conversation.”If rehab and travel plans allow, I’d love to be around the group later in the season and meet the fans. Wishing both Thunder teams a big year.”