All posts by h716a5.icu

Manchester City have hit some extraordinary heights under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage. The Spanish coach will go down as one of the greatest managers in the history of the game, and his Citizen side have written themselves into the English and European history books.

Last season, City fell off a proverbial cliff, their four-in-a-row domination of the Premier League coming to an end. They rallied, but it was a campaign to forget about, and many felt that it marked the end of Pep’s illustrious tenure.

But he’s not done yet, rebounding emphatically after signing a two-year contract extension last November. And Guardiola isn’t the only one who is resurgent at the Etihad, with this optimistic new season coinciding with the tentative resurgence of Phil Foden.

Why Foden is improving for Man City

There’s no denying it: Foden fell by the wayside last season. But he’s picked himself back up. The Three Lions superstar still has gears to shift through before he recalls his finest form, but this is an essential comeback, should City hope to reclaim their Premier League title and ensure the peerless Erling Haaland has a strong complementary force in the final third.

He hasn’t found prolific form yet this season, but the 25-year-old is undoubtedly producing more polished and cultured results, having been placed deeper to influence and dictate play.

He has been more convincing in the duel and is seeing more of the ball on average. There is also a clear tactical maturity, Pep’s teachings seeping into Foden’s brain. He might not be the headline stealer at this stage, but Foden is unquestionably operating at a higher level, and City’s wider system are feeling the benefits.

Matches (starts)

28 (20)

9 (8)

Goals

7

1

Assists

2

1

Touches*

43.5

59.4

Accurate passes*

27.0 (89%)

39.7 (89%)

Chances created*

1.5

2.3

Dribbles*

0.5

0.7

Ball recoveries*

2.2

4.1

Tackles + interceptions*

0.8

1.3

Duels (won)*

2.3 (45%)

3.1 (54%)

Foden is one of the best in the Premier League, and he is on his way to reminding everyone of that fact. However, he’s not the only member of City’s squad doing such a thing right now, with his younger countryman emerging as the latest starboy fashioned under Guardiola’s wing.

Man City's homegrown talent is now one of PL's best

Manchester City’s academy is a thing to behold. Truly, the dominant Premier League force have welcomed some of the country’s most exciting talents to the scene, and the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers are among those plying their trade elsewhere, such is the bloated nature of the club’s youth scene.

But City learn from their mistakes, and when Chelsea came calling for Nico O’Reilly in January, they were flat-out rebuffed in their advances, despite The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirming the interest was very much genuine.

This time last year, the 20-year-old was on the fringes of Guardiola’s outfit. Now, he is emerging as the first-choice left-back for club and country.

He impressed for the Three Lions after making his debut last week, playing 90 minutes against Serbia and then Albania, keeping clean sheets on both counts. As per Sofascore, he lost only one duel across those two clashes, recovering eight balls and completing 92% and 93% of his passes.

Already, he has nailed down a prominent position in City’s first team. Naturally a centre-midfielder, the boss has repeated hisown spectacular trick and redefined his technically sound up-and-comer into a dynamic, inverted full-back. O’Reilly has started seven of the last eight Premier League matches, defending resiliently and getting forward and arcing inward to create overloads and help service Haaland.

Continuing to look at it from a wider scope, the 6 foot 4 star ranks among the top 16% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for passes attempted, the top 9% for progressive carries and touches in the attacking box, and the top 6% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

He’s only going to get better, and given the high regard he is held in by Guardiola and for the Three Lions under Thomas Tuchel, there’s little question that City have found their latest superstar in the making.

It is important, typically, not to overburden up-and-coming prospects. But O’Reilly is different, so cultured and convincing across the various phases of play.

One Man City content creator was left speechless after the club’s recent win over Liverpool, hailing O’Reilly as “our best academy graduate since Phil Foden”.

That might just be the case. Even Roy Keane agrees. The Manchester United legend remarked that the versatile defender “could surprise everybody” by securing a starting berth at the 2026 World Cup next year. Clearly, this is a player becoming one of the best in the Premier League, if not the world.

Perfect for Haaland: Man City can sign Foden 2.0 in "Ballon d'Or level" star

Another Phil Foden-esque talent could elevate Man City’s final third quality even more

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 20, 2025

Harmanpreet Kaur’s team was an over short of the rate during the defeat to Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2025India have been fined for maintaining a slow over rate during their Women’s World Cup match against Australia on October 12.Harmanpreet Kaur’s team was found to be one over short of the target after allowances had been made during their unsuccessful defence of 330 in Visakhapatnam. Australia won by three wickets and with six balls to spare.There was no need for a formal hearing with the match referee after Harmanpreet pled guilty to the charges levied by the match officials and the proposed sanction. India were fined 5% of their match fees.According to the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined 5% for every over they fail to bowl within the allotted time to complete the innings.India are presently fourth in the points table, having won their first two games in the league stage of the World Cup before losing to South Africa and Australia. Their next fixture is against England in Indore on Sunday.

There have been great batters in cricket history, but none of them have done at 14 what Suryavanshi did on Monday night against a bowling attack boasting 694 international caps

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Apr-20255:27

‘Otherworldly’ Suryavanshi wows Bishop and Aaron

Speed is distance divided by time, and in that equation rests a partial answer to a question you may have asked yourself again and again on Monday night, when you watched Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in Jaipur.How can a 14-year-old hit the ball that far?Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s bat traces remarkable distances in remarkably brief timespans. When he winds up, he lifts his bat so high that his gloves are at shoulder level behind him. By the time his bat completes its swing, it’s usually traced a full circle and come to rest above his other shoulder.Young batters are advised not to let their hands stray too far from their body in their backlift, lest they lose control of their bat-swing. Through cricket’s long and glorious history, however, several batters have disobeyed that maxim and thrilled the world. Suryavanshi belongs to a great lineage. Garfield Sobers. Brian Lara. Vinod Kambli. Yuvraj Singh. Victor Trumper in that immortal photograph. Harmanpreet Kaur in this one.Related

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Stats – Vaibhav Suryavanshi rewrites men's T20 records

For all the remarkable things those other names have done on cricket fields, though, none of them did at 14 what Suryavanshi did on Monday night to a bowling attack boasting 694 international caps. At an age when most of us were still working out the finer details of the classic schoolchild dream – venue, opposition, shots played to reach various milestones, partner at the other end at those moments – Suryavanshi lived it.Ishant Sharma was once a teenage prodigy. He was 19 when he bowled his famous spell to Ricky Ponting at the WACA in 2008. That spell preceded Suryavanshi’s birth by three years and two months.The two came face to face on Monday, and their skirmish was just one ball old when it exploded to life.Suryavanshi had already hit a six by then – off Mohammed Siraj, the man who displaced Ishant from India’s Test-match pace attack four years ago – and that shot had come off a ball pitched on the fuller side of a good length. That six had been the classic six of the high-backlift, circular-swing type of batter, launched with a stable base over long-on, and that shot had perhaps led Ishant to think of testing Suryavanshi with the short ball.WATCH – Highlights of Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s record-breaking hundred on JioHotstar (India only)It was a good short ball too, slanted across the left-hand batter, finishing near his rear shoulder: a tricky angle to hook against, an awkward height to hook from. Suryavanshi picked a vacant space to the right of deep backward square leg, swiveled on his back leg, and hooked it for six.So quickly was Suryavanshi in position for this hook, back foot deep in his crease before the ball left Ishant’s hand, that it suggested he had been expecting the short ball. Perhaps this informed the length of Ishant’s next ball. Or perhaps it was just a bad ball, a half-volley bowled by a rattled 36-year-old to a batter less than half his age.Either way, Suryavanshi whipped it for another six, a 91m hit that landed on the pink canvas roof of the first tier of stands beyond the midwicket boundary.4:33

Bishop on Suryavanshi’s record: ‘That was mind-blowing’

This was the ninth ball Suryavanshi had faced. He had already played an extraordinary innings. He had shown incredible bat-speed, and he had shown the eye and control over that unusually expansive bat-swing to strike balls of different lengths, from fast bowlers of international quality, with pinpoint timing while holding his shape through shots off front and back foot. He had shown all this at the age of 14 years and 32 days.And Suryavanshi wasn’t even close to being done. There was so much more of his range still left to show off.This has been a terrible IPL season for the offspinner-to-LHB match-up. Before Monday’s game, it had produced a 140-plus batting strike rate for the first time in any IPL season. Even so, given everything Suryavanshi had done up to then, it was natural for GT to bring on Washington Sundar in the fifth over and try and see how Suryavanshi would handle him.He handled himself to the tune of 6, 0, 6, 4, and if the first six was a regulation pull, the second was a sensational example of length manipulation. This was the kind of ball with which Washington has tied down a series of left-hand batters: flat, quick, into the surface, not full enough to loft down the ground, not short enough for a genuine horizontal-bat shot, and angled into leg stump to minimise width. It’s not a ball you can hit for six over backward square leg; not unless you do what Suryavanshi did, dropping on to his back knee in a flash and swiveling through the hips like a breakdancer.We have watched Rishabh Pant play this shot numerous times, but our jaws continue to drop whenever he does it. It’s that difficult, and who else even plays it? Well, now there’s someone else, and he’s 14.5:13

What’s the best way to handle Suryavanshi?

The sixes took Suryavanshi to 47. The four – one-bounce, lofted neatly over the covers – brought up the half-century off 17 balls. The quickest of this season.And he wasn’t done even now. Having scored 52 off 20 in the powerplay, he still needed to show he could do 49 off 18 outside it. For all the gobsmacking shots he had already played, he still had to play the shot of his innings, a drive over long-off after going deep in his crease to manufacture elevation against Prasidh Krishna. For all the damage he had already done to GT’s individual bowling figures, he hadn’t yet gone 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6 and taken Karim Janat for 30 runs in an over.He had scored the fastest half-century of the season; he hadn’t yet scored the second-fastest hundred in the 18-year history of the tournament. It fell to Rashid Khan to bowl the ball that took Suryavanshi there, a long-hop that he dumped over the leg-side boundary with another violent hip-swivel.It was the 11th six of Suryavanshi’s innings. It was by no means the biggest one, and Siraj, flinging himself backwards at deep midwicket, made a doomed effort to catch it at the boundary, landing flat on his back and remaining there for a few more seconds, taking whatever rest this evening had to offer him, in whatever form it came.And that, perhaps, was all of us too – dazed, flat on our metaphorical backs, taking in the enormity of the moment as Suryavanshi, pulling his helmet off to reveal the full extent of his cherubic boyishness, soaked it in.1:47

When a young Tendulkar shocked Ian Bishop in his pomp

There was something poetic about Suryavanshi getting to his century off Rashid’s bowling. Rashid had been a teenage prodigy himself, an unimaginably precocious shatterer of records, but even he was 17 when he burst on to the big stage. When you are in school, the gap between 14 and 17 can seem impossibly vast.And Rashid is the great legspinner of his day. On December 16, 1989, that title had belonged to Abdul Qadir. On that day, Sachin Tendulkar had taken Qadir to the cleaners, hitting him for 27 runs in an over while scoring 53 off 18 balls in a proto-T20 game – an unofficial 20-overs-a-side match arranged after an ODI in Peshawar had been abandoned due to bad light.Tendulkar was 16 then, and Suryavanshi is younger still, an age both precocious and, to the viewer, precarious. You are old enough if you are good enough, yes, but it’s still legitimate to ask if a 14-year-old should even be playing professional sport, with all its pressures and pitfalls.But then you watch Suryavanshi’s bat trace that smooth, powerful circle and launch the ball into the night sky, and you still your doubts and fears. This boy was born to bat.

Fast bowler gearing up for the likely knockout game against Bangladesh on Thursday

Danyal Rasool24-Sep-20251:26

Aaron: Pakistan using three pacers up top made the difference

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has rejected the notion that the Pakistan T20I side was in any kind of downturn, pointing out that they had won all but one of their previous four series.Speaking after his three-wicket haul against Sri Lanka, which took Pakistan to victory in Abu Dhabi and put them within one win of playing back-to-back T20 Asia Cup finals, he said the team was “ready to face whoever” in their pursuit of a first Asia Cup title in 13 years.”It’s not that we’re not winning,” Afridi said. “We’ve won most of our last dozen games. It’s true we haven’t won against higher-ranked teams, but most of our recent games haven’t been against them. We were here to win the tri-nation series, and we won that. We are here to win the Asia Cup, and that’s all we’re focused on now.”In Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka, it was the different tactical approach Pakistan took while bowling that stood out. For the first time in 13 matches, no powerplay over was bowled by a spinner. Medium pacer Hussain Talat was given three overs and his two wickets in his first over – the eighth of the innings – were among the game’s turning points. Talat later revealed he’d been told he would play a role with the ball, but it represented a departure from Pakistan’s recent tendency to give spin bowling prime slots through the innings.Related

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Afridi, who bowled three overs in the powerplay on Tuesday, said it did not mean Pakistan’s quicks were playing second fiddle to the slower bowlers. “I don’t think our fast bowlers are struggling, but in T20 cricket on good wickets, batters have the license to go after the quick bowlers. We’ve been trying to vary our bowling more, and that’s something I’m working on. We were getting swing. Early on, I got breakthroughs, removing two of their main players. That’s the kind of attacking cricket we want to play – get your main bowlers on and finish the game quickly.Despite an upcoming game against Bangladesh on Thursday, which could be a knockout for a place in the final, attention has already begun to focus on Sunday. The possibility of a first India-Pakistan final in the Asia Cup is suddenly looking a lot more likely. Afridi, too, had his eye on it but repeatedly pointed out that neither side had made it that far yet.Shaheen Shah Afridi: ‘I don’t think our fast bowlers are struggling’•AFP/Getty Images”Bangladesh has been playing good cricket of late,” he said of the only team to have denied Pakistan a T20I series win in the last four months. “Whenever you play such teams, you should try to strike first. You shouldn’t give them an opportunity. We’ll have to perform well in all three departments if we are to get past them.”The previous game did represent a stark contrast to Pakistan’s demeanor when compared to the one on Sunday. While there were warm handshakes and even embraces between the Pakistan and Sri Lanka players, against India, there appeared to be a coordinated intent to show their more bellicose side. There were several verbal spats on the field, particularly between India’s openers and Pakistan’s pace bowlers. The increased belligerence from Pakistan did not go unremarked upon by Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who said Pakistan was “coming at us without any reason.”Following the game, India captain Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t resist a dig at the opposition, saying India’s recent dominance meant the game no longer constituted a rivalry. Afridi resisted the temptation to hit back when offered an opportunity.”That’s his opinion; let him say what he wants. Neither they nor we are in the final. We’ll see how things shape up for the final. We’re just here to win the Asia Cup, and we’ll give our all for that.”

Angry Ginge has named a Manchester United legend as the one person he “would love” to join him in the I’m A Celebrity jungle if he could choose anyone.

The Twitch streamer has now touched down in Australia, having been confirmed as part of the line-up for the latest series of I’m A Celeb, which is due to start this Sunday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

The 23-year-old is not the only Mancunian taking part either, with his close friend, Aitch, also being revealed as one of the new contestants on Monday evening.

Having a friend in the camp will no doubt make it easier to settle into life in the jungle, but Angry Ginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, has now revealed he wishes a Man United legend was also heading down under this winter.

Angry Ginge "would love" Wayne Rooney to join him on I'm A Celeb

Speaking about the type of contestant he plans to be in a recent interview with ITV, Burtwistle said: “I will try to be the motivator in camp and make sure everyone is chatty and happy. I’m not argumentative either.

“And if I could pick anyone, I would love it if Wayne Rooney was in camp with me. We would have a laugh.”

The 40-year-old making an appearance may not be completely out of the question, having recently revealed he would be open to one day being a part of the ITV show, saying: “Would I? I think I would, at the right time.

“I’d struggle with some of the trials, though. You know the worst one, you know where they walk into a room…and there’s like a big ostrich looking at you. I didn’t [know he was scared of ostriches] but I’m just picturing them being there.”

The former Man United star also knows Angry Ginge well, having bizarrely joined his Pro Clubs team ‘Girth N Turf’ on EA Sports FC 24.

However, should he one day jet out to Australia, Rooney will have big shoes to fill, given that his wife Coleen finished as runner-up in the 2024 edition, behind only McFly singer Danny Jones.

With Angry Ginge, who has 1.4m Twitch followers, due to take part, this year’s I’m A Celeb is shaping up nicely regardless, but maybe 2026 will be the year we finally see Wazza taking part in a Bushtucker Trial…

Wayne Rooney says one Man Utd player has proven him wrong this season Rooney: £150k-p/w star has been Man Utd's "best player" and "proven me wrong"

The Manchester United legend has praised one of Ruben Amorim’s key players, who he was initially “sceptical” about.

ByDominic Lund Oct 21, 2025

There were emotional scenes at Hampden Park after Scotland secured their qualification for next year's World Cup and it was a particularly poignant moment for Andy Robertson, who took time after the match to pay tribute to late Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota, who lost his life in a tragic car accident in Spain earlier this year.

Historic scenes in Glasgow

Scotland dramatically secured a 4-2 win over Denmark to qualify for their first World Cup since France 1998. Scott McTominay opened the scoring with a brilliant overhead kick, but Denmark's Rasmus Hojlund equalised from the penalty spot. The match's turning point saw Rasmus Kristensen sent off and substitute Lawrence Shankland restored the hosts’ lead before Denmark leveled again. However, in a thrilling finale, late goals from Kieran Tierney and a stunning long-range strike from Kenny McLean secured the historic victory for the Tartan Army. 

Following the final whistle, Robertson was overcome by the memories of Liverpool and Portugal forward Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain just weeks after celebrating the 2024-25 Premier League title and his wedding, leaving behind his wife and three young children.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportRobertson: 'I couldn't get him out of my head'

A clearly emotional Robertson said: "I've hid it well, but today I've been in bits. I know the age I'm at, this could be my last chance to go to the World Cup. I couldn't get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. He missed out on Qatar because of injury, and I missed out because Scotland weren't in it. I know he will be somewhere smiling over me tonight. I couldn't get him out of my head the whole day. I was in a bit of trouble in my room earlier. I think I hid it well from the boys and I'm so glad it ended up this way."

Scotland's heroes celebrate long into the night

There were scenes of wild celebration after the final whistle at Hampden and Robertson revealed the huge pressure he and his team-mates felt to end the 28-year wait to make it back onto the world’s biggest stage. 

Robertson said: "I'm so glad it's ended up this way. This group of boys, this group of staff – it's the best group I've been involved in. The manager's (Steve Clarke) speech before the game was unbelievable. He went through the big moments we've had. Qualifying for the Euros – he couldn't quite remember – we were in Wunderbar. He said 'let's make it another one'. We were quite emotional. To do it for him, the staff and all our families, it'll go down as one of the greatest nights of my life. That just sums up this squad. Never say die. We just keep going right to the end and one of the craziest games. We put the country through it, but I'm sure it's worth it. We're going to the World Cup."

Addressing Kelly Cates (daughter of Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish), Robertson added: "I can't wait to get back down to Liverpool to have a red wine with yer da."

Midfielder John McGinn added: "I thought we were pretty rubbish to be honest, but who cares? To get over the line was such an amazing feeling. The gaffer's team talk was exceptional. It's a privilege every time we meet up. It's just humble guys wanting to do well for their country. We left everything out there. You think that's it – glorious failure, another blow. I was thinking about the play-offs in the 91st minute. But then what a hit from Kieran Tierney – I will never feel like that in a football stadium ever again."

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Getty Images SportEager wait for World Cup draw

With Scotland's qualifying campaign now concluded, their schedule before the 2026 World Cup is not yet finalised, but will consist of friendly matches. They will discover their group stage opponents when the official draw takes place on Friday, December 5, at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The World Cup itself runs from June 11 to July 19 next year across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

All the gains from a year of positivity came crashing down in 13.5 overs of witheringly poor judgement

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Nov-2024When Sri Lanka’s men were about to begin their first innings in Durban, there was a sense that something unusual was happening. It was happening in many little ways. It was happening in some difficult big ones.On the smaller end of the scale, Sri Lanka had sent the Test specialists to Durban two weeks early. Someone in the coaching staff, or perhaps at the High Performance Centre, had noticed this golden chance to get the guys acclimatised and facing hundreds of balls on bouncy South African pitches ahead of schedule. Emails were sent. Meetings were called. Managers were looped in. Operational staff booked flights, hotels, transport.Yet more stones were being turned, and bright ideas had. Neil McKenzie, a dour South Africa batter who could stroke his metaphorical beard and call upon timeless South Africa batting wisdom, was hired as consultant. When the ODI team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka immediately released four Test players from that squad to give these players an extra day to recover from white-ball labours.Related

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In the medium term, they’d won five Tests this year. Three of those wins had come away from home. One of those victories had featured a four-man seam attack, and only four overs of spin – remarkable for a Sri Lanka side of any era.Their broader achievements are even more impressive. Since 2018, a National Super League domestic competition had significantly improved the standard of cricket at the first-class level. To raise that tournament up, a group of Sri Lanka’s former players, and administrators, had had to wrangle the support of a fractious club system, solve substantial facilities-related dilemmas, and work out quibbles such as player transfers.Improvements such as this have led to 2024’s advances, and why Sri Lanka now have a pace battery, for example, that can deck an opposition in two sessions. It is improvements such as this that have inspired in fans the sense that for once Sri Lankan cricket is doing that thing it almost never does: systematically building to something.When South Africa were all out for 191, you could almost see the path to the World Test Championship final. A decent lead. A good second innings. Sri Lanka being regarded as one of the best teams in the world again.But not if Sri Lanka’s batters were to have anything to do with it. In 13.5 overs of witheringly poor judgement, they crashed like they’ve never crashed before. They hit the snooze button on destiny.Dimuth Karunaratne was out in single digits for the fourth time in his last six Test innings•Associated PressSo much of this innings was an affront. It was an affront to all wisdom of batting on spicy pitches – wisdom accrued over hundreds of years. “Play close to the body when the ball is moving off the surface”, say the batting manuals. “Wait till the ball gets older before venturing the big shots.” Here, instead, Sri Lanka were pushing out to feel ball on bat, driving at deliveries that were both seaming and bouncing, and poking like a drunk camper at a bear.From among the top seven Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, and Dhananjaya de Silva all got out to balls they could have left. Angelo Mathews steered a ball well outside off stump beautifully to second slip. It’s not as if they had been pinned. It’s not as if they’d hunkered down, defended, shown fight, and only then run out of patience and fight. The longest of these innings lasted 20 balls.The tail, taking cues from the top order, went down in a hail of big shots themselves. At one point in the innings, it felt as if Sri Lanka had decided they were only going to play shots that sent the ball in the general direction of the slip cordon.This 42 not out was not just record-making in its incompetence, but looks like it will define this match, and has the potential to define the series. It’s like Sri Lanka had built the rocket that would take them to the moon, and on morning of the launch, the chief astronaut got his arm permanently stuck in a vending machine. It’s like they’d just finished replanting an entire forest, then lit up a cigar and set the whole thing ablaze. They’d studied all term and prepared meticulously, and on the day of the exam, got drunk and fell down some stairs.If this 42 all out was the result of Sri Lanka’s batters getting a little ahead of themselves, then it was a reminder to fans that they shouldn’t either. There is a sense that although so many things in Sri Lanka have changed over the last three years, Sri Lanka batters can still unite the nation in bringing palms to faces.In 78 minutes of madness, Sri Lanka’s batters went some way to undoing so much of what they had worked towards.

Crystal Palace midfield star Adam Wharton dismissively downplayed Manchester United transfer links as the Eagles prepare to offer a new contract to the England international. United have been closely linked with a move for Wharton, alongside five other midfield options from across Europe, as Ruben Amorim is looking to further bolster his squad in the January transfer window.

Amorim wants to strengthen his midfield

United spent heavily in the summer transfer window to rebuild their squad after a disastrous 2024-25 campaign, which saw the Red Devils go trophyless and finish 15th in the Premier League. They brought in big names like Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, but the summer squad overhaul was primarily aimed at bolstering the team's attack. 

Amorim wanted to sign Brighton midfield sensation Carlos Baleba towards the end of the window, but a move eventually did not materialise. Since then, multiple reports have linked United with a move for Palace's Wharton, with Amorim reportedly an admirer of the Englishman. The Portuguese coach is now determined to strengthen his midfield in the January transfer window and has prepared a six-man midfield shortlist, which includes Wharton's name. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWharton downplays Man Utd transfer links

Despite being strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford, Wharton has now dismissively downplayed his transfer links to the Premier League giants as he recently told The Athletic: "I don't really look into it or think too much about it. There are always rumours floating about on social media. Is it true? Is it not? You tell me. My friends, my family, my brothers, everyone will message me and be like, 'Is it true this club's interested?' I'm like, 'Thanks for telling me because I didn't know.' I don't know who's spreading it or who at United is looking at it. 

"I see it and I'm like, 'OK', and then I carry on with my day. United, the big teams, they're all linked to 10, 20 different players. If I'm one of 20, then it's nothing special, so it doesn't really mean too much. I speak with my agent about planning ahead and possibilities. But at the end of the day, it is who's interested and who's willing to try and get you and if that becomes the case? You can speak about it, but you've got to represent that on the pitch and prove that you deserve it."

Palace preparing new deal for Wharton

Amid Wharton being linked with a move away from the club, the officials at Selhurst Park are reportedly planning a new contract offer for their star performer, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who told : "They want to extend this contract. So Palace are on it. They've spoken already to his representative several times about this intention they have to give him a new contract. At the same time, let's see what's going to happen there, because the boy has been super professional already last summer, when he already had some kind of opportunity if he wanted to go. But for Palace, he was untouchable. 

"Also, in recent months, we had many rumours, and the boy, again, is behaving in a fantastic way. So Palace are super happy with Adam, and Adam is quite happy with Palace. He understands that he's probably at the best club to develop at this moment for him. But then in the summer, you never know, in case there is a big opportunity, a big financial proposal, we have to see what happens. So at the moment, there is this intention from Palace to give him a new contract, but we are not yet at the stage where we say, okay, it's guaranteed, because it's still early stages of the conversation."

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(C)Getty ImagesWharton's team-mate's comments fuelled Madrid rumours

Real Madrid's interest in Wharton emerged during the summer transfer window, having not directly replaced either Toni Kroos, who retired in 2024, or Luka Modric at the centre of the pitch. While Los Blancos did not make a formal approach for the England international, Wharton's Palace team-mate Yeremy Pino's recent comments further fuelled the rumours of his move to the Spanish capital. Speaking to The Athletic, the Spaniard said: "Adam can do everything. Defensively, he is a fighter. He goes in very strong, wins a lot of balls. Technically, you just have to watch him and enjoy him. He has the quality to play in the Spain national team, no doubt."

Kyle Schwarber is the new National League home run leader, and he jumped in front emphatically.

On Monday night, the Philadelphia Phillies were hosting the Baltimore Orioles when Schwarber turned around a 93 mph fastball from Cade Povich and sent it soaring into the night. The ball left Schwarber's bat at 110.9 mph and traveled 427 feet into the third deck at Citizens Bank Park.

Video is below.

That was Schwarber's 39th home run, breaking a tie with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani for first place in the National League. That competition thinned out a bit after the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners, removing him from the race.

Schwarber's home run tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third inning as the new-look Phillies look to put a stranglehold on first place in the NL East.

Jeff Stelling has criticised Unai Emery as a result of one moment in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Cash leads Villa to victory over Man City

Emery continued his stellar record at home against Man City on Sunday, with the manager overseeing his third straight victory against Pep Guardiola’s side at Villa Park, courtesy of Matty Cash’s first-half strike from just outside the box.

It was a stellar performance from the full-back, who was voted the Player of the Match, and the Poland international has since put pen to paper on a new contract which lasts until 2029.

The Villans have really turned a corner in recent weeks, having picked up victories against some top teams, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on the road earlier this month, and the Premier League table now makes for much better viewing, having moved up to eighth.

The manager has also silenced the talk about his future, after it was reported last month that Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers were all unhappy with the Spaniard, given the slow start they made to the campaign.

The 53-year-old has certainly turned the corner, but Stelling was still left unimpressed with some of the decisions he made on Sunday, calling out the decision to substitute Jadon Sancho in the second-half, having only introduced the winger just before the 30-minute mark.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Stelling came to Sancho’s defence, saying: “He’s a soft target, because over the years it’s been easy to point the finger at him, but I think on this occasion it was wrong to point the finger at him.”

Sancho's Villa career yet to truly take off

It was always going to be a risk signing the 25-year-old, given that he was unable to live up to his huge price tag at Manchester United, and his Villa career is yet to take off, having only featured for 226 minutes across five matches in all competitions.

Emery defended the decision to substitute the former Man United man by pointing out he has done the same thing with other players before and wants to introduce the Englishman slowly: “Yes, sure he’s (Sancho) not happy but I did it before with Morgan Rogers, with Emiliano Buendia, with Leon Bailey, and he played 60 minutes on Thursday,”

Aston Villa take hilarious swipe at Haaland after victory against Man City

The Villans defeated Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0 at Villa Park on Sunday.

ByDominic Lund Oct 27, 2025

“Today when he (Buendia) was injured, my plan was maybe in case he (Sancho) was going to play 30 minutes, but I decided to play more and he played 45 minutes.”

That said, given the scale of media attention Sancho received at Man United, it was a strange decision from Emery, who risks damaging his summer signing’s confidence, even if the manager didn’t substitute him due to being unhappy with his performance.