Chris Sutton has hit out at Gareth Southgate over the England manager’s passionate defence of Harry Maguire and says his speech will have ‘poured petrol on the fire’.

The Manchester United centre-back’s inclusion in the Three Lions squad for this month’s internationals was criticised due to his lack of game time for the Red Devils, having made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League this season.

He was also given a particularly rough time when introduced at half-time of Tuesday’s 3-1 friendly win over Scotland, with the Hampden Park fans mocking and jeering him – particularly after he netted an own goal.

Afterwards, Southgate criticised the English media and pundits for creating the situation and branded the criticism and scrutiny Maguire has faced as a ‘joke’ in a passionate post-match press conference.

Sutton, who may have been one of the targets of Southgate’s ire after branding Maguire a ‘training ground player’, has now hit out at the England boss and believes he has made the situation even worse.

‘Southgate poured petrol on the fire with what he said after Tuesday’s game, suggesting “idiots” are to blame for the “joke” that is Harry Maguire’s situation,’ Sutton told the Daily Mail.

‘Southgate will have to share some of that blame now, though, because he has attracted more attention to the defender.

‘Arsenal fans celebrated when he was brought on against them. Scotland supporters cheered his every pass.

‘It went wrong for Maguire in both of those matches and he can expect more of the same treatment the next time he plays because, thanks to Southgate, rival fans know they’re getting under skins.

‘They won’t suddenly stop their mock cheers, they will double down.

‘It would have been more beneficial for England’s manager to say it is part and parcel of being an elite footballer and that Maguire is tough enough to deal with it.

‘I’m sure he is, and I sympathise with Maguire because it is a big ask for a player who is hardly playing for his club to perform for his country. But the criticism will not stop. Certainly not now.’

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Harry Maguire insists he is more than capable of handling the abuse that has come his way recently while he also explained why a move away from Manchester United did not materialise over the summer.

The centre-back’s inclusion in the latest England squad was criticised after making just one substitute appearance in the Premier League so far this season and he was mocked mercilessly by Scotland fans in Tuesday’s friendly win in Glasgow, in which he scored an own goal.

Afterwards, manager Gareth Southgate blamed the English media, pundits and even supporters for the treatment and scrutiny Maguire currently faces and labelled the criticism a ‘joke’.

Maguire has now addressed the mockery he has been subjected to in recent months and insists it is not affecting him mentally, while he is happy to keep taking the heat if it means his team-mates are spared of the same kind of treatment.

‘Well, it pretty much takes the pressure away from my team-mates and puts it all on myself! It makes them play better, for sure,’ Maguire told reporters after the 3-1 win over Scotland.

‘I would not say I am a person who struggles with pressure mentally. I have been through a lot in the last couple of years and I have been Manchester United captain for nearly four years.

‘You take a huge lot of responsibility and everything that comes with it – and that is a lot of bad as well as good.

‘But it was a huge honour (to play for England against Scotland). It was a hostile environment – when you hear the national anthem and the way they disrespect that – and they piled pressure on myself. I would not say I am used to it, but I can deal with it.’

Maguire came close to leaving United after West Ham had a £30million bid accepted but talks broke down over personal terms, though the 30-year-old is happy to fight for his place at Old Trafford.

Asked about the failed West Ham move, he continued: ‘How can I put this? We just didn’t come to an agreement and they were happy for me to stay and I was happy to fight for my place. I want to do that and every time I train or play I will give everything.

‘I considered everything (in the summer) and I know, at the moment, when I have not started a game in the first four of the season, the story comes to me.

‘I finished off last season with two very strong performances for England and I have played in all five matches to help put us where we are in qualifying, so I need to keep performing when I get chosen.

‘Listen, at club football, I want to play games, I want to play football. The first four weeks were hard because it was one game a week and the manager (Erik Ten Hag) didn’t select me, but we have lots of games coming up now and I am sure I will play lots of games.’

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Manchester United chiefs John Murtough and Richard Arnold have been forced to step in to try and de-escalate the dispute between Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho, according to reports.

There are huge question marks over the 23-year-old’s future at Old Trafford under Ten Hag after he publicly refuted his manager’s claims regarding his performances in training.

Sancho was not included in United’s matchday squad to face Arsenal before the international break, with Ten Hag citing the winger’s less-than-impressive showings in training as the reason.

But the former Borussia Dortmund attacker was clearly livid with his manager’s comments and posted a message on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – disputing Ten Hag’s version of events and saying he was being made a ‘scapegoat’.

Sancho has now deleted his post and the pair held clear-the-air talks when he reported to Carrington on Monday, but it appears the situation is still not resolved.

According to the Daily Mail, the dispute is proving rather complicated and both football director Murtough and CEO Arnold are taking an active role in trying to resolve the issue.

Murtough is playing a particularly prominent role in trying to de-escalate tensions while Arnold is being regularly updated on the progress of talks, but so far there is still something of an impasse between player and manager.

Although Sancho removed his social media post – which was viewed as the first step towards a resolution – the matter is still rumbling on and it remains to be seen whether the winger will be involved against Brighton on Saturday.

Despite Antony being on a leave of absence and a host of players having been away on international duty, there is no guarantee that Sancho will be back in the matchday squad.

There is thought to be a degree of sympathy for Sancho with United not receiving approval from the player to go public with his mental health battle and there was concern behind the scenes when Ten Hag publicly remarked about his ‘mental’ fitness.

Murtough and Arnold are hopeful that the dispute will be settled but the fact they have been drawn into the issue underlines the depth of the rift between Sancho and Ten Hag.

The United manager will speak to the media on Friday at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Brighton with Sancho set to be the primary topic of conversation.

In the wake of Ten Hag saying his performances in training were not at the level required, Sancho had tweeted: ‘Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.

‘I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.

‘I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!’

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is set to hold showdown talks with Andre Onana over his decision to return to international duty with Cameroon.

The £47million summer signing hung up his national team gloves at the end of last year after falling out with manager Rigobert Song, even leaving the World Cup in Qatar early to fly home.

But he ended his exile this month after the Cameroon football federation and even the government helped broker peace talks, with Onana keeping a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Burundi on Tuesday to secure qualification for January’s Africa Cup of Nations.

While that is good news for Cameroon, it has presented something of a headache for United with the goalkeeper potentially missing as many as nine matches in all competitions.

To add further drama into the mix, The Mirror are reporting that the 27-year-old never brought up the prospect of ending his international retirement during transfer talks and even told Ten Hag he had no intention of returning.

Ten Hag will now hold showdown talks with his goalkeeper to ascertain whether he plans to represent Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations, or whether his outing was simply a one off.

The Dutch coach is hoping it is the latter and ideally does not want his number one keeper playing in the month-long tournament, particularly when there are significant question marks over the backup options.

United brought in Altay Bayindir on deadline day as a late replacement for Dean Henderson, who joined Crystal Palace, but the Turkish keeper is yet to make his debut.

Tom Heaton, who is now 37, is another potential option but ideally Ten Hag is hoping that Onana decides against playing at the Africa Cup of Nations, with the former Inter keeper believed to still be undecided about his long-term international future.

Ten Hag was asked about Onana’s decision to return to Cameroon duty before the international break, saying: ‘I know everything about it, of course we spoke about it.

‘We are in good contact with Andre. We are on the same page. We know how we constructed the squad and can deal with it, if we need to.’

The African Cup of Nations takes place between January 13 and February 11 meaning Onana would miss Premier League games against Tottenham, Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa if Cameroon reach the final of the tournament.

There are also two rounds of FA Cup ties and potentially a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final scheduled over that period as well, while a last-16 Champions League match could be played just 48 hours after the AFCON final, meaning there are a total of nine matches where United could be without Onana.

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West Ham came ‘very close’ to signing Harry Maguire from Manchester United over the summer, Irons coach Kevin Nolan has revealed.

Maguire seemed destined to leave United having fallen out of favour with Erik ten Hag and getting stripped of the captaincy.

Though the centre-back’s form has badly dipped for his club, he is still a trusted England international and there was a good amount of interest in him during the last transfer window.

West Ham were the clear frontrunners for his signature and after weeks of negotiations they agreed a £30million fee with the Red Devils, in a move that seemed to suit all parties involved.

However, the transfer collapsed with reports suggesting that personal terms could not be agreed and that Maguire wasn’t interested in the move and didn’t even speak to manager David Moyes.

Maguire has ended up staying at Old Trafford – much to the annoyance of fans – though an injury crisis in defence means he will still be of use to Ten Hag.

The Irons are unlikely to revive their interest in the player in January, having since signed former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart instead.

Now, Nolan has detailed as much as he can about why the move failed to materialise, telling talkSPORT: ‘I think it was very close, I was a bit upset that we didn’t make it [happen].

‘I think it was just in the end, the money didn’t get sorted from what I can gather which is obviously upsetting from our behalf because we wanted to [sign him].

‘Probably upsetting from Harry’s behalf and probably United’s behalf as well.

‘I think the gaffer [Moyes] was in contact with Harry, his agent and everything else but yeah, obviously we then had to move onto our next target.’

That last bit of information would suggest that Maguire did in fact speak to the West Ham manager about the move, though it’s not clear whether the ‘money’ refers to the player’s wages or the transfer fee.

After a difficult start to the season, United will be hoping for better when they host Brighton on Saturday, while West Ham will be aiming to keep their unbeaten start going when they host Manchester City on the same day.

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Nicolas Pepe was part of a clique with fellow former Arsenal players Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang which ultimately led to his departure from the north London club, according to reports.

Arsenal spent a then club-record fee of £72million in 2019 to sign Pepe on a five-year deal from French club Lille after he scored 22 goals in 38 league games the season prior.

But he failed to live up to expectations during his four-year spell at Arsenal, struggling for form and fitness before eventually being usurped by Bukayo Saka in the starting line-up.

The Ivorian spent last season back in Ligue 1 at Nice – scoring six league goals in 19 appearances – but returned to Arsenal this summer when the French club turned down the chance to make the loan move permanent.

Having attracted little transfer interest in the summer window, Pepe subsequently had the final year of his contract terminated by the club, allowing him to join Turkish side Trabzonspor on a free transfer.

The 28-year-old ended his Arsenal career with 27 goals in 112 games and recent reports can perhaps begin to shed light on why the winger’s spell at the club didn’t go to plan.

Pepe is said to have formed a three-man clique alongside Lacazette and Aubameyang during his time at the Emirates, with the trio spending a lot of time together.

According to ESPN, manager Mikel Arteta was not happy with the emergence of the small, breakaway group and increasingly felt it was stiffling the club’s progress.

Pepe is also said to have gained a reputation as being one of the last out onto the training pitches and rarely spoke to club staff who did not work with the first team.

The report also claims that Pepe would ‘hang back’ with Lacazette and Aubameyang in the changing room while the other players went out for sessions on time.

The writing has been on the wall for Pepe for some time and all three players have now left the club as Arteta installed new leaders in the dressing room and created a more cohesive environment.

Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy in December 2021 after a series of disciplinary breaches, with the striker later moving to Barcelona at the end of the January window that season.

Lacazette became first-choice captain until the end of that season but, at the end of the campaign, the striker also departed the club and returned to Lyon.

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Gary Lineker feels that struggling Arsenal star Kai Havertz is a superior player than Tottenham’s Richarlison and Manchester United’s Anthony Martial.

Havertz joined the Gunners from Chelsea this summer in an eyebrow-raising £65m move – a deal many Arsenal fans, pundits and ex-players questioned given that the 24-year-old was largely underwhelming in his three years with the Blues.

The Germany international has failed to hit the ground running at his new club with boss Mikel Arteta forced to defend Havertz on several occasions already.

Arteta has even suggested that Havertz’ team-mates are partly responsible for his early teething problems.

Despite Havertz’s struggles in north London, Lineker feels he is still better than Spurs’ Brazil international Richarlison, who has flopped since his £60m move from Everton last summer.

Lineker also ranked Havertz above United’s Martial, following reports that United may look to release the Frenchman next summer.

‘I don’t think at the minute you can judge any Chelsea player on last season’s performances,’ Lineker said about Havertz on the No Ratings Podcast.

‘The club was in turmoil, it was a mess, it was a shambles, they all underperformed. I think there’s something in Havertz, and what gives it to me is he scored a winning goal in a Champions League final, he did that.

‘The others at the moment have underachieved a bit. Martial has the talent but I don’t know if he’s a bit soft mentally or unlucky with injuries.

‘I would personally put Havertz first, then either or, maybe Martial, because he has a record, and Richarlison still has it to do, although I think he’s capable.’

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Graham Potter is holding out for a Champions League club after rejecting an approach from Rangers, according to reports.

Rangers are considering replacements for Michael Beale after the club’s shaky start to the new season in which they have already lost two of their opening four Scottish Premiership games and have failed to reach the Champions League group stage.

Potter, meanwhile, has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April and has turned down a move to Lyon earlier this month.

According to The Sun, Rangers made an approach to Potter’s representatives but the former Chelsea and Brighton manager has rejected a switch to Ibrox.

The report claims that Potter is holding out for a club who play Champions League football, or a team that has ‘clear potential’ to qualify consistently for the competition.

Speaking after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Celtic earlier this month, Beale insisted that he sympathised with unhappy Rangers supporters.

‘I understand it when the results have been the last two. I understand the frustration with the fans,’ Beale said.

‘It is with the shirt. It is not just at Rangers, it is anywhere. It is a derby, a game where there is a lot of emotion involved and the fans expect their team to get a result and we didn’t.

‘That is par for the course. In terms of pressure, you are always under pressure in this job. You are only ever a couple of results not going your way to feel that.

‘The most pressure is the one we put on ourselves and we have fallen short of that today because I expected and wanted us to get a result.

‘Over the course of the 90 minutes, I think the result is harsh on us but in terms of these games, they are only about the result.’

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Manchester United have submitted their 25-man Premier League squad – with a few somewhat surprising inclusions.

All Premier Leagues had to name their squads on Wednesday, though only players over the age of 21 have to be included.

That means the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and new signing Rasmus Hojlund are not on the list but are still eligible to play.

The six other summer additions – Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir, Jonny Evans, Sofyan Amrabat and Sergio Reguilon are as expected included.

However, a trio of stars currently on the fringes of Erik ten Hag’s side have made the cut, namely Jadon Sancho, Antony and Donny van de Beek.

Antony has been given a leave of absence from Old Trafford as he contests allegations of domestic abuse against him, but his selection perhaps suggests that United feel the matter will be resolved soon.

Van de Beek meanwhile is a player that most will have forgotten is still with the Red Devils, as the midfielder was largely expected to leave over the summer after three terrible years at the club.

The Dutchman was linked with a whole host of clubs across Europe, including Real Sociedad, but ultimately United were unable to shift him despite being willing to listen to ‘any offers’ for the flop.

But most eye-catching of all is the inclusion of Jadon Sancho, whose future in Manchester is very uncertain following his public war of words with Ten Hag.

The winger held crunch talks with his manager earlier this week and though some reports suggest he is now desperate to leave the club, in an interesting development the 23-year-old has now deleted his social media post in which he called Ten Hag a liar.

He had been named in United’s Champions League squad last week and his inclusion in the Premier League one could be further interpreted as a sign that he has begun to mend his relationship with his boss.

Alternatively, it could mean nothing at all and it should also be noted that Sancho does help United toward reaching their eight homegrown players quota.

We are likely to learn more about Sancho’s fate ahead of United’s first game back from the international break, with the Red Devils hosting Brighton on Saturday.

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Mykhailo Mudryk is running out of time to make his mark at Chelsea after his disappointing start to life at the club, according to Glen Johnson.

Chelsea spent nearly £90m to sign the Ukrainian international from Shakhtar Donetsk in last season’s January transfer window, beating Arsenal to his signature after the north London club had also shown interest in the pacey winger.

Mudryk, however, has failed to live up to expectations and justify his price tag so far at Stamford Bridge and is yet to score in 18 Premier League appearances for the club.

The 22-year-old hasn’t started a league game so far this season under new Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino, with former Chelsea right-back Johnson suggesting the Ukrainian needs to turn around his fortunes sooner rather than later.

‘I do believe that the clock’s ticking for him because everybody talks about him every single week,’ Johnson told GGRECON.

‘I feel sorry for him because it’s not easy when you go to a big club, especially with the expectations that Mykhailo’s had on his shoulders.

‘Ultimately, I do believe that he has the attributes to turn it around but he’s got to do it quickly.’

Mudryk started for Ukraine in their 1-1 draw against England but was benched on Tuesday as his nation lost 2-1 to Italy to drop to third in Group C of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

He also finds himself on the bench for his club, with Ben Chilwell currently occupying the most advanced role for Chelsea on the left-hand side.

Having signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract, Mudryk has time to rediscover his form and Johnson believes needs to become ‘more aggressive’ if he is to earn a spot in Chelsea’s starting XI.

‘I don’t mean that I want him to be physically aggressive, I want him to keep pushing defenders back every time when you consider how quick and direct he is,’ Johnson added.

‘He’s capable of blitzing any defender and sometimes I believe that he plays against his attributes. If you’re that quick, you should always be looking to take someone on one-on-one or do something productive so that the fans can get behind you.

‘When that happens, he may be able to find some confidence and he can hopefully grab a few more goals and assists.’

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France head coach Didier Deschamps says he is ‘surprised’ by Paul Pogba’s failed drugs tests and is adamant that the midfielder would not knowingly take a banned substance.

Pogba is potentially facing a lengthy ban after testosterone was found in his system during a drugs test with Juventus last month.

The former Manchester United midfielder has the opportunity to submit an appeal but could be suspended for up to four years if found guilty.

Deschamps has worked extensively with Pogba during their time together in France’s national team and has revealed that he has already reached out to the 30-year-old.

‘Obviously I am very surprised but I have nothing to judge the matter on,’ Deschamps told TF1.

‘He has a lot of things on his plate, it is a very difficult time. I will have time to speak to him in the next few days, I have already sent him a message.’

Asked if he believed Pogba would have knowingly taken a banned substance, Deschamps replied: ‘I can’t imagine it, knowing him he wouldn’t do it.

‘He has a strong head on his shoulders. I remember the discussions we had about the Covid vaccine.

‘But the substance is in his body and we don’t know how it got there.’

Bayern Munich and France winger Kingsley Coman also issued his support to Pogba.

‘We all support Paul, he’s a very close friend, he’s part of the family,’ Coman said.

‘We don’t really know more, we’ll have to look. But we know Paul, we knows that if something happened, it was surely unconsciously, without intention. We are with him wholeheartedly.’

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Gareth Bale has aimed a cheeky dig at Arsenal after fellow Welshman and former Gunners star Aaron Ramsey made a jibe at Tottenham last week.

Ramsey expressed his disappointment that Wales star Brennan Johnson had left Nottingham Forest to join Arsenal’s north London rivals Spurs this summer.

‘I wish it weren’t to Tottenham,’ Ramsey said about Johnson’s move to Spurs while on international duty.

‘The potential he has is quite scary and hopefully he can take those next steps and go to the next level.

‘He’s going to be important for Wales as well. He’s going to be huge for us over the years to come and we’re all excited that he has another platform to go on and improve himself again.’

Former Tottenham winger Bale, asked if he felt Johnson had picked the right club this summer, said on Wednesday: ‘For sure. Better than Arsenal.

‘He’s doing well. I think the more that he plays in the top flight now, the better that he’ll get.

‘Like you said, the skies are the limit. As long as he’s playing football, improving and doing well, it’s good for Tottenham and good for Wales.’

Bale also shared his views on new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, with the north Londoners having made an impressive start under the Australian.

‘It’s great to see, I think they’ve got their style back, that’s something the club was obviously looking for as well, seeing how he performed at Celtic,’ Bale added.

‘A great start, hopefully there’s still more to come from the team.

‘They’ll obviously just keep getting better and better with the new manager and a new kind of style.

‘Hopefully they can put themselves up there and give themselves a chance.’

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Arsenal’s plan to sign Ousmane Diomande next summer could be hijacked with ‘three or four clubs’ reportedly now looking at the Sporting Lisbon star.

The Gunners have told Sporting they will return with an offer to sign the defender next year after the Gunners had a €35m (£30m) bid rejected this summer.

Young centre-half Diomande joined Sporting from Danish side Midtjylland in January in a deal worth €7.5m, having impressed in Portugal during a loan spell at Mafra in the first-half of the season.

Mikel Arteta has been an admirer since he made that switch with Arsenal approaching his club during the summer transfer window.

It is believed that the Gunners offered Sporting the chance to make a swift and sizeable profit on the Ivory Coast international with a €35m offer which was quickly rejected.

While Arsenal ended their interest for the time being, it is thought they fully intend to return with another offer next summer.

However, new reports indicate that Arsenal are now not alone in their desire to sign Diomande – despite tracking the player for a long time – with up to four clubs monitoring the 19-year-old, who has an €80m release clause in his contract.

Arsenal have already reinforced their defensive options this summer with the signing of Jurrien Timber, who arrived from Ajax in a £40m deal.

But the Netherlands international suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut against Nottingham Forest and could possibly be ruled out for the rest of the season.

The north Londoners are unbeaten in their opening four games of the new Premier League campaign and return to action on Sunday with a trip to Everton.

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Chelsea star Ben Chilwell has revealed he admired watching two Manchester United legends growing up.

Chilwell was recently asked to pick his top five Premier League full-backs of all-time, with the United pair selected alongside two current Liverpool stars and an Arsenal and Chelsea icon.

Though many great full-backs have played for the Blues over the past thirty years, their current left-back admitted that he enjoyed watching the Red Devils when he was young, with one of their defenders making a great impression on him.

‘Patrice Evra. I used to like watching United games growing up and as a full-back, and as a left-back in particular, I used to watch his game pretty closely,’ the 26-year-old told the Premier League’s official website.

‘I liked the way that he played. Up and down, very adventurous. He seemed like a natural winger.’

Chilwell has become renowned for his attacking flair too, with nine goals and 13 assists in 89 games for Chelsea, great numbers for a defender.

The England international was recently made his club’s new vice captain by Mauricio Pochettino, with his leadership skills perhaps inspired by a former United skipper.

‘Gary Neville. He got endless Premier Leagues, won a lot of trophies with Man United. Seemed like a leader on the pitch, a leader off the pitch. Seemed like a real professional.’

As a Chelsea player, Chilwell also couldn’t leave out Ashley Cole, regarded by many as the best left-back in the league’s history due to all his success at both Stamford Bridge and boyhood club Arsenal.

‘He was someone who I spoke to when I first joined the club and I always respected him as a player. And then to meet him away from football as well and see what a good guy he was.

‘But on the pitch he was kind of one of the first full-backs to score goals, get assists, but could also defend.’

As for those currently playing, Chilwell couldn’t look past Liverpool’s star defenders, adding: ‘There’s a lot of good ones [full-backs] playing at the moment to be fair.

‘Andy Robertson. Over the past few years, as a left-back, he’s someone who I’ve respected. I’ve seen what he’s done at Liverpool and he’s won a lot of silverware there.

‘Trent Alexander-Arnold. His right foot, his crossing ability, his range of passing, free-kicks, set pieces. Technically one of the best full-backs I’ve seen.

Chilwell joined Chelsea from Leicester in 2020 and has since won the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, as well as finish runner-up at Euro 2020 with England.

He has started this season in good form, though results haven’t matched performances, and is set to skipper his side this Sunday when they travel to Bournemouth.

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Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa has provided an injury update on Liverpool star Darwin Nunez and says the striker is struggling with ‘muscular difficulties’.

Nunez started Uruguay’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador on Tuesday but many were surprised when Bielsa decided to substitute the player at half-time.

The 24-year-old had starred in Uruguay’s previous game, providing two assists in a 3-1 victory over Chile.

‘Darwin arrived with some muscular difficulties and this limited his actions,’ former Leeds United manager Bielsa said.

‘I thought it necessary to replace him because he worked too much trying to press and attack in the last game.’

Nunez has been in fine form for Liverpool this season, producing a heroic performance at Newcastle last month in which he came off the bench and scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to secure the win when his side only had 10 men.

He followed that up with an assist in Liverpool’s last match, as Jurgen Klopp’s side recorded a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The Reds return to action on Saturday when they travel to face Wolves – and it remains to be seen whether or not Nunez will be fully fit for that clash.

Liverpool signed Nunez in a £85m deal last summer and he has registered 17 goals and five assists across his opening 46 games for the Merseyside club.

Klopp heavily praised Nunez after his recent performance against Newcastle and revealed that the striker was ‘not happy’ about starting the match on the bench, which left him ‘fired up’ when he came on.

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Manchester United will be without Andre Onana for several games later this season after Cameroon qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

United signed Onana from Inter Milan this summer in a deal worth £47.2m as he replaced David de Gea as the club’s No.1 goalkeeper.

The 27-year-old helped Cameroon secure a 3-0 win over Burundi on Tuesday night, which sealed their qualification for AFCON.

Onana has started all four of United’s Premier League games so far this term, keeping one clean sheet and conceding seven goals.

But United will now be forced to rely on their new back-up Altay Bayindir or third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton later this season due to AFCON.

The African tournament was delayed due to adverse summer weather concerns in the Ivory Coast and is set to take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

United are set to face Tottenham, Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa in the Premier League during that period – meaning Onana could miss all those games.

FA Cup ties are also due to be played from January 6-7 and January 27-28, meaning Onana may not be present for those matches either.

It could get even worse for the Red Devils if they qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League and Cameroon do well at the African tournament, as United’s first-leg tie could be played just 48 hours after the AFCON showpiece.

Onana would also be almost certain to miss both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-finals too should United make it that far, meaning in a worst-case scenario Erik ten Hag’s side would have to play a total of nine matches without the goalkeeper.

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Richarlison has revealed that he will speak to a psychologist when he returns to Tottenham and says his tears on Brazil’s bench last week were due to personal issues away from football.

The 26-year-old was spotted crying on Brazil’s bench after he was substituted in the 5-1 win against Bolivia on Friday evening.

The assumption was that Richarlison, who has not scored in his last five appearances for Brazil, was unhappy after missing from close range against Bolivia.

But the Tottenham forward, who kept his starting role for Brazil’s 1-0 victory over Peru on Tuesday evening and had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR, has revealed that off-field issues have been a factor behind his struggles on the pitch.

‘That sad moment [on Brazil’s bench] wasn’t even because I played poorly, in my opinion I didn’t play a bad game in Belem, it was more of an outburst about the things that were happening off the field, which got out of control not on my part, but on the part of people who were close to me,’ Richarlison said.

‘I’m going to go back to England, I’ll seek psychological help, from a psychologist, to work on my mind. That’s it, come back stronger.

‘I believe I will be in the next squad, I will work for that. It’s about getting a good streak at Tottenham, this week I’m going to sit down and talk to them, I need a good streak, get the rhythm of the game and get here well.

‘On the field I’m a happy team player, I try to help as much as possible. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we want.

‘I think this part is a bit of the off-field side that ended up getting in my way. Even though you want to do things right, it ends up going wrong. I will continue to focus on the club, the storm has passed.

‘I went through a turbulent time in the last five months off the field. Now things are right at home.

‘People who only had an eye on my money walked away from me. Now things will start to flow, I’m sure I’ll get a good run at Tottenham and make things happen again.’

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Jurgen Klopp’s agent has responded to fresh speculation linking the Liverpool boss to the Germany manager job.

Germany sacked manager Hansi Flick on Sunday – just nine months before the country hosts Euro 2024 – with a number of names linked to the vacant role.

Klopp is said to be the the German Football Association (DFB)’s dream choice to replace Flick, and it is not the first time they have expressed interest in him.

Klopp was born in Stuttgart – managing Bundesliga clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund before he joined Liverpool in 2015 – and he has previously admitted that it would be a ‘great honour’ to manage the German national team.

But his agent Marc Kosicke has dismissed reports that Klopp could be tempted into leaving Liverpool to take charge of Germany for Euro 2024 – pointing at his contract with the Reds, which does not expire until 2026.

‘Jurgen has a long-term contract with Liverpool and is not available for the national coaching position,’ Kosicke told German outlet Sportschau.

Klopp has enjoyed plenty of success since his arrival at Anfield eight years ago, guiding Liverpool to glory in the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup.

There was speculation over his Liverpool future last season amid a tough campaign, with his team failing to finish in the Premier League top four and finishing the campaign without any silverware.

Liverpool have made a strong start this term, though, and are unbeaten after their opening four Premier League games – winning three of them.

Meanwhile, it is thought that Germany could now turn to Julian Nagelsmann, who has been out of work since being sacked by Bayern Munich in March.

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Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale insists Harry Maguire remains one of England’s best defenders, after his own goal in the 3-1 win over Scotland on Tuesday evening.

Gareth Southgate’s side sealed their victory at Hampden Park with goals from Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.

Maguire, meanwhile, replaced Marc Guehi at half time and in the 67th minute guided Andy Robertson’s low cross past Ramsdale to give Scotland a lifeline.

The former Manchester United captain has faced calls to be axed from the squad due to his lack of playing time at club level – but Ramsdale is adamant that he is still one of England’s best options in defence.

‘I can sympathise with him in a way because I’ve been at the other end of the Premier League fighting to stay up, been relegated twice,’ Ramsdale said when asked about Maguire after England’s win.

‘When you’re in a period where crowds, pundits or fans, you’re under the microscope. Every little thing is analysed and detailed.

‘If he was playing week in, week out, or if this noise wasn’t around and he scored an own goal it probably would have been brushed under the carpet.

‘He’s tried to do the right thing, clear it, and it’s gone in. It’s unfortunate.

‘But at the minute, because of his situation, people are over-hyping [saying], ‘he shouldn’t be playing, he shouldn’t be here’.

‘And Harry Maguire, as we’ve seen over the past few years with England is one of the best defenders we’ve got.

‘So strong mentally, got a great group of people around him, him and his family, and he knows his qualities. He’s always a threat in the box for set pieces, he knows he can defend, he knows he’s a leader.

‘I love playing with him. Tonight was one of them unfortunate things which it goes in the back of the net, on another day it goes out for a throw or a corner.’

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Former Chelsea captain John Terry has hit out at reports claiming he is charging fans £100 per autograph and says all proceeds from his one-man tour are going to his charity foundation.

The 42-year-old held the first of his four nights in Basingstoke last Friday and was criticised when it emerged that, in addition to paying £25 for a ticket, fans were also being asked to stump up £100 for one signature and £500-a-head to eat with him.

But Terry has now defended the pricing and hit out at the reports regarding his tour, saying they failed to mention that all money raised is going to his John Terry 26 Foundation which supports various charities.

‘Hi guys, just wanted to touch on the stories the press are writing about me charging fans £100 for signatures and photos and drinks or whatever that may be,’ he said on Instagram on Tuesday evening.

‘The big thing – and this is very important – the big thing that they forgot to mention is that all proceeds from these events that I’ve been doing – and the only reason that I signed up – is to raise money for my foundation, for the John Terry 26 Foundation.

‘I set my foundation up about seven or eight months ago because I wanted to do something personal and on my own where I’m going to be eventually hosting a gala dinner, golf events throughout the year, any opportunities to raise money for my foundation.

‘I’ve been working very closely with various different charities over the last 22 years being Chelsea captain and seeing a lot of terminal and ill and sick children along the way, which is something that’s always been something very close to my heart and always will be.

‘So rather than doing it for one specific charity, I’ve been focusing on my own foundation in the last six or seven months.

‘And this tour that I’m doing, this Q&A that I’m doing, is part of that.

‘But like I said, the key thing that the press have forgotten to write is that all proceeds from this event [will go to charity]. And I didn’t want this publicised, and I agreed this with the guys, because I don’t think it’s right for me to publicise that.

‘But now they’ve raised the issue I will address it. So every penny from these events goes towards my John Terry 26 Foundation.

‘I apologise for coming out a day or two days late, but I’ll touch on why I didn’t touch on this yesterday: because, again, I was at another charity day working for BGC in London with obviously the very sad news of the World Trade Centres and something that I’ve done for the last five or six years and I’ll continue to do.

‘But again, giving up my time, giving up my day, for all these charities is something that’s very important to me and I’ll never stop that. Really frustrating for me actually and I’m just fed up with the press writing s**t over and over again.’

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Gareth Southgate has hit out at the ‘idiotic’ treatment of Harry Maguire over his continued inclusion in the England team.

The England manager, 53, slammed the ‘ridiculous’ criticism as the worst he has ever seen.

Despite making only one substitute appearance for Manchester United so far this season, 30-year-old centre-back Maguire was picked to start in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Ukraine, and came on at half-time in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Scotland.

He was given a very rough time by the home fans at Hampden Park when he was introduced and – despite playing well in his time on the pitch – was mocked mercilessly for netting an unfortunate own goal.

Southgate did not begrudge Scotland’s supporters for trying to get under Maguire’s skin – but slammed the way the defender has been ridiculed and criticised by pundits, the media, and even his own supporters.

A visibly-livid Southgate told beIN Sports after the match: ‘He was exceptional for us at the weekend. The reaction tonight is a consequence of idiots really from our side who have created that environment.

‘So what I think was brilliant tonight was our fans who were here recognised that they’re going to protect their own. We should be doing that.

‘We’re creating a problem for our own player. Some of the articles that were written, some of the comments that were made, were an absolute joke.

‘He’s been a tower of strength for us through one of the most successful periods of English football and the response tonight – I understand Scottish fans, they’re having some fun – but it’s created by our own side, it’s ridiculous.’

Southgate continued his defence of Maguire during his post-match press conference, adding: ‘From a Scotland fans’ point of view I get it and I’ve got absolutely no complaints with what they did.

‘It’s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly.

‘I think our fans recognised, “Okay, there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters but we’re not going to have it from others getting into him”. But it’s a joke.

‘I’ve never known a player treated the way he is. Not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.

‘They’ve created something that’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second-most successful England team for decades. He’s been an absolutely key part of that.

‘I’ve talked about the importance of our senior players, he’s been crucial amongst that. Every time he goes on the field the resilience he shows, the balls he shows, is absolutely incredible.

‘So he’s a top player and we’re all with him. And our fans were brilliant with him tonight.’

On how Maguire has reacted, Southgate added: ‘He’s good, he’s great. We’ve had a good win, he’s been a big part of that. So he’s gone and spoken with the media, because that’s the sort of lad he is.

‘He’s fronted up, as he always does, and again enormous credit to his character.’

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Manchester United have announced a lucrative new shirt sponsorship deal that will see mobile processor Snapdragon replace TeamViewer on the front of kits from the 2024-25 season onwards.

The Red Devils’ hierarchy have been looking for a new front-of-shirt sponsor since last year when German-based software firm TeamViewer announced it did not intend to renew it’s deal with United.

That deal had originally been due to run until 2026 but the two parties agreed an option for United to buy back the rights if they found a new sponsor, allowing them to end the partnership early.

United earned £47m-a-year from their deal with TeamViewer but are believed to have negotiated an agreement with Qualcomm – who will promote their subsidiary brand Snapdragon on the shirts – worth in excess of £60m-a-year.

A statement late on Tuesday evening read: ‘Manchester United plc has agreed to an expanded strategic collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., that will see the Snapdragon brand displayed on the front of the club’s famous shirt.

‘Qualcomm Technologies is already a global partner of Manchester United, promoting its Snapdragon brand.

‘Snapdragon processors power premium products from the world’s biggest brands across smartphones, PCs, extended reality glasses, gaming devices, wearables, and connected cars.

‘Under the expanded agreement, Snapdragon will become Manchester United’s front of shirt partner from the start of the 2024/25 season, featuring on the home, away and third kits of the men’s and women’s teams.’

Although the full financial details of the deal are not yet known, the agreement with Qualcomm is thought to be the biggest short sponsorship deal in football.

United’s relationship with the US technology company first started in August 2022, with Qualcomm acting as ‘global partner’ both this season and last and actually advised United on mobile connectivity improvements at Old Trafford as part of that arrangement.

Snapdragon – which will be the club’s seventh shirt sponsor – also sponsored United’s pre-season clash with Wrexham over the summer, which was played at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.

TeamViewer, meanwhile, will remain on the front of United’s shirts for the rest of the current campaign and the company will continue as a ‘global partner’ until the end of their previous contract in 2026.

United felt the £47m-a-year deal, which was struck during the coronavirus pandemic, had undersold the value of the front-of-shirt sponsorship while TeamViewer had actually been criticised by investors over the deal.

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Jadon Sancho has deleted the explosive message he posted in the wake of Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal earlier this month in which he hit out at Erik ten Hag.

Player and manager were involved in a public spat last week when the Dutch coach claimed Sancho had not been included in his matchday squad at the Emirates due to his less-than-impressive performances in training.

Later that evening, the 23-year-old took to social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – to hit out at his manager’s claims, saying he had been made a ‘scapegoat’.

Sancho’s outburst caused quite a stir and there were even suggestions United might try to offload the former Borussia Dortmund winger to Saudi Arabia before their transfer window closed.

A move never materialised, however, and Sancho reported to the club’s Carrington training base on Monday for the first time since the drama unfolded.

Players not involved in international fixtures had been given time off after the Arsenal defeat, meaning Sancho and Ten Hag avoided a run-in until the start of this week.

They are believed to have held crunch, clear-the-air talks to discuss Sancho’s public outburst, their relationship and, ultimately, the winger’s future at the club under Ten Hag.

For now, Sancho appears to have climbed down and deleted his message on X late on Tuesday afternoon, with the tweet no longer anywhere to be seen. His most recent message is now a pre-season tweet from 6 August.

Sancho has been included in United’s Champions League squad despite the fallout while Antony’s leave of absence has only heightened the need for Ten Hag to mend bridges given his lack of options on the right wing currently.

Although Sancho has deleted his criticism of Ten Hag – and the pair have now spoken privately about the matter – he is still thought to be keen to leave Old Trafford and could explore a move when the January window opens.

In the wake of Ten Hag saying his performances in training were not at the level required, Sancho had tweeted: ‘Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.

‘I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.

‘I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!’

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Manchester United are keeping tabs on Leeds United wonderkid Finley Gorman but must fight Manchester City to sign him, according to reports.

The 14-year-old has hugely impressed playing in Leeds’ U16 and U18 teams and has now attracted interest from a number of teams, the Daily Mail have reported.

Two of those clubs include Pep Guardiola’s treble winners as well as the Red Devils – with the Manchester rivals set to battle it out for the winger’s signature.

Rising Ballers, a Twitter account dedicated to spotting young talent, posted a compilation video of Gorman in action for Leeds last week, which went viral and knocked up over 5.8 million views.

They posted the following caption with their clip: ’14 year-old Leeds United and England youth international Finlay Gorman is a name to remember.

‘Playing up with the U16 and U18s… He’s bagged 20 G+A (goals and assists) in just nine games so far this season.’

The Daily Mail also report that United are in a one-on-one battle with RB Leipzig to sign Dino Klapija.

The 16-year-old Croatian striker had been linked to both sides as well as Chelsea, Barcelona, AC Milan and Juventus.

But United and Leipzig were always seen as the frontrunners and it appears that the other clubs are now out of the race.

It is thought that Klapija would cost around £5m but the player and his family want to be sure he can settle and continue his education wherever he ends up.

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Romelu Lukaku prevented Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku from joining Chelsea, according to Anderlecht’s academy director Jean Kindermans.

Doku joined City in the closing stages of the summer transfer window, arriving from Ligue 1 side Rennes in a £55.5 million deal.

The 21-year-old attracted widespread interest even during his time as an academy player at Anderlecht.

And Kindermans has revealed that he enlisted the help of Lukaku, who now plays alongside Doku for Belgium’s national team, to stop Chelsea’s advances.

‘I remember taking Romelu into my office about the problem of getting young players to commit to us, Doku in particular,’ Kindermans told the Sunday Mirror.

‘Romelu replied, ‘Come on, pass your phone to me, I’m going to call him’.

‘But I didn’t want to do that because a phone call gets quickly forgotten. So, instead, I got Romelu to convince Jeremy to stay.

‘I still have the video on my phone. On it, you can hear Romelu giving advice to the Doku family, saying, ‘Hey, guys, stay with Anderlecht for a while, you’re good’, and so on.’

Doku his first-team debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16 in 2018 and just two years later he joined Rennes for €26m (£23.4m).

Lukaku, meanwhile, completed his loan move to Roma from Chelsea on the penultimate day of the summer window.

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Armando Broja is expected to be feature in a Chelsea game for the first time in 10 months with his recovery from injury said to be complete.

His last competitive match was Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle in November 2022, with the 22-year-old subsequently suffering a serious knee injury in a friendly against Aston Villa during the World Cup break.

The injury ruled Broja out for the rest of the season and though he returned to light training over the summer, he is yet to be involved with the first team so far this season.

Mauricio Pochettino has spoken out about the importance of not rushing the centre-forward’s rehabilitation, as there are high hopes that he will play a crucial role for the Blues when he returns.

Alongside Nicolas Jackson, Broja is the only natural striker in the squad, with the club swatting away interest from the likes of AC Milan and West Ham to keep him at Stamford Bridge.

And it appears that Chelsea will not have to wait long to see him back on the pitch, with the president of the Albania Football Association claiming his ‘ready to return’.

‘Broja has completed the recovery phase,’ Armando Duka told Euronews following Albania’s victory over Poland on Sunday.

‘We expect him to be on the bench with Chelsea this week, that is, ready to return to the field. He should normally be back in October for the Czech Republic game.

‘He is an added value for us. One of the best Albanian footballers, so he will help us.’

Though he may not actually play, it seems that Broja should at least be on the bench for Chelsea when they travel to Bournemouth this Sunday.

The Blues could do with his help, as while performances have been good under new boss Pochettino, a lack of clinicalness has resulted in just one win from their opening four league games.

Broja may only have one senior goal for the West Londoners, but impressive loan spells at Vitesse and Southampton have proven he has got talent and potential in adundance.

With four goals in 17 caps for his country, and as mentioned will be key for their chances of qualifying for Euro 2024, with Albania currently top of their group but only narrowly ahead of Czech Republic, Moldova and Poland.

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It is 20 years since the book Moneyball was published, all about how a baseball team took a counter-cultural approach to recruiting players and what happened next.

After the undervalued players of the Oakland A’s produced a league-record 20-game win streak on a slender budget and their story become a film with Brad Pitt, anyone with a passing interest in sport knew all about the theory.

The point for their manager Billy Beane was to identify areas of skill other teams didn’t value – especially if the naked eye might persuade you to discount them. Because if people don’t want to buy, you get a deal as well as a high-quality player. And they’ll almost certainly be committed to the project.

We’ve talked in this column about Moneyball’s descendants in the Premier League – Brighton and Brentford – who are trying to outwit the competition on a fraction of the budget. Assuming the teams around them aren’t too arrogant to pick up on ‘small club’ strategies, they will have to be incredibly agile to stick ahead of the competition in the next few years.

What we’re talking about is creative thinking – working with those who are underestimated. We’re told sports teams are constantly on the hunt for marginal gains. And yet there’s one obvious area where the gains just don’t seem worth the hunting.

Research from the business world shows boardrooms with more women do better. Among other things they commit less fraud and have better accounting and reporting practices.

Since Spain’s women won their first World Cup and an egghead non-entity nicked all the headlines for attempting to publicly snog one of their stars, Spain’s FA has had a number of PR struggles on its hands.

The man at the centre of it all, Luis Rubiales, has finally quit, while last week’s firing of controversial coach Jorge Vilda seems a smart move.

It may not surprise you to learn that until that happened every single member of the federation’s 17-person board was male.

Now I don’t have space here to persuade you, if you’re not already on board, that sexism is a social curse for ethical and moral reasons. But it is pretty easy 20 years on from Moneyball to keep things relaxed and agree that it isn’t good business practice. Yes, even in football. You can even continue to consider women second-class citizens and improve your team! It’s a win-win.

None of the characteristics highlighted by such authorities as Arsene Wenger or Pep Guardiola are gender-specific. For Wenger it’s strong beliefs and ability to be patient and flexible when applying your own philosophy and tactics. Guardiola has spoken about empowering those around him to take responsibility and delegating to a coaching team that is the best in the world. You could summarise that as humility.

When asked about the difference between managing a business and a football team, Wenger explained that the only difference really is the different ages of those you deal with. Footballers are often teenagers with a weight of responsibility beyond anything we know.

Okay, so we have another important trait: nurturing.

But wait, you’re asking a woman to understand tactics of men’s football. They’ve never played the game! If the argument is that learning anything from a game you’ve not played is impossible, you might want to tell former England boss Roy Hodgson.

Presumably the football he played in non-league in the 60s and 70s mirrors so perfectly Liverpool’s tactics in the 2010s or Palace’s in the 2020s, he has never had to watch another game since he hung up his boots.

No woman has ever managed a club in the top four divisions of English football. Hannah Dingley was caretaker-boss of Forest Green Rovers in pre-season for three games. She did fine but that’s not really the point.

The idea that no woman has the skills to manage a top football team is patently absurd. Yes, take it on and you will receive appalling levels of abuse like Andy Murray’s one-time coach Amelie Mauresmo, but if you’re willing to support her in fending that off as a chairman, the benefits are 2002-season Oakland A-style massive.

We don’t even have to have a Beane-style grasp of stats to know if you recruit from a pool of twice as many people, the quality will improve. Brentford (yes, them!) have a female Under-18s coach, Lydia Bedford.

It will take time. But just you wait, when it catches on, it’s going to be wild.

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Former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan admits Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘tougher mindset’ caused friction among the squad.

Ronaldo made a surprise return to United in August 2021 and scored 24 goals in his first season back at Old Trafford.

However, United endured a turbulent campaign as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in the November following a run of just one win in seven Premier League games.

Much to Ronaldo’s dismay, United ended up appointing Ralf Rangnick as interim manager for the remainder of the season and the team ended up finishing sixth in the table.

Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure in his second season at United under Erik ten Hag – and following a bombshell interview in which he slammed the Dutchman, as well as the club’s hierarchy, the Portugal international’s contract was terminated, which paved the way for his move to Saudi Arabia.

Phelan worked with Ronaldo during both of his spells at United and has revealed that the 38-year-old made his frustration clear when he failed to galvanise certain members of the squad before his departure.

‘The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed,’ Phelan told Sky Sports.

‘He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with. But I’d probably say a tougher mindset. He had been at Man United, he had been Portugal’s ever-present, he had been at Madrid.

‘I liked it because he didn’t want his standards to drop, he wanted other people’s standards to come up. And sometimes you lose a few people along the way when that happens.

‘I remember certain times when he pushed and pushed hard, and he didn’t get much reaction or much response. And there was frustration.

‘When you deal with top, top people, it’s about them and where they can finish and where they can get to. They want to look back and go, ‘wow, that was successful’.

‘And he probably realised, and I don’t know as I never had that conversation with him, that he couldn’t do it at Manchester United. So his challenges were elsewhere.

‘He’s still playing international football, yes he’s in Saudi Arabia, but he’s still playing and scoring goals. He is doing all the things we knew he could do at Manchester United.

‘But a really good personality, hard-working and challenging. He challenged me as a coach, Carlos Queiroz as a coach and Sir Alex as a manager. But that’s good because it takes you to another level.’

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Gary Lineker has been left baffled as to why Scott McTominay is not getting more game time under Erik ten Hag given his stellar Scotland performances.

McTominay, 26, has fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United and has only featured for seven minutes so far this season, with the midfielder coming off the bench in wins over Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

His lack of opportunities at Old Trafford is a stark contrast to his international form after his goal for Scotland in Friday’s 3-0 win over Cyprus, which saw him become the joint-top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Bayern Munich were linked with McTominay this summer and even approached United over a possible swap deal but a move never materialised and he remained a Red Devil.

‘I notice Scott McTominay playing and getting in the box a lot,’ Lineker told The Rest Is Football podcast when speaking about the player’s Scotland performances.

‘He scored again in this game, he scored a couple. He’s top scorer in qualifying.

‘It’s nuts, yet he’s not really getting a look in at Manchester United. Someone will go for him [in the January transfer window or next summer] surely?’

McTominay has spent his entire career at United having progressed through the club’s youth academy.

He has made a total of 211 appearances for United to date, registering 19 goals and five assists.

McTominay is looking to inspire Scotland to victory over England when the two nations meet in a special anniversary match later tonight.

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Arsenal and England star Declan Rice has picked out Manchester City midfielder Rodri as the player he looks to emulate most, hailing him as the standout in his position in the Premier League.

Rice has established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the English top flight, fitting in well with the Gunners after his big-money summer move from West Ham.

The 24-year-old is still looking to learn, though, and is clearly a big fan of Rodri, who he sees as the benchmark for players at the base of midfield.

‘Obviously the main one in the Premier League is Rodri, he’s incredible,’ Rice told Channel 4 of players he looks to emulate.

‘What a player he is, the way he works, the way he keeps that Man City team ticking, you know he’s a top player.’

The former Hammers captain also had praise for his new Arsenal teammate Thomas Partey and Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni.

‘Partey when I came to Arsenal was incredible and has been up until his injury,’ continued Rice.

‘Tchouameni at Real Madrid, he’s a youngster as well, very aggressive, gets on the ball, goes forward with it, he’s very good.’

Another teammate who has caught Rice’s eye since moving to Arsenal is Jorginho, who might not be a first team regular, but has stood out to him on the training pitch.

‘The one who has surprised me so much, not surprised me because I knew he was such a good player anyway, but playing with him every day in training, seeing how he is because he’s not the biggest, is Jorginho,’ he said.

‘His brain, the way it works as a holding midfielder, I’ve just been trying to pick up little things off him.

‘He’s always in position, always knows when to pass, always creates time for himself. He’s an outstanding trainer and I’ve been trying to take little bits from his game as well.

‘I’m trying to learn from everyone, to be honest. I’m only 24, I’ve got all the abilities myself, but there are still things to add to get to the top, and that’s what I want to do.

‘The way we want to play out from the back and how pivotal my position is in that, always being there to be an out-ball, to be a free man, I’m really enjoying it.

‘We never really used to do that in our time at West Ham so it’s kind of going out of your comfort zone a bit, also if I’m doing it more you build so much confidence, which is really good and that is what I want.’

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