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“While doing commentary with him, I felt I was learning cricket all over again”

As told to Hemant Brar13-Jul-2021The first time I met Yashpal was during a Ranji Trophy match in 1981-82. I picked up 14 wickets in that game, including his in both innings.The pitch wasn’t a great one to bat on but I could see his determination in the way he batted. [Sharma scored 74 out of Punjab’s first-innings total of 156.] And since he was already an India player, getting him out twice was a big achievement for me.In the next season, we were team-mates for North Zone at the Duleep Trophy. That’s when I realised how serious he was about his cricket. Even in the nets, he batted with the intensity of a match. He was so much into the game that he wouldn’t sit idle after he was done with batting. He would come and bowl his offspin, or work on his fielding.I learnt how to improve my fielding first and majorly from Maddi [Madan Lal], but when I saw Yashpal Sharma working on his fielding, I told myself if I could also do that, I would become a good fielder too. So there was a lesson to be learnt from his work ethic.He was a very disciplined cricketer, overall. He was fond of food but at the same time he was conscious of what he ate. He didn’t want anything to affect his cricket. If he was playing the next day, he would avoid a heavy dinner. On a match day, he would have a light lunch.

“I realised how serious he was about his cricket. Even in the nets, he batted with the intensity of a match. He was so much into the game that he wouldn’t sit idle after he was done with batting. He would come and bowl his offspin, or work on his fielding”

I have always believed that to be successful in international cricket, you have to be mentally strong. And he was. He was gritty. He didn’t look 100% technically sound but at that level if you are mentally strong, you can make up for it.He was a massive fan of [Indian actor] Dilip Kumar. I remember on my first tour to Pakistan, in 1982-83, we were staying at guesthouses at certain places. There used to be VCRs and he would watch Dilip Kumar movies. Sometimes just to annoy him, some of the players would put in a different cassette when he went for a toilet break. That was the only time I saw him getting angry.After our playing days, we did umpiring and commentary together. We stood in a couple of games together and his concentration level was as high as when he was playing.There was also a lot to learn from him about the game when we did commentary. As I was junior to him, we didn’t communicate much during our playing days. But during our commentary stints, I felt whatever he said on air, he used to apply all that in his own game too. While doing commentary with him, I felt I was learning cricket all over again.Related

1983 World Cup winner Yashpal Sharma dies aged 66

Sometimes I felt he was a bit too serious. But that was his way of life, and everybody cannot be like that.We met recently during India’s home series against England. And he looked fit and fine. He was very health conscious; he would go for his walks quite regularly. So when the news of his death came, I was in absolute shock. I still cannot believe this has happened. For someone who was so disciplined in his life, so health-conscious, he is gone too soon.I can’t shake the thought from my head, perhaps he took the departure of his hero [Dilip Kumar, who died on July 7] to heart.

تحدث الهولندي آرني سلوت، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول عن أزمة محمد صلاح الأخيرة وتصريحاته التي أدلى بها عقب مباراة ليدز يونايتد.

وخرج صلاح بعد انتهاء مباراة ليدز يونايتد بالتعادل بثلاثة أهداف لكل منهما وتحدث لوسائل الإعلام وفتح النار على الجميع، وعلى رأسهم مدربه آرني سلوت، بسبب جلوسه على دكة البدلاء لثلاث مباريات متتالية.

بعد تلك التصريحات، انهالت على صلاح تعليقات اللاعبين القدامى والمحللين الإنجليز وانتقدوا حديثه بشدة وعلى رأسهم جيمي كاراجر.

كما قرر الهولندي آرني سلوت، المدير الفني لليفربول استبعاد محمد صلاح من مباراة إنتر ميلان بعد تصريحاته الأخيرة عقب تعادل الفريق مع ليدز يونايتد ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي.

ويخوض ليفربول مباراته أمام إنتر ميلان مساء اليوم، الثلاثاء، ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “جيوسيبي مياتزا”.

وقال سلوت، خلال مقابلة مع ليفربول دوت كوم: “هذه كلماته، لا أعتقد أن من حقي مناقشة ما يفكر به وما يشعر به لكن هذا ليس ما أشعر به بالتأكيد”.

وأكمل: “ما حدث هو أنني لم أبدأ بلاعب لعب العديد والعديد والعديد من المباريات مع ليفربول ومعي”.

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ثم أوضح أن الفريق بدا ضعيفًا للغاية في الهزائم أمام آيندهوفن وفوريست، وكان جزءا من إخراج صلاح هو تعزيز الأمور دفاعيًا: “أعتقد أننا عانينا هذا الموسم، ولكن في الجزء الأخير من الموسم الماضي، واجهنا بعض الصعوبات مع خطط الخصم”.

وأردف: “حاولت التكيف ولكن بعد مواجهتي آيندهوفن وفورست بدا الفريق ضعيفًا للغاية، قررت القيام بشيء آخر وهذا ما حدث، حيث لم أشرك صلاح ضد وست هام، وسندرلاند، وليدز”.

واستطرد: “يمكن لأي شخص أن يكون لديه رأيه ويستخدم كلماته الخاصة حول ما يفكر فيه بشأن الموقف ولكن الأمر متروك لنا أيضًا للرد عليهم، إذا تكلم أحد اللاعبين فلا يمكننا قبول ذلك”.

وحول ما قاله صلاح بأنه لم يعد هناك علاقة بينهما أجاب: “أنت تسأل في كل شئ قاله (يبتسم للصحفي)، كل من له علاقة بكرة القدم يعلم جيدًا أنني كنت لاعبًا لكن بالتأكيد لم أكن في هذا المستوى، لكنني مدربًا لعدة سنوات، أنا أحب جميع اللاعبين وأعمل معهم سواء الذين يشاركون أو لا”.

وأتم: “بالنسبة للاعبين، أحيانًا حينما يجلسون على دكة البدلاء لا يحبون المدرب بنفس القدر حينما كانوا يشاركون بشكل أساسي، بالنسبة لي أنا أحب مو بنفس القدر الذي أحب به جميع اللاعبين”.

After the weekend defeat in the Premier League, what Arsenal really needed in the Champions League on Wednesday evening was a straightforward victory.

Thankfully for Mikel Arteta’s men, that’s exactly what they got, swatting aside Belgian side Club Brugge 3-0 with relative ease.

The Gunners were at their free-flowing best in the final third, notably scoring two outstanding goals courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.

It was a much-changed side as Arteta chose to rotate and many in red and white in midweek staked their claim for more regular opportunities.

Arsenal's standout performers against Club Brugge

This was a fantastic night for Arsenal’s wingers. With Leandro Trossard injured and Bukayo Saka part of the rested crew on the bench, it meant that Martinelli and Madueke started on the left and right flanks respectively.

Both players have struggled with injuries this season but Martinelli, in particular, has made an impact nearly every time he’s played.

The Brazilian scored the away side’s third and final goal on Wednesday, a beauty from the edge of the area.

That happened to be his fifth goal in his last five Champions League ties, the first player in Arsenal history to record such a statistic.

That said, his colleague on the opposite wing was even better. This was his finest day in Arsenal colours yet.

Signed from Chelsea in the summer, every man and his dog seemed to question why on earth Andrea Berta and Co had brought Madueke to the Emirates Stadium. Well, safe to say he’s proved everyone wrong.

The Englishman bagged his first goal for the club against Bayern Munich a few weeks ago and added two more to his tally this week.

His first was a scorcher from distance. The Arsenal winger burst away from his marker, headed towards the box and then unleashed a fierce effort which crashed off the bar and found the net.

By contrast, his second goal was about as simple as they come. Martin Zubimendi’s cross from the left found Madueke who headed home from a matter of yards out.

There were a number of real positives for Arsenal. It was great to see Gabriel Jesus back on the pitch for the first time after suffering an ACL injury back in January.

Emergency centre-half, Christian Norgaard, also stood out at the back, part of a backline that kept a clean sheet.

With Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera and Jurrien Timber all missing through injury, it meant a rare opportunity for the Dane and he took it with aplomb, even if he was playing out of position.

That being said, it wasn’t the finest of nights for another of Arsenal’s summer signings.

Arsenal's worst performer against Club Brugge

This was an evening for those on the fringes to stake their claim. Madueke, Martinelli and Norgaard all took their chances.

Viktor Gyokeres, on the other hand, did not. The question that was raised after this game was, when do we start to worry about the Swede?

When Berta first arrived in north London, his priority task was to find a new striker and one capable of scoring goals.

Well, it looked as though he’d acquired one of Europe’s finest. This is a player who bagged 54 times in 52 games last term for Sporting CP but he has so far failed to translate that form in English football.

To be fair to him, he has largely been starved of service. Arsenal struggle to create clear-cut opportunities for him to score from and that was the same story against Brugge this week.

Chalkboard

The only chance of note that Gyokeres had came in the first half but it was a half-chance at best, heading the ball straight into the arms of the goalkeeper with a few bodies challenging for the same ball.

Gyokeres did leave the field with three shots to his name but none of them were that noteworthy, which seems to be a familiar trend from his time in north London to date.

That said, the Sweden international does need to be doing more. Even if he has just returned from injury, his 45-minute cameo against Aston Villa at the weekend, combined with his 60-odd minutes on Wednesday, were not good enough.

Minutes played

62

Touches

12

Accurate passes

5/6 (83%)

Key passes

1

Crosses

0

Shots

3

Shots on target

1

Successful dribbles

0

Ground duels won

0/3

Aerial duels won

2/3

He had just 12 touches of the ball in Belgium, 25 fewer than goalkeeper David Raya. Furthermore, he also managed just five passes.

There is a sense that Gyokeres has vastly improved his hold-up play and ability to link things together at the top of this Arsenal team since signing from Sporting. However, he was brought to London to score goals and he’s simply not doing that with any regularity right now.

It is only December. We must not completely write off the big-money attacker before he’s had a full season. For now, however, it doesn’t look great.

Arsenal have looked a much better team with Mikel Merino as the number 9 and you’d expect him to start against Wolves in that role on Saturday night ahead of Gyokeres.

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Tottenham Hotspur are starting to make headway under Thomas Frank’s stewardship. However, the Danish coach’s side have been inconsistent since he arrived in the summer, and he has confirmed he will be in the market for transfers in January.

Though the defence have encountered some problems throughout the campaign, Spurs’ attacking play has drawn plenty of criticism, with xG (expected goals) recording a total of just 14.8 from 15 fixtures, as per FBref.

James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have both been sidelined since the summer, while Dominic Solanke has suffered more issues of his own, but there’s a sense that Heung-min Son’s potency in the final third has been missed.

ENIC Group appear to have recognised this, with plans drawn to sign an attacker next month.

Spurs' January search for a forward

Tottenham are 11th in the Premier League but only trail fourth-place Chelsea by four points. With a bit more flair and precision up front, Frank’s side could start playing with the consistency that has been missing.

Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is on the London club’s shortlist, but Liverpool and Manchester City are also interested in striking a £65m deal this winter.

With six goals and three assists in the league this year, the 25-year-old could restore the Son-like presence to Spurs’ side, but he’s not the only one on Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici’s radar.

According to TEAMtalk, Kenan Yildiz is on Tottenham’s radar as one of their ‘dream’ targets, having been bumped up ahead of Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman.

Juventus’ financial problems mean they would be open to parting with one of their most coveted players, who has started the season in fine form.

His signature won’t come cheap. Arsenal have also been linked with the Turkish international, with Juve reportedly demanding £88m.

What Yildiz would bring to Spurs

Yildiz is one of the brightest attacking midfielders in the world. The 20-year-old became a regular presence in Juventus’ first team last season, posting 20 goal contributions in all competitions.

This year, he’s cranked his efficiency in the final third up a notch, already with six goals and six assists apiece across 20 matches.

European football writer Danny Corcoran has observed that the versatile attacker has “Mbappe-like ability” when running with the ball, and he ranks among the top 8% of positional peers across Europe for shot-creating actions and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90.

Serie A 25/26 – Kenan Yildiz
Match Stats (* per game)	#
Matches (starts)	13 (12)
Goals	5
Assists	3
Touches*	51.5
Shots (on target)*	2.4 (1.1)
Accurate passes*	26.8 (85%)
Chances created*	2.2
Dribbles*	1.4
Recoveries*	3.4
Tackles + interceptions*	0.7
Duels won*	3.8
Data via Sofascore

Eight goal involvements from just 12 Serie A starting appearances underline how Yildiz could grow into one of the most prolific forwards in Europe, so such an ambitious bid on Tottenham’s part could land a blistering new goalscoring star to replace Son.

The South Korean, 33, left the Lilywhites from Los Angeles this summer after winning the Europa League in May, ending a decade of service with a trophy.

While the likes of Mohammed Kudus have been in promising form this season, he lacks the old captain’s clinical edge in front of goal, something Yildiz could add to Frank’s side.

Son scored 127 goals from 333 Premier League outings, and Yildiz might just have natural goalscoring ability to replace him, just as competent out on the left wing as he is playing off the central striker.

Any dynamic forward who shares some of Real Madrid superstar Mbappe’s athletic and physical attributes has a chance at making it big in the Premier League, and this could be the spark that Frank’s team need to kick on and challenge for a place in the top four while pushing deep in cup competitions too.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig has said that the fleet-footed Turk is “translating his ability into consistent numbers” this season, and if he could continue that trend down N17 in the Premier League, Tottenham may just crack this attacking nut that has been holding Frank’s vision back this season.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees met last fall in the World Series for the 12th time in MLB history. It was a matchup that featured two of baseball's biggest stars in Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, but the star power went well beyond those headliners as the matchup featured two of the highest payrolls in MLB history.

While the Dodgers ultimately won the series 4-1, the first three games were very close and a Shohei Ohtani injury added some extra drama to the proceedings. Now, fans will be able to relive it all in a new three-part documentary called "Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series."

The series, which promises to "take viewers deeper than ever into the Fall Classic, capturing the intensity, drama, and defining moments of the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees as they reignite one of baseball’s most storied rivalries in pursuit of a World Series Championship," was directed by R.J. Cutler and produced by Derek Jeter, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

You can watch the trailer below:

The series premiers on on March 28th.

Rajat Patidar named vice-captain while Deepak Chahar is set to return from injury

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2025After warming the bench through the recent five-match Test series in England, Kuldeep Yadav will return to action in the Duleep Trophy, where he will lead Central Zone’s spin attack.Vidarbha left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, who broke the record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season when he picked up 69 in his side’s run to the title in 2024-25, will combine with Kuldeep and Rajasthan’s Manav Suthar for Central Zone.Dhruv Jurel, who had replaced the injured Rishabh Pant in India’s series-levelling win at The Oval, will captain Central Zone with Rajat Patidar named his deputy.Related

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Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, who had cut his county stint short with Essex for personal reasons will return to action and will lead Central Zone’s seam attack along with Deepak Chahar. Chahar, 33, had suffered an injury during IPL 2025 and missed two games for Mumbai Indians, but recently he was bowling at the India nets at Lord’s and The Oval.Yash Rathod, who was the top scorer in the previous Ranji season with 960 runs in 18 innings at an average of over 50, and his Vidarbha team-mate Danish Malewar, who scored 153 and 73 in the final against Kerala, were rewarded for their strong form. UP captain Aryan Juyal also made the cut along with Madhya Pradesh offspinner Saransh Jain and Chhattisgarh batter Sanjeet Desai. Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy-winning coach Usman Ghani was named the head coach of the team.Fast bowler Kuldeep Sen, who has played a solitary ODI for India, was among the stand-bys.The Duleep Trophy has reverted to its traditional format of a zonal contest after a season where four teams – A, B, C and D – comprising players in the Test fray were picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led senior men’s selection committee. Teams for this year’s tournament will be picked by zonal selection committees, comprising one member from each of the state sides from the zone.Central Zone will start their Duleep Trophy campaign against North East on August 28 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.Central Zone squadDhruv Jurel (capt, wk), Rajat Patidar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanchit Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel AhmedStand-bys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav

Northamptonshire 624 for 6 (Zaib 150*,Harrison 122, Broad 107, Vasconcelos 100) lead Kent 566 for 8 dec (Bell-Drummond 158, Finch 118, Guthrie 3-92) by 58 runsBat continued to dominate ball on day three of the Rothesay County Championship match between Kent and Northamptonshire at Canterbury, with Saif Zaib, Calvin Harrison, Justin Broad and Ricardo Vasconcelos all making centuries as the visitors closed on 624 for six, a lead of 58.Zaib was unbeaten on 150, Harrison hit 122 and Broad was 107 not out at stumps. Earlier Vasconcelos made exactly 100 and Tim Robinson weighed in with 55.It was another sapping day for the bowlers but Jaydn Denly took his first red-ball wickets at the Spitfire Ground, finishing with two for 107.The temperature was already 27 degrees in the shade when Northants resumed on 140 for one and the overnight batters quickly reached their milestones.Harrison, 41 overnight, drove Nathan Gilchrist to reach his half-century and Vasconcelos, who’d ended day two on 87, took a single from Joey Evison to reach three figures, but he was then out, caught behind off Wes Agar.When it was Harrison’s turn to rack up his hundred he did it in style, heaving Matt Parkinson for six over mid-wicket and seeing the visitors through to 255 for two at lunch.An apparently dead game was briefly reignited when Parkinson had Harrison caught at mid on by Denly and James Sales was then brilliantly run out by Nathan Gilchrist and Harry Finch for 41: Robinson narrowly avoided getting caught by Ekansh Singh at short leg but hared down the track looking for a single that wasn’t there.Singh, however, couldn’t take an ankle-high chance offered by Zaib when he was on nine and Robinson eased to 50 with a single off Parkinson.Denly claimed his first first-class wicket at the Spitfire Ground when he had Robinson lbw but Zaib reverse swept his for four to bring up his half-century in his next over and it was 416 for five at tea.Denly struck again in the second over after the resumption to get Lewis McManus caught and bowled for 13, but Zaib eased to three figures. He’d reached 99 when Kent brought the field in and then swept Tawanda Muyeye for six over square leg.Broad drove Denly to put Northants into the lead and took a single from the same bowler to reach three figures in the 130th over. Rain is forecast for swathes of day four, but if it stays away the visitors might yet make life awkward for Kent.

West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo is already feeling the heat, and his first home game as manager was quite simply the stuff of nightmares.

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During a match boycotted by large portions of the Hammers faifthful, amid ongoing protests against David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the board, Brentford took West Ham to the cleaners.

Keith Andrews’ side, bar an effort from Jarrod Bowen which nearly crept in at the far post, were never troubled by a lacklustre, uninspired home side who looked devoid of confidence, rhythm and a clear identity.

In truth, the 2-0 loss flattered West Ham, as Brentford also struck the crossbar twice, forced great saves from Alphonse Areola and had another goal chalked off by VAR just before half-time.

Nuno’s line-up was, at best, pretty questionable too.

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West Ham 0-2 Brentford

The Portuguese, in Niclas Fullkrug’s absence due to a thigh injury, experimented with Lucas Paqueta as the centre-forward — but he failed to convince, was largely isolated and gave the ball away carelessly.

Olly Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters took up unusual full-back roles on their opposite sides, with Freddie Potts and summer signing Soungountou Magassa sacrificed for a leggy midfield partnership of Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving.

Brentford exposed West Ham’s fragility time and time again, with the centre-back partnership of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo – who was given his first start under Nuno – having a night to forget against a rampant Bees side who had 17 shots in total.

The result means that West Ham have now lost all four of their first home league games for the first time in the club’s long history, and if things don’t change soon, it is clear that Nuno has a relegation dogfight on his hands.

Last term, the Irons escaped a drop to the Championship owing to how poor all three promoted sides were, as was the case in 2023/2024 as well, but West Ham may not have that luxury this time around.

The 51-year-old needs inspiration from somewhere, and one West Ham player is said to be working hard in an attempt to prove his worth to Nuno at Rush Green.

Igor Julio impressing Nuno in West Ham training

That man is summer signing Igor Julio, who joined the east Londoners on a season-long loan from Brighton.

The Brazilian, who’s made 37 Premier League appearances for Brighton since joining them from Fiorentina in 2023, was limited to just a single Carabao Cup appearance this term and signed for West Ham in pursuit of more game time.

Nuno is yet to start Julio in any of his first three matches as West Ham boss, having played just one minute off the bench against Everton, and he didn’t even feature in their matchday squad for Brentford.

Considering just how leaky West Ham’s defence looks right now, with Kilman and Todibo really struggling on Monday night, the 27-year-old could sense an opportunity to play his way into contention.

As relayed by The West Ham Way, Julio is believed to be impressing in West Ham training, and as Nuno experiments to try and find out his definitive best side, the door could be open for him to usurp the likes of Todibo, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Let’s face it, matters could hardly be any worse at the back right now, with West Ham conceding the most goals of any side in the Premier League so far.

Julio appears to be hard at work to earn a place in the starting eleven, and a tricky test away to Leeds on Friday would act as a baptism of fire for the new arrival who’s looking to get his Premier League career back on track.

Former Seagulls coach Inigo Calderón is on record calling Julio an “animal” of a defender, which is exactly what Nuno is crying out for.

After the dismissal of Erik ten Hag nearly 12 months ago, Manchester United fans will have been excited by the appointment of Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP.

The 40-year-old won two league titles back in his homeland, even beating Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League just a couple of weeks before his appointment at Old Trafford.

However, his stint in charge of the Red Devils has been nothing short of a disaster, with the manager achieving a win percentage of just 39% in his 49 outings.

His latest defeat against Brentford has once again cranked up the pressure on his shoulders, with his £200m attacking additions still struggling to have the desired impact.

His future at the Theatre of Dreams remains hugely up in the air, with the INEOS hierarchy already seemingly targeting other alternatives to replace him should he be handed his marching orders.

The Man Utd shortlist to replace Amorim

Over the last couple of days, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has emerged as a potential option to replace Amorim at United should he be given the boot in the near future.

Whilst the Cherries want to keep hold of the Spaniard, they could have no choice in allowing him to depart, with the 43-year-old’s current contract set to expire at the end of the season.

However, he’s not the only name currently on their shortlist, with former England boss Gareth Southgate once again emerging on the INEOS radar, as relayed by FootballTransfers.

They claim that the 55-year-old could be open to returning to management and moving to Manchester after taking time out of the game following his departure from the national team in July last year.

It remains unclear if he will be the club’s main target for the role should Amorim depart, but the board have been impressed with his ability to get the best out of his players at international level.

Why United’s latest manager target would revive Mainoo

United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has endured somewhat of a frustrating last 12 months on the pitch, with boss Amorim often looking past him for selection in his midfield.

The Englishman only registered 20 league starts out of a possible 38 last season, with the likes of Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro ahead of him in the manager’s pecking order.

However, he has previously nailed down his place in the starting eleven, with Ten Hag often relying upon the 20-year-old to produce the goods during his tenure in charge.

Mainoo racked up various key goals in 2023/24, from last-minute winners to derby day goals and an FA Cup final strike – it truly was a year to remember for the youngster.

Such performances secured him a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad last summer, further showcasing his remarkable rise over such a short period of time.

He even started four of the nation’s six games in such a tournament, showcasing the faith that Southgate had in the youngster to deliver on the biggest stage for his country.

The appointment of the former England boss would certainly hand Mainoo the chance to regain his place in the side, whilst also instilling the confidence he’s been massively lacking in recent months.

For the Red Devils, the potential decision to hire Southgate may not be many supporters’ first choice, but it is one that could deliver the needed turnaround in form they’ve been craving.

The 55-year-old, who’s been dubbed “incredible” by Scott Parker, achieved a 63% win record in charge of the Three Lions and subsequently took them to two major international finals.

Gareth Southgate – England record
Statistics	Tally
Games managed	102
Wins	64
Draws	20
Losses	18
Goals per game	2.3
Goals conceded	0.8
Points per game	2.1
Win percentage	63%
Stats via Transfermarkt

His side’s also achieved an average of 2.3 goals per game under his guidance, offering the Red Devils the needed attacking quality they’ve lacked in recent weeks under Amorim.

Such numbers are nothing short of remarkable, with the former England boss potentially able to end the club’s decade-long wait for a league title in the years ahead.

Success in the role is one thing, but the development of the players at his disposal would also be a massive part of his task in charge at Old Trafford.

Mainoo could be a huge beneficiary of such an appointment, potentially starring under Southgate’s reign once again and getting back on the trajectory he was once on at the Theatre of Dreams.

Arteta 2.0: Man Utd now targeting "best coach in the PL" & it's not Glasner

Manchester United appear to be targeting a manager who could replace Ruben Amorim.

By
Ethan Lamb

Sep 30, 2025

Bayern Munich are nearing a contract extension with Dayot Upamecano, but a dispute over the signing bonus has put talks on hold. The French defender reportedly wants a bonus similar to the package Alphonso Davies received when he last extended his deal, while Bayern hesitate due to recent big-money renewals. Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Manchester United are monitoring developments closely.

• Upamecano’s bonus demand stalls Bayern contract talks

  According to , Bayern's efforts to renew Upamecano’s contract beyond 2026 have hit a snag, despite both sides agreeing on most terms. Negotiations are said to be “nearly complete” but remain blocked by one crucial issue, the signing bonus. Upamecano, who joined Bayern from RB Leipzig in 2021, is seeking parity with teammate Davies, who received around €17 million (£14m/$19m) for signing his latest extension earlier this year.

  The Bavarian giants, however, are reluctant to match that figure, as with expensive renewals already handed to Davies, Joshua Kimmich, and Jamal Musiala, sporting director Max Eberl is under pressure to control wage spending. Club president Herbert Hainer confirmed at Oktoberfest: "The talks are ongoing, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund are handling them. And of course, I hope that Dayot will stay with us for a long time."

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• Bayern balance & Upamecano's value

  Upamecano’s strong performances under boss Vincent Kompany have solidified his place in Bayern’s defence. The 26-year-old has started eight of 10 competitive matches this season, showing the composure and athleticism that made him one of Europe’s most sought-after defenders. 

  Bayern view him as an integral part of their long-term project, but the financial side remains delicate. According to report, the base salary agreement is in place, but Bayern are unwilling to cross the threshold on bonuses that could set an expensive precedent for future negotiations. “We’re trying to continue convincing him of the Bayern project,” said Eberl last week.

• Real Madrid, Liverpool & PSG alerted

  While Bayern remain confident, the delay has caught the attention of Europe’s elite. Real Madrid, PSG, and Liverpool are among the clubs monitoring Upamecano’s situation, sensing a potential opportunity if talks stall. With his contract set to expire in 2026, the French defender could be available on a cut-price deal in January, or even walk for free next summer.

  Upamecano’s camp is reported to be aware of this leverage, but the player feels “completely at home” in Munich, suggesting that an agreement is still likely if Bayern make a reasonable compromise.

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• AFP
  

  Kompany factor – a new era of defensive trust

  Kompany has revitalised Upamecano’s confidence after a mixed campaign last season. The Belgian coach’s emphasis on proactive defending and quick transitions suits the Frenchman’s natural strengths.

  Negotiations are expected to continue over the coming weeks as Bayern seek to finalise the renewal before the end of the calendar year. A compromise on the signing bonus could unlock the deal, though Bayern are unlikely to match Davies’ amount outright. For now, Upamecano remains focused on the pitch, with Bayern targeting another domestic surge under Kompany and key Champions League fixtures looming. But unless both sides find common ground soon, Europe’s biggest clubs could make the next move in what’s becoming a tense transfer poker game in Munich.