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Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag will look to 'fast-track' youngster Kobbie Mainoo and will keep him around the first-team rather than sending him out on loan to continue his development, according to journalist Steve Bates.

Who is Kobbie Mainoo?

Mainoo is a talented 18-year-old midfielder for Manchester United who is steadily making a large impression at Old Trafford due to his displays in the engine room at underage levels.

Last term, combining his exploits in various elite development competitions and in the first-team, Mainoo racked up 20 appearances and registered two goals and two assists, as per Transfermarkt.

In the Red Devils' 1-0 victory over Lyon in a pre-season friendly earlier this week held at Murrayfield, Mainoo put in a strong performance and backed up the hype he has continued to build over the last few weeks.

Football analyst Statman Dave took to Twitter to share his positive impact on proceedings, stating: "Kobbie Mainoo’s game by numbers vs. Olympique Lyonnais: 94% pass accuracy 48 touches 2 blocks 2 interceptions 1/1 dribbles completed. Bright future."

According to The Manchester Evening News, Manchester United did consider loaning Mainoo out this campaign to continue his development; however, it is now understood that he will be kept in and around the first-team squad after impressing senior figures at the club.

The Stockport-born midfielder is capable of playing in a variety of central positions and will travel on Manchester United's tour of the USA after featuring in friendly victories over Leeds United in Oslo and against Lyon in Edinburgh.

Writing in his column for GIVEMESPORT, journalist Bates has issued an important update on the future of Mainoo at Manchester United.

Bates wrote: "AS soon as Manchester United signed Mason Mount, Erik ten Hag’s phone started ringing with clubs eyeing up a chance to grab one of his midfield stars. The clamour for one player was loudest – rising young academy star Kobbie Mainoo. But the multiple enquiries to take the 18-year-old star on loan met with an immediate and emphatic response from the Dutch boss – “No chance”.

"But ten Hag wants to oversee Mainoo’s development at the club’s Carrington training ground after tying the youngster to a new four-year deal last season."

What now for Manchester United?

Manchester United manager Ten Hag will be focusing all of his attention on preparing his side for the new season over the next few weeks and trying to secure key transfer targets.

Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana travelled to the Carrington training complex to complete his medical ahead of a £43 million move to Manchester United and is expected to be announced imminently, according to The Daily Mail.

The Red Devils are also in advanced talks with Atalanta over striker Rasmus Hojlund to iron out the structure of the fee they will pay for the Denmark international, who has already agreed personal terms with the Premier League giants, as per The Independent.

Talking on the ESPN YouTube channel, journalist Rob Dawson revealed that Manchester United's short-term signing Jonny Evans could end up penning a longer deal at the club, stating: “United privately are saying they are not ruling anything out with him. Possibly he could sign a longer deal for the coming season, spend a year at Old Trafford as a back-up for Varane and Martinez. If that were to happen it would cast a massive doubt on the future of Harry Maguire. If they were to bring Jonny Evans in, there really wouldn’t be a place for Harry Maguire.”

Australia’s stand-in coach Justin Langer believes Matthew Wade could become the best wicketkeeper in the country if he was to follow the hard work ethic of predecessors Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist

Brydon Coverdale28-Jun-20161:33

Langer backs Wade to become the best

Australia’s stand-in coach Justin Langer believes Matthew Wade could become the best wicketkeeper in the country if he was to follow the hard work ethic of predecessors Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist. Wade was key to Australia’s win in the tri-series final against West Indies thanks to his unbeaten 57 from 52 balls, and Langer said his batting form at practice was outstanding throughout the tour.However, Wade’s glovework has rarely matched the sharpness of previous Australia wicketkeepers such as Healy and Gilchrist, and earlier in the tri-series Wade himself nominated Peter Nevill as the best gloveman in Australia. Earlier this year, the selectors chose Test wicketkeeper Nevill ahead of Wade in the squad for the World T20 in India, leaving ODIs as the only format in which Wade is the incumbent.Wade has played 12 Tests and was the first-choice Test wicketkeeper during 2012 and early 2013, until the selectors went back to Brad Haddin for the Ashes campaign in England. Now 28, Wade’s international future appears more likely to be in the shorter formats with Nevill well established in the Test side, but Langer said there was no reason Wade could not push his case for a recall.”What often happens is you only highlight the mistakes,” Langer said. “But you don’t notice him very often and that’s a really good sign. My advice to him, I was very lucky to play with Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist and they always had the best work ethic of anyone in the squad, so if he just continues to work hard there’s no reason [he can’t improve].”I heard him say a couple of weeks ago Peter Nevill is obviously the best wicketkeeper in Australia. Well, I’d like to think Matthew Wade is aspiring to be the best wicketkeeper in Australia. He’s in the one-day side, if he works hard, if he has a Healy and Gilchrist work ethic, then there’s no reason why he can’t be the best wicketkeeper in Australia. But that’s up to him if he really wants to work at that.”During the tri-series, Wade spilled a one-handed chance that allowed Marlon Samuels to go on and score a century, but, after Australia’s win in the final, captain Steven Smith acknowledged that the pitches in the West Indies made it a tough place to keep wicket.”It has been difficult,” Smith said. “He’s missed a couple of opportunities but it is a tough place to keep. There’s lots of balls that were bouncing before him and the ball was reversing and doing a bit. It is a difficult place to keep.”Wade’s batting has always been a plus at the selection table, with two centuries from his 12 Tests and an average of a touch under 40 in first-class cricket. His innings in the tri-series final earned high praise from Langer, who was coaching the side in this tournament due to the absence of Darren Lehmann.”He showed maturity, he’s the captain of Victoria at the moment,” Langer said. “He showed really good leadership and he batted very well. A big innings under pressure, that’s when you earn respect from your team-mates, that’s when you earn respect from the selectors, that’s when you earn respect from the public and the media.”

Although it was a poor season for Glasgow Rangers, there were a couple of players who performed well. Todd Cantwell shone after his January arrival, registering ten goal contributions across just 16 Premiership matches, while Nicolas Raskin also enjoyed a solid few months, controlling things from the centre of the pitch by averaging 58.4 touches per game alongside holding an 88% pass success rate.

However, it was American attacking midfielder Malik Tillman who perhaps delivered the greatest performances last season, impressing during a loan spell from Bayern Munich.

The 21-year-old played 28 league matches for the Ibrox side, registering 14 goal contributions – ten goals and four assists – while creating 12 big chances and averaging 1.6 key passes per game, ranking him fifth, third and sixth in the Gers squad, respectively to underline how effective he was in the final third.

The Light Blues had a chance to sign him for £5m from Bayern, however it doesn’t appear as a deal will happen, and Michael Beale will need to find a solid replacement ahead of next season.

Could Parfait Guiagon – included in the Guardian’s ‘Next Gen List’ back in 2018 – be the ideal player to arrive at Ibrox and continue from where Tillman left off?

Could Rangers sign Parfait Guiagon?

According to Israeli outfit One (via Daily Record), the Gers watched the £3m-rated gem's progress during the most recent campaign as he turned out for Maccabi Tel Aviv, yet they could face stiff competition for his signature, with several Greek sides keen and this could tempt Beale into making a move sooner rather than later.

The 22-year-old recorded four goals and two assists across 37 matches in all competitions this term, hardly earth-shattering numbers and some way shy of Tillman’s figures, however, journalist Maher Mezahi claimed that the Ivorian is the ‘creative outlet’ for Tel Aviv, which suggests he could have capabilities to create chances similar to the former Gers loanee should he move to Scotland.

Indeed, Mezahi even stated that the young sensation ‘should be moving to a more prestigious league sooner rather than later’ such is his talent and the Premiership could be an ideal platform for him to take his game to the next level.

Guiagon was even lauded as “one of the most talented youngsters in Israel's premier league” by R.D Football Scout and if given time by Beale, the Gers could soon be forgetting about Tillman.

The 5 foot 7 gem may take time to bed in, especially with the physical demands of Scottish football, yet after a few months, the American managed to get to grips with it and Guiagon should be able to adapt just as easily.

Liverpool took a draw from their Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last night and despite the point earned, Jurgen Klopp will surely be slightly frustrated due to the tight race for Champions League football next season.

The Reds have just ten games remaining to close the gap with a number of teams competing for the fourth spot inside the top four and are now seven points adrift following their stalemate in west London.

Despite having 51% possession, Liverpool had fewer shots on goal (12 v 7), created fewer big chances (0 v 3) and won fewer duels and tackles over the performance, with the side lacking real quality all over the pitch and inconsistency yet again.

The Liverpool boss hinted in his pre-match press conference that he would make changes to his starting XI following the defeat to Manchester City last weekend and he did not disappoint when it came to completely refreshing the team.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Mohammed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson all lost their starting spots, however, it was unfortunately not enough to snatch all three points from the game.

Although the game ended 0-0, Chelsea did have two goals disallowed, with Reece James having a goal ruled out for offside in the first half and a second struck off because of Joao Felix's handball in the 51st minute.

Liverpool, on the other hand, missed many opportunities to find the back of the net and a lack of creativity meant that the visitors were never really able to get stuck into the game from an attacking perspective.

One player who retained his spot in the starting line-up was Diogo Jota, with the Portuguese forward deployed on the right to fill the boots of Salah.

Unfortunately, it now feels unlikely that he'll keep his starting berth when the Reds welcome table-topping Arsenal to Anfield on Sunday.

How did Jota play vs Chelsea?

Jota quickly became a fan favourite on the red side of Merseyside after completing a £41m move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020 – scoring 34 goals and delivering 16 assists over 102 appearances so far.

However, injuries have been unkind to the £140k-per-week star over the past few seasons and, over the current campaign, has rarely been seen, but tonight's display was disappointing and uninspiring in the forward line.

Over his 90-minute performance, Jota even had fewer touches than goalkeeper Alisson Becker (43 v 52) and completed only 23 accurate passes as a marker of his ineffectiveness.

Furthermore, he proved a lightweight in attack having lost 15 physical duels and being dribbled past three times, while his wastefulness was highlighted in his inability to have a single shot on or off target.

The Portugal international's missed chances in front of goal were picked up on by many, including sports design consultant, Dinesh Kumar, who remarked: "You can tell Jota is really struggling with confidence, has to take that chance first time, normally does and more often hits the back of the net."

Indeed, the former Wolves man has now nearly gone an entire year (31 games) without finding the back of the net, in what The Athletic's Caoimhe O'Neill suggested is becoming a "worry" for the club.

Klopp has a number of forwards to pick from with the competitiveness for a position in the front three higher than ever at Anfield, so if Jota wants to remain in contention for starting selection he will need to regain his confidence and prove to his manager he can still offer important goal contributions when it matters most.

Gloucestershire’s website pronounced that Gareth Roderick was out for the season. With wickets falling at Bristol, it proved to be far from the case

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2017Not even a badly damaged finger could prevent Gareth Roderick from keeping Kent at bay on the final day of Gloucestershire’s Specsavers’ County Championship game in Bristol.The day began with Gloucestershire’s official website claiming Roderick would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a significant finger injury whilst keeping wicket on day three.However, when the host county found themselves in a spot of bother in mid-afternoon, Roderick reached for his pads, gloves and bat and duly held up Kent’s push for victory.By the time captain Phil Mustard declared, bringing the match to an earlier than scheduled end, Roderick was 78 not out, Gloucestershire were safe and Kent were left to wonder what might have been.It had been anything but a successful start to the day for Gloucestershire. Kent, desperate for early wickets, left an indelible mark on Gloucestershire’s top order, thanks to veteran all-rounder Darren Stevens. The 41-year-old sent back Chris Dent (41) with the very first ball of the day and then trapped captain Mustard lbw, three balls later. When James Bracey departed in the same manner, Gloucestershire were 91 for 3. With the news of Roderick’s likely no-show, that, effectively, was 91 for 4. Or so we thought.First innings batting hero Cameron Bancroft, and George Hankins, provided some respite and took the hosts to 146 before the latter edged Mitch Claydon to Sam Billings and though Bancroft and Jack Taylor survived to lunch and beyond, there was further trouble ahead.Bancroft departed for 72, at 186 for 5 and Taylor, who was dropped at second slip on 9, at 163 for 4, followed the Australian back to the pavilion a dozen runs later when Matt Coles had him caught behind by Billings for 27. It got worse, for Gloucestershire, before it improved, with Kieran Noema-Barnett, driving Stevens to mid off where sub fielder Imran Qayyun took a comfortable catch.From that juncture, the pressure fell on the shoulders of Roderick. With Josh Shaw providing solid support, the 26-year-old looked in precious little trouble or discomfort as Kent struggled for the break through.By the time Stevens helped himself to a fifth wicket in the innings, that of Shaw, for 2, Gloucestershire were just about home and dry at 249 for 8.Roderick passed his 50 off 76 balls, with eight fours, and continued to help himself before the players shook hands with 26 overs still remaining.

Newcastle United have been strongly linked with a move for Dominik Szoboszlai this summer and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on the club's pursuit of the player.

What's the latest on Newcastle's interest in Szoboszlai?

According to Sky Sports' North East correspondent Keith Downie, Newcastle are now focusing their attention on the RB Leipzig attacker after Tottenham Hotspur progress their deal to sign James Maddison.

Downie took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to reveal: "Newcastle target James Maddison is in advanced talks with Spurs, report my colleagues @skysportspaulg & @skysports_sheth. "Cautious optimism” a deal will get done — small gap in valuation with Leicester. NUFC likely to look to RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai as option."

Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has also revealed the player's release clause and when it will expire:

"This is how Dominik Szoboszlai’s exit clause works. Only valid until June 30 — worth €70m (£60m)."

Would Szoboszlai be a good signing for Newcastle?

There is no doubt that Eddie Howe will be thrilled with the progress his squad at St James' Park has made during his first full season in charge, however, now the manager faces new and difficult challenges as the club prepares for Champions League football next season.

This will be the first time Howe has ever managed a side in Europe, and it's the first time that Newcastle have qualified in over two decades, so there will be a lot of work to be done in pre-season, as well as a strong transfer window to recruit new additions who can add quality and experience.

As a result, the signing of Szoboszlai – hailed a "future icon" by scout Jacek Kulig – would be a great opportunity for Newcastle to add some depth to their attacking threat as the versatile talent is prolific in a number of positions.

The 22-year-old has taken on many roles over his short career so far with a wealth of experience in countless positions including central midfield, attacking midfield, as well as taking up a more advanced role on the left and right wings of the forward line, making him a hugely valuable asset and potentially a much better alternative to Maddison.

Indeed, when comparing the Hungarian ace to his Leicester City positional peer, Szoboszlai outperformed Maddison in a number of key attributes including shots on target rate (48.3% v 32.5%), pass completion (79.9% v 73.4%), shot-creating actions per 90 (5.52 v 5.01) and goal-creating actions per 90 (0.63 v 0.47), proving that he is a more consistent performer in front of goal and a more creative option for Howe to deploy next season.

Another strength that Szoboszlai possesses over Maddison is a wealth of Champions League experience; with 25 appearances in the elite European competition – scoring eight goals and registering three assists.

With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Newcastle to snap up the services of Szoboszlai this summer as he could be a real threat to opponents from a number of positions and would provide the club with a fresh perspective in the final third next season.

U.S. men's national team winger Christian Pulisic provided an update on his fitness on Tuesday.

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Pulisic back training on grassUSMNT star posts social media update

Winger missed November international break through injury

WHAT HAPPENED?

Photos posted on Instagram showed the USMNT winger playing on a grass surface, while training in Milan gear. Pulisic picked up a knock in the final minutes of the Rossoneri's 2-1 victory over Kylian Mbappe and PSG in the UEFA Champions League. Now, ahead of a return to Serie A action at the weekend, the forward has posted that he's back in training – seemingly confirming that he's avoided any sort of serious injury.

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Without Pulisic, Milan drew Lecce 2-2 on November 11, the day before the international break kicked off. It's a big boost for the Rossoneri ahead of the weekend to have the forward in contention, as he seems to be an important puzzle piece in their success of late.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the six matches that Pulisic has either scored or assisted in this season, Milan have not lost once, and have only settled for a draw on a single occasion too. Will the former Chelsea man extend that streak this weekend?

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC AND MILAN?

Club football returns this weekend with Milan hosting Fiorentina in Serie A. The status of Pulisic's fitness is still unknown, but seeing him in training has to be a positive for Stefano Pioli's side. If the USMNT winger isn't ready he'll be hoping to make his return on November 28, when his former club Borussia Dortmund come to town in UCL action.

Weston McKennie has been billed as a “wizard”, with the USMNT star showcasing his stunning ball control during a warm-up session at Juventus.

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American star shining again in ItalyConfidence restored to his gameHas clambered back aboard the showboatWHAT HAPPENED?

The United States international has always been a technically-gifted performer, with those qualities allowing him to leave his homeland and the academy ranks at FC Dallas when making a move to Europe in 2016. McKennie has gone on to spend time in Germany with Schalke and Italy at Juve.

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He has also taken in a Premier League loan spell at Leeds – suffering relegation during his time at Elland Road – and showed off his double-footed control party trick while in English football. There was not much else for Leeds fans to get excited about during that time.

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GettyDID YOU KNOW?

McKennie returned to Juventus in the summer of 2023 and has worked his way back into favour this season. Confidence has been restored to his game, allowing the 25-year-old to showboat again when readying himself for Serie A action.

An update has emerged on Tottenham Hotspur and their plans to bolster the playing squad ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign…

What's the latest Tottenham transfer news?

According to Italian outlet Sport Mediaset, Spurs are one of three English top-flight teams to have made an offer to sign Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic.

The report claims that Manchester United and Chelsea are also 'at the window' with an 'important offer' for the Serbian international striker, with all three clubs keen on a deal for his signature.

It states that they have offered no less than €65m (£56m) and that the Old Lady are willing to be reasonable in negotiations as they now eye their own targets to potentially replace the former Fiorentina marksman.

Although, it remains to be seen whether or not £56m would be enough to tempt the Italian giants into parting ways with him, 18 months on from their initial £58m outlay on his services.

How many goals has Dusan Vlahovic scored for Juventus?

The 23-year-old dynamo has plundered 23 goals in 63 appearances for the Serie A side to date and his form in recent years suggests that he would come in as a big upgrade on Richarlison for Ange Postecoglou.

Vlahovic scored ten goals in 22 league starts for Juventus last season whilst the Brazil international struggled badly during his debut campaign at the club – with one goal in 27 Premier League appearances, including 12 starts.

Spurs signed the striker from Everton for a fee in the region of £60m last summer after he produced 17 strikes in 61 league outings for the Toffees over the previous two campaigns combined.

The 26-year-old dud's horrendous form in front of goal last term meant that Tottenham did not have another scorer to back up Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, as they were the only players at the club to end the season with more than five league goals.

Vlahovic, however, is a player who has the quality to provide a third reliable scoring option for Postecoglou, based on his Serie A form over the last three years.

Prior to his ten-goal haul during the 2022/23 campaign, the impressive left-footed marksman scored 45 goals in 67 league starts for Fiorentina and Juventus combined throughout 2021/22 and 2020/21.

He proved himself to be a prolific scorer in Italy as the 6 foot 3 monster found the back of the net over 20 times in both seasons, whilst Richarlison has never scored more than 13 league goals in a single term over the course of his career in Brazil or England to date.

These statistics suggest that the Serbian hotshot, who was once hailed as "incredibly prolific" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has the quality to offer far more than the Brazilian flop at the top end of the pitch.

Vlahovic is yet to prove himself in England but his form in the Serie A indicates that the quality is there for him to be an exceptional goalscorer for Postecoglou, which is why Spurs must push to win the race for his signature in order to land a big upgrade on Richarlison ahead of next season.

Chelsea may have already brought in Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson so far this summer, but Mauricio Pochettino's side appear to be homing in on another attacking player.

Who have Chelsea signed this summer?

Nkunku and Jackson arrived for a combined £81.5m earlier in the window, while a host of others have since been linked as part of a huge overhaul at Stamford Bridge.

Montpellier's Elye Wahi recently emerged as a possible option for Chelsea, and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims the Blues have now pressed on with their initial interest.

"Understand Chelsea are now advancing in talks to sign Elye Wahi – agreement getting closer, new negotiations round scheduled with Montpellier," the Italian journalist tweeted. "Chelsea plan includes loan move for Wahi this season. Chelsea want to accelerate [this] week as there's competition."

With a number of other clubs also circling, including Chelsea's Premier League rivals Arsenal, Foot Mercato previously reported that Wahi is valued by Montpellier at around €35m (£30m).

Is Elye Wahi a good option for Chelsea?

Having hit double figures for Montpellier in 2021/22, Wahi's career truly took off last season – his third as a senior member of the French club – when scoring 19 goals in 33 Ligue 1 appearances and setting up a further five.

Those 24 direct goal involvements put Wahi on a par with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar.

Indeed, the France U21 international ranked in the top 11% of all forwards across Europe's top five leagues in terms of goals scored last season, according to The Analyst.

There are strong parallels to be drawn with another young player who made a name for himself in France before making the switch to Chelsea, a certain Eden Hazard.

Hazard was just a year older than Wahi when joining the Blues from Lille, with whom he won the league title in 2011 – something he would repeat twice with both Chelsea and Real Madrid.

The Belgium international scored 20 goals in his final season with Lille, having netted 12 combined in the two seasons prior. Wahi scored 19 goals for Montpellier last season, having scored 13 in the two seasons prior.

While Hazard assisted 10 goals more in his final season with Lille than Wahi managed last season, he played 694 minutes more – the equivalent of nearly eight additional matches – in what was a stronger side.

The pair also showed similarities across those respective seasons in terms of shots on target per 90 minutes (1.71 for Hazard, 1.29 for Wahi) and fouls per 90 minutes (1.24 v 1.15), as per FBref, with the latter metric showing the pair are – or were in the case of Hazard – willing to get stuck in.

Comparing Wahi to Hazard is not entirely fair, given the latter would go on to become a major hit in west London, but there is no reason why the French jewel – who talent scout Jacek Kulig described as having an "incredible" season with Montpellier last time out – cannot have a similar impact.

In a summer of change at Stamford Bridge, the most exciting signing may have not yet arrived.