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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is without some of his big hitters for the team's pre-season tour of the United States.

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• Man Utd name squad for US pre-season tour
• Host of keys stars missing
• Leny Yoro and Jadon Sancho are included

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ten Hag has named a 29-man squad for Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States. New signing Leny Yoro has been included following his move from Lille but Zirkzee will not make the trip across the Atlantic. Ten Hag will also be without captain Fernandes and Mainoo, but fans will get to see stars including Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford and even Jadon Sancho in North America.

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  THE EXPLANATION

  United have confirmed that Zirkzee will not fly to the United States "as he continues to take his summer break following Euro 2024". Fernandes and Mainoo are also still on leave following their exploits in Germany. Altay Bayindir, Diogo Dalot, Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Pellistri and Luke Shaw will also sit the trip out because of their recent international commitments. Tyrell Malacia is the only other player to be omitted from the squad as he continues to follow an individual training regime to build up his fitness after missing much of 2023-24.

• WHAT TEN HAG HAS SAID

  Ten Hag has said pre-season offers players the chance to stake a claim ahead of the new season. He told the club's website: "We have a strong first-team squad there with players that can present themselves to the fans, but especially to us. They have the levels to play in our team for next season. There will be a mix, with experienced players together with some young players. [The squad will be] as strong as possible, but of course the players who go far in the Copa America and the Euros will not be involved.

  "Pre-season is about preparing for the season and we have to make that our next step. It is one of the only times when you have the team together, and you can work in training on structures, the way of play, but also on certain standards around the team and that’s very important to take this period and use it effectively."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD

  Manchester United have been beaten by Rosenborg and enjoyed a 2-0 win over Rangers so far in pre-season. Ten Hag's first game in the United States is against Arsenal in Los Angeles. The Red Devils go on to play Real Betis and Liverpool before heading home for a Community Shield date with Manchester City.

The opener was one of three half-centurions at Canterbury after signing a new three-year deal

ECB Reporters Network29-Jun-2025Kent 325 for 4 (Bell-Drummond 66*, Compton 66, Guthrie 2-54) vs NorthamptonshireBen Compton celebrated being handed both his county cap and a new three-year contract by making 66 on day one of Kent’s Rothesay County Championship game with Northants at Canterbury.The hosts were 325 for 4 at stumps, with Tawanda Muyeye hitting 58 and captain Daniel Bell-Drummond unbeaten on 66.
Liam Guthrie took 2 for 54 but it was a gruelling day in the heat for the visitors, who used seven different bowlers after losing the toss and being asked to field.The 173rd Canterbury Festival continued with an immaculate minute’s silence for Wayne Larkins before the start of play and both sides wore black armbands in honour of the former Northamptonshire and England opener, who passed away yesterday at the age of 71.Kent chose to bat in already sweltering heat, with Jaydn Denly driving a regal six through point early on, but his stylish innings came to an end when Guthrie had him caught by Justin Broad at gully for 35 off 36 balls.It was 110 for 1 at lunch, at which point Compton was awarded his county cap by the former England seamer and incoming Kent president Richard Ellison at a ceremony in front of the pavilion.His partner, Ekansh Singh, was playing only his second first-class game, but he looked as assured as Denly had, only to fall a run shy of his 50 when Dom Leech had him caught behind.Compton did pass 50 in Leech’s next over, carving a no ball through point for four, but he nicked Broad behind, leaving Kent on 207 for 3 at tea and the hosts chose this moment to announce that he’d also agreed a new deal that will keep him at the Spitfire Ground until the end of the 2028 season, ending speculation he was moving to Essex.Muyeye then reached 50 with an elegant flick of the wrist for a single off Calvin Harrison but Guthrie got him lbw with the new ball.Bell-Drummond became the third Kent player to make a half-century when he hit Guthrie for four through cover and he was joined by Joey Evision, who had reached 29 not out by stumps.

Sunderland journalist James Copley has shared some big VAR news before their League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, shortly before official confirmation came from the EFL.

The Lowdown: Huge game for Sunderland

After knocking out Sheffield Wednesday over two legs in the play-off semi-finals, Alex Neil knows that his side are now only one win away from returning to the Championship.

Beating Wycombe will not be easy though, as they knocked out third-placed MK Dons in the other semi-final, and they were promoted from League One through this very route just a couple of years ago.

The Latest: VAR news

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Sunderland Echo journalist Copley revealed that ‘discussions’ had been ‘ongoing’ between the two clubs and the EFL over the use of VAR at Wembley for the final.

He outlined: “I’m told ‘discussions are ongoing’ between the EFL, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers in regards to potentially using VAR in the League One play-off final.”

At noon on Monday, the EFL confirmed that VAR will indeed be used for all three play-off finals to be held at Wembley over the next fortnight.

The Verdict: Needed

Even though VAR has not been used for the entirety of the League One campaign, this is simply too big a game to ignore it, with the stakes too high not to make use of the technology when it is available.

It had been suggested that the teams competing in the Championship play-offs would welcome its use, and judging by Copley’s tweet about the ‘discussions’ involving the relevant clubs, it seems as if those involved in the League One and League Two play-offs are also open to VAR being utilised if needed.

The technology is there to help the referees reach the right decisions, and while it has had its critics, the EFL’s decision should be welcomed by both Sunderland and Wycombe ahead of Saturday’s pivotal showdown.

In other news, this Sunderland ‘pocket dynamo’ is now being linked with a summer exit

The Man City defender has established herself as one of the best centre-backs in the world, and yet she has fallen out of Sarina Wiegman's line up

It’s remarkable to think that just five years ago, Lionesses star Alex Greenwood wasn’t even playing in the position that she is, today, one of the best players in the world in. Her entry into GOAL’s ‘World-Class Club’ this week was the culmination of several seasons of absolute top quality consistency in a role that has really helped her reach new levels.

When England reached just a second Women’s World Cup semi-final in 2019, Greenwood was rotating at left-back with Demi Stokes, starting four matches to her team-mate’s three as the Lionesses finished fourth. When they went a round further last summer, reaching the final in Australia, Greenwood was this time an ever-present at centre-back. For some, she was the tournament’s best player. Though Aitana Bonmati, the star of Spain’s triumph, got that accolade, the technically-gifted defender playing for her opponent in that final was certainly up there, too.

Those performances Down Under were no flash in the pan, either. They were representative of a level that Greenwood has been playing at for a while now, one which has put her firmly in the conversation as one of the very best centre-backs in the game – something that she would never have envisaged five years ago.

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  Worthwhile change

  It was shortly after the 2019 World Cup that Greenwood’s path changed. Then 25 years old, she was signed by Lyon, the dominant force in women’s football in Europe, as they looked for someone to play at left-back. However, in her season in France, which would result in four trophies – including a Champions League title – the England international also showed glimpses in a more central role.

  Still, when her brief foray abroad came to an end 12 months later and she returned home to join Manchester City, all the talk was about her competing with Stokes for a place in the club’s XI, just as she was for her country. "It's a healthy competition," Greenwood herself even said at the time. “We really push each other to our limit. We improve each other every year. If we can make each other better, it only makes the team better.”

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  Heartbreaking disappointment

  It was three games into the 2020-21 Women’s Super League season that Greenwood started to appear more centrally. Having moved into the heart of defence midway through the second half of Man City’s second outing of the campaign, she was there from the off the following week and has barely relinquished that berth since.

  The football that Greenwood played that year, as City finished just two points behind Chelsea in the title race, was sensational, the best of her career to date by far. Yet, somehow, despite also boasting versatility useful for an 18-player squad, she was snubbed by Hege Riise when she selected the players for Great Britain’s women’s football team at the Olympics that summer.

  “To say I was heartbroken initially would be an understatement, it was complete heartbreak, I couldn’t understand why,” Greenwood told . “It wasn’t that I was convinced I was going to Japan – that would be unprofessional – but after the season I’d had, lots of honest people around me said they thought I’d had one of my best seasons as a professional, and I’m usually really hard on myself.

  “I had my moment when I was upset, angry and disappointed, and I could have done one of two things. I could have let it run away with me, stayed disappointed, and dwelled on it, or I could react to it and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to prove you wrong and I’m going to work so, so hard’, so now it’s honestly only a positive thing for me.”

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  Waiting for her chance

  That’s because what has happened in the three years since for Greenwood has been huge. She has continued to excel for City and has got her rewards with England – though not immediately. Throughout an even better season in 2021-22, Greenwood partnered Millie Bright in the centre of defence when away with the Lionesses, as Leah Williamson stepped into a midfield role. She looked sure to maintain that place as a home European Championships approached, too.

  However, a late switch by Sarina Wiegman saw Williamson drop back in alongside Bright and Greenwood occupied the role of a substitute, rather than the anticipated one of a star, as England’s women won a first major tournament in a dramatic final at Wembley.

  “With the Euros situation, I accepted my role,” she said last summer, ahead of the World Cup. “I knew I had to be the best team-mate for the girls and that group of girls was truly special in every way. I can’t speak highly enough of the group. A year later, I’ve played a lot for England since then, started a lot of games and I’m probably at the experienced end of the team now. So, again, whatever my role is again this summer, I’ll do it the best I can.”

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  Time to shine

  Down Under, that role was finally one which gave her some spotlight on a global stage and showed everyone just why Greenwood is rated so highly by those who watch the WSL every week. “The world is finally getting to appreciate the quality she has got,” former England midfielder Lucy Staniforth told , while Lucy Bronze told reporters in the build-up to the tournament: “Alex is technically probably one of the best centre-halves in the world.”

  That much was certainly apparent as England reached the Women’s World Cup final for the first time. No one completed more passes than Greenwood at that tournament and her wicked left foot, deadly from set-pieces or with the vast passing range she boasts, helped make her the joint-second most creative player too, despite her position in a back three.

The T20I captain said that for a team to succeed, the players needed to spend a lot more time together in the lead-up to every series

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2019There is no set of players that dominate the world of franchise T20 cricket like the West Indians. Every league in the world, from the IPL to the more recently sprouted Euro T20 slam, wants a piece of those larger than life superstars. But when they come together as a West Indies team, they haven’t always had a lot of success. Sure they are the reigning T20 World Champions, but since that heady night in Kolkata three and a half years ago, they’ve played 33 games in the shortest format and lost 20 of them.Carlos Brathwaite had an explanation for this odd turn of events. Addressing the press ahead of a three-match series against India that begins on Saturday, he said that for a team to succeed, the players needed to spend a lot more time together in the lead-up to every series.”I guess in the first part of my tenure [as T20 captain], we had a few one-off games, and those don’t really help the standings much,” he said. “And then when we had series with three games, it was always difficult to get the players together. We didn’t get the right frame of time to properly prepare. Obviously, preparing for a World Cup, you have adequate preparation. Looking back to the last [T20] World Cup, we had a two week camp in Dubai. So we had the team together for a period of time. We had spent time together on and off the field, on and off the training pitch, spent more time together as a team, as a family and then when we headed at the World Cup we had warm-up games as well and then the tournament. So right there and then, we probably had two and a half weeks more together than we have normally.”This lack of team bonding time may have impacted West Indies at the 50-over World Cup as well.”We didn’t think we were doing all the things necessary on and off the field as a team to be successful consistently,” Brathwaite said. “And as a result, as we saw in the World Cup, we had good performances, like in the game against Pakistan, but as a team we did not get it together and we lost some vital moments in key games.”But now, West Indies, who are ranked No. 9 in T20Is by the ICC, are looking to make some corrections. “I guess starting from this series and moving forward,” Brathwaite said. “Looking forward to the World T20s in 2020 and 2021 and the World Cup in 2023, I think we have to put certain protocols and certain standards in place off the field that once we are disciplined enough and follow it off the field, it should translate itself on the field and give us the best chance to win those one percenters and those key moments.”We’re welcoming back Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard into the fold who have a wealth of T20 experience as well. So in our conversations so far, it’s been about us having more informal chats as a team, spending more time together speaking about cricket and for the younger guys to learn off the older guys and as a result the older guys to learn off the yonger guys as well. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t teach an older guy.”So that’s one of the main things we’re looking forward to developing and implementing leading into the next three World Cups, the two T20 and the 50-over World Cup, and just spending more time together and having more informal chats and actually learning off each other. I think once we get those things right on the field, when we get on the field, it’ll be easier for us to band together and have more consistent performances.”

Tottenham Hotspur winger Steven Bergwijn is expected to leave the north London club in the summer, according to Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge.

The Lowdown: Bergwijn’s January transfer saga

The 24-year-old was at the centre of a hectic transfer saga in January, with a move to Ajax appearing likely at one point but failing to materialise before the end of the window.

The Eredivisie giants made an initial £15m bid for the Netherlands international before later coming back in with an improved offer. However, Spurs were said to be holding out for a sum closer to the £27m that they paid for him two years prior.

Despite keeping hold of the attacker, Bergwijn has failed to start a single Premier League game since the January transfer window closed.

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The Latest: Bridge’s claim on Bergwijn

Bridge believes that it is very likely that Bergwijn will leave Tottenham in the coming months.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the Sky Sports reporter said of the 24-year-old: “I think he would be one of many where Tottenham go ‘we can get a few quid for him’.

“I would be shocked if he didn’t leave, whether it’s Ajax, I don’t know, but I would imagine that he would probably move on.”

The Verdict: Good squad option

With Tottenham still battling it out for Champions League qualification, Antonio Conte will likely be pondering over his squad options for next season.

Ranking in the 99th percentile for clearances and the 98th percentile for non-penalty expected goals for positional peers among Europe’s top five leagues (via FBRef), Bergwijn’s underlying stats illustrate why he is the perfect example of great squad player.

He has also shown an uncanny ability to make a telling impact off the bench, most notably with his match-winning stoppage-time brace against Leicester earlier this year, while his manager has previously said that the 24-year-old possesses “a lot of quality”.

However, if the Dutchman has his heart set on a move away from N17, then there probably isn’t much that Fabio Paratici can do to keep him in north London.

Therefore, Bergwijn’s expected departure would come as an unwelcome loss to Conte’s squad depth at Tottenham, if indeed it materialises this summer.

In other news: Noel Whelan drops Richarlison/Spurs transfer claim

Jose Mourinho claims Portugal’s Euro 2024 campaign “didn’t smell good”, with Cristiano Ronaldo & Co only making it to the quarter-finals.

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• Star-studded squad were among favourites
• Lost to France in a penalty shootout
• Potential to unlock ahead of 2026 World Cup

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  A star-studded squad were considered to be one of the favourites for ultimate glory in Germany, with head coach Roberto Martinez looking to emulate the efforts of Fernando Santos from 2016 – when a continental crown was captured on French soil.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  France proved to be Portugal’s undoing this time around, as they prevailed in a penalty shootout, with Ronaldo bowing out of what will be his last European Championship. The all-time great generated plenty of headlines, without scoring a goal, and must now decide what his international future holds at 39 years of age.

• WHAT MOURINHO SAID

  Mourinho believes that Portugal will be stronger by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around – with CR7 potentially still at their disposal – but has told of their latest Euros efforts: “There is always frustration when you feel that you could do better. The team’s potential was extremely high. I wasn’t far off the mark when I said that Portugal, France and England were the favourites. Two of them are in the semi-finals. Spain is the biggest surprise for me, in the way the team has evolved, they are practically a new team. For me, at the moment, they are the team that plays the best and the one that has played the best throughout the tournament.

  “Portugal wasn’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at the National Stadium for the Portugal-Croatia [friendly] match and it didn’t smell good. I didn’t get a great feeling. During the tournament we were the team that was making progress, but we weren’t convincing. Often, when the moment of truth comes, these teams are stronger. This wasn’t the end of Portugal, there wasn’t any improvement in the team. But it’s a young team, apart from the two veterans [Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe], a team with years ahead of them. The World Cup is just around the corner.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Nations League action is next on the agenda for Portugal, with that campaign set to get underway in September. Ronaldo has hinted at forming part of that quest, with the Al-Nassr superstar not ready to call it a day after earning 212 caps for his country and scoring 130 goals.

Dunk has not ruled out returning to the BBL but may prioritise overseas competitions to fit around family life

Matt Roller27-Jan-2021Ben Dunk has pinpointed Christmas Day as the moment when he realised that he wanted to terminate his contract with Melbourne Stars after three-and-a-half seasons at the club.Dunk signed a five-year deal with the Stars ahead of the 2017-18 Big Bash having led the tournament’s run charts the previous season, but performed a long way below expectations during his time at the club. In 39 innings for the Stars across four seasons, he made 621 runs at an average of 16.34 and a strike rate of 115.34, regularly moving up and down the order as they desperately tried to help him replicate the form he had shown in the Pakistan Super League and the Mzansi Super League.This season, he made 69 runs in six matches – including two as an X-factor sub – and after spending Christmas away from his family in the tournament’s hub on the Gold Coast, Dunk and the Stars came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract midway through the season.The termination allowed him to fly to the UAE to take up his contract with the Qalandars in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He finished his quarantine period at the start of the week, and trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday night ahead of their first fixture on Friday.Related

• Dunk, Melbourne Stars part ways by 'mutual' agreement

• Stars out of finals as clinical Sixers finish on top of the table

• BBL finals week fixtures to navigate Covid border restrictions

• T10 out to prove sustainability as cricket awaits Olympic return

At a media briefing which coincided with the Stars’ elimination from the competition – he had listened to the first innings on the radio after struggling to find TV coverage – Dunk admitted that he had struggled to come to terms with his lack of role security at the club.”My position at the Stars was not secured in the team,” he said. “With the rule changes, I’d been the X-factor player quite a bit – so I was playing some games, some not, keeping wicket in some games, some not. As players, we live for gamedays, and time away from home when you’re not playing was proving difficult.”I’ve got two young children at home, so Christmas time is really important to me. It really hit home this year when I was in the hub on the Gold Coast and my family were back in Hobart on Christmas Day. I’ve got a little boy who turns four in February and understands what Christmas is and gets really excited. That made the decision a little bit easier, in terms of trying to free up time to be with family.”And while Dunk insisted that he had no plans to retire from the BBL, he conceded that the uncertainty over the cricket calendar on account of the pandemic and his reluctance to miss another family Christmas meant that he may not make himself available for the full season if approached by a team. At 33, Dunk remains a popular pick in several leagues around the world, and he hinted that he would consider prioritising other tournaments over the BBL.”The pandemic has thrown the cricket calendar into absolute chaos,” Dunk said. “When you include the two weeks of hotel quarantine when I get back to Australia, it’s just another bit of murkiness in the water. I certainly want to explore my playing options, especially around the world.Ben Dunk has continued to be a consistent scorer in overseas leagues•Pakistan Super League

“The Big Bash obviously has that window all the way through to mid-February, which is a long time in a cricket season. Who knows what will be going on, especially with the pandemic? With the Big Bash, [we don’t know] whether that’s going to stay in that slot for the same period of time, whether the South African comp [Mzansi Super League] gets back up and running, Bangladesh, the T10 – there’s a lot of cricket to be played.”From my own, selfish point of view, it’s nice to be free around that sort of time. But I’m certainly not retiring from the Big Bash – there might be an opportunity there to play next year in a limited capacity, depending on what else is going on around the world.”More immediately, Dunk expressed his excitement about the opportunity to play with both Tom Banton and Rashid Khan in the T10 League and the upcoming PSL respectively. He will play for the Qalandars franchise in both competitions, under their Lahore guise in the PSL.”I’ve come across [Banton] a couple of times at the Big Bash and the PSL but we’ve never been in the same team, so I’m excited to see him up close and see how he works. He’s an exciting player who I think we’ll watch for a long period of time.”In the PSL, we went on a great journey last year, all the way through to the final where we were beaten on the day by a better team in Karachi. I’m really excited to play with Rashid Khan – he’ll be a great addition to our squad and hopefully we can go one better.”

Just a few weeks ago, the mood around West Ham United was as dour as it had been in years, and yet now there is a genuine sense of optimism surrounding the club.

This quite dramatic change in sentiment is, of course, down to Nuno Espírito Santo’s side finally putting in performances worthy of the badge, beating Newcastle United and Burnley 3-1 and 3-2, respectively.

On top of the wins, the fans have also seen Freddie Potts given a genuine chance in the first team, and so far, he’s looking every bit the future star so many thought he’d be.

So, supporters should be seriously excited about another player in the academy who could be the next Potts.

Why West Ham fans should be excited about Potts

Now, the headline from the last couple of gameweeks is, and should be, the fact that West Ham have picked up six points from six.

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However, it’s impossible to ignore the side story of Potts finally getting his full first-team debut and then earning a second start in as many games.

The Englishman was utterly impeccable against the Toon. He delivered quintessential all-action central midfield performances and was more than deserving of his Man of the Match award.

He was once again bossing the midfield against the Clarets on Saturday afternoon before going off with what looked like a leg injury, although thankfully it has since been revealed to have only been a dead leg.

Despite being on the pitch for just 62 minutes, the 22-year-old played three key passes, took 56 touches, won 66% of his tackles, made six clearances, won six of nine ground duels and made four recoveries.

It was another showing that demonstrated just why fans are right to be excited about the academy gem.

The Barking-born monster, who, according to one analyst, is blessed with a “supreme confidence and ability to create time and space on the ball”, looks like he could develop into the perfect central midfielder for a Premier League side looking to climb the table.

So it’s good news that the academy may have already produced another prospect who could be Nuno’s next Potts.

West Ham's next Potts

While the first team has been largely disappointing over the last couple of years, the academy has continued to produce exciting prospects for West Ham. One of those talents, and someone who could be the next Potts, is George Earthy.

Now, while the youngster can and has played in several positions across the pitch, he is primarily an attacking midfielder. However, where he plays on the pitch has very little to do with the comparisons to and why he could be another Potts.

Instead, one of the main points of comparison is that, while he hasn’t had many first-team chances, the 21-year-old is viewed as one of the most exciting prospects at the club and has a youth record to prove it.

For example, in 60 appearances for the u18s, totalling 4804 minutes, he scored 25 goals and provided 18 assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.39 games, or every 111.72 minutes.

Then, in 53 appearances for the u21s, totalling 3573 minutes, he scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.76 games, or every 119.1 minutes, and was enough for him to be named Young Hammer of the Year at the end of the 2023/24 season.

With it clear that the “priceless” gem, as dubbed by coach Steve Potts, was too good for academy football, the club sent him on loan to Bristol City last season, where he once again won another young player of the year award.

Now, in addition to being very highly rated from a young age, something else the Havering-born gem shares with the Hammers’ current man of the moment is a love for the club.

Yes, on top of being one of their own, having graduated from the academy, the 21-year-old is a West Ham supporter and even travelled to Prague to watch the side lift the Conference League as a fan.

Ultimately, while they play different roles, Earthy shares a lot in common with Potts, and his impressive record in the academy and with Bristol should see him earn his first competitive start for West Ham sooner rather than later.

AC Milan join Fullkrug race as agent makes damning West Ham admission

The forward has struggled at the London Stadium.

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 10, 2025