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With the Europa League final looming, there no doubt remains a number of selection calls to make for manager Ruben Amorim, with there likely to be few nailed-on starters in Bilbao, not least considering the club’s continued woes domestically.

One position that, unfortunately, almost picks itself is the centre-forward berth, with the Portuguese coach forced to select the struggling Rasmus Hojlund by default, considering the lack of alternatives.

Indeed, the Red Devils suffered the blow of losing Joshua Zirkzee for what looks to be the remainder of the campaign, with the Dutchman notably netting against Real Sociedad and Lyon in successive away trips.

Equally, the decision not to include 17-year-old starlet, Chido Obi, in the Europa League squad has now potentially backfired, thus leaving Hojlund as the only senior striker available in the competition.

With Chelsea – and then Aston Villa – to come in the Premier League, however, it would be worth Amorim experimenting with a different approach, with the 40-year-old potentially overlooking a potential solution in the academy ranks.

How Man Utd can replace Hojlund

With a trip to Stamford Bridge in store on Friday – just five days prior to next Wednesday’s crucial clash with Tottenham Hotspur – it may be a wise choice to take Hojlund out of the firing line, not least with the Dane against drawing a blank against West Ham United at the weekend.

Hojlund’s game in numbers vs West Ham

Stat

Record

Touches

31

Pass accuracy

9/15 (60%

Shots on target

2

Shots off target

4

Key passes

0

Successful dribbles

0/2

Big chances created

0

Big chances missed

2

Possession lost

13

Ground duels won

1/6

Aerial duels won

3/8

Stats via Sofascore

That alteration could potentially see young Obi thrown into the mix, albeit with the teenager still far from the finished article, having also failed to find the back of the net himself in seven first-team appearances this season.

Something of “a goal machine” at academy level, according to analyst Ben Mattinson, the former Arsenal ace has found the step up to life in the senior ranks far more difficult, with journalist Samuel Luckhurst noting that he looked like an ‘an underdeveloped 17-year-old boy among men’, following his first start in the 4-3 defeat to Brentford.

Even Amorim subsequently admitted that Obi had been “naive” with regard to the use of his body against the Bees, with that outing seeing him register just nine passes, while winning just two of his nine attempted duels.

As his absence from the Europa League roster explains, Obi is perhaps not yet truly ready to be leading the line for the first team, having arguably been thrown in too soon due to Hojlund’s woes.

Further options could lie in the form of Kobbie Mainoo in a false nine role, with Bruno Fernandes or Amad also potential solutions in that berth, yet Amorim may wish to consider looking elsewhere in the academy ranks for an in-house alternative.

Man Utd could be brewing Amorim's next Gyokeres

Amorim must be tearing his hair out at the lack of a consistent striker in Manchester. Back in Lisbon, meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres continues to go from strength to strength for Sporting CP, having racked up 95 goals in just 100 games for the club to date.

66 of those strikes came in just 68 games under Amorim’s watch, following the Swede’s arrival from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, with it no surprise that there has been talk of a reunion at Old Trafford ahead of next term.

That said, the new United boss may already have a prolific, exciting attacking talent of his own who he can mould into his next Gyokeres, with 18-year-old, Victor Musa, currently shining in the youth set-up.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

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A towering centre-forward – in a similar mould to the 6 foot 2 Gyokeres – Musa has been a revelation this season at U18 level, having previously been hampered by injury last term.

Indeed, the promising marksman has scored 16 times in just 19 games at U18 Premier League level in 2024/25, with that return including a brutal six-goal haul in the 13-1 win over rivals Leeds United last month.

That outing showcased the full array of his striking potential, with Musa leading the line in superb fashion, having regularly cut in off the right flank with devastating effect, while also possessing a poacher’s instinct in the penalty box.

A player who can also operate on the flanks if required – much like Gyokeres has done in his career previously – the versatile talent is now even at the centre of a tussle between Spain and England regarding his international allegiance, having thus far featured for both nations at youth level.

There had been reports that he is even being deemed to be United’s own version of Barcelona superstar, Lamine Yamal, a further nod to just how highly-rated the left-footer is right now.

With Hojlund needing a rest and Obi still looking too raw, Musa could be worthy of his own chance to impress against the Blues, be it off the bench or with a surprise start in west London.

Amorim, either through the transfer market or with an in-house option, needs to find his next Gyokeres-esque attacking figurehead. Why not give Musa the chance to showcase why he could be a homegrown alternative to the Swedish monster?

Related A worse signing than Ugarte: Amorim must axe "horrendous" Man Utd flop

Man Utd are in need of reinforcements all across the park this summer

Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls May 12, 2025

Liverpool are believed to be “working on” tying down an “outstanding” player to a new contract alongside Virgil van Dijk, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Salah signs new Liverpool deal

The news that Reds supporters have been dreaming of finally came true on Friday, with Mohamed Salah signing a new two-year deal at Anfield.

There have been concerns all season long that the 32-year-old Liverpool legend would leave the club, but he will now be on Merseyside until at least 2027, saying he intends to win more trophies there:

“If I don’t believe that, I would not have signed. I believe the team can win trophies and with the support of the fans and the city, and that the supporters always give us in the games, I believe we can win many trophies in the next years.”

Now, the hope is that other players will follow suit, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk also both out of contract at the end of this season.

While it looks increasingly likely that the latter will stay put and do the same as Salah, the former’s head appears to have been turned by a move to Real Madrid. That said, nothing has been confirmed over Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool at the peak of his powers.

Liverpool want new deal for "outstanding" ace

According to Romano in his newsletter for GiveMeSport, Liverpool are still looking to seal a new deal for Ibrahima Konate, as well as Van Dijk:

“They are in negotiations. Now the priority was obviously Salah and Van Dijk, but the next one could be Konate as Liverpool are working on it.”

Ensuring that Konate remains at Liverpool for the foreseeable future is of the utmost importance, considering he is still only 25 years of age and eight years Van Dijk’s junior.

The Frenchman is appreciated by so many at Anfield, from Arne Slot to the supporters, and captain Van Dijk also hailed him earlier this season, saying after their win away at Wolves in September:

“As you saw, he is important with the goal, he is defensively solid, a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded, but obviously the qualities he has are outstanding, in my opinion.

“He is learning, growing, getting better and looking after himself much better in order to be ready every three days as that’s what asked. And also we have a young player behind him in Jarrell, who is also doing well. We have to keep pushing each other and he is doing a good job.”

Relatively speaking, the £70,000-a-week wage that Konate earns is low compared to many of his teammates, so he deserves an improved contract to show that he is truly appreciated.

Liverpool confident of winning race for "amazing" £60m+ star this summer

The Reds are in a good position to strike a deal…

2 BySean Markus Clifford Apr 12, 2025

Granted, injuries have hampered him at times in his career, so there is a slight risk involved in handing him an extension, but he should only get better in the coming years, and losing him at this point in his career could be a big blow to the Reds.

His loyalty to the game, and to the people who win his respect and friendship, has been remarkable, and his writing has embodied something of that

Sambit Bal24-Feb-2025I was on another call when his name flashed on my phone, and instinct told me what it might be about. I have known Ian Chappell for about 25 years and he rarely calls. He usually emails, or if the matter is immediate, he will text. SMS was replaced by Whatsapp in recent years, but it would take something exceptional for him to call.Of course, it wouldn’t have been like him to not call about something like this. Email or a text just wouldn’t do.Before I called him back, I showed the missed-call notification to a colleague. This could be it, I told him. We had discussed the possibility a few times since Ian retired from broadcasting in 2022, but I nurtured the fond wish that he would carry on with the writing for as long as I was in this job.Related

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Ian Chappell never quit on people.I first interacted with him in the year 2000, when I worked for total-cricket.com, an ambitious digital venture that assembled a galaxy of international broadcasters to work for it. Ian wrote a weekly column for the site on Sundays, and his piece would be in the mailbox every Friday, without a typo, every paragraph neatly marked, the wordcount roughly the same each time, dateline on top, and “ATTENTION: Sambit Bal” just below.The venture ran into trouble after a while and only a skeletal version remained after most of us were relieved of our jobs. I soon moved on to wisden.com, which would become wisdencricinfo.com, and eventually espncricinfo.com. When I sought to enlist Ian to write, he declined politely. He couldn’t abandon the site he was writing for, more so when it was struggling. He remained the last and sole columnist for total-cricket till it wound up.Once he was in your corner, his loyalty was absolute and unflinching. I once interviewed the late Terry Jenner, the Australian legspinner, who played all of his nine Tests under Ian’s captaincy. A decade after his retirement, Jenner was imprisoned upon being convicted for a white-collar crime. The only team-mate to visit him in jail was Ian Chappell. Jenner remembered being embarrassed and overwhelmed.”Ian looked me in the eye,” said Jenner, who mentored Shane Warne, and would go on to become an advisor to the Australian Cricket Academy, “and said, ‘Once captain, always captain.'”Ian finally came on board a few years later, but there was one condition. He had also been approached by Clayton Murzello, the sports editor of , an afternoon paper in Mumbai, so we would have to share the column. We did and that continued for close to 20 years.Chappell in his Sydney home in 2006. “Writing has been a favoured task,” he wrote in his farewell column•Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesWe never spoke money. And till corporate norms mandated it, we didn’t even have a contract. He accepted whatever we could afford to pay then, and whatever we could raise it to in subsequent years. He would introduce me to people as “Boss”, and however much in jest those people might have taken it, it left me utterly embarrassed. Through these 20 years, whenever he was approached by another website for the odd article, he would either decline or seek permission from me, though no exclusivity clause was ever written, or implied, in our agreement.Over the years he also worked in our studios for our video analysis shows, and apart from his sharp insights and exemplary professionalism, what stood out was how he made everyone around him feel. Generous and warm, he tried to make sure he knew, and remembered, people by their first names, made sure he greeted everyone around him, and was always quick with a joke or a story. (And how vividly and with what relish he reeled them off.) The idea of equality wasn’t just a catchphrase but a way of life for him. Our crew looked forward to the days he was around.His writing – punchy, sharp, and anecdotal – stayed consistent to his beliefs and values. Non-partisan and non-parochial, he called it as he saw it. He had strong opinions and the backbone needed to express them without fear of consequences. People knew better than to try to sway him to toe the party line. It was impossible to win an argument with him, but you could disagree with him and retain his respect if he knew you came from an honest place.At the heart of his belief system was a deep love of the game, and he raised his voice to the point of repetition against everything that threatened its welfare in his eyes.As always, he knew when to stop. When I got on that call with him, he told me about a thing he had learnt from Richie Benaud: when it’s time to retire, you just know. Writing lasted the longest of his careers, but 50 years later was a good time to go. I didn’t try to talk him out of it. The game gives to everyone who comes in touch with it, and the most to the players who grace it, but Ian has more than settled his debts.I didn’t watch him play, but the idea of Ian Chappell – fierce competitor, beloved leader, and the very embodiment of Australianism as we knew it – was very much a part of my consciousness. You know what they say about meeting your heroes, but with Ian, there was never a chance of disappointment. As a cricketer and captain, he will always count among the greats, but the man I came to know is extraordinary. It’s been an honour, absolutely.

Double-tons for Williamson and Nicholls, and two wickets with the new ball – the second day in Wellington could not have gone better for the hosts

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Mar-2023These are the dream days.The previous morning, the home side had been asked to bat on the kind of lurid green pitch New Zealand has specialised in over the last decade.In Sri Lanka’s dream scenario, their quicks would have bowled as tightly as they had in Christchurch, got prodigious movement off the surface, and the wicketkeeper and slips cordon had a stream of nicks heading their way before lunch.But it was not Sri Lanka’s dream day. You knew this, because the local weather moved against them. (This is the local weather’s one job, in Test series – Sri Lanka have the island’s sweaty heat to unsettle oppositions at home). It was as windy a Test-match day as Wellington has had in years, messing with the seam bowlers’ run-ups, forcing them to bowl into a half-gale half the time, prompting frequent line-and-length errors which became the kind of poor spells they did not bowl over two innings at Hagley Oval.Related

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It was not an entirely luckless first day for Sri Lanka, but it was a tough one. The teams arrived on day two with New Zealand nicely placed. Henry Nicholls, the batter struggling the most in their top order, had already been reprieved on the first day, with Sri Lanka’s debutant wicketkeeper Nishan Madushka unable to even get glove to a straightforward diving chance. Perhaps we blame the biting winds for that too.In the early exchanges on Saturday, there are some signals how the rest of the day would turn out. Nicholls bats out a maiden to start, but Kane Williamson – who is in the midst of a purple patch in a purple career – leans into the kind of authoritative slap through the offside that makes entire stadiums exhale. While Nicholls takes some time to get moving, Williamson is immediately commanding – his drives imperious, his defence impeccable.On his best days, Williamson bats as if he and the ball have struck a deal for it to arrive exactly at the location his bat is waiting to spank it. (Be 384 millimetres outside off stump, a metre up from the ground, at 11:47, 25 seconds and 285 microseconds.) Dream days. Before lunch he is blazing away through the covers, hooking Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler for successive sixes, and creaming the ball down the ground.Henry Nicholls made a 50-plus score in Tests after more than a year•Getty ImagesHe had started the day on 26 off 76 balls. He completes his fifty off 106. His century off 171. This an avalanche gathering speed and heft on its way down a mountain. The third fifty of Williamson’s innings comes off 60 balls. Bowlers are being whipped to deep midwicket, crashed to square leg, punched through point. Sri Lanka are being buried.Nicholls is batting pretty well too, but also, batting like a man desperately in need of a big score. It has been 15 innings and over a year since his last Test fifty. Later, he says he felt he’d been batting with good rhythm, but just couldn’t make it work for long enough. Out-of-form batters always say this, but this time, it make some sense – Nicholls is mostly in control, and looks like a batter who has the measure of the bowling. But initially, he’s not quite committing to the run-scoring shots.Especially not compared to Williamson, who by this stage is like a music conductor, controlling the pace, rhythm, and vibe of everything on the field, including his 11 opponents. The moment Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne changes the field, Williamson finds a shot that exploits the new gap. Even the Sri Lanka players would concede that he is the best player on the park. Today, a dream day, he is batting like he is the best player on any park in the world.His fourth fifty comes off 54 deliveries, and completes his sixth double-century. Only six batters have ever scored more – all bona-fide all-time superstars of the game. This is his fifth consecutive year with a double-hundred and his third triple-figure score in as many matches. Somewhere through this innings, Williamson also completed 8000 career runs – a peak no New Zealand batter had scaled.Sri Lanka began the day with hopes of pushing for a series-leveling victory in this game. By the third session, New Zealand batters were swinging at them T20 style, setting up a declaration as Nicholls sped to his own double-hundred. At stumps, Sri Lanka were 554 behind, with no serious hope of adding to their two victories in the country.To rub it in, New Zealand’s bowlers got juice out of the pitch, and bowled probing lines and lengths to remove Oshada Fernando, before a spectacular Devon Conway catch got rid of Kusal Mendis. A dream day.

He hates being called talented, but what do you do when he makes batting look so easy in challenging conditions?

Sidharth Monga13-Feb-20212:46

Manjrekar: Rohit Sharma is the best puller and sweeper in the Indian team

Stuart Broad bowled hardly a bad ball in his first spell of four overs. He started off with a maiden, and drew five not-in-control responses from the India batsmen. There was one ball down the pads, and one half-volley, the latter when he attempted a yorker in the first over. There was nothing short and wide. Yet, despite that maiden, Broad ended up giving 21 runs in that spell. Rohit Sharma faced 19 of those balls for 16 runs.Even before the profligate spin of Moeen Ali freed India up, Rohit had set the tone for the day. A tone that India needed on a pitch with puffs of dust and mini explosions in the first 15 minutes of play. When India lost their third wicket – two of them to balls that turned with dust flying off the top surface – Rohit had scored 65 off 62 out of a score of 85 for 3. Even after India had won an absolutely crucial toss, this was an essential innings against the new ball that turned faster than it did in the second session.Ever since that series against South Africa in 2015-16, India have rarely asked for such a pitch. They have trusted their superior spinners – and fast bowlers – to out-bowl any visiting unit on normal Indian surfaces by first containing the first innings and then bursting through in the second. They have also trusted their batsmen to match the opposition even if they do manage a big score in the first innings. That didn’t happen in Chennai last week.So India took what seems like a desperate step to ask for a rank turner for the first time since Pune 2016-17. When India did so in Pune, they were in their ninth Test of the season. This is their sixth of this season to go with the IPL and the limited-overs leg of the Australia tour. They are missing Ravindra Jadeja. They are down in the series. The spot in the World Test Championship final suddenly is not a formality anymore. To them it must have seemed a gamble worth taking in the week after lead spinner R Ashwin bowled 72 overs in his fifth Test of the season three days ago.Rohit Sharma repeatedly used the sweep to good effect on day one•BCCIWhile the toss is crucial on both the Chennai tracks we have seen, it seems India back themselves to overturn the toss disadvantage on this surface more than the one last week. Things didn’t come down to that as Virat Kohli won the toss, but the next part of the job had to be carried out by Rohit. Anyone who faces the new ball really, and this time Shubman Gill encountered a rare failure. Not only do first-innings runs become more crucial on these pitches than on others, the pace of those runs matters too because things happen quickly and a collapse is always around the corner. Even the more defensively minded batsmen bat with more urgency on these pitches. Do unto others before they do unto you.In that light, Rohit’s 161 off 231 out of the 248 runs than came while he was at the wicket is the perfect job you could ask of an opener. It might be hazardous and premature to judge a pitch before two sides have batted on it, but at times it seemed 161 alone might be a challenging total here against India’s spinners. To do so without appearing to stretch yourself or take undue risks is an exceptional ability.All Rohit did differently to Australia was play certain shots that he had put away. He said later he had to be more proactive in these conditions. There he hardly played the square drive, instead leaving balls outside off and defending when they got straighter. Here, as early as the third over, he went for the square drive. That is excellent awareness of conditions: he knew even if he did connect with the outside half of the bat, there wouldn’t be any gully catches here. Rohit scored effortlessly against Olly Stone and Ben Stokes too. By the time England went to spin at both ends, India had 48 on the board in 12 overs.Against spin too, Rohit pulled out the sweep shot liberally, a shot he played only four times out of 71 balls he faced from Nathan Lyon in Australia. He played 16 sweeps in this innings for 31 runs. The sweep again was part of the plan to be proactive against the turning ball, especially once he had pushed two men back on the boundary square on the leg side. He said he could now afford to even top-edge one or two. This is a shot India’s top order hardly played in the first Test; remember Rohit didn’t bat much against spin there. Here he advised Ajinkya Rahane to do the same. “Aada khel [Play across],” he was heard telling Rahane.Rohit Sharma celebrates a fine hundred•BCCIAs he did with Lyon, Rohit didn’t mind stepping out here, doing so to 40 of the 170 balls of spin he faced in this innings. He defended on 17 of those occasions. The intent wasn’t always to score; all he wanted to do was deny the England bowlers target practice. Once he had put bowlers off their rhythm, Rohit scored smoothly off every error he had eked out of them.Rohit hates being called talented and effortless because he feels it takes away from the hard work he puts into his batting. Yet what do you do when he makes batting look so easy in challenging conditions? If such batsmen are indeed prone to not making the most of the easier conditions, these pitches should bring the best out of them, keeping them in a heightened state of awareness. “Proactive”, as Rohit himself put it.The impact of this innings will accurately put people in the mind of what Virender Sehwag used to do. It was quite apparent the conditions were not as easy as Rohit made them look. The second innings in these conditions is generally a roulette so any correlation between method and results is easier to establish in the first innings. And this knock was as good as any that could be asked of an opener.

The Chicago Cubs blew out the rival St. Louis Cardinals, 11-0, Sunday night at Wrigley Field in a game that was all but over after the home team stretched its lead to double digits in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The end of that inning was a weird one for ESPN's broadcastas the booth and the graphics department lost track of the count during Matt Shaw's at-bat. The third baseman swung and missed on what was strike three, which led to everyone leaving the field because it was the third out.

The ESPN broadcast, however, thought it was a 3-1 count and Karl Ravech & Co. were silent for an awkward amount of time before Ravech finally chimed in with: "Everybody’s coming off the field. I thought that was the second strike but apparently it’s strike three because both sides are in their dugouts."

Here's that moment:

That's not something you expect to see during a national broadcast at the professional level. With the game already out of hand, it seemed like maybe the ESPN crew checked out there for a second.

Mary Jung got a pretty amazing Mother's Day present on Sunday.

Her two sons, Josh and Jace, faced off in the Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers game. This is a matchup that doesn't happen all that often, so for the Jungs to compete against each other on Mother's Day made the holiday even more special for their family.

Mary Jung delivered the game ball at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday as the announcer told the whole stadium about her two sons playing in the game. She and her husband sported split jerseys with one half representing the Rangers and the other half representing the Tigers.

She was interviewed during Sunday's game and shared how heartwarming the game was for her.

"My heart is just exploding," Jung said. "I mean, I couldn't ask for a better Mother's Day gift to watch them. We're all in the same place to begin with. But, to watch them live their dream, do what they love to do, I couldn't be more proud."

It really can't get much better than this.

Tottenham are finally looking to "fill the void" left by club legend Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich as they target a new striker. Kane left his boyhood club in the summer of 2023 in search of a new challenge as he joined the Bundesliga giants for a record fee. The England international has enjoyed a purple patch since moving to Germany and also won his maiden trophy of his career when Bayern lifted the Bundesliga title in 2025.

Tottenham yet to replace Kane

Tottenham have not yet filled the gaping hole left in their attack when Kane exited for Bayern in 2023. They did sign a few attacking players, with Dominic Solanke joining the club last year, while Randal Kolo Muani was signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in the last transfer window. In between they also lost Heung-min as another Spurs legend exited Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his contract expired in the summer. Thomas Frank also has Richarlison in his ranks but the Premier League side have not found an ideal replacement for the England captain, who used to score for fun during his time in north London.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportSpurs eye move for nine-goal striker

In a search for a prolific scorer, Spurs are ready to explore the transfer market once the January window opens. According to , the English side are keen on signing FC Porto star Samu Aghehowa. The youngster is widely considered to be one of the brightest prospects in Europe. Aghehowa enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in Portugal last season as he scored 27 goals across all competitions and provided three assists. In the 2025-26 campaign, the 21-year-old has scored nine goals in 15 appearances in all competitions.

In Frank's system – a manager who has a reputation for nurturing quality forwards, as he did at  Brentford with Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins – Aghehowa is considered to be a perfect fit and someone who can end their attacking woes as Spurs finally look to replace Kane in their frontline. 

Chelsea in race to sign Aghehowa

Earlier this month, reported that Chelsea are also keen on signing the striker and will provide Tottenham with fierce competition to secure the youngster's transfer. The Blues were linked with a move for the Spanish hitman in the summer of 2024 and had even agreed to pay £35 million ($44m) to secure his transfer, but the move collapsed at the last moment after Aghehowa failed his medical test, after sustaining an ankle injury. The youngster returned to Atletico Madrid before being shipped off to Porto, where he has thrived.

The report further added that former Chelsea manager and current Porto president Andre Villas-Boas is ready to sanction a move for Aghehowa. His current deal at the Liga Portugal side runs until 2029 and has a €100 million (£88m/$116m) release clause. However, Villas-Boas could let him leave for €80m (£70m/$92m) as he considers it to be an "irresistible deal". The report also claims that Porto are ready to sell the striker in the upcoming January transfer window due to financial pressure, and the club believes that is is well covered in the centre-forward position and feels that the management will be able to find a suitable replacement for Aghehowa within the roster.

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Getty Images SportSpurs' nightmare in north London derby

Frank's side suffered a shocking 4-1 loss at the hands of eternal rivals Arsenal on Sunday as they slipped down the Premier League table. Eberechi Eze, who was also linked with a move to Spurs in the summer before Arsenal hijacked the move, scored a brilliant hat-trick.

The Spurs boss was understandably unhappy at the end of the game as he said: "That [lack of creativity] has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve. It doesn't look good today or against Chelsea. We need to keep working on it. There were a lot of things in this game we need to do better. We are four months into it and they are further in their journey as a team and that was very obvious today. Of course, there will be noise. We played against our biggest rivals and we lost badly. But we keep noise out and we focus. I know this tam is very competitive. I know this team is competitive and we showed that against Man City and PSG. Of course, it looks bad today and it was not good enough."

Toni Kroos admits he understands the criticism over his former Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Jr’s behaviour on the pitch, saying the forward’s hot-headed antics can be “annoying”. The Germany icon has weighed in on the conversation surrounding the winger, who issued an apology to Los Blancos’ supporters after reacting angrily to being substituted in last month’s El Clasico with Barcelona.

Vinicius criticised for angry reaction to Clasico substitution

Brazil star Vinicius was seething after being taken off in the first Clasico of the 2025-26 season on 26 October. The 25-year-old shouted “always me” towards Real manager Xabi Alonso following his withdrawal after 72 minutes, before adding “I'm leaving the team, it's better if I leave, I'm leaving.”

Vinicius expressed his frustration by going straight past Alonso and down the tunnel, only to return to the bench to watch his side secure a 2-1 victory over fierce rivals Barcelona. He then attempted to confront Blaugrana winger Lamine Yamal in ugly post-match scenes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportBrazil superstar apologised to Los Blancos faithful three days later

However, Vinicius was full of remorse for his actions, taking to social media to issue an apology to Real supporters. Three days after the match, he wrote on X: “Today I want to apologise to all the Madridistas for my reaction when I was substituted in the Clasico.

"Just as I have already done in person during today's training, I also want to apologise again to my team-mates, the club, and the president.

“Sometimes passion gets the better of me because I always want to win and help my team. My competitive character stems from the love I feel for this club and everything it represents.”

However, Vinicius’ apology did not mention Real boss Alonso, whom he is reported to have a strained relationship with.

Getty Images SportFormer Real midfielder Kroos reveals he tried to keep Vinicius in check

While the debate continues to swirl regarding Vinicius’ behaviour against Barcelona, former Real midfielder Kroos has since revealed he tried to keep the former Flamengo ace in check when they were team-mates, owing to a feeling that his conduct was causing the club to “suffer”.

In quotes carried by Spanish publication the 35-year-old said at The Icon League, a Germany-based five-a-side football tournament he co-founded: “At that time, I told him many times that he’d had enough, because you get the feeling that, due to his behaviour, the team ends up suffering. It's understandable that he might annoy an opponent, a referee, or the crowd.

“As a team, you get the impression that everything is working against the group because of what's happening around him. I've tried many times to calm him down on the pitch, especially so he wouldn't lose his composure, because sometimes that happened. I always told him, 'You're so good you don't need all that’.”

In a legendary 10-year spell with Real, Kroos lifted 22 trophies including five Champions League titles with the Spanish heavyweights, making 465 appearances in all competitions. He retired from professional football after representing Germany – with whom he won the World Cup in 2014 – at Euro 2024, with Julian Nagelsmann’s side losing to eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals.

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Getty Images SportUp next for Vini Jr: Real return to La Liga action against Elche

Despite the criticism being levelled at Vinicius, he has continued to perform well for Real this season. The Rio de Janeiro-born attacker has scored five goals and recorded four assists in La Liga this term. 

Vinicius also featured in both friendlies as Brazil continued their preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Senegal, before drawing 1-1 with Tunisia. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have already qualified for next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Meanwhile, Real return to La Liga action this weekend following the conclusion of the international break. Alonso’s side – who have won 10 of their 12 league games this season – are looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to 11th-placed Elche on Sunday. Second-placed Barcelona will be looking to apply pressure when they entertain Athletic Club on Saturday, with Hansi Flick’s men just three points behind.

Tottenham Hotspur have made some big additions over the last couple of years, with many of which have made a huge impact on their recent success in Europe.

The hierarchy has been boosted in recent days, after it was confirmed that former Sporting Director Fabio Paratici would return to his role after a two-and-a-half-year absence.

He’s been known to make key additions such as Cristian Romero and Dejan Kulusevski during his previous stint in North London, but he could be about to land similar quality in the future.

With the transfer window still a couple of months away from reopening, the 53-year-old has a key period ahead of him to identify players who would improve Thomas Frank’s squad.

However, the Italian has wasted no time in finding players who could become top targets when the chance arises at the midway stage of the Premier League campaign.

Spurs’ hunt for new attacking talent under Paratici

Over the last couple of days, Spurs have been hugely touted with a move to land Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo after his impressive start to the new campaign.

The 25-year-old has already scored six times and registered three assists in his seven league outings, with it being reported that he currently has a release clause in his deal at the Vitality.

However, he’s not the only player currently in their sights, with Juventus star Dušan Vlahović a talent who is firmly in their sights, according to TEAMtalk’s latest report.

They claim that Paratici’s links with the Old Lady could help the Lilywhites in their pursuit of the centre-forward, with his deal set to expire at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

It also states that Spurs have been long-term admirers of the Serbian international, but they could face competition from Chelsea for his signature in the near future.

Why Spurs’ latest target would be perfect for Kudus

In an attempt to build on their Europa League success, Spurs spent over £100m on new additions during the off-season to help strengthen Frank’s chances in the role.

Mohammed Kudus was just one of the additions made, with the hierarchy paying local rivals West Ham United a whopping £55m for his services and signature.

The Ghanaian has already made himself a fan-favourite in North London after making an immediate impact in the Premier League under Frank’s guidance.

The 25-year-old has scored once and registered four assists – the most of any player in the squad – whilst laying on more goals for his teammates than any star in the division.

His assists alone highlight the quality he possesses within attacking areas, but such numbers could improve further should Vlahovic make the move to England in the near future.

Whilst he’s already netted six goals in his 11 outings in 2025/26, his underlying stats further highlight why his addition would be perfect for Kudus in the years ahead.

The Serbian, who’s been labelled “one of the best strikers in the world” by Luca Toni, has averaged 1.2 shots on target per 90, with 43% of his efforts troubling the opposition ‘keeper.

Games played

11

Goals scored

6

Shots on target

1.2

Shot on target accuracy

43%

Aerials won

2.4

Goals scored per 90

0.81

Touches in opposition box

4.5

Fouls won

1.7

Such numbers could hugely play into the hands of Kudus, given his assists, but the big-money addition also ranks in the 97th percentile for crosses completed, which would certainly be perfect for Vlahovic.

The Juve star has also won 2.4 aerial duels per 90, with such a figure handing the Dane’s side a needed focal point to play off when they find themselves under pressure.

He’s ranked in the 92nd percentile of all players in Italy for goals scored per 90, with such numbers making him the perfect talisman to complete the Lilywhites’ attack.

It’s unclear if a deal would be completed in January or the summer, but it’s evident that a deal for the 25-year-old would be one that could add a new dimension to the frontline.

If he can strike up a partnership with Kudus, it would also take the latter to the next level and hand Frank’s side a greater chance for added success in the near future.

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2 ByEthan Lamb Oct 17, 2025