All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Manchester United could now beat Manchester City to the signature of a “world-class” player, who could be essential to their top six push, according to a reporter.

Man Utd in line for successful season if Amorim fixes one issue

Despite suffering a 1-0 defeat against title-hopefuls Arsenal in their Premier League opening match, there were plenty of positives to take for Man United, with a number of their attackers looking threatening, including new arrivals Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

However, it was an error at the opposite end of the pitch that ultimately ended up costing the Red Devils, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir failing to deal with Declan Rice’s corner, which led to Riccardo Calafiori’s goal.

With Andre Onana injured, Bayindir was given the nod between the sticks against the Gunners, however, after failing to deliver, Ruben Amorim may now be even more determined to bring in a new goalkeeper before the September 1st deadline.

Taking to X, Jan Aage Fjortoft has now revealed that Man United could still win the race for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is also being targeted by rivals Manchester City.

INEOS love him: £40m+ midfielder now Man Utd's dream target after Baleba

A “phenomenal” central midfielder has emerged as a key target for the Red Devils.

ByDominic Lund Aug 21, 2025

However, in order to make a deal for Donnarumma a possibility, the Red Devils will have to take swift action first and ship out at least one of their goalkeepers, which could prove to be challenging. The reporter describes the PSG shot-stopper as “world-class”, while also insisting Amorim needs to sign a new goalkeeper if his side are to stand any chance of finishing in the top six this season.

However, United may have to move swiftly, given that Man City recently opened club-to-club talks over a deal for the £212k-a-week goalkeeper.

Donnarumma could be major upgrade on Onana

It would be a real coup if Man United were able to sign the 2024-25 Champions League-winning goalkeeper, and there is every indication that he would be a major upgrade on Onana, having outperformed the Cameroonian on several key metrics over the past year.

Average per 90

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Andre Onana

Goals against

1.02

1.35

Save %

68.6%

68.5%

Clean sheet %

27%

21.7%

Crosses stopped %

6.4%

5.3%

Despite being willing to sanction a departure this summer, PSG boss Luis Enrique also holds the Italian in very high regard, saying: “Donnarumma is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, no doubt, and even better as a person.”

As such, it is exciting news that Man United could still beat their rivals to the 26-year-old’s signature, and a deal may not break the bank, with a potential transfer fee of £22m recently being touted.

Celtic have little more than 24 hours left to do any remaining transfer business that they feel they need to do to set them up for the first half of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Scottish Premiership giants agreed a £7m fee with Swansea City to allow Adam Idah to move on from the club, just 12 months after signing him from Norwich City, but have put the brakes on that transfer for now.

They are only willing to allow that switch to go through before the deadline if a replacement is brought through the door to replace the Ireland international.

Talks are said to be ongoing over a move for Anderlecht centre-forward Kasper Dolberg, and his arrival at Parkhead would mean that Idah can complete a transfer to Wales.

Celtic have managed to bring in one attacker in the final days of the window, though, as Michel-Ange Balikwisha has arrived from Royal Antwerp in a £5m move.

The Premiership champions chased the Belgian forward throughout the summer transfer window and have finally landed their man on a permanent deal.

What Michel-Ange Balikwisha can bring to Celtic

In Celtic’s official announcement of the signing, Brendan Rodgers explained that one of Balikwisha’s strengths is that he can play on both flanks.

The manager told the club’s website: “He is a really talented, exciting player and with a good level of experience at a high level already, so he will be an important player for us moving forward. He loves to attack and can play both sides of the pitch so we are sure he will give the team some great options.”

Rodgers’ claim that Balikwisha is an exciting player is one that is also backed up by his statistics for Royal Antwerp in the last two seasons in the Pro League.

The 24-year-old attacker scored four goals and provided three assists in 12 starts last term, and managed seven goals and five assists in 25 starts in the 2023/24 campaign, per Sofascore.

This shows that he is a winger who has the potential to deliver goals and assists in almost equal measure for the Scottish giants if he can quickly adapt to football in the Premiership.

24/25

3

29

23/24

1

10

22/23

2

14

21/22

2

10

As you can see in the table above, though, there may be some concerns over his injury record, as he has missed at least ten matches through injury in each of the last four seasons.

This means that the biggest hurdle standing in the way of Balikwisha being a success at Parkhead could be his availability, as consistent injury problems could disrupt his time in Glasgow.

With this in mind, one of the players the club are currently looking to bring in before the summer transfer window closes could be an even better signing.

£5m star is a leading target for Celtic

Despite signing Balikwisha from Royal Antwerp for £5m, the Scottish giants are still looking to add more quality to their squad in the attacking midfield positions.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to The Celtic Star, Rodgers wants the club to either sign two new strikers and another winger or two new wingers and another striker before the deadline.

The report claims that Go Ahead Eagles star Jakob Breum has emerged as one of the leading contenders to arrive at Parkhead before the window slams shut on Monday.

It adds that it could take a fee of at least £5m to secure the Denmark U21 international’s signature in a last-gasp move for the star, but they have yet to reach an agreement with the Eredivisie outfit.

Celtic must, now, move quickly to agree a deal with Go Ahead Eagles to ensure that they do not leave it too late to get a transfer over the line on deadline day.

Why Breum could be a better signing than Balikwisha

The Hoops could land an even better signing than their new winger from Royal Antwerp by pushing through with a swoop for the Eredivisie talent, because of his injury record and is quality on the pitch.

The Danish maestro has only missed 11 games through injury, suffering just one, in his entire career to date, per Transfermarkt. This suggests that he may be more reliable than Balikwisha when it comes to being available week-in-week-out.

Availability is the best ability because, simply, a player cannot make a difference on the pitch if they are not fit enough to play, which is why the Go Ahead Eagles star may have more to offer to Celtic by being available more often than the Belgian winger.

Breum, who was described as an “exciting” talent by Sport Republic video scout RDF Tactics, is also an impressive attacking force who could provide plenty of quality in the final third, as either an attacking midfielder or as a right-sided forward.

xG

6.27

Top 8%

xG on target

8.35

Top 5%

Shots on target

22

Top 7%

Goals

10

Top 5%

xA

5.60

Top 8%

Assists

5

Top 17%

Chances created

44

Top 7%

As you can see in the table above, the Denmark U21 international caught the eye in the Eredivisie last season with his contributions as both a goalscorer and a creator.

Breum’s haul of 15 goal contributions in the Dutch top-flight last term shows that he can make an impact in the final third on a consistent basis, and that he could offer even more than Balikwisha, who has never managed more than 12 goal contributions in a league season, per Sofascore.

These statistics suggest that the Danish whiz could win more points for the Hoops, whether that is in the Premiership or the league phase of the Europa League, because he may provide more game-changing goal contributions from the attacking midfield slots.

Better than Saracchi: Celtic in race to sign "technically gifted" £9m star

As Celtic search for a new left-back before the deadline, the Hoops should forget about Marcelo Saracchi and sign a “technically gifted” star instead.

1 ByBen Gray Aug 29, 2025

Therefore, overall, Breum could be an even better signing for Celtic than Balikwisha as a younger talent who has shown more in front of goal and been more reliable with his fitness in recent seasons.

After exiting the Champions League in shock fashion at the hands of Kairat, one Celtic player is now reportedly in advanced talks to leave the club in a last-ditch move.

Rodgers: Celtic manufactured "own stress"

Not only did Celtic qualify for the league phase of the Champions League last season, but they managed to find a route out of it into the last 16 for just the first time since 2013.

The Bhoys showed their best progress in over a decade and only exited at that stage thanks to Alphonso Davies’ late winner to send Bayern Munich through. Yet, one season later, Brendan Rodgers’ side won’t even be in the league phase and have been knocked out by a Kairat side who had never advanced beyond this stage in their entire history before the Scottish Premiership champions came to town.

Worse than Idah: Rodgers must drop Celtic star who lost the ball 20 times

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers must drop this flop who was even worse than Adam Idah against Kairat.

3 ByDan Emery Aug 27, 2025

It was the ultimate evening to forget for Celtic, who could not find a breakthrough across two legs – drawing 0-0 twice – before heading out on penalties in the most frustrating fashion possible. The makers of their own downfall, according to Rodgers, the Bhoys must now settle for a Europa League place.

It could be argued that not one Celtic player had a particularly good game across the two legs, but one substitute particularly had an evening to forget in midweek and is now heading for the exit door.

Idah now in advanced talks to leave Celtic

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Adam Idah is now in advanced talks to leave Celtic just days after coming from the bench and enduring quite the horror show in the Champions League. The forward, who only arrived in a deal worth £9.5m last summer, now looks set to join Championship side Swansea City in a return to English football.

Playing 50 minutes in the second leg against Kairat, Idah failed to register a single shot as Celtic pushed for a goal and completed just one pass in the final third before missing his penalty in the shootout. Nothing went right for the former Norwich City man in a performance that sums up what has been a slow start to his season, having so far failed to score once across four games.

With a matter of days remaining until the transfer window slams shut, Celtic have seemingly shown the 24-year-old the door in ruthless fashion with his Champions League display likely to be his last for the Scottish champions.

Before this summer, Mikel Arteta’s track record of bringing new forward players to Arsenal was pretty non-existent.

While the Spaniard has enjoyed spending the Kroenke’s money on bolstering the defence, very rarely have we seen the attacking ranks improved.

Indeed, up to 2025, the only out-and-out attackers Arteta had brought to the Emirates Stadium were Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Willian.

Even Havertz was initially listed as a midfielder when he first moved to north London.

Signed for £65m, the German is still the most expensive addition to the forward line since a certain Nicolas Pepe, a player who did not exactly thrive under Unai Emery or Arteta.

His story in the capital is a sad one, although he is now finding form at Villarreal in Spain.

The story of Nicolas Pepe's abject Arsenal career

In August 2019, Emery and and Co went big to seal the acquisition of Pepe from Lille in a deal worth £72m.

It was a landmark move, one that broke the club’s transfer record at the time. While it was a jaw-dropping sum of money, splashing out on Pepe did not necessarily look like an awful decision at the time.

Indeed, the Ivorian had scored 22 goals and supplied 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 matches the previous campaign. He was undeniably one of the most exciting wingers in European football.

Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly go according to plan for the left-footed star who struggled with wild bouts of inconsistency during his time in England.

That said, if we solely look at the numbers, he didn’t have a truly terrible time at the Emirates. He registered an average of 16 goal involvements per season, producing eight goals and ten assists during his first campaign. He then scored 16 times during his second year at the club. That’s a brilliant tally, more goals than any Arsenal player scored in 2024/25 for context.

Based on that, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Pepe did well. Ultimately, however, he wasn’t worth the £72m paid.

Eventually leaving on a free transfer after playing just 681 league minutes in 2021/22, Arsenal reporter Charles Watts described the move as a “horrendous mistake”. An internal investigation was led into the signing, while the player himself declared that he contemplated retiring as a result of his time in London.

To make matters worse, Emery later declared that he didn’t even really want Pepe either. The man the Spaniard wanted was Wilfried Zaha.

Indeed, the now Aston Villa boss once stated: “Pepe is a good player but he needs time. When I was there he didn’t give me the performances. I was in favour of someone coming who knew the English league, more than anything so that he wouldn’t need a period of adaptation. I had a meeting with Zaha. He was the player I wanted because I could see that he won so many games on his own.”

Now in Spain and aged 30, he is enjoying his time with Villarreal immensely. He was named LaLiga’s Player of the Month for August, having scored two goals and registered an assist in his opening three games for the club.

Pepe may have been an expensive flop for the Gunners but six years on from his acquisition, Arsenal may well have signed a player who is everything that the Ivory Coast international promised to be.

Arsenal star is shades of Nicolas Pepe, but in a good way

Pepe had plenty of endearing traits. Standing at 6 foot, he had a rangy dribbling and running style.

His play style was packed with little body feints; he would roll the ball with one foot and then explode the other way in the blink of an eye. He was direct and difficult to deal with in and around the penalty area.

Left-footed as well, he was your classic inside forward from the right flank. As we all know, it didn’t really happen for him.

Well, in 2025, it looks as though Arsenal have found another Pepe, just with all the bad bits left out.

Hear us out, but that player is Noni Madueke, the club’s £55m arrival from Chelsea during the summer transfer window.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

When Madueke first arrived at the club, certain but limited sections of the fanbase protested against his signing.

Seemingly fed up of signing players from Chelsea, the campaign read ‘No to Madueke’. Well, Arsenal said yes to Madueke and he’s been a captivating signing so far.

Like Pepe, he is left-footed and they both have a very similar dribbling style. We certainly saw that against Nottingham Forest on Saturday when Madueke terrorised Morato and Neco Williams at full-back.

The £150k-per-week England international completed a whopping five dribbles on the afternoon and his ability to trap the ball and then immediately run at players evoked memories of the best of Pepe.

He was remarkably direct, twisting the Forest full-backs this way and that. Hailed for his “electric” performance by Gunners writer, Adam Keys, it’s been a mighty fine start to life in the famous red and white for the 23-year-old.

The winger may not have found the net or assisted a goal yet, but the quality is clear. He is ready to explode in a way Pepe never managed to do.

Madueke was Arsenal’s most threatening player against Liverpool in the 1-0 defeat at Anfield and despite not registering a goal contribution on Saturday, once again looked like their most menacing player.

Perhaps, after all of these years, Arsenal are going to get the player Pepe promised to be, just for nearly £20m cheaper.

Arsenal star looks like their best bargain since the days of Henry & Vieira

Very rarely does a player feel like a bargain but Andrea Berta has struck gold on this one.

ByMatt Dawson Sep 15, 2025

Tottenham loanee Joao Palhinha is winning plenty of admirers since joining Thomas Frank on a temporary basis, and parent club Bayern Munich are watching his progress with keen eyes.

Joao Palhinha shining on loan at Tottenham

Spurs’ productive business relationship with Bayern in recent years has yielded another success story thus far in Palhinha, amid reports that Lilywhites legend Harry Kane’s contract includes a £54 million release clause.

Amid mounting speculation that Kane could re-join Tottenham after leaving North London for Bavaria in 2023, especially amid Frank’s public ‘welcome back anytime’ message to the Englishman, Palhinha is already at N17 and seriously enjoying life.

The 30-year-old scored an acrobatic overhead kick to open the scoring in Spurs’ 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday, adding to his ever-growing collection of excellent performances after a 2024/2025 to forget at the Allianz Arena.

Palhinha, after pining for a move to Bayern over what seemed like years, endured a nightmare debut season under Vincent Kompany.

His campaign was marred by fitness issues, illness, suspension and a lack of opportunities — resulting in the Portugal international making just 25 appearances in all competitions with no goals, assists or contributions of note.

Appearances

25

Goals

0

Assists

0

Bookings

2

Red cards

1

Minutes played

986

via Transfermarkt

Since making the move to Spurs, Palhinha has stood out as, arguably, their best signing of the summer so far.

Frank has started the ex-Sporting Lisbon star in all but two of Tottenham’s eight matches in all competitions, with Palhinha dominating midfield and getting on the scoresheet in his full start away to Man City.

Spurs ran out 2-0 victors at Eastlands, largely thanks to Palhinha’s imperious display, and the midfielder currently ranks fourth in the Premier League for most tackles made per 90 on average, according to WhoScored.

Palhinha has added both steel and dynamism to Frank’s midfield, with ex-chairman Daniel Levy managing to negotiate a £27 million buy option in his loan from Bayern.

Bayern Munich make Joao Palhinha stance clear amid electric Tottenham start

According to journalist Ben Jacobs earlier this week, Palhinha is keen to seal a permanent Tottenham move next year, and was personally insistent on the option to buy.

Now, as per German news outlet BILD, Bayern have made their stance crystal clear on Palhinha amid his electric start to life at Spurs.

The website reports that, despite his excellent form right now, Kompany’s side won’t lose any sleep over Palhinha leaving, and are actually hopeful that Tottenham will sign him permanently next year.

The Portuguese is not in Kompany’s long-term plans, with Bayern preferring he seals an indefinite move away to get him off the wage bill and bring in some much-needed funds.

Palhinha is rolling back the years under Frank right now, with his current form reminiscent to that of his time at Craven Cottage.

The ex-Fulham star was “absolutely sensational” under Marco Silva, and judging by his quality in the Tottenham engine room, London appears to be agreeing with him.

The Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS era at Manchester United has been a rollercoaster of emotions to date.

The old regime were hardly ideal but trophies were a regular occurrence and under the new ownership, it has not been smooth sailing whatsoever.

Erik ten Hag has gone but perhaps they might have been better off sticking by the Dutchman. After all, Ruben Amorim’s tenure at Old Trafford has been dire and that’s putting it politely in all honesty.

While United returned to winning ways on Saturday, defeating high-flying Sunderland 2-0, the Portuguese has not showcased the immense managerial potential that he did at Sporting CP in Lisbon.

Indeed, after 33 games, only five managers in Premier League history had achieved fewer points. This is Manchester United, not a relegation-threatened team; things need to improve.

Yet, there has been some good to come from the Amorim and Ratcliffe era. They’ve flushed out some bad eggs, put together a backroom team that looks far more organised and gone back to the days of Sir Alex Ferguson in recruiting Premier League-ready talents. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are a testament to that.

They’ve also done well to keep the current poster boy of the Carrington Academy at the club, JJ Gabriel.

How Manchester United convinced JJ Gabriel to stay

The Man United academy has been a sacred place for some time now. It might not be Barcelona’s La Masia but the Class of 92 is known the world over.

Remarkably, United have had someone from their academy in every first-team matchday squad since 1937, but that record is now in danger.

Amorim’s treatment of Kobbie Mainoo nearly saw him leave and he was the only outright Carrington graduate in the squad for the win over Sunderland. Ayden Heaven was on the bench but he is technically a graduate of Arsenal’s Hale End instead.

While it might be a few more years before we see 15-year-old JJ Gabriel making waves at first-team level, he certainly looks like the next big thing to come out of the club’s academy.

Hailed as “one of the most exciting talents in the world” by the Manchester Evening News’ Steven Railston, the teenager has been catching the eye for some time now and is already playing several years above his age group.

Perhaps the most sparkly jewel at Carrington right now, he has already found the net on seven occasions in six U18 Premier League matches this term. Yeah, he’s pretty special.

In The Pipeline

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

As the MEN outline, some academy followers believe ‘he could be the best talent United’s academy has ever seen’ but there was a threat of him leaving.

Already sponsored by Nike and boasting over 200,000 followers on Instagram, Gabriel is all the hype at the moment and has subsequently attracted plenty of interest.

He was close to leaving in the summer, with talks reportedly at an advanced stage with one top European club. However, a meeting was held at Carrington in which Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, and CEO, Omar Barrada, were both present.

They told Gabriel that he could become the face of the club, a verdict that led to the youngster deciding to stay in the north west.

So, he’s got the backing of Wilcox and Barrada already but is there currently a bigger talent in the academy ranks? Quite possibly.

JJ Gabriel's biggest rival at Carrington

While Gabriel looks like one of the finest talents on the youth circuit at the moment, there is a lot of hard work to be undertaken before he gets his opportunity.

He will also need to find a way past not just Benjamin Sesko in the forthcoming years but another academy sensation by the name of Chido Obi Martin.

Obi Martin arrived from Arsenal this time last year and considering his record at youth level, it was a move that caused a bit of a stir.

After all, before Max Dowman came on the scene, he was arguably the finest talent at Hale End. He scored 32 goals in 21 official games for Arsenal’s U18s and once bagged ten goals in a 14-3 win over Liverpool U16s. It’s safe to say he knows where the net is.

Sadly for the Gunners, he didn’t see a pathway to the first-team and moved to United, where to his credit, he did receive game time last term, featuring eight times for thesenior side without scoring.

Yet, in 2025/26, Amorim hasn’t selected him in a senior matchday squad once. That’s despite scoring three goals in six Premier League 2 matches.

Chido Obi’s development may have slowed slightly throughout 2025 but this is still one of the finest strikers we’ve ever seen at youth level in this country.

In the words of scout Jacek Kulig, he’s a “goalscoring machine”. No player has scored at a quicker rate in U18 Premier League history (37 goals in 24 games) and only one player, Southampton’s Nicholas Oyekunle has scored more (38) at that level in the competition’s history.

There is a huge difference between youth and senior football. Many players have soared up through the academy and then failed to make the grade. For Obi, that will be the concern, but the fact he was playing games for United’s first team last season at the age of 17 speaks volumes.

Gabriel is attracting all of the attention right now but don’t forget about Obi Martin; he’s even more prolific than his teenage counterpart. Amorim must find space in his squad to unleash him this season.

Better than Sesko & Mount vs Sunderland: Man Utd star is becoming Nani 2.0

Manchester United have hit the jackpot on one star who’s starting to emulate fan-favourite Nani.

1 ByEthan Lamb Oct 5, 2025

Crystal Palace have a wealth of assets of interest to some of the world’s best clubs and they could now be lining up a replacement for one star who is attracting attention.

Crystal Palace look to keep hold of Adam Wharton

When thinking of promising Premier League midfielders, Adam Wharton wouldn’t be too far down the public’s list due to his ability to dictate matches in the Eagles’ engine room.

Recently, the England international has attracted interest from Liverpool, and they are unlikely to be the only club keen on his services as he continues to thrive under Oliver Glasner in South London.

Eventually, the time may come for Wharton to move on. However, Pete O’Rourke has told Football Insider that he doesn’t believe that will be in the imminent future as he is settled at the club.

He stated: “It doesn’t seem he’s in any real massive rush to leave Palace right now, he’s enjoying his football and playing week in, week out in the Premier League. He has become a key man in Glasner’s side with Palace doing so well at the moment, having won the FA Cup last year and playing in Europe.

“It seems Wharton is happy with life at Selhurst Park, but his form and performances will attract interest from other clubs.”

Talks on: Crystal Palace lead Wolves to sign "finisher" who shocked Chelsea

Negotiations have been opened.

ByCharlie Smith Oct 1, 2025

Either way, Glasner isn’t hanging around as he looks to strengthen the engine room and Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher could return to Crystal Palace in January, even if he isn’t short on options from elsewhere.

Wheels are already in motion as the Eagles look to take their recruitment to new heights, and they could now be sizing up a move for another midfielder as part of a potential contingency plan.

Crystal Palace want to sign Nicolas Raskin

According to reports in Spain, Crystal Palace are eyeing a move for Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, and they feel his attributes could be suited to their deep-lying midfield role if Wharton were to depart Selhurst Park.

The Belgium international has registered a goal and four assists in 14 appearances this term across all competitions, though he was also frozen out while Russell Martin was in charge and hasn’t been able to help the Scottish Premiership outfit arrest their wretched run of form.

Five similar players to Nicolas Raskin (FBRef)

Manuel Ugarte

Manchester United

Rocco Reitz

Borussia Monchengladbach

Anton Stach

Leeds United

Jan Schoppner

Heidenheim

Christian Norgaard

Arsenal

With his contract due to expire in 2027, there is potential for Crystal Palace to land the 24-year-old on a cut-price deal if he opts not to renew his terms at Ibrox.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen how that will play out, but Besiktas are also said to be keen on luring him to Turkey, providing competition for the Premier League high-flyers if they wish to strengthen their midfield.

Labelled “aggressive” by Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, Rangers will push for him to stay, though the Eagles will hope the lure of top-flight exposure will be enough for their target to leave Glasgow.

With Ruben Amorim set to keep hold of his job at Old Trafford, Manchester United are reportedly preparing a January offer to sign a midfield star who he loves.

Ratcliffe defends making Man Utd staff cuts

After revealing that he’s willing to give Amorim as long as three years to make his mark at Man United, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has defended his decision to make a number of staff cuts earlier this year. The British billionaire insisted that profitability is key to any success and used United’s recent record revenue as an example.

Alas, even as results begin to improve off the pitch, they’ve remained woeful on the pitch. Amorim’s side have won just twice in seven Premier League games and are yet to even win back-to-back league games under the former Sporting Club manager.

Alarm bells have been ringing all season, but Amorim maintains the faith of INEOS. In fact, instead of sacking the manager, the minority owners are reportedly prepared to back him in the transfer market once again and could even welcome a midfielder that he loves in 2026.

Man Utd preparing Hjulmand offer

According to reports in Spain, Man United are now preparing a €60m (£52m) offer to sign Morten Hjulmand from Sporting Club. The Denmark midfielder thrived under Amorim at Sporting and could now become the first player from his former side to complete a move to Old Trafford in 2026.

Man Utd scouts spotted watching Real Madrid target who's keeping up with Mbappe

He’s enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 10, 2025

Amorim has never shied away from praising the 26-year-old, either. The Man United boss told reporters after his final game in charge of Sporting, in which Hjulmand scored in a 4-2 victory: “It was a great goal by a fantastic player and captain who arrived at Sporting a year ago.”

The leader that the Red Devils are arguably lacking, Hjulmand would slot straight into Amorim’s midfield next to Manuel Ugarte – allowing Bruno Fernandes to move back to an advanced role in the process.

Minutes

720

626

Progressive Passes

50

61

Tackles Won

13

7

Ball Recoveries

50

43

When compared, it’s the Dane’s defensive traits that stand out and those traits would allow one of the best midfielders in the world to play in his best role under Amorim. If United can secure his signature for just £52m, then Hjulmand would simply be a no-brainer.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl will have known what he was getting himself into when he took the opportunity to join the club earlier this week.

As shown in the graphic above, Russell Martin only won five of his 17 matches in charge and his side conceded a staggering 24 goals in that time.

That is why Rohl may not have been too shocked when his team conceded three goals in a 3-0 loss to Brann in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The manager will have learned a bit more about some of his players, though, and he decided to withdraw Oliver Antman from the game after just 45 minutes.

Why Oliver Antman should not be dropped

Despite being hauled off at half-time, the Finland international should not be dropped for the weekend because he showed more promise in his performance than some of the other attackers on the pitch.

Per Sofascore, Antman completed 88% of his attempted passes, completed one of his two attempted crosses, and created one chance for his team. The cross that he did not ‘complete’ was also a brilliant ball across the face of the goal that Youssef Chermiti was unable to get on the end of.

Meanwhile, per Sofascore, Djeidi Gassama completed 60% of his attempted passes, did not complete any crosses, and created one chance for the team, whilst giving the ball away 14 times, nine times more than Antman did.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

This is why the Finnish winger should not be dropped, and why he was unfortunate to be withdrawn, as he offered more out wide than the Frenchman did.

Meanwhile, a Rangers attacker who should be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up for Sunday’s clash with Kilmarnock is centre-forward Chermiti.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Youssef Chermiti

Rohl should take the £8m summer signing from Everton out of the XI to bring Bojan Miovski into the side this weekend, because the Portuguese dud did not offer enough up front against Brann.

Speaking on TNT’s live coverage of the match, former Gers striker Ally McCoist claimed that the forward is “showing nothing” to prove that he is worth the £8m that the club paid for him in the summer.

RangersReview writer Derek Clark also stated that the young attacker is “nowhere near ready to lead the line” for the Ibrox giants, and it is hard to disagree with Clark and McCoist’s assessments of the forward.

Minutes

76

xG

0.38

Goals

0

Successful dribbles

0/2

Pass accuracy

50%

Key passes

0

Ground duels won

0/3

Aerial duels won

4/10

As you can see in the table above, Chermiti offered little to the side as a passer, as a creator, or as a physical presence in the number nine position, which is why he was even worse than Antman, who was reliable on the ball and created a chance for the team.

His 0.38 xG chance came from a brilliant ball to the back post that he softly headed in the direction of the goalkeeper, instead of directing it back across to the other corner, as McCoist suggested that he should have done on TNT’s commentary.

Chermiti, whose last club career goal came for Sporting in the 2022/23 campaign, has now failed to provide a goal or an assist in seven appearances for the Light Blues since his £8m move to the club.

Meanwhile, Miovski has scored two goals for the Gers since his switch from Girona, with strikes against Hibernian in the League Cup and Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership.

"Disgrace" – Cavenagh told who to "fire" after Rangers defeat to Brann

Gers fans are furious after Danny Rohl’s first match in charge.

1 ByBen Goodwin Oct 23, 2025

This suggests that the Macedonia international is more likely to make an impact in the final third if selected against Kilmarnock on Sunday, which is why Rohl should ruthlessly ditch Chermiti from the XI in order to bring the left-footed attacker into the side.

Leeds United travel away from West Yorkshire and Elland Road to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Whites are looking to win back-to-back matches in the Premier League for the first time this season, after they beat West Ham United in their last outing.

Daniel Farke’s side won, thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon, and Anton Stach did not play a single minute of the match at Elland Road.

Why Leeds should unleash Anton Stach

Despite beating the Hammers, Leeds can improve on their performance from last time out because they failed to put the game out of sight for the away side, which led to a nervy ending when they pulled a goal back.

After Rodon’s goal, the Whites did not create a single chance that was worth more than 0.14 xG, per Sofascore, and they allowed West Ham to get back into the game, albeit they were able to hang on for all three points.

Stach, who did not get on the pitch, has proven that he can provide a threat at the top end of the pitch from a midfield position, with one goal, 1.8 key passes per game, and two ‘big chances’ created in eight appearances, per Sofascore.

The summer signing from Hoffenheim has shown that he can be a difference-maker with his individual quality, which could help Leeds to capitalise on a shaky Brighton defence that has conceded 15 goals in the Premier League.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

In order to bring Stach into the starting line-up, though, Farke would have to ruthlessly ditch Ao Tanaka, whose performances he has recently defended.

Why Leeds should drop Ao Tanaka

After the win over West Ham, the Japan international stated that he is “not good enough at the moment” and that he will be using these experiences to improve as a player.

Asked about Tanaka’s honest admission, Farke said: “He had a really good start to the season with us. I didn’t expect him to be man of the match [vs West Ham], being in his first match after injury back in the starting line up, but I think he was quite solid and showed a really, really good performance.”

In spite of his defence of the central midfielder’s comments and performance, the German head coach should drop the midfield maestro from the XI because Stach may be able to offer more quality against Brighton.

Appearances

7

8

xG

0.16

0.79

Goals

0

1

Key passes per game

0.6

1.8

Big chances created

0

2

Ground duel success rate

18%

52%

Aerial duel success rate

43%

77%

Tackles + interceptions per game

0.7

2.3

As you can see in the table above, Tanaka has struggled to influence games in the Premier League this season, as he has offered little in the final third whilst being dominated by opposition players physically.

The Japanese midfielder is seemingly still adjusting to the step up from the Championship, which is understandable, but Stach has shown that he can make an impact offensively and hold his own defensively in his eight starts in the division.

Given Brighton’s defensive struggles this season, conceding 15 goals in nine games, it could be the right time to bring the German central midfielder back into the starting line-up to give the Whites the best chance of causing their defence problems.

Aaronson 2.0: Phil Hay saw no way back for Leeds flop, now he's "ruthless"

This Leeds United star was the original Brenden Aaronson at Elland Road.

ByDan Emery Oct 30, 2025

Therefore, Farke should ruthlessly drop Tanaka from the XI, despite his defence of the midfielder’s display against West Ham, because it may improve the team’s chances of winning this afternoon, given the context of the opposition.