The Netherlands secured top spot in Group F after a comfortable 3-1 victory over Tunisia, while Sweden booked their place in the Round of 32 with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Japan.

The Dutch made a flying start against Tunisia in Kansas City, taking the lead after just three minutes when Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri turned a cross from Denzel Dumfries into his own net.

Brian Brobbey doubled the advantage four minutes later, scoring his third goal of the tournament after a header from captain Virgil van Dijk was played across goal.

The Netherlands controlled the match and created numerous chances, finishing with 20 shots.

Tunisia pulled a goal back in the second half through Hazem Mastouri, who headed home from a corner after a defensive error by the Dutch.

However, the Netherlands restored their two-goal lead when defender Jan Paul van Hecke nodded in from a corner, with the ball taking a slight deflection on its way into the net.

The victory ensured that coach Ronald Koeman’s side finished top of Group F and set up a last-32 clash with Morocco.

Tunisia ended their disappointing campaign at the bottom of the group, having lost all three matches and conceded 12 goals.

In the other Group F fixture, Sweden came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Japan and secure their place in the knockout rounds.

After a quiet first half, Japan took the lead in the 56th minute when Daizen Maeda finished off a fine move involving Ayase Ueda and Ritsu Doan.

Sweden responded just six minutes later through Anthony Elanga, who scored a stunning long-range effort on his first start of the tournament.

The Newcastle United winger cut inside from the left before firing a powerful shot beyond goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

Sweden pushed for a winner late on, with Elanga and Alexander Isak both testing Suzuki, but Japan held on to secure second place in the group.

The result means Japan will face Brazil in the Round of 32, while Sweden, under coach Graham Potter, have also progressed and will discover their opponents later.

Group F Final Standings

Qualified: Netherlands, Japan

Qualified as one of the best third-placed teams: Sweden

Eliminated: Tunisia

Mason Greenwood has dropped a major hint over his Olympique de Marseille future, and Manchester United will be watching developments very closely

Mason Greenwood has dealt Manchester United a fresh blow by agreeing personal terms with Fenerbahce. Greenwood had been vocal in his desire to remain at Marseille, especially given that his contract at the club runs until June 2029.

But his time in France looks to be ending, as L’Equipe reports that Fenerbahce has successfully negotiated a lucrative contract package with his representatives.

However, even though Marseille want €50m for Greenwood this summer, the Super Lig club won’t pay more than €30m plus add-ons.

This is bad news for United, who are entitled to 40 percent of any agreed fee because they inserted a 40 percent sell-on clause into the deal when they sold Greenwood to the Ligue 1 outfit.

The more money Marseille get, the better for United, and there is still hope that AS Roma could enter the bidding.

Reports from Italy claim that Gian Piero Gasperini is convinced that Greenwood represents the ideal wide player to fit into his 3-4-3 formation, but the Serie A side are having to focus on sales in order to balance their books before June 30.

Greenwood, who has not played for United since January 2022, scored 26 times in 44 appearances for Marseille last season, but that didn’t stop him from receiving criticism for some of his performances.

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Following his side’s 3-0 defeat to Nantes last month, France World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry branded Greenwood a ‘disgrace’.

The Marseille legend fumed: “You are the leader of this team, everyone depends on you. When you’re not there, everyone feels your absence. And what do you give back after all those sacrifices? This? You’re a disgrace, get out.

“That’s the money you’ll make for the club, but no one will cry for you. What he did against Nantes is shameful. I saw him walking around. At times I just looked at him and he was pretending. He doesn’t care.”

South Africa secured a historic place in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday.

Bafana Bafana completed a remarkable turnaround after suffering a heavy defeat and two red cards against hosts Mexico in their opening match. They bounced back with a dramatic late win before sealing qualification with another crucial victory.

The decisive moment came in the 63rd minute when Thapelo Maseko fired a superb left-footed shot into the bottom corner after being picked out by Moremi. The goal lifted South Africa above South Korea into second place in the group.

The achievement is particularly significant as South Africa had failed to progress beyond the group stage in their previous World Cup appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2010.

Captain Ronwen Williams revealed that criticism before the tournament helped motivate the team.

“Everybody was against us. We used that as energy to fight today. It’s amazing what we achieved,” Williams said.

South Korea started brightly and almost took the lead inside two minutes, but Kim Min-jae’s header was cleared off the line by Aubrey Modiba. Lee Kang-in also went close shortly afterwards as the Koreans dominated the early exchanges.

South Africa gradually settled into the contest and nearly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when Maseko raced through on goal, only for Lee Gi-hyuk to make a crucial last-ditch tackle.

South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu then produced an excellent double save to deny Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa before the break.

Despite creating few chances in the second half, South Africa found the breakthrough through Maseko’s clinical finish, a goal that ultimately secured a famous victory.

The result sends Bafana Bafana into the knockout phase for the first time in their history. They will now face Canada with another piece of history on the line and a place in the last 16 up for grabs.

South Korea, meanwhile, remain in contention to qualify as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams, but they will be left wondering what might have been after failing to take their chances.

The Minnesota Vikings hired general manager Nolan Teasley, formerly a front office executive in Seattle, earlier this month — and former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman emphatically endorses the move.

Teasley replaces Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired in January due to poor drafts and quarterback decision-making, and Teasley will embark on a full offseason next February. In the meantime, Sherman believes the addition will net dividends for the Vikings.

Seattle Voices Keep Backing Minnesota’s New Boss

Sherman on Teasley

Teasley crossed paths with Sherman for four seasons in Seattle, which should explain Sherman’s adoration.

Sherman said this week, “It’s really incredible, and it’s fantastic, and I love it. He’s a guy who works incredibly hard, a guy who cares about the players, he cares about his job, he cares about the organizations.”

“He’s put in the time, and that’s the hard part for a lot of people who get in these positions, is they haven’t worked themselves through, they haven’t taken the stairs to the top. A lot of people get the elevator, and then you get to the top, and you don’t know how to operate.”

Minnesota interviewed nine candidates for the general manager vacancy, and the Teasley choice turned heads because he was the only contender truly outside the organization without preexisting ties.

“When you take the stairs, you know how the building operates. You know what the first floor does, you know what the second floor does, you know what the third floor does. And I think that’s important in leadership and the guys you put in leadership positions,” Sherman continued.

“I think he’s going to do a fantastic job for the Minnesota Vikings, and I’m excited to see it.”

Universal Fan Acceptance as Well

In addition to Sherman’s high praise, the Vikings’ fan base was all in on Teasley. It’s pretty rare for fans on social media to agree on anything — take a look back at the continuous fracas of the Kirk Cousins era from 2018 to 2023 — but when it comes to Teasley, few complained.

It helps that the Seahawks just won a Super Bowl, and there’s just no debating that Teasley’s resume is impressive. He’s also straight business; when reporters asked him questions at his introductory press conference a few weeks ago, he basically delivered canned answers without spilling the beans.

In short, Minnesota needs an executive who drafts well after the gruesome Adofo-Mensah era. Per Teasley’s resume and modus operandi, that’s his strength.

The Background

Teasley began his career in 2013 as a scouting intern in Seattle and rose to assistant general manager, where he primarily excelled in professional personnel. This is momentous because he has been deeply involved in critical gameday operations, including scouting, free agency, trades, undrafted free agents, player development, and talent evaluation.

Minnesota sought more than just an executive with an impressive title. They needed someone with over a decade of experience in talent identification and roster construction for a successful organization. Teasley checked those boxes.

The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis noted in late May, “Teasley won out because of his strong football acumen,’ according to several team sources. Teasley held a leadership position on a Seahawks staff that has made nine playoff appearances, reached the Super Bowl three times and emerged with two Lombardi trophies in 13 seasons.”

“The Vikings respected Seahawks GM John Schneider’s structure and disposition from afar. The chance to pair Teasley with Brzezinski’s expertise and head coach Kevin O’Connell sold the Vikings on a trio of experts capable of forming alignment.”

How to Contend with the Rams?

While Teasley may not make a bevy of moves before the start of the regular season — Rob Brzezinski did all that from January through May — his first task will be figuring out how to combat the Los Angeles Rams.

Los Angeles recently traded with the Cleveland Browns for EDGE rusher Myles Garrett, a sure-fire Hall of Famer who twisted in the trade rumor for about a year. The Rams arguably had the top roster in the sport before the Garrett trade; now, they could be unstoppable.

Hell, defensive tackle Aaron Donald may end his retirement to run with Garrett and Sean McVay one more time.

The Vikings have professed all-in Super Bowl stakes in 2026 — it’s why they signed Kyler Murray in March — so Teasley must figure out how to beat the Rams. He may not want to trade draft picks for players before selecting a single rookie on the job, but prior to the November trade deadline, he might be forced to examine everything if his team has a winning record.

Beating the Rams in the postseason will not be easy. They have everything.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

The United States men’s national team’s World Cup group stage concluded on Thursday as the Americans lost 3-2 to Turkiye in a match that meant nothing for positioning, finishing Group D with six points and a date with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in the round of 32.

While the Americans were unable to sweep the group stage matches for the first time in history, facing an already-eliminated Turkiye brought some challenges, but in a heavily rotated side for Mauricio Pochettino, they’ll take the experience as one to learn from as they move forward.

But how did the players perform? Here are our player ratings:

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Matt Turner

USA • GK • #1

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Conceded three goals and never looked all that confident. His defense did let him down though, especially on the third goal.

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Auston Trusty

USA • D • #6

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Got his first USMNT goal with a nice strike in the opening minutes in a thrilling moment. Defensively, he was outmatched and lacked consistency. Rolled his ankle as time wound down.

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Miles Robinson

USA • D • #12

Late to react and sometimes a step slow. The effort is there, but he’s not pushing for a starting spot anytime soon. USMNT’s defense struggled and he was a big part of it.

Mark McKenzie

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USA • D • #22

Embraced the physical nature of Turkiye but lacked the technical ability to stay toe-to-toe with their best attacking players. Arder Guler feasted on this back line.

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Weston McKennie

USA • M • #8

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Brought the energy and had some positive moments going forward. Captained the team and sat deep in the middle. Solid but not in the spot where he can be best. He’ll welcome the return of midfield partner Tyler Adams.

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Giovanni Reyna

USA • M • #7

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Very quiet. Had a couple decent balls in but nothing more. A far cry from what we saw off the bench versus Paraguay. Once again didn’t seize an opportunity for more minutes.

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Sebastian Berhalter

USA • M • #14

Stock is rising with a goal and an assist. The truth is, he can hit a ball. Great accuracy on his corner and boy did he hit his goal sweetly with a low rocket. May just be the guy off the bench.

Brenden Aaronson

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USA • M • #11

Quiet for most of the match. Didn’t get the looks he would have wanted in the attacking third in the first half. Could have been more useful if he was a bit more central. Missed an open rebound in second half. He’s great at annoying the opposition by pressing, but doesn’t bring much else.

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Ricardo Pepi

USA • F • #9

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Almost forgot he was playing, to be honest. Was more involved early in the second half but was a little delayed in making his runs. A classic case of a shoot first striker starved for service.

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Timothy Weah

USA • F • #21

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Not a night to remember. His touch was off, his awareness was too. The only thing he did effectively was play the ball backwards, out of trouble. When the striker doesn’t touch the ball odds on bet is that the wingers struggled to get it to him

Subs

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Christian Pulisic

USA • M • #10

Super lively off the bench. Created trouble and nearly scored a golazo with his left foot. It’s good to have him back from injury.

Alex Freeman

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USA • D • #16

Came off the bench and was decent, but got caught helping others on the winning goal, leaving his player unmarked at the back post.

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Sergino Dest

USA • D • #2

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Came off the bench and had just eight touches. Did create a chance.

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Alex Zendejas

USA • F • #26

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Like the energy he brings off the bench. Can really go at players and needed a run out.

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Malik Tillman

USA • M • #17

Late sub who barely got to touch the ball.

In the continental battle of the North American hosts, Mexico stand on top after three rounds. The question now is: who can stay in the heat of battle the longest?

It is undeniable that any World Cup is a better spectacle when a second-tier host nation comes to the party: be it Sweden in 1958, South Korea in 2002 or Russia in 2018. The beauty of this year’s tournament is that there are three and while all of them have progressed rather comfortably to the last-32 , only the Mexicans have a perfect record to their name. For the United States, this was not so much a reality check as a reminder of how quickly a contest can drift into the hands of your opponent, especially when chances are not converted at this level.

Has their momentum been stymied by a last-gasp Turkish sucker-punch? Perhaps a smidge. Yet the hard facts are that a last-32 date in Santa Clara next Wednesday, which we now know will be against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was already assured after an electrifying opening two matches. And still, a few key objectives for Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday night were executed. Emerge unscathed in the injury department? Tick. Onto the knockouts unimpacted by needless suspensions? Tick. Re-introduce star man Christian Pulisic into the World Cup fray? Tick.

Pulisic’s comeback from a 13-day absence due to a calf injury is particularly timely and significant, six days before the real business begins once more. Here, the AC Milan winger, his country’s undisputed starlet, looked lively, nippy and completely unperturbed by his near two-week lay-off. In fact, with more fortune and accuracy, he would have netted his first goal of the tournament: a shot well-saved, a ricochet that hit the post and a curling effort just wide. The US manager, and the excitable public watching on across this vast land, will hope that it will burn a fire deep within the 27-year-old as they head up the West Coast next week.

Is he fit enough to start in six days? Surely, one thinks.

Yet paradoxically after such a wretched first two games, in nicking a winner with the last kick of the game courtesy of substitute Kaan Ayhan, Turkey haven’t just shown up late to the party with three drinks in tow; the dance has been and gone and everyone has trotted off and found a cab to their next destination. They end their time in the US with a victory which will, undeniably, make them feel a sorry sense of what if. Defeats to Australia and Paraguay had already been their undoing and they will fly back to Europe out of LAX on Friday morning after another tournament of underachievement.

For a match with nothing riding on it, such is the convoluted and somewhat mystifying decision to make head-to-head the group-stage tie-breaker over goal-difference, this one started out at a rate of knots. Pochettino made nine changes to his starting XI – the fourth-most alterations from one game to another in World Cup history – yet the US started where they left off 13 days ago against Paraguay in this 70,000-seater greenhouse in Inglewood.

One of those reinforcements, Celtic defender Auston Trusty, rifled in at the back post to open the scoring, sprinting in jubilation to his bench to celebrate. At two minutes and 14 seconds, it was the second-fastest US goal in World Cup history, after Clint Dempsey’s 30-second strike against Ghana in 2014. Yet the lead did not last long and, for a beleguered Turkey outfit, there was finally something to shout about for their midfielder wonderkid.

Tipped to be a shining light this summer, Real Madrid playmaker Arda Guler will head home with a World Cup goal to his name. Teed up in the box by striker Baris Alper Yilmaz, Guler controlled delicately with his right before smashing home with his left beyond back-up US keeper Matt Turner. For a side who held the unceremonious statistic of the most shots at this World Cup without a goal – 62, the most-ever in the first two rounds without finding the back of the net – it was a rare moment of joy.

Twenty minutes later, Guler was at the centre of Turkey’s second, slipping in Eren Elmali in the box whose cut-back found Besiktas’ Orkun Kokcu, who diverted into the corner. Coming just seconds after US centre back Mark McKenzie had a goal ruled out for offside, it was a tough pill to swallow – or at least as tough as it can be, in a dead rubber of a game.

Pochettino resisted making changes at the interval and his loyalty to his back-up troops – even if he may stray away from terms such as “second-string” – was quickly rewarded. From a set-piece, the ball broke to midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, son of former head coach Gregg, who smashed home with his right foot at the near-post.

Yet beyond a goal or the plethora of celebrities shown on the 70,000-square-foot Infinity Screen hovering above the pitch – for Leonardo DiCaprio hiding behind a Coca-Cola bottle, you also had Paris Hilton elaboratively dancing and waving – nothing could stimulate this fanbase more than the arrival of Pulisic onto the pitch.

Pochettino gave his star asset just over 30 minutes to acclimatise to proceedings and he almost made an immediate impact as he worked Turkey keeper Ugurcan Cakir before Brenden Aaronson inexplicably struck the rebound wide; a sight Leeds fans will be all too accustomed to seeing.

Minutes later, a ricochet off Pulisic hit the post before he went whiskers wide with a curling left-foot effort. Chants of “USA, USA” saw their side to the close and an all-square scoreline looked inevitable before, out of nothing, Ayhan tapped home Can Uzun’s cross with the last kick of the game, following a delicious Guler nut-meg on, of all people, Pulisic. The licking of Turkish wounds will be made more palatable after their late flourish.

Yet for the US, despite the late blow, it should be rather simple to look ahead, as their squad and manager enter a period a decade in the making. Momentum has not veered irretrievably off course. How far can the ride take them? An expectant public waits with giddy anticipation.

File image of FIFA president Gianni Infantino© AFP

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.

A swing that comes over the top is the bane of many a recreational golfer. Go to your local range and you’ll likely see dozens of players who struggle with the move. As a result, they hit weak fades or slices, and rarely have any real shot of becoming a lower handicap.

The reason the over-the-top swing is so common is because it is a result of a swing that feels correct. One of the main reasons for an over-the-top swing is that the golfer does not sequence the swing properly. With this move, you’ll see the golfer start begin the downswing with rotation rather than shift. But when you do this, you throw the clubhead outside the hands, and you have no choice but to come over the top in order to hit the ball.

When you watch a good ball striker hit the ball, the order of operations is reversed. Once they reach the top of the backswing, their first move down is a lateral shift toward the target. After that shift occurs, the rotation follows, allowing for the club to work more from the inside.

In the video below, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Greg Phillips of the Titleist Performance Institute shares an easy feel you can use to incorporate this sequencing into your swing.

How to shift then rotate

It can be tempting to get to the top of the swing and then try to unwind as quickly as possible. Your brain tells you that this is the best way to generate power, but in reality, it’s poor sequencing and largely inefficient. If you want to hit the ball like the best ball striker, you need to shift pressure into the lead side first and then allow your body to unwind.

Phillips like to teach this by putting alignment sticks on the ground that bisect the student’s stance on a diagonal from behind their trail foot out to in front of their lead foot. The goal on the downswing is to shift the pressure along that diagonal line before starting the rotation in the downswing.

“A lot of times I’ll put down alignment rods or I’ll put down clubs out here [right of the target],” Phillips says. “I want you to line up straight, but I want you to pretend like you’re going to hit it [off to the right].”

When you do this, the club will naturally work more on an in-to-out path with more natural shallowness.

“You’re twisting early,” Phillips says. “And I need you to have a little bit of lateral.”

India’s top Grandmasters Pravin Thipsay, SL Narayanan, Abhimanyu Puranik, Srinath Narayanan, SP Sethuraman, and Shyam Sundar M (Designed by TimesofIndia.com)

NEW DELHI: Earning an official FIDE (the primary governing body of chess) rating has never been easy. A player must participate in FIDE-rated tournaments, which are organised under strict regulations and often require travel, entry fees, and consistent preparation. To receive a rating, a player needs to face already rated opponents and achieve the required performance in rated games.That tradition, however, may soon change.In a sweeping policy shift that has sparked a profound existential debate, FIDE and World Chess, an official commercial partner of the governing body, recently unveiled the “First Rating Experiment”. The two-year pilot program will allow casual enthusiasts to earn their very first official over-the-board (OTB) blitz and rapid ratings entirely through online play on worldchess.com. It is an audacious attempt to democratise a historically insular sport, as the governing body aims to expand the current global pool of 500,000 rated players into the millions so that every Tom, Dick, and Harry will then have a chance to earn their first FIDE rating.To govern this new digital frontier, FIDE plans to employ an AI-driven fair-play screening framework and a specialised technical coefficient designed to align online performance with physical standards. To protect the upper echelons of the sport, the governing body has also installed a regulatory firewall, where these online-incubated ratings will be strictly capped at 1,800 Elo.Though FIDE intends to launch the program this July, following a period of community review, India’s Grandmasters, the vanguard of the modern chess renaissance, are locked in a fierce cerebral tug-of-war over the decision.For some, it represents a visionary dismantling of economic barriers; for others, though, it is a dangerous compromise of the game’s ultimate currency, which lies in the integrity of the rating system.

‘An unnecessary move’ by FIDE?

According to several Indian Grandmasters, the boundary between online and offline chess must remain completely sacred. In an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com, Grandmaster (GM) SL Narayanan was blunt in his disapproval.“I think it was an unnecessary move from FIDE. You can’t combine online tournaments and then translate the rating into over-the-board rating because the rules are different for online and offline chess,” he said. “For recreational players, they would consider this a welcome move, but the real problem is (that) it could affect the credibility of rating system.”This sentiment was fiercely echoed on X (formerly Twitter) by prominent coach GM Srinath Narayanan, who expressed deep reservations about online security. He wrote, “Very skeptical about the efficacy of fairplay checks. Online play and over the board ratings shouldn’t be mixed.”GM SP Sethuraman also took to X to highlight how this integration could destabilize an already fragile rating ecosystem, “I already feel that the chess rating system is far from perfectly calibrated across different regions, formats, and levels of activity. We have already seen significant rating inflation and deflation issues over the years, making it difficult to compare ratings across generations. “Introducing official online ratings that can be converted into OTB ratings may create even more noise and uncertainty. While the intention is to make chess more accessible, I hope FIDE proceeds very carefully.”Offering a more relaxed but similarly cautious take, GM Abhimanyu Puranik told this website, “Generally, (it’s) not great to link online and OTB play, but rating itself starts so low that it doesn’t change so much.”‘It’s a very tough decision to doubt players just based on the moves’Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, Chennai’s one of the most reputed coaches, GM Shyam Sundar M, admitted to being highly surprised by the news, weighing the massive operational shift against the dark cloud of digital cheating:“The good thing is that FIDE is trying some new initiatives… But, combining online chess for over-the-board rating, I’m not sure. I mean, that too playing without physical board. Like, a hybrid system, I understand. That makes some sense as well.”Shyam Sundar suggested that a hybrid system, where players gather in physical regional halls monitored by local arbiters and 24-hour Zoom surveillance, would be far more secure and equally economical for organisers.Expressing his core concern about anti-cheating algorithms, he added, “I firmly believe that even one innocent should not be punished. It’s not easy, and it’s a very tough decision to doubt players just based on the moves, on the game quality in two or three or four games.”However, he remains open to the future, adding, “Maybe based on AI or even based on the server. Maybe something like that browser with AI, maybe it is possible. If it happens, maybe it’s good.”

Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay welcomes the initiative

In stark contrast, Arjuna Awardee and veteran GM Pravin Thipsay hailed the initiative as a visionary leap as he noted that less than 1% of the world’s chess enthusiasts actually have the means to play in physical, rated tournaments.“I think FIDE has taken a bold step… There are crores of players… who play chess online, and they play quite regularly as Karpov had founded one-third of the Western world play chess almost every day, but they play with the computer, and then they remain away from the mainstream. And somewhere, the barricade between the online chess players and over-the-board chess players had to be removed, and it’s a good step towards that,” he told TimesofIndia.com.Thipsay acknowledged that the system could face serious problems if cheating is left uncontrolled or if the rating coefficient is calculated incorrectly, pointing out that FIDE’s previous coefficient changes for under-18 players had “boomeranged and failed”. Yet, he believes the 1,800 ceiling is an excellent filter.“If somebody crosses 1,700 or 1,750, there’s a reasonable chance of that particular player trying to play chess more seriously, be an over-the-board player,” he added. “So I think a good initiative, we’ll have a large number of players coming to over-the-board chess.”With FIDE currently gathering feedback before its final rollout, the chess world stands at an unprecedented crossroads. What do you think about this proposal? Let’s know in the comments.

Manchester United have been linked with several players in the summer transfer window, including West Ham star Mateus Fernandes

Manchester United are bracing themselves for a crucial transfer window as manager Michael Carrick looks to build on his promising start at Old Trafford. The club will be eager to improve upon last season’s third-place finish and make their mark on their return to the Champions League.

Brazilian midfielder Ederson is poised to join United from Atalanta, with an early agreement reached for the 26-year-old. Further signings are expected, however, as the club seek to fill the void left by the departing Casemiro and strengthen their midfield options.

United are claimed to be facing stiff competition from Tottenham Hotspur in their efforts to land West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes. The Portuguese international is among several players linked with a switch to Old Trafford, along with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.

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In terms of outgoings, goalkeeper Andre Onana is reportedly edging closer to the exit door following a season spent on loan. MEN Sport takes a closer look at some of the most significant stories emerging from around Old Trafford.

Mateus Fernandes transfer twist

United may face an unexpected obstacle in their attempts to sign West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes. The Portugal international is reportedly valued at £80 million by the Hammers.

The Sun reports that Tottenham are “prepared to offer more” than United in terms of wages. Roberto De Zerbi’s side finished 17th last season but are claimed to be willing to pay higher salaries for their top targets.

Unlike Spurs, United can offer Fernandes the opportunity to compete in the Champions League next season. However, it remains to be seen whether Tottenham’s readiness to pay higher wages will be a blow to United’s transfer strategy.

Southampton are set to receive 15 per cent of any potential transfer fee for Fernandes after selling him for £38m last year. The midfielder was ultimately unable to help West Ham avoid relegation, netting three goals and providing four assists across 36 league games.

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Andre Onana ‘agrees’ terms

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is edging closer to securing a move away from the club. The 30-year-old joined United from Inter Milan in 2023 but spent last season on loan at Trabzonspor.

The Cameroon international is set to return to the club in another loan move, with the Turkish outfit covering all of his wages and paying United a loan fee.

Onana lost his position as United’s first-choice last term, with new signing Senne Lammens taking his place. The former Ajax star subsequently made 33 appearances for Trabzonspor, where he lifted the Turkish Cup.

Thousands of Man United fans upgraded their matchday last season. This is how they did it.

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