The Manchester United figure was revered by several club legends

Manchester United fans will hope Sky Sports pundit Pien Meulensteen is a good luck charm for their Carabao Cup hopes.

The broadcaster – who is the daughter of former United coach Rene Meulensteen – will host the fourth round draw of the competition tonight following United‘s clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Pien was born in the Netherlands but grew up in Manchester, with her father having spent 12 years at the Premier League club across two stints. His second tenure at Old Trafford saw him spend six years as Sir Alex Ferguson‘s first team coach from 2007 to 2013.

Meulensteen contributed to four league titles in his final years under Ferguson as manager, but his crowning achievement may be the respect he earned from the likes of Robin van Persie and Rio Ferdinand.

The former Fulham boss left after United’s 2012/13 title-winning season and was credited by Van Persie for his goal-scoring exploits in his debut season in Manchester. The ex-striker scored 26 league goals on the way to the title and picked up his second consecutive Golden Boot.

Midway through that season, Van Persie threw praise on his compatriot and said: “The way he (Meulensteen) trains is exceptional. He is truly one of the best coaches in the world. I have had a lot of good trainers, but it’s the way he prepares our team for games. Every match is different, so every training session in the build-up to games is unique.

“We know exactly what to expect and he wins points for us through his training. We’ve won a lot of games by the odd goal and they are point winners, which we train for. For instance, against Chelsea I scored after a low cross from Antonio Valencia on the right.

“It might seem a fluke but the whole week before the game was spent working on that move. Another example is my goal against Wigan, when I cut the ball inside and shot with my right foot. Again this situation, we trained on. Training is really good. It’s a very pleasant environment to work in.”

Ferdinand opened up about his experiences playing under Meulensteen and described the Dutchman as the “best one-on-one coach” he worked with throughout his 20-year playing career.

“The two coaches that coached me at Man United really were Carlos Queiroz and Rene Meulensteen,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel ‘Vibe with Five’ in 2021. “They’re both very different and Rene was probably the balancing act for the manager, he was a bit of a maverick and would smell a situation and go with instincts.

Advertisement

“Rene was a great coach, he was brilliant for one-to-one stuff. With Ruud, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then I started doing stuff with him and he was the best one-to-one coach I ever worked with.”

Real Madrid could be busy in the winter transfer window, particularly when it comes to exits. The main issue at Valdebebas will inevitably surround Endrick, who’s had a difficult start to the 2026-27 campaign, given that he’s barely featured.

His late cameo in Tuesday’s last-gasp victory over Elche is the first minutes Endrick has had this season. Granted, he missed the first four matches due to injury, but even so, it looks difficult for him to play regularly under Jose Mourinho.

Advertisement

Endrick has Kylian Mbappe and Carlos Espi ahead of him in the striker pecking order, while Arda Guler, Yan Diomande and Brahim Diaz are currently preferred on the right wing. Thus, his chances of regular minutes are low, which is why there are chances for him to depart for the second winter transfer window in a row.

Real Madrid will re-assess Endrick’s situation in the lead-up to January, and if he is still far down the pecking order, it’s likely that another loan move will be sought. However, Manchester United would prefer to sign him permanently, and according to TEAMtalk (via CaughtOffside), their long-term interest could materialise into a transfer offer when the window re-opens.

What should Real Madrid do with Endrick?

While it is true that Endrick showed a great level during his loan spell at Lyon last season, he has yet to make a significant impact at the Bernabeu since he joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. Club bosses are still being patient, but that patience could start to run thin if he fails to establish himself under Mourinho.

Advertisement

There is a world in which Real Madrid allow Endrick to leave permanently, and Man United would be primed to strike if that happens. However, they would surely look to include a sell-on clause and/or buy-back clause, as this would allow them to retain control over his future.

JJ Gabriel rocked Man Utd by asking the club to leave and another academy graduate could get clarity on his future tonight.

The build-up to Manchester United’s Carabao Cup third-round tie with Brighton has been dominated by JJ Gabriel and his shock request to leave the club, but there are other youngsters pushing for involvement at Old Trafford tonight.

Shea Lacey should be handed a first start of the season and fellow academy graduates Harry Amass and Tyler Fletcher are both on the fringes of the first-team and could play in a game that has taken on greater significance this week.

The case of Amass is particularly interesting. He made his Champions League debut last week, playing the final 18 minutes against Sabah as United cruised to a 4-0 win, but he hasn’t made a matchday squad in the Premier League so far.

With first-choice left-back Luke Shaw missing the weekend defeat to Manchester City, Michael Carrick again opted for Patrick Dorgu to start, with Noussair Mazraoui as cover, and despite the lack of options in that position, Amass isn’t guaranteed to continue to get first-team moments.

This Carabao Cup fixture looks like a perfect opportunity to give him some more exposure, however, and he really should start. Dorgu hasn’t convinced against Sabah and City, there is no need to rush Shaw back and Mazraoui should deputise for Diogo Dalot on the right.

If that scenario plays out, Amass has a golden opportunity to convince people at United that he has what it takes to be a fixture in the first-team squad, both this season and in the long term. With Shaw’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, there could be a vacancy for two left-backs in 2027.

Amass will know, however, that his future is far from secure. His own deal is up at the end of this campaign, although United are likely to take the one-year option to give themselves some insurance.

The fact that he came close to leaving the club during the final days of the transfer window, despite Carrick being short at left-back, suggests he still has people to win over. There was loan interest in Amass, but United were also open to a senior sale.

Burnley made an offer of around £3.5million the day before the window shut, which United rejected, but had the Championship club raised that offer, Amass could now be at Turf Moor.

That is why he needs to take every opportunity he can to impress while he is still at United. His future could yet be revisited in January, either for a loan move if he is struggling for minutes, or a permanent exit.

The game against Brighton looks like exactly the kind of fixture he should be starting again. It is a chance for Carrick to assess some of his younger players, even if the pressure has risen a little after a shaky start to the season.

If Amass finds himself on the bench, or even more surprisingly out of the squad altogether, he will know the challenge in front of him remains a difficult one.

Former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf has come out in support of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi after the trophy controversy following the Women’s Asia Cup final.

For the second successive year, an Indian team did not collect the Asia Cup trophy after winning the tournament. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final to claim a record-extending eighth title, but the players stayed in the dressing room when the presentation ceremony began.

The Indian team’s decision came after it had made it clear that it would not accept the trophy from Naqvi, who is currently the ACC president as well as the PCB chairman.

Naqvi had largely stayed away from the presentation area during the final, but was seen in the VIP box during the final over. The ceremony was subsequently delayed by around 45 to 50 minutes before eventually getting underway.

Yousuf, however, defended Naqvi and accused India of displaying “arrogance” in a post on X on Tuesday.

“When national pride turns into arrogance, victory brings no reward. A team may win, but a nation without humility remains a loser! No trophy, only heels on heads. #MohsinNaqvi,” Yousuf wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The latest incident mirrors what happened after last year’s men’s Asia Cup. India had refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The men’s tournament was also marked by heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, with Naqvi accused of fuelling the situation through anti-India statements on social media.

India’s women’s team maintained a similar stance this year. Head coach Amol Muzumdar later said the BCCI had decided against accepting the trophy from Naqvi and that the players simply followed the board’s position.

A day later, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said India’s position had been communicated to Naqvi well before the final, but the ACC president still attended the presentation ceremony.

Saikia and BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla were both present at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final.

When the delayed presentation finally began, only Sri Lanka came out to collect their runners-up medals. Naqvi presented the runners-up cheque to Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu.

After Athapaththu completed her broadcaster interview, the presentation proceedings came to an end, leaving India without the trophy despite their comprehensive victory in the final.

While determined to craft an illustrious legacy at 200lbs, David Benavidez has now reconsidered a possible heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

Their potential encounter was mooted following Benavidez’s sixth-round stoppage of Gilberto Ramirez, who he dethroned for the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles in May.

In doing so, ‘The Mexican Monster’ became a three-division world champion while still holding his WBC light-heavyweight strap, though it now seems that he is ruling out a move back down to 175lbs.

Instead, Benavidez is set to face Michal Cieslak for the WBC cruiserweight title on December 12, with Noel Mikaelian likely to be stripped of the belt following his ninth-round stoppage defeat to Jai Opetaia over the weekend.

The 29-year-old could therefore end up with three major belts at 200lbs by the end of this year, before pursuing a mouthwatering showdown with Opetaia in 2027.

Equally, though, Benavidez has expressed his interest in facing Usyk after admitting in June that he was not ready for a move up to heavyweight.

Speaking to The Ring’s Mike Coppinger while in attendance for Ryan Garcia’s second-round stoppage of Conor Benn, the unbeaten Mexican-American outlined his future as being at 200lbs but also named Usyk as a potential next opponent.

“I feel great at this weight class. I don’t have to lose weight; I’ve never felt as good as I did in my last fight.

“So I wanna be the reigning [cruiserweight] champion for a long time. But if we get a fight with Usyk, I’m not going to turn it down.”

Quick ringside interview with David Benavidez after Jai Opetaia’s emphatic TKO win over Noel Mikaelian. Benavidez says Opetaia looked slow and easy to hit, easy to hurt. Who are you picking in this one? One of the best fights you can make in boxing 🧨 pic.twitter.com/toW5862icQ

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 13, 2026

Usyk comes off an 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven and, despite vacating his three belts in June, the Ukrainian remains the lineal heavyweight champion.

While Deakin’s first-up placing at Caulfield might have raised a few eyebrows, it was not a surprise for trainers Phillip and Tommy Stokes.

The imported gelding finished third in the Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) on August 29 at $51 and is set to return to the track this Saturday for the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m).

A victory in the Naturalism Stakes grants a ballot exemption into the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17, a race Deakin contested last year, finishing eighth.

“We thought he would run as well as what he did first-up,” Phillip Stokes stated.

“His trials were very good, but when we looked at the market, we were trying to work out what we missed, but he was massive first-up.

“We thought he came back in good order, and he didn’t let us down.”

Stokes revealed that since his initial run, Deakin has completed a jump-out on the synthetic track at Pakenham, finishing third behind stablemates Regal Award and Ferivia.

“He had a tick over jump-out last week under a good hold.

“We could not be happier with how he’s progressing towards the Caulfield Cup and we’ll have him there fourth-up.

“The way he’s going, we feel he’ll run a bold race on Saturday.”

Now a seven-year-old, Stokes highlighted that Deakin is a mature stayer and has benefited from a solid break following last year’s Caulfield Cup, with only one start earlier this year.

“Last year when he ran in the Caulfield Cup, he got buffeted a lot and it didn’t work out,” Stokes recalled.

“He wasn’t beaten all that far and we feel he’s come back a more mature horse.

“We’ve made a few changes, he’s relaxing better and I’m sure he’ll run well.”

Stokes mentioned that despite their best efforts, Deakin continues to race with his head on the side.

“That’s just him. He’s better when he gets outside horse,” Stokes said.

“That’s the European in him. He likes a bit of room.”

With Deakin showing good form, explore the racing betting markets for the Naturalism Stakes.