JOSHUA ZIRKZEE arrived at Manchester United a stone overweight – and Erik ten Hag didn’t even want him.

The £36.5million flop has scored just once this season and has started only four of United’s twelve Premier League games.

4

4

Advertisement

4

Now SunSport can reveal not only did he arrive at United out of shape —  it has taken a while to shift that extra weight.

His condition left manager Ten Hag unhappy as he was not his choice of striker in the first place.

His arrival from Bologna was instigated by Ineos’ new management team – who identified the 23-year-old as good value for money.

That is a huge matter for debate now with many fans still wondering if he is up to the fitness levels needed to be a Prem player.

Zirkzee scored on his debut against Fulham – coming off the bench to grab a late winner in the Red Devils’ opening Premier League fixture of the season.

There has been nothing since from 15 appearances in all competition –  seven of them starts.

The Dutch international’s last league start came against Tottenham at the end of September before his compatriot Ten Hag reverted back to Rasmus Hojlund, who had been unavailable at the season was delayed due to injury.

Zirkzee was only brought on by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 84th minute of Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

He immediately was given a chance when he was put through – but lacked the pace to get away from Wesley Fofana.

Bizarrely, Zirkzee later posted a picture on Instagram of the moment he was through on goal — even though it came to nothing.

He did not come to United with a great goalscoring reputation.

While the club desperately needed a No 9, there has been some debate whether Zirkzee is better suited to playing as a No 10.

The Dutchman began his career at Bayern Munich but they afforded him just 17 games in which he got four goals.

He was loaned out to Parma and Anderlecht before making a permanent move to Serie A and Bologna where he got just 14 goals in 58 appearances over two seasons.

4

Advertisement

Despite having moved to Bologna for just £7.15m his worth had rocketed when United came calling on the back of those two seasons.

New Sporting Director Dan Ashworth alongside Technical Director Jason Wilcox are the men who have been tasked by part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to improve United’s recruitment.

Zirkzee missed United’s pre-season training camp despite having only played two minutes of Holland’s Euro campaign –  in their 2-1 defeat to England in the semi-finals.

Rather than join the team at their training camp in Los Angeles, he took his allotted time off.

That raised eyebrows among some close to the club given that he was holidaying in LA at the same time United were there and called in only to say hello to his new team-mates.

United have had their worst start to a season since 1986-87 with just 12 points from 10 games and stand 13th in the table.

They are one of only three clubs not to be in double figures for goals scored.

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says he “does not know what West Ham are” after the club’s difficult start to the season under Julen Lopetegui.

West Ham are 14th in the Premier League with just 11 points from their opening 10 matches.

Sutton says Lopetegui, who succeeded David Moyes at the end of last season, could be under “major pressure” if results do not improve soon.

“West Ham this season are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, you don’t know what they are and that’s the issue,” Sutton told the Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It looks like he’s a little bit stuck. He’s in the wrong movie.”

After claiming what seemed like a statement win against Manchester United the previous week, West Ham suffered a 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest on Saturday – their fifth loss of the season.

The club’s only other league victories this season came against strugglers Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace.

“He needs time, but you don’t really know what they are and he’s spent a fortune,” Sutton added.

Moyes, who led West Ham to the Europa Conference League title in 2023, also said Lopetegui should be given more time.

“I had a few defeats where we lost heavily at different times, so it happens for all managers,” Moyes told the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.

“But I just think that the manager needs to be given an opportunity, a bit of time to settle things down. Sometimes players need to perform as well, they need to step up and show what they’re about.”

West Ham have tough tests against Newcastle and Arsenal coming up this month, while Everton would move above Lopetegui’s side with a win on Saturday.

“David Moyes had a style of football, whether you agreed with it or not. West Ham wanted a more progressive brand of football, but at least you knew what David Moyes’ teams were and they were counter-attack,” Sutton said.

New York Times football journalist Rory Smith said West Ham fans would be more understanding of West Ham’s poor results if the club were playing a more exciting brand of football under Lopetegui.

“They can tell they’ve got a worse version of what they had before, with all the bits they didn’t like about Moyes,” Smith added.

BOYZONE and Westlife have sold out stadiums all over the world.

But now three members of the famous Nineties pop bands have entered a new arena with a fresh challenge – to take a part-time football club all the way to the Premier League.

5

5

Advertisement

5

5

5

Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy from Boyzone, with Brian McFadden of Westlife fame, are now shareholders of Chorley FC, who play in the ­National League North — SIX rungs below England’s top-flight squads.

Chorley is just 25 miles from ­Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, but the clubs are light years apart in footballing terms.

The smaller team, nicknamed The Magpies, averages gates of 1,400, compared to City’s 53,000.

Their 80-year-old stand was originally built on an ash tip, and the club boasts such a ­community vibe, a fan once drove a crocked player to hospital because no ambulance was nearby.

Now, with a potential documentary in the offing tracking their journey, Shane, Keith and Brian believe there is no reason why they can’t mirror Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham — whose story ­features in a Disney+ show — and Gary Neville at Salford City.

Both have taken struggling teams towards the promised land.

Brian, 44, said: “We have aspirations, just like Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds.

“I wake up some nights thinking, ‘We’re going to win the Premier League in the next 30 years’.

“You have to dream big, and we’ve got to aim for the top.

‘Amazing support’

“Teams like Salford and Wrexham, who have well-known owners, make us think, ‘Why not us?’.”

And he joked: “Gary Neville and Ryan ­Reynolds may need to watch out!”

Keith added of the locals’ pride in the team: “We’re from a working-class background in the north side of Dublin and it’s all about family.

“It’s all about community — and coming here today, it’s like being home.

“Hopefully we’re going to be the new adopted sons.”

This week, The Sun was invited for the first ever access-all-areas tour of the ground with the lads, and to witness a 2-1 win for their team that took them joint top of their league.

It is exactly a year since the trio signed on the dotted line as investors.

Since then, the club has invested £250,000 in a new pitch, installed safer terracing at the 4,100-capacity ground and also created a brand new hospitality suite.

But the pop stars insist they will not be meddling in the running of the team.

Chorley Football Club belongs to the people of Chorley

Keith Duffy

Shane, 48, said: “What’s on the pitch stays on the pitch, and what’s off the pitch kind of stays off the pitch.

“We try not to bleed into both.

“We are here as investors.”

Brian, who lives in neighbouring Rochdale, added: “When I was signed to big record companies, I hated it when they told me how to sing.

“So, we’re definitely not going to tell them how to play football.”

We arrive at the 105-year-old ­Victory Park stadium two hours before Saturday’s crunch home tie against King’s Lynn.

The old-fashioned turnstiles creak as stewards warmly greet fans by their first names.

One supporter sells pin badges while others chat to the players and give them high-fives as they head inside.

Shane and Brian — both wearing club jerseys — guide us into the home dressing room, where the team’s black, white and red shirts bearing each player’s name are hung up neatly, with the rest of the kit folded below.

We have aspirations, just like Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds. I wake up some nights thinking, ‘We’re going to win the Premier League in the next 30 years

Brian McFadden

But this is where the similarities with a Premier League changing room end.

Instead of giant interactive screens similar to those you would see at the likes of City and Liverpool, a whiteboard displays hand-written notes on that day’s match rivals.

Shane embraces Chorley manager Andy Preece and the pair share a joke.

Brian, who scored a 1999 No1 with Westlife covering Abba’s I Have A Dream, said: “When I’ve got grandchildren, I want to be able to say I was a part of that.”

However, not all fans were convinced when Shane’s friends, who bought the 141-year-old club last year, invited the lads to invest.

Keith said: “Chorley Football Club belongs to the people of Chorley.

“They’ve got this amazing community support.

“It’s their club and I think there was a worry that we might come in and try to make it a bit Hollywood and throw money at it.

“After speaking to everyone, we said we couldn’t do that.

“We had to let this club grow naturally.”

Shane added: “I’m not hugely into football, but Brian and Keith are.

“It’s amazing to see how the fans bought into having two guys from Boyzone and a fella from Westlife on board.”

And it’s not just the club that is in a different league.

Most of Chorley’s players also have day jobs, such as school sports coach, personal trainer, plumber and electrician.

One even works for the National Crime Agency.

Outside, the ground has changed since the club was formed after switching from a rugby team in 1883.

Fans can get in for just £14 if they buy tickets online, while under-12s go free — a snip compared to the £100 sometimes charged by Premier League sides in the area.

Chorley — a town of just 120,000 people — is famed for its Chorley cake but, as well as being able to grab one with a cuppa for less than £3, the ground’s delicacy is its butter chicken, mushy peas and gravy for just over £5.

‘Always felt like home’

Since the lads took over a year ago, a revamp means state-of-the-art hospitality facilities offer fans a two-course meal, their own car parking space, a programme, signed ball and the best seats for less than £70 a head if bought in a group of six.

Hospitality manager Sue Gautrey began working as a barmaid at the club in 2002, and said: “It has always felt like home.

“My three daughters work here and I hope I’ll be here until I retire.

“It’s quite surreal seeing Boyzone and Westlife wandering around, but they are lovely.

“Everyone associated with the club is great.”

In the summer, Shane, Keith and Brian saw £250,000 spent on a new pitch and drainage system, while the terracing got fresh Tarmac, a new perimeter fence was installed and improvements were made to the quaint main stand.

Chairman Jamie Vermiglio, a former player who managed the club to the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2021, when they were beaten by Premier League side Wolves, said: “Having these guys here is brilliant for the club.

“It’s exciting.

“We have had some great times and achievements, and hopefully we will have many more.”

I’m not hugely into football, but Brian and Keith are. It’s amazing to see how the fans bought into having two guys from Boyzone and a fella from Westlife on board

Shane Lynch

Shane said: “We’re on a ten-year project and we are coming into Year Two.

“We’ve got lots of ideas for the ground, for the game and to grow Chorley as a town.

“What we are doing is very much community based.

“Just look at the queues outside.

“This is why this club is alive, and the more people we can have walking through the turnstiles, is very important to us.”

The trio said they are keen to bring in new sponsorship, boost attendance and generate funds to help climb the leagues.

And watching their match with full-time squad King’s Lynn, it could be the start of something.

Chorley win 2-1, sending them joint top with former league club Scunthorpe.

Fans are jubilant and chant, “We are going up” as they leave.

Chorley is a great community and the support they have is great. This is how it should be and it is a great day out for families

Keith Duffy

Jean Pedley, 82, started watching the team aged 12 and lives next to the ground.

She said: “My mother used to wash the kit.

“My sister and I used to work in the refreshment bar and all you could buy was a pork pie and a cup of tea.

“Now we have pop stars here.

“It’s changed a lot.”

John Vernon, 81, a supporter of 70 years, said: “The Premier League is another world, but this is the charm of it here.

“At a game in Nottingham, one of our players suffered a nasty cut and there wasn’t an ambulance so I drove him to hospital.

“I managed to get him back to the ground before the team coach left.

“When we arrived back, everyone cheered.

“If we’d missed the coach, I’d have happily driven him home.

“Where else would that happen?”

In the trophy room, Keith, 50, hailed fans’ post-match celebrations, which include a singer and a live band, revealing: “Chorley is a great community and the support they have is great.

“This is how it should be and it is a great day out for families.”

He added of their win over King’s Lynn: “It was good to see that today.”

Shane added: “I was having a bit of banter with the fans, telling them that it’s not my fault if we lose.

“I was nervous at the end of the game and it was a great buzz to winning.

“There are real similarities with having a great gig.”

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Brendson Ribeiro beat Caio Machado with a split decision Saturday on the main card at UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Take a look inside the fight with Ribeiro, who snapped a two-fight skid and won by decision for the first time in his career.

Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado

Brendson Ribeiro

Result: Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Updated records: Ribeiro (16-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC), Machado (8-4-1 MMA, 0-3 UFC)
Key stats: Machado outstruck Ribeiro 79-49 in a fight contested entirely on the feet and at distance.

Ribeiro on the fight’s key moment

Nov 2, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Brendson Ribeiro (blue gloves) fights Caio Machado (red gloves) in a light heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight and it was going to be a war. We knew it was going to happen. We talked about this – there’s going to be a tough fight, but it doesn’t matter. We’re frustrated sometimes because we don’t get the knockout, but it doesn’t matter how we get the win. I knew that my arm was the one to be raised.”

Ribeiro on his 0-2 UFC start

Nov 2, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Brendson Ribeiro (blue gloves) fights Caio Machado (red gloves) in a light heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

“(I had) no terror whatsoever. I didn’t feel any (pressure). I knew we were going to make it happen. I work so hard, but in my other fights in the UFC, they were just minor adjustments that prevented me from a win. I just needed to make these adjustments. We put a lot of work, even on on the on the mental side. There’s no pressure. I knew that all those adjustments, all we needed to do is just make those minor adjustments to come out with the win.”

Ribeiro on what he wants next

“I’m a fighter. I want to fight as soon as possible. I have another challenge coming – no, no, not a challenge. I’m getting married on the 4th of January to my future wife. Love you – I love you. So it is a beautiful moment in my life, very important step in my life.”

To hear more from Ribeiro, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw has declined his $10 million player option with the Los Angeles Dodgers, electing to become a free agent.

The MLB Players Association listed Kershaw as a free agent in a statement released on Monday. The left-hander is still expected to re-sign with the Dodgers, his only big league team during his 17-year career.

 [Related: Check out our rankings of the top 2025 MLB free agents]

The 36-year-old was hurt for much of last season, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA over seven starts.

The Dodgers did exercise a $5 million option for infielder Miguel Rojas and a $3.5 million option for catcher Austin Barnes. Barnes is the second-longest tenured Dodgers player behind Kershaw, playing 10 seasons.

The 35-year-old Rojas just finished one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, batting .283 with six homers and 36 RBIs. Barnes hit .264 with one homer and 11 RBIs.

Dodgers win World Series, Is Los Angeles a dynasty? | First Things First

Los Angeles also extended a $21.05 million qualifying offer to slugger Teoscar Hernández, who hit a career-high 33 homers. Players have until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 to accept.

If Hernández does, he will be under contract with the Dodgers for another season. If he declines and signs elsewhere, his new team must forfeit at least one draft pick and Los Angeles will receive at least one draft pick as compensation.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more