Bellamy played alongside legendary former Uruguay striker Suarez and ex-Argentina midfielder Mascherano at Liverpool, while another great of Argentine football, Tevez, was among his team-mates at Manchester City.

The former Wales captain has been hugely impressed by Wilson since succeeding Rob Page as his country’s manager in the summer, describing the 27-year-old as “the footballer’s footballer” following his match-winning display against Montenegro in October.

The retirement of Gareth Bale, Wales’ all-time leading scorer and cap holder, in January 2023 left an enormous void and, although few players could even dream of filling that gap on their own, Wilson has risen to new levels since Bale’s departure.

He scored two goals during last year’s momentous 2-1 win over 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, while his recent scoring exploits have only been one element of his eye-catching performances.

“I love him without the ball,” said Bellamy, who won the last of his 78 caps as a 16-year-old Wilson made his debut in 2013.

“It hasn’t been easy for him because every player wants to be playing. You can see he has been working hard because players don’t have that kind of impact if they are not professional and conduct themselves well.

“I saw his quality last year when we [Burnley, where Bellamy was assistant coach] played against him and I saw his numbers. It took us aback. How is this little kid running and sprinting so much? It was elite level, really impressive.

“I was there when he made his debut for Wales and I felt he was a kid who was going to come through and have a big future for Wales. I believe he has done that and at the moment he is outstanding.”

Hull City’s Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano has been suspended until further notice by the South American football confederation Conmebol for breaching anti-doping rules.

The 20-year-old has scored one goal in eight appearances for the Tigers since joining from Ecuadorian club LDU Quito on a season-long loan in August, with the option to make the transfer permanent.

Zambrano reportedly tested positive, external after the second leg of the Recopa Sudamericana in March but remained eligible to play.

Hull have said he has now been suspended from all football with immediate effect for breaching doping rules “set out in Articles 6 and 7 of the Conmebol Anti-Doping Regulations”.

“Zambrano and his defence will use their right to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas),” the club added., external

“The club is not in a position to provide further information at this time.”

Zambrano scored his first Hull goal in their 4-1 win against Cardiff in September.

The Tigers are 15th in the Championship after three wins and six draws in 13 games.

FA CUP history-makers Harborough Town have surprised football fans once again after announcing the signing of former Tottenham star Sandro.

The Leicestershire outfit produced a giant-killing in the first round of the FA Cup as they ran out 4-1 winners over Tonbridge Angels.

3

3

Advertisement

3

Harborough were playing a first-round tie for the first time in the club’s history against the Vanarama National League South side.

The Southern League Premier Central club – step seven of the English pyramid – struck first in the 41st minute before regrouping after conceding an equaliser to go on and register an emphatic win.

Their place in the second round saw them drawn against ex-Premier League side Reading.

However, the club have now stunned fans by announcing the signing of 17-time Brazil international, Sandro.

The 35-year-old retired from football in September 2023 at the age of 34 after a career that also saw him star for West Brom, QPR, Udinese, Genoa, and Internacional.

Manager Mitch Austin said of the move: “What an unbelievable signing for the club, I really cannot express how I am feeling.

“I had a chance conversation with Sandro a couple of weeks ago and we got talking about football, told him about Harborough Town FC and the journey we are on and he has been messaging me ever since to sign on, totally unbelievable and gobsmacked is how I would describe this signing.

“These sort of signings don’t happen every day but when you get a chance to sign an ex-professional footballer who has played at the highest level in the Premier League and Internationally with Brazil, you just cannot turn it down.”

BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS

Austin added: “Being a Tottenham Hotspur fan myself I knew all about Sandro.

“But when I looked back at a few photos online and there he was stood in a Brazil team photo with the likes of Neymar Jr., Ronaldinho, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, Marcelo, I was like what is going on, pinch me!

“But credit to Sandro he has kept himself really fit and is an absolute great guy, down to earth who when the Chairman and I met with him came across very genuine, polite and humble, you could really sense there was a real desire to get the signing done on his part, I am absolutely delighted to have him at our club.

“I think the players and staff around the club can learn great things from him and develop and watch his professionalism and understand what is needed if they want to progress and play at the highest possible level of the game.

“However long he stays we will all become better for it.”

Bees chairman Peter Dougan also said: “What can I say, Mitch has done it again!

“I don’t know how but what a signing this is, a real show of intent from the club to be as good as they can.

“When I met Sandro I have to say there was trepidation, but really I cannot speak highly enough of him and his professionalism and will to make this signing happen.

“Everything about the signing was positive, what negative could there possibly be?

“He will certainly help all the players around him and what a time to be one of those players, I am sure they will relish him being at the club as should we all.”

Sandro starred for Spurs between 2010 and 2014, making 106 appearances and scoring three goals.

Tottenham’s top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?

1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7m

Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.

But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.

Advertisement

2) Richarlison – £49.3m

Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.

And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.

3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8m

Advertisement

Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.

He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.

4) Cristian Romero – £44.2m

Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.

Advertisement

He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.

5) James Maddison – £39.4m

Maddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.

But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.

Advertisement

6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7m

Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.

But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.

7) Pedro Porro – £34m

Advertisement

Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.

He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.

8) Micky van de Ven – £34m

Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.

Advertisement

His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.

9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8m

Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.

Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.

Advertisement

10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2m

Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.

He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.

The full UFC Tampa card is now official.

On Tuesday the UFC officially revealed the full lineup for the final show of 2024 which takes place on Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena.

In the main event, undefeated Irish superstar Ian Machado Garry takes on the surging Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight scrap that could determine the next title challenger at 170 pounds. Both Garry and Buckley threw their names in the hat to serve as replacement opponents against Shavkat Rakhmonov for UFC 310 the weekend prior to UFC Tampa, but instead were booked against each other in this main event.

The co-main event features a top-10 strawweight battle as multiple time BJJ world champion Mackenzie Dern faces off with Amanda Ribas in a rematch of their 2019 matchup that Ribas won via unanimous decision.

A ranked men’s flyweight matchup will also be on the card as Manel Kape takes on Bruno Silva as Kape looks to rebound from his July loss to Muhammad Mokaev, while Silva hopes to move up the rankings by adding on to his four fight win streak.

The complete UFC Tampa fight card can be seen below.

England forward Jonny Hill has been given a 10-week suspension following an incident involving a fan after Sale’s Premiership semi-final defeat by Bath in June.

A 28-year-old man complained that he was left with a cut above his eye.

Hill appeared before an independent disciplinary panel on Monday regarding a “breach of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game” – specifically an allegation that he “physically abused” a spectator.

He accepted the charge against him.

Hill’s club Sale and Avon and Somerset Police both said they were investigating the incident at the time it occurred.

The 30-year-old’s ban has been backdated, and four weeks of the ban have been suspended until next season. He will be eligible for selection from 7 December, Sale said.

“The panel concluded the appropriate starting point was a 20-week suspension from playing,” said Philip Evans KC, chair of the independent panel.

“They also found the circumstances of this case to be exceptional and as a consequence, and because of the substantial mitigation available to Jonny Hill, that starting point was reduced to 10 weeks, four of which will be suspended until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

“In addition he is required to give a presentation to young players at the club which is to be recorded and provided to the RFU [Rugby Football Union].”

England international Hill has not played since January.

He sustained a season-ending patella tendon injury in their Champions Cup loss to La Rochelle, and watched Sale’s semi-final defeat from the stands at the Recreation Ground.

Sale sit eighth in the Premiership table, having won three of their six games so far this season.