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These THREE players are untouchable! Manchester United tell ‘new’ manager Ruben Amorim- The Week

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These THREE players are untouchable! Manchester United tell 'new' manager Ruben Amorim- The Week

Manchester United’s scouting and transfers have become a joke over the years, critics and some (desperate) fans often point out. Erik Ten Hag’s “Ajax-oriented” signings didn’t help either, they argue, pointing out how the club have failed to offload the stars they want in the recent transfer windows.

As 39-year-old Ruben Amorim is set to take over as the new manager of the former Premier League champions, the Portuguese has been clearly instructed to do as he wants with the current squad, except for three young guns… 

ALSO READ | Who is Ruben Amorim, Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate to become first Manchester United manager in INEOS era? 5 Points

That’s right. According to a news report, Manchester United have told Amorim, who is arriving from Lisbon-based Sporting CP to replace Ten Hag, that he is at liberty to do as he pleases with everyone in the current lineup but for these three players, who can’t be sold at any cost. 

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Manchester United’s untouchables, who are they?

The word “young” helps to filter out many names from the way. Obviously, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Andre Onana are not young anymore, neither are captain Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford. Then who are these three gentlemen that has become important to the decision-makers at Old Trafford?

According to SportBible Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo are the three ruled “out of the question” for Amorim. 

English midfielder Mainoo, 19, is a product of the United academy. Scouted and admitted to the United ranks at the age of nine, Mainoo signed his first professional contract with the club in the 2022-23 season. In March 2024, Mainoo was called up to the national side after having performed well for England at under-17, under-18, and under-19 levels. Since his debut, the teenage sensation of Ghanese origin has played 32 games in all for United.

Rasmus Hojlund

Rasmus Hojlund

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Rasmus Hojlund of Denmark, 21, arrived at the Theatre of Dreams from Serie A’s Atalanta in 2023. The striker has so far scored 11 times for United from 35 games across competitions and is perceived to become the next big thing from Scandinavia after Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. Injuries restrained Hojlund from performing constantly under Erik Ten Hag after arriving from Italy for an initial £64 million fee plus £8 million in performance related add-ons. The latest reports hint that United believe Hojlund can live up to the legacy of Wayner Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy or even Cristiano Ronaldo under the right guidance.

Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho

Argentine Garnacho, 20, is the highest-rated of the three. The 2024 Copa America winner idolises Cristiano despite coming from the land of Lionel Messi. Madrid-born Garnacho started with Getafe before switching to Atletico Madrid in 2015. However, United came knocking with a prize tag of £420,000 and reached England in 2020. Since making his senior debut in 2020, Alejandro Garnacho has often become the sole ray of light for the fans in what otherwise is pitch darkness. His daring runs through the wings curling balls and CR7-like celebrations have cheered up dull Old Trafford stands several times already. Growing from the stature of a super-sub to starter, Garnacho has played 66 times for United so far, scoring 12 times.

What is happening at Manchester United?

On October 28, Manchester United sacked their manager Erik ten Hag. The news broke a day after the former champions were defeated 2-1 by West Ham United in the English top tier, pushing them further down to fourteenth in the table. Manchester United’s assistant manager and former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will take over on an interim basis while they search for a new manager, the club said in a statement. 

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Appointed in April 2022, Erik ten Hag led United to two domestic trophies – the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. But the 54-year-old’s job was the subject of speculation most of last season as United suffered a worst-ever eighth-place Premier League finish and exited the Champions League at the group stage and the Dutchman found himself firmly in the hot seat again this season amid a woeful start to the campaign. United have won four of their 14 games in all competitions so far this term and endured damaging 3-0 losses against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. They have achieved 11 points from nine matches in the Premier League, which is far off target, the club said, to achieve their goal of a fourth-place finish.

ALSO READ | Era over! Manchester United sacks manager Erik ten Hag

With British billionaire and INEOS chairman Jim Ratcliffe taking over football operations last season, the club initially stuck with Ten Hag to have continuity in the manager’s position during a time of change but United did not see any momentum or progress to believe they were on the right path. A poor start to the season also saw United draw their first three Europa League games from winning positions. 

Latest reports claim the Red Devils are set to pay €10m exit clause for Ruben Amorim to become new manager at Old Trafford. Sporting confirm also confirmed to having received formal communication from the English club. 

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Motorsports

How new darker track surface could be defining factor in Brazilian GP

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Formula 1 teams and tyre supplier Pirelli have arrived at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix braced for a more unpredictable weekend than normal.

While the track layout itself is unchanged from previous years, what is different is the asphalt – which has been completely resurfaced since last year’s event.

Newly laid tracks add a huge degree of uncertainty at grands prix, as teams are never sure about the impact it can have on grip levels.

At some venues in the past – perhaps most famously Turkey in 2020 – if the track has not been treated properly then it can trigger a massive drop in grip and cause huge headaches for drivers and teams.

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At the other end of the spectrum, a new surface that offers some decent grip but has not been rubbered in can result in cars sliding a bit more, which has a negative impact on tyre degradation.

What Brazil will deliver is hard to be sure of right now, with the final answer only coming from the first practice session when drivers get to run out on track for the first time.

As Alpine‘s Esteban Ocon said: “This weekend there’s new challenges ahead, a lot of unknowns for everyone, looking at how the tarmac is and the degradation. How it can be and the grip level? We don’t know.”

Sets of Medium and Hard Pirelli tyres used by McLaren

Sets of Medium and Hard Pirelli tyres used by McLaren

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

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What the first data says

There are some early signs though of what to expect – and it points towards an especially exciting F1 weekend.

Early analysis from Pirelli’s engineers of the Brazil surface shows that there are no major alarm bells ringing over the grip on offer.

Motorsport.com has learned that the micro-roughness of the Interlagos surface shows a 46% drop compared to last year, with macro roughness indicating a 30% drop.

That would point towards the track in theory offering less grip than last year, which could result in more sliding and therefore higher tyre temperatures and more degradation.

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But a deeper dive into the overall grip levels, based on the chemical adhesion interaction of the track/tyre, has shown that the situation is not actually too different to previous years.

Brazil has traditionally not been a venue that offers a lot of grip, and some of the data collected ahead of the weekend suggests that some corners may actually be an improvement on before.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The darker surface

This first snapshot of data points then towards the new surface maybe not leading to a dramatically different weekend.

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However, there is another interesting element that has popped up and could actually have the biggest impact on how things turn out – and that is the colour of the new asphalt.

The new surface is very black, and that means that it will absorb the sun’s temperature much more than the old washed-out grey surface that was used up until last year.

Pirelli’s first analysis of the variation in temperature of the track surface has already pointed to things being quite dramatic – and the early afternoon on Thursday had already registered it nudging towards 60C.

Higher track temps have a direct impact on tyres temperatures, and can help amplify any thermal degradation – which is always a factor around the Interlagos track because of its layout.

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The higher temps could then force teams to shift towards the harder compounds for both the sprint and the grand prix, but this choice is slightly complicated by the selections on offer this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, leads Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, leads Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

First of all, Pirelli has opted to shift its compounds one step softer than last year, so the 2023 soft is the 2024 medium.

Then secondly, with Brazil being a sprint weekend, the tyre allocation is different – with two sets of hards, four sets of mediums and six sets of softs available.

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The likelihood is that the 2024 soft is not going to be a suitable race tyre – so is only really good for qualifying.

That then means teams are going to have to manage very carefully how they distribute their tyres across the sprint and the main grand prix – knowing full well that they cannot compromise what they need for Sunday.

What teams will need to understand quickly from practice is if the medium is going to hold on enough for the 24 laps of the sprint. Last year that tyre (which was the soft in 2023) did cope – but if degradation is worse this time around it could make things difficult. 

If the medium isn’t good enough, then that could make life extremely complicated for the race that is normally a two-stopper.

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If teams need to run the hard in the sprint, then that would leave them short for the grand prix – so Saturday could be especially intriguing.

What this all means is an especially complicated race weekend and one where rain could yet throw extra uncertainty into the mix.

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Ellen Wille: Speech that changed course of women’s football

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Ellen Wille: Speech that changed course of women's football

Female footballers around the world were fighting many battles for recognition and facing significant resistance from those inside and outside the game, epitomised by the lack of support from the sport’s own world governing body.

At the start of the 1970s, the Football Association in England had ended a five-decade ban on women’s football.

The first unofficial Women’s World Cup was held in 1970 in Italy and a year later another unofficial global tournament was held in Mexico, attracting crowds of more than 100,000, but neither of those competitions was supported by Fifa.

Wille, who was herself an amateur footballer, had joined the NFF in 1976 – the same year it had given its approval to women’s football in the country – and she was not prepared to accept the status quo.

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“I said ‘we must have a World Championship for women and we have to be a participant in the Olympic Games’,” she explained.

Her colleagues at the NFF decided she should go to Fifa’s congress which was being held that year in Mexico City – incidentally the same city that hosted the unofficial 1971 global tournament – and make a speech about women’s football.

“They thought it would mean more if a woman did it and not a man,” Wille said. She did not hesitate.

But come the morning of the speech, the nerves had set in.

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“When I came to the place where it would happen, there were only men, apart from female translators,” she said.

To make a speech, you had to raise a card and wait to be selected. No woman had ever spoken at a Fifa congress before.

Wille, standing at 4ft 10in tall, was called to the stage, but it got off to an inauspicious start when she was too short to be able to reach the microphone.

“So someone had to come and help me with it, and then I started to talk.”

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MMA

Unbeaten prospect Payton Talbott to fight Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311

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Unbeaten prospect Payton Talbott to fight Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311

Payton Talbott takes a big step up in his next fight as he seeks to keep his perfect record intact.

The blue-chip bantamweight prospect faces 23-fight veteran Raoni Barcelos at UFC’s first pay-per-view show of 2025 on Jan. 18, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting.

UFC 311 is rumored to take place in Los Angeles, but an official location is yet to be announced.

Talbott, 9-0 in just three years as a professional fighter, has made a major impact so far in the 135-pound division with a trio of UFC wins, capped off by back-to-back bonus-winning stoppages of Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri in 2024. Those fights took Talbott a combined 40 seconds to finish.

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Barcelos (18-5) tapped Cristian Quinonez in his most recent appearance this past February to rebound from defeats to Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips. The former RFA champion holds a UFC record of 7-4, with three finishes to his credit.

UFC 311 so far features four Brazilian talents, with Jailton Almeida battling Serghei Spivac at heavyweight, top-ranked light heavyweight Johnny Walker facing Bogdan Guskov, and Karol Rosa taking on rising bantamweight Ailin Perez.

Mike Heck contributed to this report.

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Football

Steve Bruce: Blackpool boss touched by tributes after death of baby grandson

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Steve Bruce: Blackpool boss touched by tributes after death of baby grandson


Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said he has been “touched” by the tributes he has received following the death of his baby grandson.

Four-month-old Madison, the child of Bruce’s son-in-law and former Leeds United, Fulham and Millwall striker Matt Smith, died earlier in October.

Bruce has spent time away from football following his grandson’s passing but will return to the dugout for Saturday’s FA Cup first-round fixture at Gillingham.

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“I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of all the family to thank everyone for the tributes and messages from inside and outside the footballing world. It has touched us all,” he said in a statement, external.

“I’d also like to thank [sporting director] David [Downes], [chief executive officer] Julian [Winter], and the owner Simon [Sadler] for their understanding and support.

“I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday at Gillingham, and back at Bloomfield Road.”



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International tennis tournament cancelled after players fall victim to virtual kidnapping

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International tennis tournament cancelled after players fall victim to virtual kidnapping

AN INTERNATIONAL tennis tournament had to be cancelled after players fell victim to ‘virtual’ kidnapping.

The Mexican Tennis Federation were due to stage a Juniors 30 event in Guanajuato in the centre of the country.

A tennis tournament in Mexico was cancelled after ten players and a coach were targetted by virtual kidnappers

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A tennis tournament in Mexico was cancelled after ten players and a coach were targetted by virtual kidnappersCredit: Reuters

However, they were forced to pull the plug on the tournament after the shocking fraud.

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According to reports, ten young stars and one coach were scammed out of money in the shocking scheme.

The Secretary of Security and Peace for the state of Guanajuato said that an adult, six girls, and four boys, all members of a tennis team, were found in a hotel in Irapuato.

In this incident, it is understood the victims were ordered to go to the specific location and turn off their mobile phones.

The players and coach caught up in the ordeal were all from the neighbouring state of Queretaro and have all returned to their homes.

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The motive behind targeting the tennis stars for the attempted extortion remains unclear.

Virtual kidnapping is where criminals trick victims into believing a family member has been abducted.

They then threaten violence or even death until a ransom fee is paid.

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That is despite no actual abduction taking place as they con their targets.

Some virtual kidnappers operate from inside prisons.

‘It’s insanity to think humans built the pyramids,’ says Nick Kyrgios as tennis star opens up on conspiracy theory

The Junior 30 events are the lowest-ranked tournaments within the ITF’s youth calendar.

The virtual kidnapping comes just weeks after a tennis venue in Mexico was damaged during September’s Hurricane John.

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Winds up to 120mph ripped through the Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco, which hosts the ATP 500 event.

The tennis complex only opened in 2022 but was ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Otis 12 months ago.

Acapulco's Arena GNP Seguros has twice been hit by hurricanes since opening in 2022

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Acapulco’s Arena GNP Seguros has twice been hit by hurricanes since opening in 2022Credit: Getty
The complex was left underwater last month by Hurricane John

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The complex was left underwater last month by Hurricane JohnCredit: AFP

Tennis stars following in parents’ footsteps

TALK about pressure…

These rising stars are all making their way in tennis.

But they have got something in common – they’ve got a famous parent who also made their name in the sport.

So who are the players hoping to follow in the footsteps of their tennis mums and dads?

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UFC 310: Belal Muhammad out of Shavkat Rakhmonov welterweight title defence with injury

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UFC 310: Belal Muhammad out of Shavkat Rakhmonov welterweight title defence with injury

Belal Muhammad says injury has ruled him out of his welterweight title defence against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on 7 December.

American Muhammad wrote on X, external he will be sidelined for at least six weeks, meaning he will miss the event in Las Vegas, after suffering a bone infection in his foot.

The 36-year-old was set to make the first defence of his belt after beating Britain’s Leon Edwards in Manchester in July.

“Caught a bone infection in my foot. Had to put a Picc line (peripherally inserted central catheter) in my arm for IV antibiotics the next six weeks with no physical activity,” said Muhammad.

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“Allah’s plan is the best plan. I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me, I’ll be back soon.”

The UFC are yet to confirm Muhammad’s withdrawal but it leaves the card in need of a new main event.

It is unclear if Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov will remain on the card.

The 30-year-old has won the opening 18 fights of his career and was set to challenge for a UFC title for the first time.

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Possible options for the UFC include setting up an interim welterweight title fight between Rakhmonov and another opponent, replacing the bout entirely with a title fight from another weight class, or promoting the co-main to the top of the card.

Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja is set to defend his flyweight title against Japan’s Kai Asakura in the co-main.

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