Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall has opened up on Man United’s interest in him in the summer transfer window

Manchester United summer transfer target Lewis Hall has opened up about the decision to extend his stay with Newcastle, insisting that the speculation surrounding his future did not affect him. The left-back was a key target for United in the transfer window, but a deal could not be reached.

Hall has since ended speculation about his future by signing a contract extension at St James’ Park. He put pen-to-paper earlier this month on a deal which runs until 2031, and has credited new manager Matthias Jaissle as a big factor over the decision.

United were keen to add to their left-back options in the summer, but having already sold Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle were determined not to sell another key player. Hall has impressed with his performances so far this season, scoring in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Hull City.

When asked whether the transfer speculation had affected him, the full-back said: “No, honestly, it didn’t. I guess whenever you’re linked to another team, you know that you’re doing something right. I guess it’s just a credit to your own performances and how you are as a player, how you are as a person.

“I took that as a positive, but at the same time, I knew how much I love playing here and I knew that since the manager came in, I knew the ambitions and what we wanted to achieve.

“After not many conversations, not many training sessions, I knew that the manager was going to be really good for this club and I knew that as a team, bringing in new players and improving the squad was really important and as soon as we did that, it was a no-brainer really to sign.”

Newcastle have claimed victory in two of their five matches, suffering only a single defeat, with Jaissle making a positive impression as he integrates a number of new summer recruits, many of whom were largely untested at this level.

Hall, despite enduring some testing moments – including conceding a stoppage-time penalty against Liverpool – has largely been a standout performer, earning himself a recall to the England squad.

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He missed out on the World Cup in the summer, largely due to a dip in form during the closing weeks of the season. Hall was reportedly frustrated that Howe deployed him on the right rather than in his natural position, a factor he is said to have linked to his declining performances.

United, meanwhile have had problems in the left-back position. Luke Shaw is the only natural senior option in the position, but has been struggling with injury the last couple of weeks.

Patrick Dorgu, more naturally a winger, has deputised. Shaw returned to the starting line-up for the weekend’s draw against Fulham but was replaced by Dorgu in the second half as he steps up his comeback.

Erik Morales is heralded as one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time after becoming the first man from his country to be a four-weight world champion, and he has now named the fighter whom he believes to be the current pound-for-pound king.

Morales won his first 41 professional contests and captured the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles, as well as the WBC featherweight crown along the way, before suffering a defeat in a rematch with fierce rival Marco Antonio Barrera in 2002.

The Tijuana-born legend bounced back to reclaim the then-vacant WBC super-featherweight strap in the fight that followed and made two defences before moving up and capturing the WBC super-featherweight title and then the IBF belt, before losing to Barrera once again in their trilogy bout.

After overcoming Manny Pacquiao, Morales then went on to lose four straight contests – including two defeats to ‘Pac Man’ – with Morales then making the decision to retire.

After three years away, Morales made his comeback and knocked out Pablo César Cano to get his hands on the WBC super-lightweight world title in 2011 to make Mexican history – before retiring for good after two losses to Danny Garcia.

Morales has now been speaking about the current generation and in an interview with ES News he named fellow four-division conqueror and reigning undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue as the best fighter on the planet.

Inoue has held world honours at light flyweight, super flyweight, bantamweight and super bantamweight, with the latter two divisions seeing him also earn undisputed status.

The Japanese superstar is expected to remain on the sidelines until spring 2027, when he could collide with fellow pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in one of boxing’s most in-demand match-ups.

England maintain their excellent one-day form in a comfortable victory against Sri Lanka, as Will Jacks’ stars with bat and ball to help the home side to an 89-run win at Chester-le-Street in the first ODI.

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Harry Brook believes Will Jacks is reaping the rewards of embracing a fresh role after the all-rounder helped England draw first blood in their Metro Bank ODI series against Sri Lanka.

An opening batter and part-time spinner by trade in the white-ball formats, Jacks has been shuffled down the order as a finisher and been increasingly relied upon with the ball under Brook’s captaincy.

Jacks showed his adaptability at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, winning four player of the match awards, and excelled with bat and ball in England’s 89-run win on Tuesday at the Banks Homes Riverside.

After England slumped from 181 for three to 211 for seven, Jacks made a crucial 46 not out to get them to a competitive 265 before taking five for 22 from seven overs as Sri Lanka were all out for 176.

“He’s really growing into this role,” Brook said. “He’s just bought into everything that we want to do, as have the other boys.

“We’re talking about all sorts of aspects of the game, trying to adapt to conditions and he’s done that exceptionally well since he’s come back in over the last 18 months.

“He could have easily just moaned and groaned about batting in the middle-order and playing as an all-rounder but he’s really grown into that and accepted that’s going to be his role for a period of time.

“He’s been a very vital player. He’s not a part-timer, he is a very good off-spinner. He’s proven that today. He can spin the ball big and contain batters when we need to.”

Jacks claimed three wickets with his last four deliveries to finish with the second best figures by an England spinner in an ODI, only bettered by Vic Marks’ five for 20 against New Zealand in 1984.

While the margin of England’s 10th successive limited-overs win over Sri Lanka in 2026 appears comprehensive, they had to battle on a slow and low surface at Chester-le-Street.

Brook was the only batter on either side to go past fifty, amassing 67 off 69 balls, while a batting line-up renowned for their power hitting failed to get a single six.

But as they build towards the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa, which is just over a year away, Brook admitted this result could be an important staging post.

“It was a very good win in my eyes,” Brook added. “The wicket wasn’t as good as what you’d expect in England, but we’ve managed to manufacture a win when the conditions probably aren’t in our favour.

“It was hard to score when the ball was hitting the stumps. Those were the conversations we had when we went out to bowl – predominantly try to keep the stumps in play and wait for them to make a mistake.

“I’ve said multiple times we want to be a team that can adapt to conditions, read surfaces well and play accordingly to those conditions and I thought we did exceptionally well.

“We probably knew after the first five overs it wasn’t going to be a 300-plus type of wicket. To scrap away and not be as fluent as what we can be and get to that score was a hell of an effort with the bat.

“The consistency in our lines and lengths and the commitment to what we were trying to do with the ball was outstanding and that’s ended up winning us the game.”

Jai Opetaia set up a long-awaited fight with David Benavidez after his most recent win, and two-time welterweight world champion Shawn Porter has offered his thoughts on the showdown.

Opetaia knocked out then-reigning WBC crusierweight titleholder Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event of last weekend’s Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn bill, but Opetaia did not get his hands on the coveted WBC belt – with it being a non-sanctioned contest.

Instead, Mikaelian was stripped of his status as champion during the aftermath, with interim champion Michal Cieslak being elevated to full world champion and positioned for a three-belt unification clash with WBA & WBO champion Benavidez on December 12 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Whilst Opetaia did not become a three-time world champion with his triumph over Mikaelian, the victory has seen him installed as the mandatory challenger for the victor of Benavidez-Cieslak, with Cinco De Mayo already being mentioned for a possible Benavidez-Opetaia bout.

Speaking on ‘The PorterWay Podcast’, Porter described Benavidez-Opetaia as a 60/40 contest in favour of the champion.

“I think that he [Opetaia] should move past the stuff outside of the ring. Once he moves past, this is still a legitimate [fight], I think it’s a 60/40 now – it is hard for me to let that go – in David Benavidez’s favour. He [Opetaia] was flat last night.

“I think that it’s going to be good and I do think that it is next. I don’t think that David got in the ring for the show, I think that he legitimately wants to fight. I think that the piece that they had int the ring was like ‘hey, let’s make this happen.’”

Recent rumours suggest that Benavidez – or Cieslak – and Opetaia’s meeting could make up part of a mammoth May event, that may also feature a welterweight title unification involving Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez.

Either Sam Burns is providing a rare show of cards, or he’s practicing a little reverse psychology.

Burns says he knows who he’s pairing with at this Presidents Cup, and unlike most competitors ahead of these team events who treat potential partnerships like trade secrets, Burns dropped an easy hint during his media availability on Tuesday.

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“His name starts with an ‘S’,” said Burns, alluding to a reunion with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at Medinah.

We know what many of you are thinking: Didn’t they try that already?

Yes, the two buddies don’t exactly have a sparkling record together. They went a combined 0-3-1 while teaming at the 2022 Presidents Cup and 2023 Ryder Cup before being split up for each of the past two Cups. The separation worked in 2024 with Scheffler and Burns responsible for six points in team play at Royal Montreal. But at last year’s Ryder Cup, the U.S. got a whopping half-point from the two; Scheffler went 0-4 at Bethpage before winning his singles match.

“Do I think we have unfinished business? I don’t know if I would call it that,” Burns said. “It’s been frustrating the times we have played together, and we feel like we’ve played really well and ultimately not won. I think it’s been more frustrating than anything.

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“Yeah, this week we’re going to go out and compete as hard as we can and try to get as many points for the U.S. team as possible.”

Burns recalled a moment from the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow, where after tying Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz despite making nine birdies and an eagle, the American stats guys told Burns that he and Scheffler would’ve beaten any other team that day. Im and Munoz just happened to card nine birdies of their own, and even then, Scheffler left a 9-foot birdie putt on the last hole on the lip.

“When you look at best ball and alternate shot, there is a little bit of flukiness there for sure,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes you’re up against guys that have played really good.”

Still, that doesn’t quite explain why Scheffler, far and away the best player in the world for the better part of the last five years, has compiled a lackluster 6-11-4 record in Cup competition.

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Scheffler points to his less blemished singles record – 2-2-1, plus two trips to the final of the now-defunct WGC Match Play (Scheffler and Burns each won that event once). He also went 2-1 with Russell Henley at the last Presidents Cup and added another point alongside Collin Morikawa in fourballs.

Surely, he can’t be that bad of a match player.

“I can only control what I can control,” Scheffler said, “and that’s going out there and trying to hit good shots and being a good partner for whoever it is that I’m out there with.”

Perhaps the underlying problem, Scheffler admits, is trying too hard. As a self-described hypercompetitive person, Scheffler says that extreme desire to succeed caused his putting dip a few years ago.

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“When you look at this format, and like you said, maybe my record hasn’t matched up to what I think that it should be, could it be trying too hard? I think that’s definitely a factor for sure,” Scheffler said. “For me it’s different in the sense that you also have a partner with you and you’re playing for somebody outside yourself, and that’s a lot different as well.

“Kind of striking the balance between how much do you care, I think that’s something I’m always trying to figure out. Definitely for me, I think just trying less would be really important. It’s just one of those things that’s a lot easier said than done.”

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker echoes that Scheffler can’t be asked “to do more than he can do. He can only deliver five points at his best, if he goes out and plays unbelievable. We just want Scottie to … be the Scottie Scheffler he is every week.”

But Snedeker has another theory.

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“You look at the best players throughout history that have played in these events, it’s always been a challenge to kind of match them up,” said Snedeker, who is likely comparing Scheffler’s situation with Tiger Woods, who owns a 13-21-3 record in Ryder Cups and has paired with a dozen different partners. However, when you factor in Woods’ Presidents Cup success (27-15-1), he has a winning Cup record.

“I think there’s an inherent kind of – not fear for the guy they’re playing with, but a feeling of, I’m letting him down. He’s the best player in the world. He’s so good at everything; no matter what I do isn’t going to be good enough,” Snedeker continued. “So, trying to find someone who can handle that and be themselves and not try to be someone else is super important.”

Arguably no one is more equipped to do that than Burns, who probably has logged more time around Scheffler dating to their junior-golf days than the other 10 American players combined.

“I think it’s a comfortable pairing for us,” Burns said. “We obviously spend a lot of time together, play a lot of golf together. Yeah, it’ll be fun. … Anybody on this team would be very excited to play with the No. 1 player in the world, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

If Burns can be taken at his word, he and Scheffler are set to extend the old adage: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try and try again.

Celtic will “come together and support” manager Martin O’Neill after a “painful” week for the club, chief executive Michael Nicholson has said.

O’Neill had indicated that he would use the international break to consider his future following two defeats to Rangers, either side of a home loss to Ferencvaros in the Europa League.

In the wake of Sunday’s 1-0 derby defeat at Celtic Park, 74-year-old O’Neill had said “it might be time to wrap it up”.

However, Nicholson suggested the club will rally round the manager who has delivered nine trophies over two spells.

His remarks came with the latest financial figures revealing a drop of nearly £33m in revenue.

A loss of £4.8m is largely down to the failure to reach last year’s Champions League and Celtic have missed out again, squandering a 4-0 aggregate lead in their play-off with LASK last month.

“Having started well in the Premiership this season, we experienced disappointment in the Champions League play-off,” said Nicholson in a written statement accompanying the financial results.

“Reaching the league phase of the Champions League is an objective for us all, and we are sorry not to have achieved it.

“On top of that, the losses in the last week have been painful for us all. We will now come together and support Martin and the players, as we focus our efforts on achieving success domestically and in the Europa League.”

Racing Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club have collectively announced a $1 million prize money enhancement for the marquee event on the initial day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

The Group 1 Victoria Derby, scheduled for October 31 at Flemington over 2500 metres, will now feature a $3 million purse.

This substantial prizemoney increase follows a recent assessment by the Asian Pattern Committee concerning the Derby’s Group 1 classification. The committee ultimately decided to uphold the Derby’s Group 1 status, with further discussions regarding its ‘Black Type’ status planned for later in the season.

The additional $1 million in prize money aligns the Derby with the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, a 1600m contest for three-year-olds held on October 10.

RV chief executive Aaron Morrison underscored the significance of the Derby on the opening day of Melbourne Cup week.

“The Victoria Derby is integral to the success of Victorian racing, in terms of its rich heritage and its role in headlining one of the biggest race days in world racing,” Morrison stated. “We believe the retention of Group 1 status for the Victoria Derby is vital given the day’s importance to our industry and the fabric of Australian racing more broadly. We must be proactive to ensure that is preserved. This prizemoney boost is an important first step. Beyond this, we’re continuing to review our feature three-year-old and staying programs, including conditions, pattern and prizemoney, to determine what is best for the industry in 2027 and beyond.”

Godolphin’s Observer claimed last year’s Victoria Derby, having previously finished a close third in the Caulfield Guineas.

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