Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Switzerland star Johan Manzambi who is currently starring for his country at the World Cup

Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller has explained why his former club should swoop in and sign Johan Manzambi amid rumours of potential interest from Manchester United. The Reds have been credited with an interest in signing the Switzerland international ahead of the summer transfer.

United are yet to strengthen their squad ahead of next season but have already reached an agreement to complete their first signing of the window.

Atalanta star Ederson is expected to become a United player this summer after the club agreed a £35million deal with the Serie A outfit for the Brazilian, which also includes a further £3.8million in add-ons.

It remains to be seen who else United will look to target this summer, with Freiburg star Manzambi being mentioned as a potential target over the last few months.

Manzambi is currently starring for Switzerland at this summer’s World Cup, which is being held in North America, and put in an impressive performance in the country’s 4-1 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina earlier this week.

The 20-year-old midfielder – who is reported to be valued at around £43million, scored two goals in the game and has since been praised by Muller, who has urged his former club, Bayern, to make a move this summer.

“He’s a good player overall. We’ve had him on our list for a while now,” Muller stated on MagentaTV.

“For me, he’s someone, and now we can make a headline, that FC Bayern should also consider.

“You can sense his flexibility. You can also sense his carefree attitude. At the same time, you can already see a certain maturity in his actions, in his decision-making, his work ethic.

Advertisement

FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FB PAGE! Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page

“He’s now in Freiburg in a team where they really work hard. I think his development is very, very good. He’s a player who can play as No.6 he can play as No.8, he can play as No.10. He wears No.9 on his back, so maybe we could also market him as a striker!”

Manzambi admitted he was going to find it tough to come back down to earth after his World Cup goals for Switzerland.

“Honestly, it’s incredible, it’s the first brace of my career, and at the World Cup on top of that,” Manzambi said via FIFA’s website.

“Scoring two goals in front of the fans and my family, that’s very, very nice. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

A promising filly, Chains Of Love, is set to compete in black-type events again after a commanding win in the Highway Handicap at Randwick, where she proved too strong for a field of more seasoned gallopers.

This exceptionally bred daughter of I Am Invincible, out of the 2015 Group 1 Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me, is being prepared for a trip to Victoria. Her next likely start is the Listed Creswick Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington next month, followed by a brief rest before targeting The Kosciuszko (1200m).

“There is a stakes race for three-year-olds in Melbourne in two weeks down the straight, so that could be a possibility,” stated the filly’s trainer, Paul Messara.

“Then we’ll probably give her a little let-up and go for the ‘Kosi’.”

Messara elaborated on his plans, saying, “I thought she was a Kosciuszko type.”

The Highway Handicap (1200m) at Randwick marked only the fifth start for Chains Of Love. In her previous race, she finished midfield in the Listed Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm.

Messara noted that Chains Of Love is still developing but performed admirably under the circumstances, especially given a wide draw at Randwick. He also commended the ride from jockey Aaron Bullock.

“He put her in a position to win the race, and she was too good late,” Messara commented.

“She’s still learning her craft, but she’s progressive,” he added.

Messara also provided an update on the juvenile Cormier, who is currently spelling after finishing second to Tron Bolt in the J J Atkins Stakes (1600m) in Brisbane. The colt is being readied for an ambitious spring campaign.

“He’s great. He’s having a little break, and he will be back for a Golden Rose ‘prep’,” the trainer confirmed.

With the Creswick Sprint Series Final approaching, consider checking out the available racing odds on top Australian betting sites.

It’s been talked about ever since Serena Williams announced nearly three weeks ago that she was returning to professional tennis after almost four years away from the sport.

Still, seeing the single-sentence announcement from The All England Club that the 23-time Grand Slam champion will play singles at Wimbledon was stunning nonetheless.

“Serena Williams (USA) receives the final ladies’ singles wild card,” read the key line in Sunday’s announcement, which was issued eight days before the grass-court Grand Slam begins.

At 44, Williams will actually play both singles and doubles at Wimbledon after already accepting a wild card for the doubles competition with older sister Venus.

“This is not a drill,” Wimbledon said on its social media accounts Sunday.

Commented the WTA Tour, “Name a more iconic returnwe’ll wait.” 
Wimbledon held open the eighth and final women’s singles wild card spot until Williams made up her mind. As recently as earlier this week after losing a doubles match in Berlin, she appeared to be waffling over the decision.

“Oh my gosh, there are some left?” she replied when she was told there was still a wild card spot open. 

Wild cards are special invitations handed out by tournament organisers, which allow former champions and others access to the main draw without the necessary entry qualifications. But then she mused about her readiness for it.

“Do you think I’m ready for singles?” she asked a reporter and then turned to doubles partner Karolina Muchova to ask what she thought.

“I think I would be interested in it,” the Czech player responded.

“That’s the question of the hour, right?” Williams said. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I wonder why there’s I don’t know.” 
Well, now that Williams has made up her mind, the big remaining question is how she can physically handle singles play after so long.

Serena’s most-recent singles match was a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.

Her second daughter was born in 2023.

“Just finished a mean game of duck duck goose,” Williams said on X after the wild card announcement.

Of Williams’ 23 Grand Slam titles in singles, seven have come at Wimbledon: in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. She’s also won 14 Grand Slams in doubles, all with Venus, and six of them at Wimbledon.

Serena also swept the singles and doubles (with Venus) titles at the 2012 London Olympics, when the tennis competition was held on the hallowed grass of the All England Club.

At her last Wimbledon appearance in 2022, Serena was beaten in the opening round by 115th-ranked Harmony Tan in her first match since having to stop less than a set into her opening contest at the All England Club because of an injury the year before.

Serena won a doubles match with partner Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club last week but the pair had to withdraw after Mboko injured her knee in a singles match.

In another doubles match at the Berlin Open on Tuesday, Serena and Muchova were beaten by Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe.

As of Sunday, Serena had not entered the singles draws of any grass-court tuneup tournaments before Wimbledon.

She will learn who her first-round opponent is on Friday when the singles draws for Wimbledon are held.

While she’s No. 593 in the doubles rankings courtesy of her victory last week, Serena has no singles ranking after being away for so long.

Iga Swiatek is the defending Wimbledon champion, while Aryna Sabalenka is ranked No. 1.

Because Serena has no ranking, she could potentially face Swiatek, Sabalenka or any other top-ranked player in the opening rounds.

Iran made World Cup history on Saturday by naming the oldest starting line-up ever seen at the tournament, but the experienced side still had enough quality to earn a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Belgium in California.

The Iranian team started the match with an average age of more than 32 years, setting a new World Cup record. Despite their age, they matched Belgium throughout the contest and came close to securing all three points.

Iran thought they had taken the lead in the first half through striker Mehdi Taremi. Captain Ehsan Hajisafi cleverly rolled a free-kick around the Belgian wall for Taremi, who turned and fired past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was ruled out for offside.

While Iran’s squad was the oldest in World Cup history, it was Belgium who appeared short of energy at times. The 2018 World Cup semi-finalists dominated possession, enjoying 81 per cent of the ball in the opening half, but created very few clear chances.

Kevin De Bruyne saw an effort blocked, while Maxim De Cuyper forced a save from Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, but Belgium struggled to break down the organised Iranian defence.

Iran continued to threaten after the break. Taremi tested Courtois with a powerful effort before Belgium responded through De Cuyper, whose close-range shot was saved by Beiranvand.

Belgium’s task became more difficult in the 65th minute when defender Nathan Ngoy was sent off. The defender panicked after a poor backpass and brought down Taremi as the Iranian forward raced towards goal.

With a numerical advantage, Iran pushed for a winner, but Courtois produced another important save to deny Saeid Ezatolahi’s long-range strike.

Belgium also had late opportunities, with De Cuyper going close again, but neither side could find a breakthrough.

The draw leaves both teams with plenty to play for heading into their final group matches, while Iran’s veteran squad continued to prove that experience can still be a valuable weapon on football’s biggest stage.

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has some advice for Lamine Yamal, the Spain prodigy who just scored at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 18-year-old was on target in their Group H clash with Saudi Arabia as the reigning European champions cruised to a massive 4-0 victory in Atlanta.

Racing into the box, Yamal latched onto a cross from Mikel Oyarzabal to make a sliding finish near the post to put Spain 1-0 up and score his first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Given his prodigious talents, the Spanish dynamite is often billed as a future legend who could match the records of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country.

But ex-manager Frank had some advice for him when speaking about Lamine Yamal’s performance tonight on the BBC:

“These tap-in goals of Lamine Yamal, he needs to score them MUCH more if he wants to reach the highest level like Ronaldo and Messi.”

The former Spurs manager is implying that Yamal needs to score a high volume of goals to enter the same bracket as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom have netted over 900 times throughout their illustrious careers.

Their blistering exploits have seen them play an instrumental role for all their sides, guiding them to numerous trophies, while also picking up individual accolades such as the prestigious Ballon d’Or along the way.

Lamine Yamal, who is just three weeks away from turning 19, has accomplished a lot in his nascent career already. He’s won three LaLiga titles with Barcelona in addition to three more domestic cups (one Copa del Rey and two Spanish Supercups) while helping Spain win a fourth Euro Cup title in 2024.

He was awarded the LaLiga Player of the Season honor for the 2025-26 season while also finishing as the runner-up to Ousmane Dembele in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings.

Since breaking onto the scene in 2023, Lamine Yamal has scored 49 goals and assisted 52 times for the Catalans, while netting seven times and making 12 assists for Spain’s national team too.

Lamine Yamal opens his World Cup account as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo close out theirs

With a goal today, Lamine Yamal officially opened his goalscoring account at the FIFA World Cup – a first of potentially many to come in the years ahead.

But as he looks to make his mark on the biggest stage of them all, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play their last World Cups with their respective national teams.

It marks the end of an era for two of football’s modern-day greats, while Lamine Yamal’s rise simultaneously weaves a new story, one that could emulate the outgoing legends someday.