Category: Sport

Gary Neville claimed Arsenal have a modern-day Thierry Henry and Robert Pires relationship as Martin Odegaard slotted a penalty in the Gunners’ clash with West Ham.

Mikel Arteta’s side roared into a 4-0 lead at the London Stadium thanks to goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Odegaard and Havertz, before Bukayo Saka scored from the spot to give them an incredible 5-2 lead at half-time after Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson had pegged them back.

Odegaard played a delightful dinked pass through to Saka in the build-up to Trossard’s goal, but it was the Norway international’s penalty that sparked memories of Henry and Pires for Neville on commentary.

Saka won the penalty and looked as though he would take the spot kick having been the usual penalty taker in recent seasons, but the England international was in fact holding the ball for Odegaard, with the captain stepping up to score Arsenal’s fourth.

Neville flip-flopped as he watched the moment unfold, eventually claiming that Saka and Odegaard are the new Henry and Pires when it comes to penalties.

He said on Sky Sports commentary: “There’s no Henry-Pires relationship here where if you get fouled, you don’t take the penalty… That’s confused us all, there is an Henry-Pires relationship.

“The Henry-Pires relationship of 2024 is Saka and Odegaard.”

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Neville was also full of praise for Gabriel, who nodded in Arsenal’s opener from Saka’s corner.

The Brazilian was seen speaking to Saka and other Gunners players ahead of the delivery, seemingly in charge from start to finish.

“That is just incredible – Gabriel has just conducted that goal from start to finish. I can’t think of a more important place when defending corners than the near post,” said Neville.

“The quality of the delivery in is outstanding though and these Arsenal corners need special attention.”

Over on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Reid added: “Straight away the Arsenal staff go to hug the set-piece coach [Nicolas Jover].

“It’s a brilliant ball in, there’s not a lot of pace on the ball, but it’s really accurate.

“Gabriel gets free and he has the movement from the back to the front post – he will not get an easier header.

“He has the desire to get his head on the ball, but the delivery is key.”

West Ham place immense importance on games against Arsenal, as David Moyes recently revealed. Julen Lopetegui should be grateful they pulled their punches.

If Arsenal have not already accepted some responsibility for West Ham’s current plight then they simply must.

“We beat Arsenal on December 28, we beat them at the Emirates, and that day they offered me a new contract,” David Moyes said earlier this month. By February and after a performance the manager generously described as “weak” in a 6-0 thrashing against the Gunners, West Ham paused negotiations and soon withdrew that new deal.

The apparent desperation of David Sullivan and friends to make such monumental managerial decisions based heavily on the outcome of matches against Premier League title contenders Arsenal is curious, but this latest home humbling revealed nothing new.

Yet here it was, the second of Julen Lopetegui’s latest run of Two Games To Save His Job. If the first was a corner turned with victory over Newcastle, this was a crushing, deflating dead-end. West Ham were 14th, hoveringly uncomfortably above a relegation scrap with Europe not even close to the horizon; no points for guessing precisely where they stand now, no clearer than before on whether Lopetegui should even make it to January.

Had West Ham’s full-backs not inexplicably united to threaten the most ludicrous of comebacks on the stroke of half-time, this might well have been his last game. It was on course to be precisely that final and hand-forcing a result and performance. Three goals in nine minutes made it 4-0 with barely half an hour played and Arsenal at their destructive best.

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Gabriel from a Bukayo Saka corner; stunning Saka and Odegaard combination play; a penalty; even a Kai Havertz ‘getting in on the act’ goal. Arsenal played all the hits and West Ham were imploding yet again.

But a sublime Carlos Soler through ball was converted by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and a sumptuous Emerson Palmieri free-kick halved the deficit. The brilliant Saka extinguished any burgeoning hopes of some Cheick Tiote-inspired madness and restored a kinder cushion from the spot before Anthony Taylor brought a quite frankly stupid 45 minutes to a close.

It was the fourth time in Premier League history that as many as seven goals had been scored in the first half of a game. The subsequent second halves of the previous three matches told an inevitable story: across Blackburn v Leeds in September 1997, Bradford v Derby in April 2000 and Reading v Manchester United in 2012, the only goal scored in the second half was a Craig Burley penalty in the 52nd minute to salvage a draw for the relegation-battling Rams at the turn of the millennium.

A seemingly endless flow of first-half goals always precedes talk of the double-figure scoreline barrier finally being broken before the collective vinegar strokes set in soon into a sleepy second half. Arsenal preserved their energy and West Ham tried to salvage what was left of their pride. Neither side was particularly tempted to twist; Lopetegui bringing on a defensive midfielder in Edson Alvarez for the bright Crysencio Summerville before the restart was a substitution which screamed ‘stick’.

Mikel Arteta will quietly seethe at that two-minute period in which West Ham were irresistible but really this was a continuation of Arsenal finding their Odegaard return groove. This is their first set of consecutive three-goal Premier League wins since March and the second game in five days to feature five different scorers.

A period of complacency was almost mandatory but as with the Sporting victory, there was immense encouragement in how they rode that wave of momentum and quickly regained control.

West Ham could almost have done without the distraction and implication of that ‘2’ in the scoreline. It suggests something closer than this, less definitive, when in reality it was as bad as anything served up during this reign or by latter day Moyes.

It is still impossible to envisage how Lopetegui possibly makes this work, and it doesn’t really feel as though they should wait until their February visit to the Emirates to act if nothing fundamental changes.

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Paul Merson believes Man Utd will be “destroyed by four or five goals” if they fail to improve after Ruben Amorim’s first two games in charge.

Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge of the Red Devils finished 1-1 at Portman Road last weekend, with Marcus Rashford’s early opener cancelled out by Omari Hutchinson.

The Portuguese boss got his first win against Bodo/Glimt, but Merson believes a battering at the hands of the Gunners is coming on Wednesday if United don’t up their game, with Everton on Sunday offering them a chance to hone their craft in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system that’s yet to convince the pundit.

“I think even Ruben Amorim was shocked by what happened [against Ipswich],” Merson told Sportskeeda. “If they don’t start winning games, Amorim will have to start answering a lot more questions whether he likes it or not.

“That is just how big this club is and how the Premier League is in a nutshell. I’m not entirely convinced about Manchester United’s new system under Amorim.

“After a point in that game, you would’ve thought Ipswich were the bigger club and not United, that’s how it went.

“You could say everyone was away on international duty, and he did not have enough time. But if that performance was against one of the big boys in the league, Manchester United would have been destroyed by four or five goals!”

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Owen Hargreaves agrees that United could come a cropper against Arsenal without “two super-athletes” as his midfield pairing.

“I think they’ve got a lot of good players. Do they have the players capable of winning the Premier League or Champions League? Probably not. That’s going to take time to sort the recruitment out,” Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

“The most important thing is that they get results. Obviously Everton at the weekend is a tough game but at home you’d expect them [United] to win that game.

“Tough fixtures, especially the Arsenal one coming up after that, but they need to find a way to get results. Today they didn’t play brilliantly but they found a way to win the game which is the most important thing.

“I don’t think he has the personnel that he had at Sporting.

“I think if you’re going to play two in there [midfield], they need to be two super-athletes and cover the distances.

“I’m not sure they have that as such. I think they’ve got some really good players, different players but he might have to tweak it that maybe one of the No.10s drops in and one of the wing-backs gets a little bit higher for the width.

“But I think playing two in there against an Arsenal or a [Manchester] City, I think that’s going to be really, really difficult.

“I think it’s a work in progress, we need to be patient but we’re getting there.”

Joshua Zirkzee ‘wants to leave’ Manchester United to reunite with former Bologna manager Thiago Motta, according to reports in Italy.

Man Utd signed Netherlands international Zirkzee from Bologna for a little over his £34million release clause in the summer transfer window.

He scored the winner on his debut against Fulham but that is his only goal in a Red Devils shirt.

One goal in 12 Premier League matches is a horrendous return but it is not his lack of goals that Zirkzee is mainly being criticised for.

His overall play has been very disappointing and he looks miles off the required pace to play up front in the Premier League.

Furthermore, nobody seems to know what his best position is.

There has been lots of speculation surrounding the future of Zirkzee months after he joined from Bologna.

The 23-year-old was brilliant for the Serie A club last season as he helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

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Zirkzee earned the move to Old Trafford, while his manager Thiago Motta earned his move to Juventus, who have been inconsistent under his management and are being linked with the player.

The Old Lady won their first two Champions League matches this term but have lost one and drawn two since, while they have drawn seven of their opening 13 league matches.

They are at least unbeaten domestically but the alarming number of draws leaves them sixth in Serie A with 25 points.

In order to turn these draws into wins, Juventus will likely sign some players in the winter transfer window.

Zirkzee ‘wants to leave’ Man Utd after horrendous start

According to Italian outlet Gazzetta, Zirkzee’s difficult situation at Man Utd has Juventus on red alert and the Italian giants could sign him in January.

It is claimed that Juve’s ‘radar is focused on Old Trafford’ as Zirkzee’s ‘situation has not improved’ under new head coach Ruben Amorim.

The Dutch youngster already ‘wants to leave’ the club in order to ‘re-embrace Thiago Motta’, and a loan deal is the most likely outcome if he does leave Man Utd.

The report states:

In attack, the radar is focused on Old Trafford: Manchester United has changed coach, but Zirkzee’s situation has not improved. The new coach Ruben Amorim has not yet fielded the Dutchman as a starter and in the Europa League he kept him ninety minutes on the bench against the Norwegians of Bodo Glimt.

The former Bologna man wants to leave the Red Devils to re-embrace Thiago Motta: Giuntoli is waiting for the opening to the loan of the English to seize the opportunity and guarantee the coach an alternative striker to Dusan Vlahovic regardless of the recovery of the long-suffering Arek Milik (the other option is Schick of Bayer Leverkusen).

Luxury rentals that could be followed by real investments thanks to the money of Fagioli and Douglas Luiz. In that case, the idea of the Bianconeri would be to try to anticipate the operations scheduled for June through more creative deals (loans with obligation): from the defensive wildcard Hancko to the dream Ferguson, Feyenoord and Bologna permitting.

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At the Congress in Tashkent, Alisher Usmanov received 120 votes in the election of the president of the International Fencing Federation. The billionaire with a fortune of 1 14.4 billion is a significant donor of international fencing through his charitable foundation.

Russian – Uzbek billionaire Usmanov was elected president of the International Fencing Federation

A 71-year-old man received 120 votes in the elections in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

Передаю повідомлення з повідомлень на Spiegel.

Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov was elected president of the International Fencing Federation at the organization's Congress in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Saturday, November 30.

a 71-year-old man received 120 votes.

Usmanov's fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is 1 14.4 billion.he earned his fortune in mining, industry, Telecommunications and the media. Through his charitable foundation, he is a significant donor to international fencing.

The result in favor of Usmanov was predictable, writes Spiegel.

He had already spoken out in advance about a clear majority in his favor. After the election, he himself responded with a "thank you for the FIE's trust", saying in a press release that he "cannot ignore" "the opinions of more than 100 associations that supported my nomination.

Assets of Russian oligarch Usmanov worth more than UAH 2 billion recovered in favor of UkraineSep 26 2024, 01:05 PM • 13533 views

Liverpool will not miss Trent Alexander-Arnold if he moves to Real Madrid because of Conor Bradley, according to Mark Lawrenson.

Alexander-Arnold is reportedly a top target for Real Madrid, who want to sign the England international on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Liverpool have allowed Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk to enter the final seven months of their contract.

They can all negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January 1.

Salah recently said he is “more out than in” having not received an offer to extend, while Trent has been relatively quiet, saying in September that any negotiations will not be played out in public.

“I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say,” he 26-year-old said.

“I have been at the club 20 years now. I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public – and this one won’t be either.”

Conor Bradley has proven himself to be a very capable replacement for Alexander-Arnold and put Kylian Mbappe in his pocket in Liverpool’s impressive 2-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Alexander-Arnold returned to the bench for the European clash after missing Sunday’s trip to Southampton through injury and was not needed with Bradley thriving against the French superstar.

And Liverpool legend Lawrenson thinks Bradley’s form is a sign that Arne Slot will survive without Alexander-Arnold.

“Conor Bradley has done well, and that’s because he’s playing with plenty of freedom,” he said.

“Unfortunately for him, he knows that when Trent Alexander-Arnold is back from injury, he’ll go straight into the team, meaning that Bradley isn’t under any pressure when he plays.

“If Trent leaves Liverpool in the summer, the club would be absolutely fine with their replacements as they’ve got Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez, who are both great players.”

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Liverpool host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and Slot is keen keep on pushing rather than admiring their amazing start to 2024/25.

“Let me start by saying Wednesday was a special night for this club,” Slot wrote in his matchday programme column.

“To defeat a team like Real Madrid so many things have to come together – the performance of the players, the atmosphere created by the crowd, the preparation, the desire. It was all there. This is not to say it was perfect, because as a coach you are always striving for a perfection that might not even exist, but all of the ingredients you would want were in place.

“I liked a lot of what I saw. Again, not everything, but a lot. One of the things I liked most was that everyone from players to supporters saw the victory for what it was and that is another step forward on the road to where we want to be. This isn’t to play the win down or to make it less important. But as I said afterwards, it was a group-stage win and not a victory in the later stages or the final. Of course we can enjoy it and we did enjoy it, but we know also that there is still work to be done.

“It is also worth remembering that Real remain the best team in Europe. They won the Champions League last June and this makes them holders.

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“It is a similar situation with Sunday’s opponents, Manchester City, who are the holders of the Premier League having won the title four years in a row. The calibre of these teams speaks for itself and that is why this is such an exciting week with us being able to play both of them in a matter of days.

“I would like to welcome Pep Guardiola, his staff and the players and supporters of Manchester City to Anfield. In terms of trophies won, there is no question that City have been a dominant force in English football for several seasons. Yes, they are our rivals, but even within this rivalry we can definitely find room to respect their achievements and qualities.

“It is an interesting time to play City because so many are questioning them at the moment. I am not one of them. This is not to ignore their recent results, because clearly they have not been of the usual standard, but City still have one of the best managers in the world – if not the best manager in the world – numerous top-class players and a culture of success, which means they cannot be written off even in times of adversity.

“To be very clear, they remain one of the best sides not only in this country but also in the world and we have prepared for this fixture on that basis. Of course we get to take our own belief into the game and we will definitely do that, but we also arrive with the knowledge that our performance will have to be as good, if not even better, than it was on Wednesday night.

“We should not be surprised that we are in a good position, though. The squad that I inherited is one that has been high-performing for several seasons.

“It is not new to them to be challenging the likes of City and Real Madrid. It is what they have done for some time. But the challenge for them – for us – is not only to keep challenging, it is to show that we can continue improving in everything that we do. This is what the very best teams do. They do not stop and admire their work. They keep on pushing themselves.

“Finally and importantly, Sunday is a day when Liverpool FC as a club will show our support for the LGBTQ+ community by demonstrating our backing of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

“This is something that we do proudly and passionately because football is for everyone and has to be for everyone.”

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Premier League side Leicester City have confirmed Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager following the decision to sack Steve Cooper.

Cooper was dismissed on Sunday after a 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea left the Foxes with one point from their four league matches.

The decision came as a surprise and former Manchester United striker, assistant coach and interim manager Van Nistelrooy has replaced the ex-Nottingham Forest boss.

It is the Dutchman’s first managerial job in England having gained one-year experience with PSV Eindhoven in 2023/23.

A Leicester statement read: ‘We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy as Leicester City’s new First Team Manager.

‘The 48-year-old Dutchman joins us with a wealth of experience at the highest level of the game, both as a player and a coach, and has agreed terms on a contract to June 2027.

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‘Ruud will arrive in the UK in time to be in attendance for our Premier League trip to Brentford on Saturday, before assuming full First Team responsibilities from Sunday.

‘City will be led at the Gtech Community Stadium by First Team Coach Ben Dawson, supported by coaches Danny Alcock and Andy Hughes.’

Van Nistelrooy said: “I’m proud, I’m excited. Everybody that I speak to about Leicester City Football Club is enthusiastic.

“They have great stories about the quality of the people working at the club, the supporters and, of course, the recent history of the club is impressive.

“I’m excited to start and to get to know everyone and give everything I can for the football club.”

Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha added: “It is my pleasure to welcome Ruud to Leicester City.

“He joins a club with a rich history, passionate supporters, and a talented squad, and we are all excited to see the impact he can have as we embark on this new chapter together.

“Ruud’s experience, knowledge, and winning mentality will undoubtedly bring great value to us, and we look forward to supporting him in achieving success for our fans and our club.”

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Southampton were controversially denied a winning goal by VAR as they drew 1-1 away to Brighton in the Premier League on Friday night.

Southampton’s Joe Lumley came in for Alex McCarthy, who dropped to the bench after a poor performance against Liverpool last week. First-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale remains out with a broken finger.

Kaoru Mitoma was presented a fantastic opportunity to score when Yukinari Sugawara lost possession on the edge of his box.

The Japanese winger took on the shot early with Lumley out of position and hit the side netting.

Georginio Rutter struck the post with a wicked left-footed strike in the 16th minute.

Brighton took the lead in the 29th minute when Mitoma got on the end of Tariq Lamptey’s deadly cross at the back post.

Flynn Downes latched onto a loose ball in the box to smash home a Southampton equaliser just before the hour mark, netting his first Premier League goal.

Cameron Archer thought he gave the Saints a surprise lead in the 67th minute but Adam Armstrong was offside and deemed to have interfered with play from Ryan Fraser’s cross.

Young winger Tyler Dibling showed his incredible ability under pressure to break through the Brighton midfield before finding Fraser. What a talent.

Saints ‘keeper Ramsdale was not happy, posting on X at the time of the disallowed goal: ‘You can not be serious’.

The Premier League confirmed that it was Armstrong who was offside for Archer’s goal.

They posted on X: ‘The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Armstrong was in an offside position and deemed to be impacting Verbruggen’s ability to play the ball.’

Reaction coming soon…

VAR provided more confusion in Southampton’s draw at Brighton and left us begging for semi-automated offsides to come to the Premier League.

Cameron Archer’s goal and Southampton limbs in the Brighton away end were all for nothing because Adam Armstrong was offside from Ryan Fraser’s cross and was ‘deemed to be impacting Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen’s ability to play the ball’. There is a reason the Premier League Match Centre X account does not allow comments on their posts. What a load of s**t.

Four minutes and 27 seconds it took for the offside to be decided by those at Stockley Park. At that point, the nothing phrase ‘clear and obvious’ simply goes out of the window. Injured Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was not happy, posting on social media: ‘You can not be serious’.

The wait benefits literally nobody and the more time ticks on, the more sweat drips from the poor and inept official responsible for drawing those pesky lines.

Semi-automated offsides can not come soon enough and should help turn the tide with more people against VAR now than when it was first introduced in 2019. Games will flow better, fans and players won’t have to anxiously wait for the outcome of sometimes blatant offside decisions for several minutes. It will be a blessing for the Premier League just as it has been for the Champions League.

The delaying of its introduction is very frustrating and is only turning more people against VAR – which the Premier League will never get rid of. They are dying on this hill.

Johnny Nic is obviously one person who is completely against the technology and you would struggle to blame him these days – there are lots of negatives. There are also positives, though, and I am someone who thinks getting rid of it would be very silly.

Semi-automated offsides will take away the most scrutinised aspect of VAR, making life smoother for the officials, players and fans. Offside will become the black and white rule it is designed to be. We need it and we need it now.

Anyway, the VAR narrative is tiring at this stage. A football match took place and lots of things happened. Let’s move on to Tyler Dibling. We are in awe.

The boy is special, giving Kaoru Mitoma his latest lesson in dribbling. He thought learning more of the literal ins and outs were beneath him but that was a masterclass from the Southampton teenager, who is the latest to break onto the scene from the Saints highly-reputable youth academy.

Dibling has been a shining light in a miserable campaign for Southampton, making a name for himself by winning a penalty against Manchester United and kicking on from there after people started to notice him. He won another penalty against ‘Big Six’ opposition in Liverpool on Sunday and probably had his best performance of the season against Brighton on Friday.

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His tantalising display was not enough to inspire his side’s first away win of the season but he is getting better each game and will be the reason Southampton are not considered dead and buried by Christmas, if they get a few big results in December.

If the opening 13 matches are anything to go by, Southampton will go down but Dibling won’t be going down with them.

There are some rumours that the 18-year-old gets homesick, which is why his time at Chelsea lasted from July 2022 to September 2022. It was probably for the best anyway and there is no doubt in our minds that the Blues will go for him again at the end of the season.

Dibling’s ability to get out of tight spaces, carry the ball, nutmeg his humiliated opponents and push the Saints up the pitch is remarkable for a player of his experience. He is playing with the lack of fear characteristic of a low-socked teenager and we do not want that to change.

Southampton have a very clear philosophy centred on patience and keeping the ball but criticised manager Russell Martin has allowed Dibling to express himself. The minute a flair player has tactical shackles on him is when the game is not worth watching.

For all of the 18-year-old’s hard work, Southampton remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, which was the only possible outcome having come to the Amex with four points, half the amount 19th have.

These teams need an X-factor in attack to survive, like Leeds United had with Raphinha and Wolves now have with Matheus Cunha. Dibling might not be on that level yet and the supporting cast might be a level below Leeds and Wolves’, but he gives them a fighting chance and will put smiles on faces at St Mary’s even when their annual 9-0 defeat arrives.

Brighton, meanwhile, did not create enough in front of goal. They had a great opportunity Yukinari Sugawara lost possession on the edge of his box with goalkeeper Joe Lumley out of position. Thankfully for the visitors, Mitoma took it on early and shot wide.

There was not enough creativity on a night most people expected to be comfortable but these dropped points will go under the radar because of one big negative in VAR and one glowing positive in Tyler Dibling.

Serie A giants Juventus are prepared to offer former Premier League duo Douglas Luiz and Danilo to Man Utd for Joshua Zirkzee in January, according to reports.

The Red Devils have made a terrible start to the new Premier League season with Erik ten Hag losing his job after winning just three of the opening nine matches.

New manager Ruben Amorim took his first training session at Man Utd less than a fortnight ago after interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy added four points to their total during his two games in charge.

Amorim drew his first match in charge 1-1 against Ipswich Town on Sunday with Marcus Rashford’s opener cancelled out by a deflected long-range effort from Omari Hutchinson.

Man Utd are now 12th in the Premier League table with only Everton, Crystal Palace and Southampton scoring fewer goals than the Red Devils so far this season.

Rashford now has two Premier League goals this term, while Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee both have one each, with the latter coming in for a lot of criticism after his summer move from Bologna.

There have already been reports that INEOS and some of the Man Utd board view Zirkzee as a ‘lost cause’ with the Red Devils looking to ship him out in January.

The Netherlands international has been linked with a number of Serie A clubs, including Juventus, and now the Old Lady are reportedly set to ramp up their interest in January.

Italian website Calciomercato claims that talks between Juventus and Man Utd ‘could be started to bring’ to take Zirkzee to Turin with ex-Man City defender Danilo and former Aston Villa midfielder Luiz possible makeweights in a deal.

It is said Juventus’ transfer priority with Danilo ‘may not be so much a financial gain from his transfer as saving on his salary’ and a potential transfer for Luiz is also ‘a utopia’ currently.

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The report adds that a loan deal away from Juventus ‘maybe back in the Premier League and maybe in exchange’ for Zirkzee could be on the cards for the Brazilian duo.

Amorim, who won his second match as Man Utd boss by coming back from 2-1 down to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League group stage on Thursday, held a pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the Red Devils’ match at Old Trafford against Everton.

When asked about Mason Mount, Amorim told reporters: “He is working really hard. You have to understand the human also. He wants this really bad. That is the most important thing. He proved to all of you he is a talented player.

“He was a European champion. We believe a lot in him. He has to stay fit. All the guys in the team are quality players. They had to improve. He did a great job. You see some moments details where you can see Mason Mount is a proper footballer. We believe a lot in him. I especially believe a lot in Mason Mount.”

Amorim was then asked what he expects against Everton, to which he responded: “Win. I am hoping to win. It is going to be a different match with a lot of fighting, long balls, second balls.

“A quality coach who understands the league and the moment of the opponents. We need to have the ball because we have a short time to recover and we need to rotate the team. I hope for a win and see different things in my team, improve like we did from Ipswich to now, with Everton, without training. I expect to see different things.”