There has now been a new update on Manchester United’s interest in AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, with details of his release clause emerging ahead of the January transfer window.

Semenyo has been one of the breakout stars of the Premier League this season, with Bournemouth teammate Lewis Cook praising the forward for the improvements he’s made to his game, saying: “He’s got a lot better at running back and helping out the team too. He’s a powerful lad and has all the ability in the world. Hopefully he can continue to show that.”

Naturally, given the level of his performances, the 25-year-old has started to attract interest from elsewhere, with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and United being named as potential suitors.

It was previously thought that it may take around £80m to prise the former Bristol City man away from Bournemouth, but there has now been a new update on his future, which suggests a deal could be done for a more reasonable price.

Man Utd line up Semenyo move amid £65m release clause

According to a report from United In Focus, Man United are now considering a January move for Semenyo, whose £65m release clause will become active in January, with transfer expert Graeme Bailey providing a further update.

Bailey said: “Manchester United have been chasing Antoine Semenyo since the summer; they have maintained that interest since. I am told they were fully aware of the clause when he signed his new deal, after known about its validity for January and beyond.

“United like Semenyo, and whilst unlikely, he is an option that would be considered for January. Whilst Semenyo does have a clause, £65m in one hit is a big ask for any club.”

Despite being cheaper than initially expected, £65m would be a huge outlay, but it could be worth INEOS breaking the bank to sign the Ghanaian, who would become one of Man United’s top ten most expensive signings of all time.

Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie recently lauded his teammate as “scary good”, having already racked up nine goal contributions in the Premier League, although he would’ve been frustrated not to add to his tally against Aston Villa last time out, being denied from the penalty spot by Emiliano Martinez.

Still, there have been some very encouraging signs from the London-born forward, with perhaps his best performance coming in the Cherries’ 3-1 win against Fulham, picking up a brace and an assist, which resulted in a 9.5 SofaScore match rating.

Having struggled recruitment-wise in recent years, Man United may have finally found a winning formula, bringing in proven Premier League stars Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in the summer, and Semenyo would be a similar type of signing.

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2

By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 17, 2025

Leeds United fans headed into the half-time interval against Aston Villa pleased with their team’s overall fight and desire on show.

On top of the energy and application being there, Lukas Nmecha’s bundled opener gifted the Whites a slim 1-0 lead.

But, everything went pear-shaped for Daniel Farke and Co in a worrying second half that saw Villa come out and display their obvious Premier League quality, which, in tow, saw the West Yorkshire giants crumble to a 2-1 loss.

Farke will be extremely unsure about his future in the Elland Road hot seat, with several of his key players letting him down in that disastrous second 45 minutes.

Even the memorable days of Marcelo Bielsa had their poor moments, too, with Gaetano Berardi often sticking out as a liability as the Whites attempted to return to the Premier League, before the South American would clinch the Championship title.

What went wrong for Berardi at Leeds

Despite Berardi’s reputation for being a rash individual when donning Leeds white, the central defender is fondly remembered to this day at Elland Road as a character who gave “everything” for the shirt, as Bielsa once noted.

Lining up all along the defence when needed, the one-time Switzerland international bowed out from West Yorkshire with two goals and seven assists from 157 appearances, leading to an emotional farewell come the close of the 2020/21 season in the Premier League.

However, this isn’t to say Berardi wasn’t a liability when it came to his hot-headedness, with the former number 28 picking up a ridiculous seven red cards, one of which came during Leeds’ playoff semi-final collapse at the hands of Frank Lampard’s Derby County during the 2018/19 season.

Obviously, it was a team effort that culminated in Jack Marriott stealing a late winner to send the Rams to Wembley, but Leeds did have to play the final exchanges down a man due to the recklessness of the full-blooded defender, with Leeds great Eddie Gray once even admitting that he often ‘shut’ his eyes when Berardi went full steam ahead with challenge, largely due to his notorious disciplinary record.

Gray said in full: “There was a few challenges when he was going in after being booked, and I shut my eyes. I thought, ‘No!’ but he pulled back and did the right thing. There comes a time in your career when ‘I shouldn’t be doing that’ because you’re letting yourself down, the manager down, the team down and the supporters down.”

Ultimately, that rash nature resulted in Berardi only being handed two Premier League chances for the Whites, before being let go of, with the now retired defender admitting, when looking back on his Leeds career, that he just couldn’t stem the “fire inside me.”

Fast forwarding back to the present, Leeds may now have another Berardi on their books.

Leeds' new Berardi

Farke might well be persisting with players now that just aren’t cut out for the intensity of the Premier League week in, week out.

Indeed, while Brenden Aaronson does show flashes of immense quality here and there in the top division, it’s clear from his goalless showing against Villa that he isn’t an established Premier League talent for a reason, as just one of his five dribbles came off.

On the contrary, Emery has the likes of Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen at his disposal, who can regularly punish teams at a moment’s notice.

The England international would end up being Villa’s match-winner when he delicately placed this free-kick past a stationary Lucas Perri, but he was not helped by Pascal Struijk rashly tackling Ross Barkley for this free-kick to be given in an ideal spot on the pitch.

To make matters worse for the Dutchman, he also spurned a header late on that was comfortably saved by Emiliano Martinez, as Struijk’s days now begin to look numbered as a regular in the heart of Farke’s defence.

Games played

95

Goals scored

4

Assists

1

Duels won

416

Tackles

200

Yellow cards

16

Red cards

1

Clean sheets

13

This isn’t to say, much like with the Berardi example, that Struijk hasn’t had some great moments over the year donning Leeds white, with the 26-year-old helping himself to eight goals in Championship action.

But, it could now be a case that the ex-Ajax youngster has overstayed his welcome as a Premier League starter at Elland Road, with only 13 clean sheets coming his way across four top-flight campaigns, backing up claims by journalist Phil Hay that he is not “Premier League quality.”

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Leeds Live reporter Isaac Johnson would state in his post-match debrief after Villa that Struijk was regularly “caught out of position” and looked prone to a mistake, with Berardi also generating the same feeling of unease with his unpredictable showings for the club.

This is not the first time Struijk has been guilty of an error-ridden performance, with both goals at Spurs deflecting off the unfortunate defender. Still, the Dutchman could have been closer to Mohammed Kudus when he was allowed to have a pop at goal.

The match against Burnley also highlighted the defender’s susceptibility to aerial contests. As the Clarets took the lead, Kyle Walker swung in a lovely delivery, but neither Joe Rodon nor Struijk communicated properly which allowed Lesley Ugochukwu to ghost in and head home. As the first defender, it should have been up to the latter to deal with the situation but he didn’t read the flight of the ball well at all.

With Manchester City and Chelsea to come next, Farke will have to seriously consider dropping his underperforming dud if he doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of two depressing drubbings, with the beginning of the end for Struijk at Leeds now coming into view.

Forget Aaronson: It's a sackable offence if Farke starts £14m Leeds man again

Daniel Farke must be sacked at Leeds United if he continues to start this ropey dud.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 24, 2025

He surpassed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting during his knock against India in the fourth Test

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Jul-202513,409 Runs scored by Joe Root in Test cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) has scored more in this format. Root moved up three places during his century against India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. He surpassed Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Ricky Ponting (13,378).ESPNcricinfo Ltd38 Hundreds for Root in Test cricket. Only three batters – Tendulkar (51), Kallis (45) and Ponting (41) – have more in Test cricket, while Kumar Sangakkara also has 38.Root now has 104 fifty-plus scores in Tests, surpassing Ponting and Kallis’ tally of 103. Again, only Tendulkar, with 119, have more.12 Test hundreds for Root against India, the most by any batter, going ahead of Steven Smith’s 11. Only Don Bradman (19 against England) and Sunil Gavaskar (13 against West Indies) have more Test hundreds against a particular opponent.Nine of Root’s 12 hundreds against India have come in England, the most by any batter against an opponent at home, going past Bradman’s eight against England.23 Test hundreds for Root in England, the joint-most for any batter in a country. Ponting in Australia, Kallis in South Africa and Mahela Jayawardene in Sri Lanka also have 23 each.Root has scored 7195 runs in Tests in England, the third-most by any batter in a country, behind only Ponting (7578 in Australia) and Tendulkar (7216 in India).ESPNcricinfo Ltd1128 Test runs scored by Root at Old Trafford. He is the first batter to aggregate 1000 Test runs at this venue. Old Trafford is the second venue where Root has scored 1000-plus Test runs; he has 2166 at Lord’s.588 Runs Root scored in Tests against Ravindra Jadeja so far, across 37 innings for nine dismissals. These are the most runs any batter scored in Test cricket against a bowler. He went past Steven Smith, who has 577 runs against Stuart Broad across 49 innings and was dismissed 11 times.

Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Adil Rashid made gains in white-ball rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2025Pakistan left-arm spinner Noman Ali has rocketed up four places to No. 2 in the ICC Men’s Test bowling rankings after his ten-wicket haul in the first Test against South Africa in Lahore, which included a first-innings six-for. His 853 rating points are also a career-best for the spinner.South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada, who earlier occupied that second position, slipped down three positions to fifth after picking up just two wickets in Lahore.Allrounder Marco Jansen also saw a drop in his ranking, as he slid out of the top ten after he was left out of the South Africa XI in Lahore.Full rankings tables

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Click here for the full player rankings

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up three places to 19th after his second-innings 4 for 33 helped Pakistan seal a 93-run win.Ryan Rickelton, who made 71 in the first innings against Pakistan, moved into the top 50 for the first time in the batting rankings.Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood moved up six spots to 10th in the ODI bowling charts after Australia’s win over India in a rain-affected game in Perth. Mitchell Starc moved up four spots as well, to 21st.Adil Rashid, meanwhile, claimed figures of 4 for 32 in England’s win over New Zealand in Christchurch and shot up three spots to third among T20I bowlers.

The last international break of the year is finally coming to an end this weekend, meaning Arsenal can once again continue their title charge.

However, instead of looking over their shoulder at Liverpool, the new hunter is, unfortunately, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The Citizens have already gotten the better of Mikel Arteta’s side in two Premier League title races, in large part thanks to the outrageous goalscoring ability of Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian is an unstoppable machine of a player, but fortunately, it feels like Arsenal now have their own version of him, and he’s not even a striker.

Haaland's record vs Arsenal

There are more than a handful of players Arsenal fans have dreaded seeing play against their team over the years.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

When he was at Chelsea, Didier Drogba was a nightmare for the North Londoners, as was Harry Kane when he played in N17.

Unfortunately, even though he hasn’t been in the league anywhere near as long, Haaland has become another goalscorer who just seems to have the Gunners’ number.

For example, while he didn’t score against them in the FA Cup three years ago, or the Community Shield a year after that, he has made a habit of putting the ball in their net in the league.

In the seven appearances he’s made against the North Londoners in the competition, he has scored five goals, with the two blanks coming home and away in the 23/24 season.

Interestingly, while he provided two assists in the 22/23 game at the Etihad, the former Borussia Dortmund star has never scored more than one goal in a match against Arteta’s side.

In all, Haaland scoring against Arsenal feels practically invincible, even this season, when Arteta has built an almost impregnable defence, one that features the club’s own version of the Norwegian.

Arsenal's own Haaland

Now, while people might try to argue that Viktor Gyokeres or Bukayo Saka could be Arsenal’s answer to Haaland for their goals and where they play, they’d be wrong.

Instead, and this might sound odd to begin with, it’s Gabriel Magalhaes.

After all, City’s biggest strength is their attack, and their best attacker is the Norwegian, while the Gunners’ biggest strength, and so far this season, the Brazilian has been their best defender.

Moreover, like the former Dortmund star, the 27-year-old is a monster of a centre-back, someone who makes full use of his 6 foot 4 frame to bully opposition players off the ball or block their path entirely.

He is not a stereotypical ball-playing defender; he’s an old-school blood and thunder type, someone who relishes the physical battle and celebrates a well-timed slide tackle just as much as a goal.

However, unlike some other players of his ilk, the former LOSC Lille ace is also a tour de force in the opposition’s box.

Since moving to the Emirates, the São Paulo-born titan has scored 22 goals and provided eight assists in 227 appearances, and with five goal involvements already this season, he’s only becoming more of an attacking threat.

Appearances

227

Starts

216

Minutes

19391′

Goals

22

Assists

8

Points per Game

2.02

It’s this combination of being incredible in all phases of play that led to Jamie Carragher suggesting that he could “be seen as the most influential player in the Premier League” only last month.

It also lends plenty of credence to Statman Dave’s claim that he’s one of the best defenders “on the planet.”

Ultimately, while he’ll never get the adulation of a striker, Gabriel has slowly become Arsenal’s own Haaland-like player, and the sooner he’s back from injury, the better.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 18, 2025

The final weekend of the 2025 MLB season is upon us, and there is still a lot to play for. Eight teams have secured playoff spots, while eight remain alive fighting for the final two spots.

In addition to the teams desperately trying to punch their tickets to the postseason, two American League division races remain undecided. With all that in mind we’ve ranked the top five series of the season’s final weekend.

1. Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox will host the Tigers in the final weekend’s most important series. The two teams currently hold the AL’s final wild card spots, and Detroit is still in contention for the AL Central. The Tigers’ collapse has been stunning. They led the division by 14 games on July 8, and were ahead of the Guardians by 15 1/2. They also led Cleveland by 10 1/2 games on September 1 and 9 1/2 on September 10. Now they’re tied atop the division. Detroit also leads the Astros by just one game for the AL’s final wild card spot, so there’s a chance they miss the postseason completely.

While the Yankees and Blue Jays are tied atop the AL East, Boston is sitting in a solid position, with a magic number of one. The Red Sox appear locked into the second wild-card spot, which means they’ll be traveling to face New York, Toronto, Cleveland or Detroit in the opening round. It will be Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021.

2. New York Mets at Miami Marlins

The Mets have been a mess for two months, but still have the final playoff spot in the NL cornered. While Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso have done their best to lift the Mets to the playoffs, the team’s pitching staff has utterly disintegrated. They’ll need to perform this weekend to clinch a spot.

New York will travel to Miami to face a plucky Marlins team that wasn’t eliminated until Thursday afternoon. The Fish look like a squad that could be a dangerous next season, led by Kyle Stowers and rookie Jakob Marsee. They’ll do their best to play spoilers this weekend.

يستعد فريق برشلونة لمواجهة أتلتيكو مدريد غدًا الثلاثاء، ضمن مباريات بطولة الدوري الإسباني لموسم 2025-2026، مع غياب للمدافع الأوروجوياني رونالد أراوخو.

وظهر مدرب برشلونة هانز فليك، في مؤتمر صحفي اليوم للحديث قبل مباراة الفريقين، وأوضح خلال تصريحاته أن أراوخو لن يكون جاهزًا للمواجهة أمام أتلتيكو مدريد.

وقال فليك: “إنها مسألة شخصية، وسأكون ممتنًا لو احترمتموها”، حيث سبق وغاب أراوخو عن مباراة برشلونة وألافيس، وقيل حينها إن غيابه بسبب فيروس في المعدة.

وبحسب ما ذكرت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، يأتي غياب أراوخو تزامنًا مع اجتماع وكلاء اللاعب اليوم الاثنين في المدينة الرياضية مع ديكو المدير الرياضي لبرشلونة.

اقرأ أيضًا | سبورت تنشر تفاصيل مفاوضات برشلونة مع الأهلي للتوقيع مع حمزة عبد الكريم

ومر أراوخو بأسبوع عصيب، حيث تلقى بطاقة حمراء في مباراة برشلونة وتشيلسي بدوري أبطال أوروبا، التي تعرض فيها فريقه للهزيمة بثلاثية.

وتلقى أراوخو انتقادات لاذعة من وسائل الإعلام، وقد تدخل بعنف على مارك كوكوريلا لاعب تشيلسي، وهو ما أدى لحصوله على بطاقة حمراء.

ويأتي اجتماع وكلاء أراوخو مع ديكو في أعقاب تلك الأحداث، وقد تواجد اللاعب في المدينة الرياضية اليوم لكن لم يشارك في التدريبات.

The Mets' division title hopes were all but dashed after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies. And after the dust settled on the Mets' 6–4 loss to their division rivals, in which the club blew a 4–0 lead, New York clings to just a 1.5-game lead over both the Giants and the Reds for the third National League wild card.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza wouldn't go so far as to say he was worried, but he acknowledged the club's current reality.

"I'm not going to say that I'm worried, but we don't have too much time," Mendoza said. "Teams are right behind us. … The way you look at is we're still in control of the situation. We're still in control of achieving the ultimate goal but we gotta go out and do it."

As of June 12, New York had the best record in baseball and a firm 5.5-game lead on the Phillies in the NL East. Since that point, the Mets have played to the third-worst record in the majors while their pitching, both starting and a trade deadline-upgraded bullpen, has collapsed to the tune of a 5.08 ERA.

The Mets still have a 78.1% chance to make the postseason, according to . But in order for that to happen, something has to change—and fast.

"I'm responsible. I'm the manager," Mendoza said when asked if there's anything he can do to reset the team. " It's my job to get these guys going and I will. I have a lot of confidence [in] myself, my coaches and the players. It's not easy right now and we are all frustrated. But like I said, we still got an opportunity here to achieve our goal."

Mendoza's Mets will next take on two playoff-caliber opponents in the Rangers and Padres.

Since leaving Tottenham Hotspur in search of trophies back in 2013, Harry Kane, who has been named as one of the best strikers in the world, has continued his remarkable record in front of goal, having found the back of the net a whopping 108 times in 113 games for Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane’s goal return by season

Appearances (all competitions)

Goals

2023-24

45

44

2024-25

51

41

2025-26

17

23

Not only has the 32-year-old established himself as Bayern’s talisman, but he has also remained a consistent source of goals for England at international level, most recently scoring a brace in the Three Lions’ final World Cup qualifier in Albania.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup in style, having won every single game in Group K without conceding a goal, and fans will be dreaming of football finally ‘coming home’, after two heartbreaking losses in finals of the Euros.

With one of the world’s best strikers leading the line, England certainly have a chance, and the captain recently surpassed a record set by three-time World Cup-winner Pele.

Harry Kane moves ahead of Pele for international goals

Indeed, courtesy of the brace against Albania, Kane has now moved ahead of Pele for international goals, while also going 25 clear of nearest-rival Wayne Rooney at the top of the Three Lions’ all-time goalscoring charts.

As such, it will come as no surprise that Thomas Frank has previously made it clear he wants to re-sign the former Tottenham star, saying: “He is an unbelievable player who did fantastic for Spurs and is doing fantastic for Bayern. Top player. I think there’s a lot of Tottenham fans, including myself, who would like to see Kane back.”

Frank’s comments came after learning about a clause in the Bayern Munich star’s contract, which means he will be available for just £54m in January, while Spurs also have a first option to sign the centre-forward, should they decide to open talks with the German club.

Kane is in the form of his life at Bayern, and will have aspirations of winning the Champions League this season, so it may be difficult to tempt him to return to N17, but if Tottenham were able to do so, he would undoubtedly be a fantastic signing, and could go on to break the Premier League goal record too.

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Posts ByCharlie Smith Nov 6, 2025

Arsenal defeated rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the North London Derby, and there was some controversy on display during a pulsating affair, with one particular matter piquing the interest of Mark Goldbridge.

The Gunners went into the clash knowing that a victory would put them six points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, while Spurs had the opportunity to move into the top four.

On this occasion, Mikel Arteta was able to claim a valuable triumph against Thomas Frank’s side, beginning with a deflected Leandro Trossard strike before Eberechi Eze enhanced his reputation as a Gunners’ fan favourite with a brace at the Emirates Stadium, the second of which coming just after the interval.

Spurs rallied in the second half, and Richarlison’s long-range strike caught out David Raya in stunning fashion. However, the home side had already done more than enough to secure the victory beforehand, keeping their charge for the title well and truly on track.

Eze completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, earning derby folklore status after joining Arsenal despite interest from Tottenham during the summer window to complete a 4-1 rout.

Next time out, Arsenal face the small matter of taking on Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium, pitting two of Europe’s heavyweights against each other in the capital on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Tottenham face the unenviable task of going to Paris Saint-Germain, presenting a challenge of great might against the reigning Champions League holders.

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2

By
Ben Goodwin

Dec 4, 2025

Thrills and spills underpinned another pulsating affair between both sides, though it wasn’t an evening that was short of controversy, which is usually the case with both sides fighting tooth and nail for local bragging rights.

With that in mind, Goldbridge took to social media to point out something he believes VAR missed during a dramatic affair at the home of the Gunners.

Mark Goldbridge takes aim at VAR during Arsenal vs Spurs

Taking to X, Goldbridge took issue with Eze’s first goal being allowed after two Arsenal players were in the line of Guglielmlo Vicario’s sight as he struck sweetly into the bottom corner.

In theory, Goldbridge has a point, given that Virgil Van Dijk saw a goal ruled out in similar circumstances during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat against Manchester City before the international break.

Nevertheless, there is an argument to be had as to whether either player is actually preventing Vicario from saving Eze’s strike, something that is likely to dominate headlines over the next few days after a momentous victory for the Gunners.

Either way, Arsenal appear to be in fine fettle and have taken command of their mission to claim a first Premier League title since 2004, which is becoming more likely with every passing week.