Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season hung heavy over Anfield as the Arne Slot era looked to get up and running, and many thought the former Feyenoord coach would fall quickly by the wayside.

But Liverpool won the Premier League, and Slot is now renowned not just for his shrewd triumphs in his Dutch homeland but his success on a grander scale with Liverpool, who have fortified last year’s exploits with an utterly merciless spending spree across the summer transfer window, now the overwhelming favourites to retain their crown.

Liverpool did have to haul some surplus this summer, selling a whole host of first-team players in a major reshuffle. Up-and-coming stars such as Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah were sold despite making headway as top English talents over the past few years.

Quansah fell toward the fringes under Slot’s wing last season, and was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m after being told he would continue to play a peripheral role throughout 2025/26.

Liverpool signed 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni to replace him, but Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi was the one who was viewed right up until the final moments of the transfer window as the perfect player to slot in alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool missed out on Guehi

When Guehi scored a peach against Aston Villa before the September international break, his celebration carried with it the sense that he had written an incredible, fairytale ending to his chapter at Crystal Palace.

A move to Liverpool wasn’t just on the cards, but imminent, only it fell through at the eleventh hour on deadline day after the Eagles failed to secure an adequate replacement for Oliver Glasner’s captain, who has been instrumental across 2025 for the multi-trophy-winning side.

Guehi, 25, has emerged over the past few years as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, with his combative and composed defensive style merging with a technical game that stretches beyond what is expected of a centre-half.

Indeed, he has been described as an “absolute gem” by his former coach Michael Beale, who singled out his formative years at Chelsea’s Cobham as building his technical level.

Glasner, for his part, is adamant that certain stories of his desperate – and successful – efforts to keep Guehi at the club were false.

In any case, Guehi remains a Palace player and has no intention of penning a new deal that would extend his contract beyond its expiry at the end of the season.

A move to Merseyside remains a convincing possibility, with Liverpool snapping him up for free.

In this way, Guehi could mimic another deal from the closed summer transfer window, becoming Liverpool’s version of a player who actually left Anfield for a European giant just a few months ago.

Liverpool's own version of Guehi

While the Anfield side were willing to part with such players, it was a different tale with homegrown hero Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was billed by many as Liverpool’s new version of Steven Gerrard after emerging from the academy.

But the 26-year-old instead left at the end of his contract and signed for Real Madrid.

It was a contentious decision, but one which the 26-year-old made after much consideration, leaving England and the Premier League and joining Los Blancos, Liverpool’s biggest European rivals of modern times, for a fresh challenge and a chance to take his career to the next level.

Many Reds couldn’t understand the decision, with jeers when the right-back entered the fray after confirmation of his decision was made known in May, during a draw with Arsenal, pushing the unsavoury situation toward boiling point.

Trent’s Liverpool Career
Competition	Apps	Goals (assists)
Premier League	257	18 (67)
Champions League	60	2 (13)
FA Cup	13	1 (3)
Carabao Cup	10	0 (6)
Europa League	5	0 (2)
Club World Cup	2	0 (1)
CL Qualifying	2	0 (1)
Community Shield	2	1 (0)
UEFA Super Cup	1	0 (0)
Stats via Transfermarkt

Even so, Alexander-Arnold celebrated Liverpool’s Premier League title with his peers and showed an outpouring of emotion after playing his final match in a Liverpool shirt at the end of the season. The Three Lions star was synonymous with his former outfit’s resurgence of the past decade, after all.

Hailed as a “generational” talent by content creator Asim Mahmood, Liverpool must regret losing such an incredible, irreplaceable playmaker, one of the greatest passers of the ball in English history.

There are parallels between his situation and Guehi’s at Palace, to be sure, and those similarities might become more pronounced in the coming months, when talk of a pre-contract agreement with the Eagles captain gathers steam.

Whether Liverpool win that battle remains to be seen, with sources recently suggesting Chelsea are gearing up to make a move of their own for Guehi after the new year.

But if Guehi does have his heart set on a move to Liverpool, as has been suggested, Slot might just find himself welcoming his own version of Alexander-Arnold, landing an elite player on a Bosman and one who is cherished by the fanbase of a club who cannot bear the thought of his departure.

Of course, Trent will return to his old stomping ground sooner than he might have hoped for, with Real Madrid drawn against Liverpool in the league phase of the Champions League.

Liverpool chiefs will be frustrated that they couldn’t convince the Scouser to stay put, but Slot’s side have already shown they can overcome the setback, just as there is confidence that the failed attempt to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace will not stop the club from achieving their goals.

FSG have already sold Liverpool's homegrown Zubimendi for just £15m

Former Liverpool player is now starring as a deep-lying playmaker reminiscent of Zubimendi.

By
Will Miller

Sep 12, 2025

Arne Slot brutally branded Manchester United a "long-ball team" as he claimed Liverpool "hardly conceded a chance" in their disappointing 2-1 loss at Anfield on Sunday. United registered their first victory at Anfield since 2016 and secured back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time since Ruben Amorim took over as head coach in November last year.

• Liverpool stuck in a rut

  Reigning champions Liverpool kicked off the season on a bright note as they won seven games in succession, including five in the Premier League. However, things went south towards the end of September when they suffered a 2-1 loss against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. More heartbreak followed in Turkey as they went down 1-0 against Galatasaray in the Champions League. Slot's men were then beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and failed to bounce back against United, slumping to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions for the first time since 2014.

  Bryan Mbeumo handed the visitors a surprise early lead, which was later cancelled out by Cody Gakpo's equaliser in the 78th minute. Just when the Reds appeared to have gained the upper hand, Harry Maguire came out of nowhere and scored the winning goal with a clinical header in the 84th minute. The win helped United climb up to ninth in the table, while Liverpool dropped to fourth, four points behind leaders Arsenal.

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• AFP
  

  Slot aims dig at Man Utd tactics

  Slot was understandably disappointed with the result, but felt that Liverpool did well to create several goal-scoring opportunities against a United team that often went route one.

  Reflecting on the match, Slot told : "It is always difficult to play against a team that defends in a low block and mainly plays the long ball. It makes it even more difficult when you go one down after one minute when one of our players are on the floor. If you would have told me before the game that against the low block, against so many long balls, that we would have created as many chances as we did I would have not expected us to lose. But that is what we did. We had enough chances to score more than one goal, but on the other hand again conceding two and one of the two was the set piece."

• Concerns over set-piece vulnerability growing

  Slot also expressed his concern over Liverpool conceding from set pieces as he issued a warning to his players. The Dutchman added: "Yes. Of course, we concede maybe one or two extra chances apart from the goals we conceded but you always have to take extra risk when you are 1-0 down. Taking that into account, we hardly conceded a chance and we are waiting for us to score a goal, we have to defend the set piece. Like against Palace and a few other moments this season, we've conceded on a set piece and that is hard to take because it is very difficult to win a game of football if you have a negative balance on set pieces."

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Referee hit with 'corruption' allegations

  Mbeumo put United ahead inside two minutes with a composed finish after running in behind the Liverpool defence and firing into the back of the net. As he wheeled away in celebration, Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was sprawled out on the turf. The World Cup-winning Argentina international was holding his head, having been caught in a challenge just inside the Liverpool half. He was struck by a stray elbow from Van Dijk, which clearly left him in some discomfort and forced him to play the remainder of the game with a headguard. The game, however, was not halted, with Oliver allowing play to go on and the Red Devils to take the lead. Liverpool fans were frustrated with the referee's call as some of them even made 'corruption' allegations against the match official.

  However, former referee Keith Hackett has backed Oliver for making the correct decision, as he told : "Three players challenged in a fair manner for the ball which bounced and put Man United on the attack. They went in to score a good goal. It appeared that Oliver had not seen the head injury and play was allowed to continue. Goal scored and correctly allowed. VAR cannot intervene on this, it is not a clear and obvious error."

Chelsea hold concrete interest in signing a “spectacular” Barcelona star, with Enzo Maresca personally keen, and they could now be willing to submit an opening offer.

Blues keen to bolster options amid slow start to the season

After clinching Champions League qualification in the 2024-25 campaign, there was an expectation for the Blues to kick on this season, but it has been a slow start, having taken just eight points from their opening six games.

Most recently, Maresca’s side came up short in a 3-1 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion, which has led to speculation aboutthe manager’s future, with talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino suggesting the Italian may find it difficult to hold onto his job long-term.

One of the only bright sparks against the Seagulls was Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentinian getting on the scoresheet, while Moises Caicedo was also solid, winning eight of the 12 duels he contested and making three tackles.

However, according to a report from Spain, Chelsea still remain keen on bolstering their options in midfield, holding concrete interest in signing Barcelona’s Marc Casado, and they may even be willing to submit a €40m (£35m) bid for his services.

Maresca is personally keen on signing Casado, having identified the need to bring in a new central midfielder, and there are indications that the Spanish club could be open to a sale in the January transfer window.

Barca, given their well-documented financial issues, need to free up wages, but the midfielder has previously expressed his desire to fight for his place, so it remains to be seen whether he is open to a departure.

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1 ByJoe Nuttall Sep 27, 2025 "Spectacular" Casado may need to leave Barca this winter

Given the La Liga champions’ squad is so stocked with talent, the Spaniard has received inconsistent game time this season, although he has impressed when given the opportunity, picking up an assist in the emphatic 6-0 victory over Valencia.

Sergio Busquets was also left very impressed with the young midfielder during the 2024-25 campaign, calling him “spectacular” last November.

The 22-year-old has featured in the majority of Barca’s La Liga matches this season, but given his talent, that is not enough, so it would make sense to move to a new club this winter.

Signing a new goalkeeper should be Maresca’s number one priority, given the start Robert Sanchez has made to the season, most recently getting sent off in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United.

However, should Chelsea decide to sign a new central midfielder, Casado has the ability to be a success at Stamford Bridge, and a fee in the region of £35m feels fair, given his age.

Durham launched their Vitality Blast campaign with an impressive three-wicket victory over The Bears at Edgbaston.The Bears were 143 all out from exactly 20 overs after only Sam Hain (45 from 28 balls) came close to salvaging the innings from the wretched foundation of four for three. Durham bowled superbly as a unit with Jimmy Neesham taking three wickets and Callum Parkinson, Nathan Sowter and Ben Raine two apiece.Ollie Robinson (45, 36) and Graham Clark (40, 23) then lifted Durham to 147 for seven with 17 balls to spare to condemn The Bears to back-to-back defeats to start their campaign.Durham chose to bowl and started brilliantly as they reduced the Bears to four for three after 17 balls. Parkinson’s first over yielded just one run but two wickets as Alex Davies pulled to backward square leg and Tom Latham holed out to deep mid-wicket. Zak Foulkes added the wicket of Moeen Ali, caught at short fine leg.Hain and Ed Barnard (23, 18) cranked the innings into motion but Durham’s attack, skilfully juggled by skipper Alex Lees, prevented the big individual contribution that was required.Raine was brought on and yorked Barnard with his fourth ball. Sowter was brought back on and rattled Kai Smith’s off-stump through a defeated cut. Hain lifted Neesham to extra cover. Sowter removed George Garton, lbw reverse-sweeping.The lower order fiddled a few scrappy runs but the innings ended, when Danny Briggs lifted the final ball from Neesham to long on, in near silence. It was excellent work by Durham, not least New Zealand seamer Foulkes whose 4-0-18-1 gave him a happier memory of Edgbaston than his most recent experience there, a golden duck for the Bears in last season’s miserable Blast quarter-final defeat to Gloucestershire.The Bears badly needed early wickets and Barnard supplied two, forcing Lees to play on and having Colin Ackermann caught at cover. While Barnard’s first two overs cost just 12, however, the two from the other end, from Adam Sylvester and Moeen, leaked 32 to give Durham a rapid start. They reached 50 in the fifth over.Clark’s clean hitting concluded when he clipped Jake Lintott to mid-wicket. Raine and Neesham were bowled by Moeen going for big hits that were not needed but Robinson and former Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes sensibly took their side to the brink of victory with a stand of 24 in 17 balls.Robinson holed out to Briggs with six still needed but Rhodes saw his team to victory and hit the winning boundary, somewhat ironically against the club which consistently omitted him from their T20 side.

West Ham abruptly sacked Graham Potter on Saturday morning, ending his uninspired nine-month spell in charge, with Nuno Espírito Santo set to replace him.

Nuno Espírito Santo agrees deal to join West Ham

After talks with chairman David Sullivan and Karren Brady earlier this week (ExWHUemployee), and despite some uncertainty surrounding the finances of his contract (Sports Boom), Nuno has now agreed a multi-year deal to join West Ham.

When Potter told his players the news that he’s no longer West Ham boss, it left members of his squad “shocked”, but Nuno is expected to immediately step into the tactician’s shoes by taking charge of training this afternoon.

Potter leaves West Ham after 25 games in charge, having recorded the club’s second-worst win percentage during his time in the hot seat, behind only Avram Grant who relegated the Hammers in 2011.

9. Sam Allardyce

30.7%

10. Julen Lopetegui

30%

11. Gianfranco Zola

27.8%

12 Graham Potter

26.1%

13. Avram Grant

18.9%

via StatMuse

A formal announcement is expected in the coming hours, with West Ham managing to navigate the finances of a deal for Nuno to deliver the club’s third manager in just 12 months.

West Ham’s managerial shortlist also included the likes of Slaven Bilic, Scott Parker, Marco Silva, Sean Dyche, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick, but Nuno was always in pole position for the job after his excellent work at Nottingham Forest.

During his time at the City Ground, Nuno steered Forest away from relegation at the end of 2023/2024 to qualification for the Europa League last season, all whilst shoring up their leaky backline, establishing a clear counter-attacking identity and getting the very best out of their squad.

This, combined with his free agent status, understandably appealed to the West Ham hierarchy — but Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes that the tactician himself is only taking this job for one worrying reason.

Paul Merson reacts after West Ham appoint Nuno Espírito Santo

Speaking on Sky, in reaction to the news of his appointment, Merson says that Nuno has agreed to replace Potter at West Ham out of “panic”.

The 51-year-old’s eagerness to get straight back into management was reported before his arrival, and Nuno’s priority was always to remain in the Premier League (Sports Boom).

It perhaps speaks volumes about his character and work ethic, which, if anything, is a very good sign for West Ham as the east Londoners seek to end what has been a disastrous 2025 on a high.

While Nuno’s style isn’t exactly the ‘West Ham way’, their defensive fragility and exposure to set pieces is something that Nuno has a proven track record of fixing at previous clubs like Forest and Wolves.

His spell in the Middle East at Al-Ittihad yielded a Saudi Pro League title as well, so he boasts some trophy-winning experience, even if Nuno was sacked just months later.

The ex-FC Porto boss’ appointment is a very intriguing one, but it is clear that, of all the managers readily available, Nuno was perhaps the most obvious choice given his proven Premier League experience.

“The way I look at this innings, I think it’s an outstanding innings,” Tom Moody says about KL Rahul’s century

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-20251:07

Moody: ‘Rahul has managed to adjust again to a different role’

It’s tough to be KL Rahul sometimes.Over the years, he has faced criticism for his strike rate in T20 cricket and it was once again a talking point when he scored an unbeaten 112 off 65 balls in a losing cause against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday. Despite a slow start from Delhi Capitals (DC), where they scored just 28 for 1 in the first five overs, Rahul ensured the team almost had 200. But it wasn’t enough as B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill chased down the target with ease and took GT to the playoffs.Rahul scored his century in 60 balls on Sunday, and his 112 not out came at a strike rate of 172.30. He has been striking at 148.04 in IPL 2025, having accumulated 493 runs in 12 innings. In terms of his strike rate, he hasn’t done better since IPL 2018, when he went at 158.41 in scoring 659 in 14 matches.The criticism hasn’t gone down well with Tom Moody.Related

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“I always find the criticism around KL Rahul quite extraordinary,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out. “I think he’s a lot better player than a lot of people give him credit for. And the way I look at this innings, I think it’s an outstanding innings. And yeah, look, it’ll depend who wins the game to whether he’s, you know, the Player of the Match or not. But the way I look at this and I look at the batting card, what’s let them down and not reaching that 220 is the other batters that were in only struck at 150. On a [batting-friendly] surface, you want impact.”When you’ve got someone in there that’s anchoring, that’s building the total, your role when you come in is to impact the game – 30 off ten balls, those types of innings, that suddenly take you to that 220. Instead of pointing the finger at the same person, I think it’s the other way around.”At the end of ten overs, DC were 81 for 1 with Rahul on 56 off 38 balls. However, between 15 and 18, Rahul faced a total of only six balls with Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs at the other end facing more of the bowling. This, Moody felt, made him lose a bit of momentum.”The team had the opportunity to get it to 220. The team didn’t do that,” Moody said. “This is not an individual sport. This is a team sport. And that’s where the communication around who’s coming in and the communication when you’re out there: ‘okay, we need to target two boundaries at the beginning of this over; let’s make this a big over’, that type of conversations.”To me, they just lay idle a little bit in that middle [period]. And also, we’ve got to recognise KL Rahul, I believe, only faced four [six] balls in a period of four overs in the middle of that. So therefore, you know, he lost a bit of his rhythm as well.”

Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini claims that Antony has “matured significantly” since bringing his Manchester United nightmare to a close and securing a permanent transfer to Andalusia. The Brazil international forward became a big-money flop at Old Trafford, but has rediscovered a lost spark in Spanish football and bagged a brilliant brace against Villarreal in his latest outing.

Antony struggles after £85m Man Utd transfer

Antony moved to England from Ajax in the summer of 2022 for £85 million ($114m). That switch allowed him to reunite with Erik ten Hag, and a bright start was made to his spell with the Red Devils. He was, however, to slowly slip down the pecking order – with Ruben Amorim eventually deeming him surplus to requirements.

That allowed a loan switch to be agreed in January 2025, with Antony heading to Betis. A welcome return to form was enjoyed there, with nine goals being recorded through 26 appearances, with the South American forward also gracing the Conference League final.

Antony made it clear that his preference was to rejoin Betis during the summer transfer window, with interest from elsewhere – including Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich – being snubbed. A protracted saga came to a close on deadline day when United agreed to take a huge financial hit on the 25-year-old.

AdvertisementGettyLost spark has been rediscovered in La Liga

He has registered a further three goals this season, taking him to 12 in total for Betis – the same number that he posted for United across 96 appearances for the Premier League heavyweights. Antony bagged a stunning brace against Villarreal as Betis battled back from 2-0 down to claim a share of the points at La Ceramica.

Betis boss Pellegrini told reporters afterwards: “Yes, of course, Antony's two goals were of great quality, very precise. Antony himself had perhaps easier balls in the first half and hadn't been able to convert them. But that's football, it's about mistakes and successes. But overall we were superior and it's not easy because Villarreal plays very well and has very unbalanced players.”

Antony's growth: Betis boss hails Brazilian forward

Pellegrini went on to say of Antony’s personal growth since escaping a difficult situation in Manchester: “I said it a while back, the last time Antony played a game was in May. He only started playing again when he arrived in September, which was a long time since he had played. But he's matured significantly, he's working really hard in games, with and without the ball, with 40-metre runs, changes up front, getting into the box, working on recovering… And that's what has helped him to make up for some of that lack of precision, these two goals will be very good for him.”

Former Manchester City manager Pellegrini previously said of helping Antony to rediscover his love of the game: “I spoke with him before he came to Betis. He told me that he was not playing because he was not happy, but he had a lot of complaints about what he has done also. He wanted revenge, and here in Betis, I think he had it, and he did it in the way we know he can do, because it's not easy for you to play as a 100-million player. And Antony is a very good player. I am absolutely sure that this is a huge time for him here in Betis to help improve his career.”

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GettyFresh start: Antony relieved to have swapped Manchester for Spain

Antony was quick to air his happiness when seeing a move to Betis confirmed, saying of his desire to embrace a fresh start: “What a difference! Seville is more beautiful than Manchester. I’m finally here. I’ve spent more than 40 days in a hotel, it’s been very hard but everyone knew that I wanted to return to Betis. Now with more time, we have many things to do and to achieve. It has been difficult for me to sleep seeing so much affection from the Betis fans, there were people waiting at my house at two in the morning.

“For me affection is very important and not all the money is paid. Here I have a lot of feeling and affection, he was always my first choice and that’s why I waited until the last day to return to Betis. Now I’m here and happy in a city and a club that I love.”

Antony and Betis will be back in action on Thursday when facing Genk in the Conference League, before then travelling to Atletico Madrid on October 27 – with Pellegrini’s side currently sat fifth in La Liga.

Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Real Madrid forward Rodrygo in the summer transfer window, but a swoop was believed to be contingent on one of Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard leaving the Emirates Stadium.

Selling one of the pair would have freed up both funds and space in Mikel Arteta’s squad for the Brazilian, but instead, Arsenal agreed a new contract with Trossard, including a bumper pay rise, but no extension.

Arsenal also didn’t end up selling Martinelli, despite reports that his or Trossard’s departure could have led to a potential Rodrygo deal (Ben Jacobs), but it is worth noting that both players have just under 24 months on their contracts.

While Andrea Berta and co have the option to extend the former’s stay by another year, Martinelli has struggled to replicate his best form on a consistent enough basis lately, whilst failing to match his stellar 2022/2023 season, when he finished the campaign with 15 Premier League goals.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

£5m

Martin Zubimendi

£60m

Christian Norgaard

£15m

Noni Madueke

£52m

Cristhian Mosquera

£13m

Viktor Gyokeres

£55m

Eberechi Eze

£67.5m

Piero Hincapie

Loan

Uncertainty has surrounded the Brazilian’s future for the better part of a year, and Arsenal did seriously consider bringing in Rodrygo alongside the likes of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke before September 1.

Arsenal held talks over signing Rodrygo as far back as May, and reports continued to link Arteta’s side long into the window before it became apparent that a move wasn’t going to happen.

Since then, Rodrygo has been in and out of Xabi Alonso’s starting eleven for Real. He was given the nod for their 3-0 win away to Real Oviedo in late August, but managed just 18 minutes off the bench against Mallorca and was an unused substitute in their opening La Liga game of the season.

A lack of guaranteed game time could force the 24-year-old to consider his options, and according to CaughtOffside, Arsenal are very much still in the frame.

Andrea Berta's "reassessed" Gabriel Martinelli stance at Arsenal amid "key" Rodrygo claim

As per their information, Arsenal wanted around £60 million to sell Martinelli in the summer, but interested suitors were only prepared to bid as high as £40 million.

However, AC Milan are believed to be targeting the winger and could move in January, as the Rossoneri see him as an ideal replacement for Rafael Leao.

Berta has “reassessed” Martinelli’s place in the Arsenal squad and a winter departure cannot be ruled out. The 24-year-old could also still come as a “key” sacrifice to make room for Rodrygo, who they are still interested in.

It is worth noting, though, that Rodrygo currently commands a price tag of around £85 million and would demand a salary of £165,000-per-week, so it may even take more than just Martinelli leaving to raise funds for such a marquee signing — especially after a summer of lavish spending already.

It feels as if every decision being made by Ruben Amorim at Manchester United is coming back to bite him, with the Portuguese coach in grave danger of becoming the latest casualty of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Scrutiny surrounds his persistence with the 3-4-3 system at Old Trafford, although his selection decisions have also been put under the microscope – not least selecting a goalkeeper in Altay Bayindir who now ranks among the bottom 3% of his Premier League peers for save percentage, as per FBref.

Elsewhere, meanwhile, the club’s summer business is also now being picked apart – perhaps with an element of hindsight – with numerous figures beginning to catch fire in their new surroundings.

Indeed, Antony has picked up where he left off at Real Betis last term, after notably registering a goal and an assist against Nottingham Forest last month, while Alejandro Garnacho played his part in Chelsea’s opener in the 1-0 win over Benfica in midweek.

Fellow ‘bomb squad’ member Marcus Rashford, too, was in the headlines following his Champions League display for Barcelona, with ex-teammate Rasmus Hojlund has also proving the doubters wrong with his own swift start in Naples.

Hojlund & Rashford's fine start to the season

One misdemeanour too many proved the end of Rashford’s relationship with Amorim back in December, with the 27-year-old having not been seen in a United shirt since trudging off away at Viktoria Plzen, prior to his exclusion from the Manchester derby.

Shipped off to Aston Villa in January, before sealing a dream move to Barcelona over the summer, the high-profile forward has begun to find his groove away from the bright lights of Old Trafford, amid what has been a particularly encouraging few weeks in Catalonia.

A breathtaking brace against Newcastle United stands out as the obvious high point, although Rashford’s sublime assist for Ferran Torres on Wednesday night ensured he now boasts seven goal involvements in just nine games for his new side.

Elsewhere on the continental stage, Hojlund showcased that he’s doing his best to follow in Scott McTominay’s footsteps at Napoli, having twice combined with Kevin De Bruyne to help steer the Serie A outfit to a 2-1 win over Sporting CP in midweek.

Much like his first goal for the Italian champions against Fiorentina, the Dane’s first of the night was him at his best, tearing away from defenders on the break, before coolly converting.

With three goals from just five games under Antonio Conte, the 22-year-old already has the edge on his Old Trafford replacement, Benjamin Sesko, with that likely to be a long-running comparison this season between the two young strikers.

Rightly or wrongly, neither Hojlund nor Rashford are part of the set-up now under Amorim, with it looking unlikely that either figure will be turning out for United again – not least with Napoli and Barcelona holding an obligation and option to buy the pair, respectively.

Those two are then figures of the past, with United needing to instead look to the future.

How Rashford & Hojlund's market values compare

“The soul has gone from the club”.

Those words from Wayne Rooney perhaps summarise the situation best right now.

What is there to get behind at Manchester United? The winning formula has been deserted. The style of play is tentative and timid. Every news story emerging from the club appears to be one of doom and gloom, be it talk of more redundancies or discussion of financial losses.

The essence of United appears to be being lost, not least amid Amorim’s hesitation to turn toward the academy, with his tenure – unlike those before him – yet to see the rise of a standout youth product.

Under David Moyes, there was Adnan Januzaj. Under Louis van Gaal, there was Rashford. Under Jose Mourinho, there was McTominay. Under Erik ten Hag, there was the FA Cup final-winning duo of Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.

Amorim – despite a brief period in the side for Chido Obi – has yet to truly follow suit, with his treatment of Mainoo also bordering on a sackable offence to some.

Previously the star of Ten Hag’s final season, and a vital part of England’s Euro 2024 surge, the 20-year-old has now drifted to the periphery, yet to even start a league game this term despite the ongoing midfield woes.

Tipped to depart on loan or even permanently over the summer, the Stockport native is bizarrely being overlooked by the Portuguese coach, even despite looking like a “generational talent” previously, in the words of that man Hojlund.

In flashes, his quality has been seen this season, not least when breezing through Manchester City’s midfield in the derby, although with Amorim wedded to his system, he seemingly can’t find room for arguably United’s brightest talent.

Yes, the course of a young player’s career can be turbulent, yet the lack of faith shown in Mainoo by his manager is puzzling. As Gary Neville suggested earlier this year, this is a player that the club should be “building around”.

And rightly so, this is a player following the traditions of the club in rising from the youth ranks before dazzling at the elite level.

Mainoo under Ten Hag & Amorim

Stat

Ten Hag

Amorim

Games

44

33

Starts

38

16

Subbed off

24

9

Goals

5

2

Assists

1

2

Yellow cards

8

3

Minutes played

3141

1639

Stats via Transfermarkt

Such is his talent and potential, he is now even deemed to be worth as much as £52m, as per Football Transfers, placing him ahead of both Hojlund (£41m) and Rashford (£47m).

Had things gone differently this summer, Mainoo might well have joined that pairing in heading for the exit door, although thankfully he remains – ready to fight for his place in that midfield.

If Amorim continues to ignore such a high-value, ‘generational’ midfielder, hopefully the next manager will see things differently.

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Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls Oct 1, 2025

كشفت تقارير صحفية دور الأوروجواني فيديريكو فالفيردي، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد الجديد بعد الإصابة التي تعرض لها داني كارفاخال.

كارفاخال كان قد شعر بوجود مشكلة في مفصله بعد الكلاسيكو، وشعر بانزعاج كبير وأبلغ أطباء النادي وبعد الفحص اتضحت طبيعة إصابته.

ولم يكشف ريال مدريد عن مدة الغياب المتوقعة لـ كارفاخال، ولكن صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية ذكرت أن الأمر قد يستغرق ما بين 6 إلى 10 أسابيع.

وفي سياق متصل، سيكون أرنولد جاهزًا لمباراة ريال مدريد وليفربول في دوري أبطال أوروبا، والمقرر خوضها على ملعب “آنفيلد” في 4 نوفمبر المقبل، وفقًا لما ذكرته صحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية.

اقرأ أيضًا | مدة غياب بيدري عن مباريات برشلونة بعد إصابته بـ”تمزق خطير”

وبحسب ما أفادت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية فإن فالفيردي سيلعب في مركز الظهير الأيمن الفترة المقبلة على الأقل حتى يعود كارفاخال من الإصابة.

حتى مع عودة ترينت أرنولد الذي يعتبر اللاعب الأساسي في هذا المركز، فإن عملية التدوير في التشكيل وتوزيع دقائق اللعب ستكون بينه وبين فالفيردي.

وأفادت أن هناك سببًا آخر جعل ألونسو يتخذ هذا القرار وهو الاستقرار على الأسماء المناسبة في خط الوسط خاصةً بعد مباراة الكلاسيكو أمام برشلونة والأداء القوي الذي ظهر به بيلينجهام، تشواميني، كامافينجا وبيلينجهام.

بهذه الطريقة يفقد الأوروجوياني مكانه في خط الوسط، ويضطر للعب في مركز الظهير الأيمن وهو الأمر الذي سبق وأن رفضه في وقت سابق.