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Celtic have been meticulously assessing options to succeed Martin O’Neill in the dugout and may now have identified a new figure that could become a serious contender to take the Scottish Premiership champions forward.

At 73 years of age, O’Neill deserves plenty of plaudits for taking a step out of his comfortable stable of punditry work for another spell in charge of his old side, even if he may only be around for a brief period of time.

The victories over Falkirk and Rangers brought back some much-needed morale to the Celtic dressing room. However, the Bhoys’ defeat to FC Midtjylland in midweek prompted the former Republic of Ireland boss to make his stance clear on a longer stay in Glasgow.

He told TNT Sports: “I will be here as long as the football board wants me, it’s as simple as that. That could be at the end of the week, it could be after the Kilmarnock game. I just don’t know.”

Later, he added after being asked if he was in constant discussions with the hierarchy, fuelling speculation that he may not be in charge beyond the international break: “No I’m not and I don’t really want to be. I just want to be told when my time is up.”

Kjetil Knutsen continues to be in the Celtic running as his Bodo/Glimt contract comes to an end. Meanwhile, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is a Parkhead candidate due to his sterling work at Portman Road.

With speculation bound to continue over the coming days, a new name has entered the picture as a potential successor to interim coach O’Neill.

Celtic place Brian Barry-Murphy on manager shortlist

According to Alan Nixon on his Patreon, Celtic have shortlisted Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy as a managerial candidate to take over permanently at Parkhead.

Middlesbrough are also on the hunt for a new head coach as Rob Edwards completes a controversial move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, though the Scottish champions appear ready to throw a spanner in the works amid their links to the City Football Group.

Brian Barry-Murphy at Cardiff City – 2025/26

Wins

13

Draws

2

Losses

6

62% win ratio from 21 matches this season.

Previously, he was head coach at Rochdale before a spell in charge of Manchester City’s elite development squad, and he has also further coaching experience in a technical role at Leicester City.

Celtic could land an alternative manager with a secret release clause

Cardiff City find themselves fourth on 26 points and could go top of the table should they win their game in hand. Predominantly adopting a 4-2-3-1, the Bluebirds have been an attacking force this campaign, scoring the joint-third most goals in League One.

Nevertheless, managing Celtic is a whole different kettle of fish due to the pressures associated with the role. It remains to be seen who will be trusted to lead their bid to retain the Scottish Premiership title.

The IPL will have a new champion after Punjab Kings beat Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday night to set up a summit clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Neither team has won the IPL before.The IPL final is on Tuesday, June 3, also in Ahmedabad.RCB will be playing an IPL final for the fourth time, having finished runners-up in 2009, 2011 and 2016 to Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively.PBKS have been in an IPL final only once before, in 2014, when they were known as Kings XI Punjab and lost to Kolkata Knight Riders. The 2014 season was also the only time that PBKS had made the playoffs since the concept was introduced in 2011. Their captain Shreyas Iyer is the first IPL player to lead three different teams to the finals: he was captain of Delhi Capitals in the 2020 final and led KKR to the title in 2024.PBKS and RCB had finished Nos. 1 and 2 in the league stage, with nine wins, four defeats and one no-result each in 14 games. There was very little difference between their net run rates too. While PBKS had beaten RCB in Bengaluru, RCB won the reverse fixture in Mullanpur.They met in Qualifier 1 on May 29 in Mullanpur, where RCB dismissed PBKS for 101 and won with ten overs to spare to book their place in the final first. PBKS had to travel to Ahmedabad to play MI in Qualifier 2, and they beat them for the second time in the span of a week to qualify for the final.

Tottenham Hotspur are now racing Arsenal for the signature of a £130m+ attacker, who’s been described as a “true icon in the making”.

Tottenham eyeing new attacking midfielder amid Simons' slow start

It is still very early days, but Xavi Simons hasn’t exactly set the world alight since his arrival from RB Leipzig, most recently failing to create any big chances and completing just one of the four dribbles he attempted in the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In fairness, the Dutchman is arguably being deployed out of position, having predominantly been given the nod at left-wing by Thomas Frank up to this point, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes the 22-year-old will be a success in north London long-term.

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The former striker said: “Simons has only just started, but I like Simons. I really like him. I think he’s going to be a big, big, big success at Spurs. He can play on the left or as a No. 10, but he’s also not scared, and that’s why I like him.”

Lucas Bergvall started in the number 10 role against Wolves, but given that the Sweden international is only 19-years-old, it would make sense to bring in another attacking midfielder.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Tottenham have now joined the race for Real Madrid star Arda Guler, having sent scouts to watch the youngster in action, but there could be competition for his signature, with a number of other big clubs also keen.

Arsenal, Newcastle United, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund are also named as potential suitors for the attacking midfielder, but any of the interested parties may have to shell out a huge fee to get a deal done, with it previously being revealed he is valued at over £130m.

The report makes it clear that Madrid are reluctant to sanction a departure, given that Guler has emerged as a crucial player since the arrival of Xabi Alonso.

Guler living up to his potential at Real Madrid

After impressing at international level in the summer, scoring against the USA and Hungary, scout Jacek Kulig suggested the Turk could go on to be a future star.

Since then, the 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength, picking up three goals and three assists in his opening seven La Liga games, with the starlet establishing himself as a key player for Real Madrid.

Having also been lauded as a “special talent” by scout Ben Mattinson, Guler could be a fantastic signing for Tottenham, but it seems very unlikely that a deal will be possible, given his astronomical price tag.

Croft oversees victory in first match as interim coach to soothe county cricket’s crisis club

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay29-May-2025

Steven Croft got cricket’s equivalent of the new manager bounce in his first game as Lancashire’s interim head coach as the Lightning beat Worcestershire Rapids by seven runs in their Vitality Blast opener at Emirates Old Trafford.Red Rose legend Croft, a Blast-winning captain in 2015, was elevated from his position on the coaching staff when Dale Benkenstein left the club on Wednesday following a winless first seven Championship matches.Lightning captain Keaton Jennings top-scored with 66 off 38 balls in 176 for eight, while left-arm spinner Fateh Singh impressed with two for 23 from four overs on his career T20 debut for the Rapids.England left-arm seamer Luke Wood, released from the ODI squad to play, then returned two for 39 from his four overs as Worcestershire, needing 15 from the last over, finished on 169 for seven.Jennings and opening partner Luke Wells raced out of the blocks against a Worcestershire attack who failed to settle, sharing 79 inside the first eight overs.Wells pulled New Zealand quick Jacob Duffy for one particularly big six over midwicket in 35 off 22 balls.Jennings cut, pulled and slog-swept his three sixes, two of which came in a 30-ball fifty on a true pitch with sizeable boundaries.Ethan Brookes took a superb catch at deep midwicket to help left-arm spinner Tom Hinley, on T20 debut, remove Jennings as the Lightning fell to 112 for three after 12 overs.Brookes threw the ball up before going over the rope and catching it on the dive once he’d returned to the field.Brookes – one for 26 from four overs – also impressed with his canny medium pacers. But Singh’s spin was to the fore late on.He had Chris Green caught and bowled for a golden duck and Jack Blatherwick caught at long-off in his last over as Lancashire reached 158 for six after 18 overs. Australian overseas Ashton Turner contributed 31 on his Red Rose debut.Ed Pollock then skewed Wood high to cover in the opening over of Worcestershire’s reply before Kashif Ali blasted three sixes in 39 off 21 balls. Two were off Mitch Stanley’s pace, one gloriously arrow straight.Kashif fell when he miscued at pull at the leg-spin of Wells to long-leg.And that was the first of three wickets to fall for 22 inside four overs as the Rapids fell from 71 for one in the seventh over to 93 for four in the 11th. Blatherwick’s pacy short ball had captain Brett O’Oliveira caught behind for 30 before, next ball, Adam Hose miscued a pull at Tom Aspinwall to short fine-leg.From there, the Lightning squeezed.Worcestershire failed to score a boundary between the first ball of the ninth over and the first of the 16th, where they reached at 125 for five, needing 52.Gareth Roderick was smartly run out by a throw to the striker’s end from Josh Bohannon at long-on.Brookes hit the lion’s share of 17 off Blatherwick in the 16th over as the Rapids got going again.But he fell to Wood for 28 in the penultimate before seamer Tom Aspinwall (one for 25 from three overs) brilliantly defended that 15 off the last to boost Lancashire.

أصدر نادي برشلونة بيانًا رسميًا حول قرار رابطة أندية الدوري الإسباني بإلغاء قرار إقامة مباراة فياريال بمدينة ميامي في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

كانت رابطة الدوري الإسباني والاتحاد الأوروبي للكرة القدم “يويفا” قد وافقا، في وقت سابق على إقامة مباراة برشلونة وفياريال ضمن منافسات الجولة الـ 17 من الدوري الإسباني يوم 20 ديسمبر في ميامي.

وبسبب ذلك، نشبت حالة من الغضب الشديدة لدى قادة الفرق في الليجا، وفقًا لما أعلنت رابطة لاعبي كرة القدم الإسبانية، كما تقدم ريال مدريد بشكوى إلى المجلس الإسباني لكرة القدم اليوم اعتراضًا على ذلك.

اقرأ أيضًا | قرار مفاجئ من الدوري الإسباني بشأن إقامة مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في ميامي

وبسبب ذلك، أعلنت رابطة الدوري الإسباني منذ قليل إلغاء إقامة مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في ميامي، بعد التشاور مع الشركة المنظمة للحدث، بسبب ردود الفعل التي وقعت في إسبانيا الفترة الأخيرة تجاه المقترح.

وفي هذا السياق، علق نادي برشلونة على قرار الرابطة بإلغاء مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في مدينة ميامي بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

وجاء نص البيان على النحو التالي:-

يحترم نادي برشلونة ويلتزم بقرار إلغاء مباراتنا ضد فياريال في ميامي في الجولة 17 من الدوري الإسباني، تمامًا كما سبق وأن احترم والتزم بقرار اللعب هناك.

يأسف نادي برشلونة لكرة القدم على الفرصة الضائعة لتوسيع صورة المسابقة إلى سوق استراتيجي يتمتع بالقدرة على الازدهار وتوليد الموارد لصالح الجميع، ويعرب النادي عن تقديره للدعم والمودة غير المشروطة التي تلقاها من جماهيره في الولايات المتحدة، وعن أسفه العميق لعدم تمكنهم من حضور المباراة الرسمية في البلاد.

Comunicado oficial del FC Barcelona — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 21, 2025

حرص ياس سوروب، المدير الفني الجديد للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، عقب المؤتمر الصحفي الذي عقد اليوم بمقر النادي بالجزيرة لتقديمه لوسائل الإعلام، على إرسال رسالة خاصة إلى الجماهير.

وعقد النادي الأهلي عصر اليوم، مؤتمرًا صحفيًا للإعلان عن التعاقد مع ياس سوروب، مديرًا فنيًا للفريق خلفًا للإسباني خوسيه ريبيرو المدير الفني السابق للفريق، الذي تمت إقالته لتراجع النتائج. 

طالع.. ياس سوروب: فخور بتدريب الأهلي.. وجاهز لتحقيق الإنجازات

وكان الأهلي قد أتم الاتفاق مع الدنماركي ياس سوروب لتولي تدريب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم لمدة موسمين ونصف. 

وقال سوروب في رسالة إلى الجمهور نشرتها الصفحة الرسمية للأهلي: “رسالتي لجميع مشجعي الأهلي حول العالم؛ أنا هنا الآن.. وأتشوق لرؤيتكم جميعًا.. ومعًا سوف نحقق الكثير من النتائج الرائعة”.

جدير بالذكر، أن الأهلي يستعد لمواجهة إيجل نوار البوروندي، يوم السبت المقبل 18 أكتوبر، في إطار ذهاب دور الـ32 من منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

Ruben Amorim will be looking anxiously over his shoulder after Eintracht Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoller revealed his love for Manchester United and made clear his desire to manage the club one day. Toppmoller is building an impressive reputation in the Bundesliga and has earned praise for developing emerging talents such as Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush.

All eyes on under-fire Amorim

Amorim has endured a torrid time at Manchester United, they finished 15th last season, their worst finish in the Premier League era, and they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham in Bilbao. This season has brought more misery, the Red Devils were dumped out of the League Cup by League Two Grimsby and below-par performances have turned the heat up on the Portuguese boss.

AdvertisementAFPThe young German with a big reputation

In his first season, Toppmoller led Eintracht to a sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga, securing their return to the Europa League. Last season he guided the team to third place in the Bundesliga, securing Champions League for the first time via the league. And they started Europe's elite competition by demolishing Galatasaray 5-1.

Dino's Topp target

Toppmoller told the Phrasenmaeher podcast: "Basically it's a dream to be at Frankfurt. It's simply a fantastic club. Here, as a teenager, I witnessed for the first time that my father was a Bundesliga coach. That naturally creates an emotional bond with the club. Thinking about abroad, I often played computer games as a child, always with one team – Manchester United. That would definitely nice some day because's it's an extraordinary club. When I was a teenager, Manchester United were along with Real Madrid the biggest club of all."

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Getty Images SportWill Toppmoller leave Frankfurt?

It's unlikely that Toppmoller will leave Eintracht in the immediate future, as he signed a contract extension until 2028 in May. But continued poor form for United could force Amorim out the door and very few have said 'no' to taking the top job at Old Trafford. 

Leeds United have now officially confirmed Anton Stach’s arrival on the scene, with £17.4m forked out on the midfield talent.

Stach joining from Hoffenheim very much continues the trend of the Whites diving into the Bundesliga for summer buys, with Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen a reported target from Daniel Farke’s homeland too.

The newly promoted side has been looking closer to home when attempting to enhance their attacking personnel, however, with Fulham attacker Rodrigo Muniz’s signature still being pursued.

However, he isn’t the only striker catching the Whites’ eye.

Leeds make surprise approach for striker

One of the hurdles continuing to trip Leeds up in their advances for Muniz will surely be his extortionate £50m price tag.

This is a risky amount of money to splurge, considering this signing whirring into motion would then make Muniz Leeds’ most expensive purchase in history, eclipsing Georginio Rutter’s £35.5m valuation.

He does have a healthy 17 Premier League strikes next to his name for the Cottagers, but a far cheaper move might soon be on the cards for the Whites to land a more potent finisher.

Indeed, reports from Italy indicate that Leeds have made an approach to sign wantaway Inter Milan Mehdi Taremi over a surprise move this summer, with the move surely costing the Premier League newcomers less than Muniz’s speculated £50m, owing to the Iranian striker being 33 years of age.

Taremi’s veteran status shouldn’t put Leeds off making the move a reality, though, with the former FC Porto man a feared goal machine when performing at the top of his game, which could make him an even better signing than Muniz entering the ranks.

How Taremi could be a better signing than Muniz

Muniz does have the slight edge of possessing Premier League experience on his side, but his overall numbers across his entire career are blown out of the water by Taremi’s usual Midas touch in front of goal.

The Fulham number nine is only able to boast an unconvincing 40 goals across his career to date – with a large chunk of those coming at Craven Cottage – meaning he could well find the pressures of being Leeds’ leading man during a relegation fight to be too much.

On the contrary, the well-travelled Taremi would likely thrive with the same burden above his head, with Premier League outfit Chelsea already well aware of the magic the 33-year-old can produce when he fired home this acrobatic effort against them in the Champions League.

Wherever he’s been – minus an up-and-down spell in Serie A with Inter – the 6-foot-2 menace has largely been an overwhelming success.

Indeed, he boasts a “ridiculous” goal record, across his extensive playing days in the words of Rio Ferdinand.

Games played

445

Goals scored

202

Assists

101

Top goalscorer

5x

Player of the Year

2x

Indeed, the Iranian regular has a colossal haul of 202 goals and 101 assists from 445 career outings, with a bumper 95 of those strikes coming in Portugal when he led the line for Porto with some confidence.

He has experienced a bump in the road at Inter, but he hasn’t fallen off the wagon completely, with three goals and nine assists coming his way at the San Siro.

Muniz does have age on his side, too, with the potential for the Brazilian to grow into a more threatening, sharp-shooting presence under Farke’s wing.

But, if the Whites are hesitant to shell out that £50m, Taremi is surely their next best bet, as West Yorkshire is then exposed to the 33-year-old’s lethal nature.

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But he could be considered for the ODIs in the West Indies and later the Champions Trophy

Mohammad Isam31-Oct-2024

The BCB president Faruque Ahmed has said that Shakib Al Hasan is unlikely to play in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Sharjah. Faruque stated it was Shakib’s decision to opt out of the Afghanistan ODIs, while also hinting of an emotional element about his failure to play what was supposed to be his farewell Test in Dhaka against South Africa from October 21.Shakib has not played any cricket in nearly a month since the second Test in India and it is expected he will feature in the Abu Dhabi T10 League for Bangla Tigers to get some game time before the Caribbean tour.After the three ODIs against Afghanistan, Bangladesh will leave for the West Indies for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. Shakib has retired from Tests and T20Is so he will be available for the ODIs in the Caribbean and later the Champions Trophy in February 2025. Shakib hasn’t played ODIs since the World Cup in India last year.Related

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“After Shakib couldn’t come to play his (farewell) Test, he wasn’t doing much practice,” Faruque said at a press conference on Thursday. “I think he needs some time to regroup. We haven’t taken a final decision but he looks unlikely to play the next series (against Afghanistan). He is likely to miss the series. He could be playing a T10 tournament soon. I feel he can still play for Bangladesh in the 50-over format. There are three ODIs against West Indies before the Champions Trophy.”Faruque, however, said that the board will consider Shakib for the rest of the ODIs this season, if the selectors feel that his training and franchise tournament is sufficient preparation. “Shakib has played for 17 years and he is part of the generation that plays a lot of franchise cricket. They know the drill. They play, sleep maybe a few hours and turn up for training. So he is geared for such situations.”It is the definitely the best possible thing to train with the team but we will consider him if the selection committee thinks that he can still deliver by training or playing tournaments abroad.”The national selectors haven’t yet announced the Bangladesh squad for the ODIs against Afghanistan starting November 6, as the board president is also going to hold a meeting with Najmul Hossain Shanto who recently expressed his reluctance to lead the side.Meawhile, Faruque said that the decision for Shakib to skip the Dhaka Test last week came from the government, with the BCB not part of the decision-making process.”The BCB wasn’t a part of the decision of Shakib not coming to Bangladesh,” he said. “Our sports adviser informed the media at the time that there’s a problem if he comes. I didn’t have to make a statement. I heard that there was security till 3 or 4pm, and then there were clashes between the two sides.”

Manchester United have finally announced the signing of Bryan Mbeumo, with a £71m deal agreed, finally, on Friday.

Weeks of negotiating had cast a grey cloud over the exciting transfer, with doubts beginning to creep in as to whether the Cameroonian would actually be plying his trade as a Red Devil next season.

Mbeumo, 25, is one of the Premier League’s most talented and prolific forwards, posting 20 goals across 38 matches last season. The likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur all registered their interest, but it was Old Trafford that Mbeumo’s heart was set on.

With Matheus Cunha on the opposite flank, the right-sided forward may well wreak havoc under Ruben Amorim’s wing next year, in a new-look United frontline tasked with leading the revival.

However, a new striker is still required.

Man United's need for a new a striker

Rasmus Hojlund appears committed to the United cause. Amorim needs, truly needs, to ensure that an upgrade is signed this summer, even if the 22-year-old remains in the first-team squad.

This wouldn’t actually be the worst thing in the world, for it would package some depth while easing Hojlund’s weight of responsibility, perhaps allowing him to work on his weaker points.

But United need a new centre-forward all the same.

According to Football Transfers, that man might be Nicolas Jackson, who is open to swapping Chelsea for United.

That follows positive talks between Jason Wilcox and the player’s representatives, with discussions still ongoing over personal terms for Jackson.

Chelsea have lowered their exorbitant £100m asking price to £70m; however it’s likely that United will still seek to whittle that figure down.

What Nicolas Jackson would bring to Man United

The duality of Jackson. At times, a rip-roaring, barnstorming menace of a striker; at other points, wasteful and lacking authority at number nine.

However, 24 goals and ten assists across two Premier League seasons is nothing to be sniffed at, especially when considering that only 59 of his 65 fixtures have come from the outset.

Jackson tapered off across the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, but he posted nine goals and three assists across his opening 15 league games, thus proving that with some more consistency, he could become one of the leading goalscorers competing in England.

24/25 – Chelsea

30 (28)

10

5

23/24 – Chelsea

35 (31)

14

5

22/23 – Villarreal

26 (16)

12

4

21/22 – Villarreal

9 (0)

1

0

And partnered with someone like Mbeumo in United’s frontline, he could finally reach the level that his natural talent suggests is attainable.

Mbeumo is chiefly a deadly goalscorer, but he’s also a robust athletic profile and a creative presence besides.

As per Sofascore, he created a whopping 17 big chances in the Premier League last season, averaging 1.8 key passes per game.

In this way, he could be perfect for Jackson, feeding the Senegalese star balls while maintaining his own top-class goalscoring threat.

And Jackson, who has been hailed in the past as a “special” striker by journalist Rahman Osman, is hardly one-note himself, ranked among the top 17% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues last year for progressive carries and the top 22% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref.

Ultimately, this would be a calculated risk from INEOS for a talented striker who has yet to bring it all together and sustain it in the English game.

But with Mbeumo partnering him up top (and Cunha too), Jackson might just prove to be an astute signing for a resurgent Man United side.

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