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The Boston Red Sox have acquired reliever Jorge Alcala from the Minnesota Twins, according to a report from Robert Murray of

The 29-year-old Alcala is in his seventh season with the Twins. He holds a career 9-13 record over 187 and two-thirds innings pitched with a 4.32 ERA. It's been a rough 2025 for Alcala, as he's amassed an 8.88 ERA over 24 and one-third innings, but he is coming off a 2024 where he posted a 3.24 ERA over 58 and one-third innings pitched for the Twins.

Alcala will add another depth arm to Boston's bullpen, which has been taxed incessantly of late due to the team's struggles in the starting rotation. Boston got some much needed help from the starters in the three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, however, as the team's starters pitched at least six innings in each of the three games of the set this week.

The Red Sox are 34-36 on the season and host the New York Yankees at Fenway Park this weekend.

Minto stars for England with five-for, but Ratan takes 4 for 9 to seal comfortable victory

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Sep-2025Bangladesh U19 292 (Hossan 100, Minto 5-68) beat England U19 205 (Mohammed 75, Ratul 4-9) by 87 runsRizan Hossan’s authoritative century off 101 balls outdid a five-wicket haul from Durham’s James Minto and a sparkling 75 from Isaac Mohammed as Bangladesh Men U19s beat England Men U19s by 87 runs in the first Youth One-Day International at Loughborough.Despite a confident start, a target of 293 proved too much for the hosts, as England dramatically collapsed from 132 for two to 205 all out. Bangladesh’s spinners combined to take eight wickets. Samiun Basir Ratul stood out with outstanding figures of 4.2-0-9-4.Bangladesh openers Zawad Abrar and Rifat Beg made a brisk start, reaching 31 for none after five overs. Abrar’s brace of sixes over fine leg during an expensive opening spell by Minto typified their approach. Progress was halted when Leicestershire’s Alex Green claimed Beg’s wicket with his first ball, which grazed the leg stump and ended the 44-run opening stand.Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim Tamim, who was dropped on four, was next to depart, caught by Kent’s Ben Dawkins off Yorkshire new-ball bowler, Matthew Firbank, for 11. England struck again when Abrar gloved Minto down the legside, at 69 for three in the 13th over the Young Lions appeared to gain a foothold in the game.However, a fourth-wicket partnership worth 148 between Kalam Aleen and Hossan allowed the visitors to regain the initiative.Initially Hossan was the main aggressor, he got to his fifty off 58 balls with a stylish boundary over midwicket. Aleen’s half-century, characterised by strong sweep shots, soon followed off 68 balls, as both batters manipulated the field effectively.The partnership was broken by Minto in the 39th over, who took two wickets in consecutive balls, leaving the score on 217 for five. Firstly, Aleen played across the line and was trapped LBW and then Mohammad Abdullah was the victim of another legside strangle, with captain Thomas Rew completing a regulation catch.England’s impressive death bowling meant that only 66 runs were added in the final 9.2 overs of the innings. The late flurry of wickets included Hossan, dismissed by Nottinghamshire’s Hatton-Lowe, one ball after getting to a deserved century. In the final over, Minto mopped up the innings, bagging two tailend wickets in two balls, the left-armer finishing with five for 68.England’s chase of 293 began badly, as Fahad castled Dawkins, in the first over of the reply. Joe Moores followed in the sixth over for 14, a looping top edge offering Tamim a catch off his own bowling.That brought Will Bennison to the middle, the Yorkshire batter in partnership with Mohammed proceeded to dominate the powerplay, accelerating the score to 129 for two after 15 overs. Isaac’s fifty, off only 34 balls, contained a ramped six along with several conventional boundaries.Bangladesh’s breakthrough came via Shadin Islam’s off-spin, bowling Bennison through the gate for 36 off 32 balls. Soon after, Mohammed’s fine innings of 75 ended with a catch to cover, leaving two new batters at the crease and 151 runs needed off 32.2 overs.Skipper Rew and debutant Jack Nelson maintained the pressure until a critical passage saw Middlesex’s Nelson undone by Ratul. The slow left armer also accounted for Rew as England faltered at 189 for six after 26.2 overs.The situation considerably worsened when Ralphie Albert was needlessly run out. The very next ball, Hatton-Lowe was then caught behind off Shahdin.Ratul closed out the game a few overs later with Firbank’s wicket, a sharp catch of his bowling.Mohammed said: “I really enjoyed it to be fair, I just felt good, I’ve doing a lot of training recently and I feel like a lot of that paid off today. At the end of the day the result didn’t go our way but when Sunday comes hopefully we can put it right.”When I’m batting, I like to stay positive, whatever the scenario is, I’m backing my ability.”Speaking about the Bangladesh spinners claiming eight wickets, he added: “At the start it was quite a fresh ball so it wasn’t doing as much. When the spinners did come back on, I’d just got out before that.”But looking at some of the videos, it looked like it was starting to grip, so if we are playing on the same wicket on Sunday, that could be something to look into.”Mohammed, whose Worcestershire are in the men’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final against Hampshire later this month, to cap a breakthrough season for the batter said: “I’m loving it, and hopefully in the (Metro Bank) final against Hampshire, we can bring home the trophy.”

This weekend, after Manchester United have completed their trip to Tottenham Hotspur, Ruben Amorim will know exactly where his side stand after the mini-revival of recent weeks.

But for the Red Devils to have gone four matches without a defeat in the Premier League is a significant step forward, and, at the least, an illustration of improvements being made at the Theatre of Dreams.

Too often, Man United have seen false dawns, upswings in form that fizzle out at the first sight of adversity. But Amorim’s system has been long in the making, and the readings from recent weeks speak of a team knitting together, developing physically and mentally. There is, however, much still to improve on.

We are not looking at a mayfly of a resurgence but a potential for sustainability, competing for Europe and competing for silverware. INEOS’ transfer dealings this year look to be paying off, but so too are the pre-existing players rising up and making progress.

And who better to epitomise that than Bruno Fernandes?

Bruno Fernandes is still Utd's main man

This summer, Fernandes rejected a lucrative offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. The temptation was there, especially after such an abject 2024/25 campaign, but the 31-year-old decided he had unfinished business in Manchester.

Despite tactical imbalances in his deeper midfield role, Fernandes remains the glue holding Amorim’s system together. As per Sofascore, he has made 6.1 recoveries, 1.8 tackles and won 5.8 duels on average in the Premier League this term, fighting tooth and nail to charge his team.

But the Red Devils captain is at his rip-roaring best when creating and orchestrating the attack. Already he has peeled away from the rest of the division’s finest playmakers in chance creation metrics this term.

Premier League 25/26 – Most Chances Created

Player

Apps

Chances Created

Bruno Fernandes

10

28

Jack Grealish

9

21

Cody Gakpo

10

21

Jeremy Doku

10

20

Phil Foden

8

20

Data via FotMob

Fernandes has been joined by Casemiro in upholding the midfield, and one of the principal reasons that they are starting to play with more fluency and a deeper understanding is that the forwards are working harder, dropping deep

Matheus Cunha has been a revelation in this regard, but he hasn’t been the cream of the attacking crop.

The Man Utd star outperforming Bruno

Fernandes might be the linchpin in the middle for this Manchester United side, but Bryan Mbeumo has enjoyed a sensational start to life at Old Trafford, dovetailing into the system and elevating it.

With three goals and an assist across his past four matches in the Premier League, the Cameroon international is kindling the prolific ability that saw him exceed expectations with Brentford last term, leading to the initial £65m capture of the wide forward, who said upon arrival that United is “the club of my dreams”.

Commitment and desire. Too often have United’s signings in this post-Fergie world seemingly arrived for bumper fees and fallen by the wayside after not putting in the hard graft.

But players like Mbeumo and Cunha are hungry for success at the highest level, and the former in particular has been a revelation in the final third, not just providing a clinical output but dazzling with his all-round play.

Mbeumo hasn’t quite hit the same level that he was enjoying at the Gtech last season, but given his performances in Manchester have led analyst Umir Irfan to declare he’s “one of the best in the world”, given “how complete he is”, things are only going to improve as Amorim’s set-up strengthens.

Given that he is setting the pace in front of goal for United, it feels like Mbeumo is shaping up for a talismanic role, one that could even see him eclipse Bruno down the line.

Bryan Mbeumo in the Premier League

Stats (* per game)

24/25

25/26

Matches (starts)

38 (38)

10 (10)

Goals

20

4

Assists

7

1

Shots (on target)*

2.2 (1.1)

2.4 (1.3)

Big chances missed

9

3

Pass completion

74%

80%

Big chances created

17

3

Key passes*

1.8

1.9

Dribbles*

1.4

0.9

Ball recoveries*

4.1

3.0

Tackles + interceptions*

1.7

0.4

Duels won*

4.7

2.7

Data via Sofascore

Mbeumo’s strength and athleticism have made him a tough adversary for even the finest defenders in the Premier League, and, along with Cunha, his signing tells of a new strategy at Old Trafford that focuses on adding Prem-proven players to the ranks.

A “sorcerer” with the ball, as has been said by content creator Adam Joseph, Mbeumo has added strings to the Man United attacking bow, and he’s only just getting started.

Regarded as a rare type of wide forward whose prowess lies across a range of different attacking qualities, Mbeumo has demonstrated this in recent months, showing already that United have received bang for their buck.

As per data-driven platform FBref, the 26-year-old ranks among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this season for goals scored, but also among the top 11% for through balls and the top 2% for crosses into the penalty area per 90.

Whether his service his provided as the chief goal-getter or through bouncing against centre-forward Benjamin Sesko, Mbeumo has what it takes to lead from the front at Old Trafford, and that’s something (Fernandes notwithstanding) that has been decidedly lacking in recent years for the outfit.

After a recent upswing in form and performances, Amorim will have sensed that he might be able to make something of his tenure at Man United.

With forwards like Mbeumo integrating seamlessly and proving they have an unquenchable desire for success, he might just find his time at the club is only getting started.

Related A new Rashford: Man Utd flop is becoming a "worry long-term" for Amorim

Man United are improving but still have plenty of problems.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Nov 4, 2025

James Coles, Tom Alsop hit half-centuries as Gloucestershire’s title defence ends in Cheltenham

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Jul-2025Sussex 189 for 6 (Coles 62, Alsop 55, Shaw 2-25) beat Gloucestershire 185 for 5 (Short 66, Bancroft 45, Charlesworth 44*, Crocombe 3-32) by four wicketsDanny Lamb held his nerve to hit 16 runs off five balls and carry Sussex Sharks to a dramatic last-ball four-wicket win over Gloucestershire in a thrilling Vitality Blast encounter on the opening day of the Towergate Cheltenham Festival.Chasing a victory target of 186, Sharks required 15 runs off the final over, bowled by David Payne. Lamb clubbed three boundaries, including one off the final ball, to stun a large festival audience into silence and end Gloucestershire’s defence of the title they lifted last year.James Coles hit 62 from 40 balls and Tom Alsop 55 from 33, these two staging a superb fourth-wicket alliance of 106 in 9.2 overs to set-up a remarkable win and keep alive Sharks’ chances of making the quarter-finals.D’Arcy Short top-scored with a 45-ball 66, struck seven fours and three sixes and dominated a stand of 81 in 8.5 overs with fellow Australian Cameron Bancroft, who contributed 45, while Ben Charlesworth blazed 44 not out at the death as Gloucestershire posted 185 for 5. Henry Crocombe claimed 3 for 32 and Nathan McAndrew 1 for 21 from four tight overs to keep Sharks in the hunt.Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor’s decision to bat first was vindicated by Miles Hammond and Short, who staged an enterprising opening stand of 26 in three overs. Cheltenham-born Hammond twice clipped Ollie Robinson off his legs for four and then put Tymal Mills over the rope at deep midwicket to energize a sell-out crowd of 5000.There were mixed fortunes for Robinson, who had Hammond held at backward point for 18, only to then blot his copybook by dropping Short at mid-off on 8 off the bowling of McAndrew. Short rubbed salt in the wound, twice driving the former England bowler down the ground and then cutting him for another four as the powerplay yielded 51 runs. Bancroft proved adept at rotating the strike as the second wicket pair posted 50 in 33 balls. Feeding off the pace of Mills, Short pulled him backward of square for an imposing six before going to his fourth half century in five innings via 37 deliveries.Handily-placed on 86 for 1 at halfway, Gloucestershire kicked on, Short twice lifting Coles over midwicket for six as the score entered three figures in the 11th. Introduced at the College Lawn End, Crocombe broke the partnership, persuading Short to hole out on the square-leg boundary with the score 107 for 2.Relief proved only temporary for the Sussex seamers, Charlesworth putting a short ball from Crocombe over square and out of the ground before lifting Lamb into the crowd at long-on to propel Gloucestershire to 134 for 2 after 15 overs. Crocombe stuck to his task and produced a quicker delivery to bowl Bancroft for 45 and terminate an innings that had occupied 33 balls and included five fours. That was the cue for Charlesworth to launch a late offensive, the left-hander producing a fusillade of boundaries to finish unbeaten on 44 from 24 balls with three fours and three sixes as Gloucestershire attained a competitive total.Sharks required a decent start and openers George Thomas and Daniel Hughes obliged, adding 29 in 4.2 overs. But Gloucestershire hit back, Josh Shaw comprehensively bowling Thomas for a 17-ball 22 and Ajeet Singh Dale having Tom Clark brilliantly held by Hammond at long-off as the visitors reached the end of the powerplay on 44 for 2.When Marchant de Lange produced a startling yorker and clean bowled key man Hughes for 17 in the ninth, Sussex were 57 for 3 and under pressure. Much depended on Coles and Alsop, who advanced the score to 67 for 3 after 10 overs, at which point the visitors required a further 93 at 12 an over.Alsop served notice of his intentions by straight hitting Singh Dale for six and then guiding a wide delivery to the third man boundary as the 11th over yielded 17 runs, while Coles opened his shoulders to equally good effect as the boundary count began to climb and the fourth-wicket partnership realised 50 from 26 balls.Coles received a let-off on 35, Short putting down a sharp chance at long-off, much to the chagrin of the returning Payne. The right-hander took advantage to go to 50 from 34 balls, while Alsop hit Singh Dale over the long-on boundary as the 16th over haemorrhaged 16 runs to keep Sharks in the hunt.Coles then hoisted de Lange over cow corner for six and then plundered an off-driven four to bring up the 150, leaving Sharks to score 34 off the final three overs. Gloucestershire needed a breakthrough and Charlesworth provided it, having Coles held by Ollie Price at long-off, leaving the visitors to score 23 off 12 balls.Alsop raised 50 from 31 balls and was then brilliantly caught by Short at deep square as Shaw struck a crucial blow in the penultimate over. Needing to score 15 off the final over, bowled by the experienced Payne, Sussex suffered another setback when John Simpson was run out by Hammond. But Lamb clipped Payne for four to fine leg and then hit him through the covers for another boundary to leave Sharks needing one off the last ball. Lamb drove it for four to break Gloucestershire hearts.

After Liverpool lost for the second time in the space of a few days courtesy of Galatasaray, Jamie Carragher has called for one of Arne Slot’s biggest stars to be dropped.

Slot "disappointed" again by Liverpool

After needing late goals in several of their opening games to salvage victory, something seemed off about the Premier League champions. They looked vulnerable and defeat seemed inevitable. The late goal simply wasn’t always going to arrive. And, as expected, Crystal Palace have since exposed that uncomfortable fact for Slot’s side.

The Eagles stole the late show from the Reds to hand them their first defeat at the weekend and Galatasaray have now followed suit to deal Slot back-to-back defeats for just the second time in his Liverpool career. For many, the decision to award Galatasaray a first-half penalty was contentious, but that shouldn’t have been that for Liverpool, who never truly reacted to going behind.

Having his say on his side’s defeat, Slot told reporters: “Again, disappointed. For me, this was a different performance on and off the ball [than Crystal Palace]. First half, we played quite well and had a big chance to go 1-0 up.

“It is difficult to compare this situation to before. We are sometimes a bit outsmarted in situations like this, and I cannot blame Dominik Szoboszlai for the situation. They make a 20% penalty a 100% penalty, which is very smart from them.”

Liverpool star who's "on par with Salah & VVD" had his worst game under Slot

Liverpool endured a night to forget as they were beaten by Galatasaray in the Champions League.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 1, 2025

It doesn’t get any easier for the Reds, either. They travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and club legend Carragher has already called on one player to be dropped against the Blues.

Carragher calls for Liverpool to drop Wirtz

In a brutal assessment, Carragher called for Liverpool to drop Florian Wirtz “right now” following another disappointing display from the £200,000-a-week German. The former Bayer Leverkusen star is without a goal or assist since the Community Shield and is struggling to get up to speed at Anfield.

Whether it’s been out wide or in midfield, it’s hard to argue with Carragher’s verdict. Something is wrong with this Liverpool side and it’s only natural that the blame goes the way of the £116m midfielder who hasn’t contributed since Wembley.

Slot certainly has a big decision to make. A few, in fact. As the Chelsea game approaches, Liverpool must lay down a marker as Premier League champions.

An 18-year wait for a first trophy ended on Tuesday night thanks to key contributions from Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Jun-20251:27

Moody: Krunal Pandya screams character to me

Eighteen years spent in the belief that (this year the cup is ours), 17 of them ending in wretched disappointment for one of the IPL’s biggest and most passionate fan bases, three of them ending with defeat at the final hurdle.Eighteen seasons in, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are finally IPL champions. Their victory in their fourth final came at the expense of another trophy-less team that had put together a heartwarming IPL 2025 campaign; it wasn’t to be for Punjab Kings (PBKS), but their time will surely come too.It’s a sign of how far T20 has come that 190 beating 184 was a bowler-dominated game. PBKS did brilliantly to restrict RCB to 190 after sending them in, but RCB’s bowlers did even better, with Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal – who have all won IPL titles at other teams – bringing their experience and nous to play on an unusual Ahmedabad surface.The margin of victory was narrow – six runs – and while it showed how closely matched these two teams have been over the season, it was also deceptive. Shashank Singh, who finished on an unbeaten 30-ball 61, hit Josh Hazlewood for 6, 4, 6, 6 to end the match and the season. But those hits came just a touch too late; PBKS went into the final over needing 29, and Hazlewood had started with a pair of dots that all but ended the contest mathematically.2:28

Aaron: Kohli has been king of the castle for 18 years

18th time lucky for No. 18At the end of it, all eyes were on one man, the man with 18 on his back. Like his innings in last year’s T20 World Cup final, Virat Kohli’s 43 in this game seemed at various points like it belonged to another era, too risk-averse, and likely to set his team a below-par total. But there were clues throughout his knock that this wasn’t the sort of pitch that Ahmedabad has rolled out routinely this season, where 196 had been the smallest first-innings total in eight games. He had struggled especially to generate power with his pull shot, with the PBKS seamers generating tennis-ball bounce when they bowled into the pitch.A target of 191, for all that, seemed too small for a PBKS line-up that had gunned down 204 with an over to spare at the same ground two days previously. But this pitch was different, and it didn’t necessarily ease up through the second innings. Between them, two of PBKS’ brightest batting talents outdid Kohli’s struggles: where Kohli scored 43 off 35 balls, Prabhsimran Singh and Nehal Wadhera scored 41 off 40 between them.2:38

Aaron: Patidar a huge factor in RCB’s title win

Krunal bends another final to his willKrunal has won three IPL titles with Mumbai Indians (MI), and was Player of the Match in one of them. That was for what he did with the bat.This time, he came in to bat in the 18th over and holed out for 4 off 5. This time, he turned the match with the ball.The final was on a knife edge when he came on. PBKS were 52 for 1 at the end of their powerplay; RCB had been 55 for 1 at the same stage.Krunal’s first over contained most of the ingredients that made him so difficult to hit on this pitch, which had just enough natural variation of pace and turn to make him hard to line up. He bowled fast and into the pitch, either angling the ball into the right-handers’ leg stump and cramping them for room or firing it wide of off stump to offer a single to sweeper cover that they didn’t particularly want. Only three runs came off this over.His next over brought in another dimension: the ability to spot the batter’s intentions and change his pace at the last moment. Seeing the struggling Prabhsimran charge at him, Krunal – whose usual pace hovers in the 98-101kph range – dangled an 80kph ball outside his eyeline. Wrenched out of shape, Prabhsimran skewed a catch to point.2:06

Aaron: Iyer ‘one of the best captains in the IPL’

Iyer and Inglis fall at the wrong times for PBKSGo back to November 19, 2023. Shreyas Iyer had been in red-hot form through that ODI World Cup, and had played the innings of India’s semi-final win. Then, in the final, he had fallen early, caught behind off a back-of-a-length delivery.The same script played out all over again now, more or less. Where he had poked uncertainly at Pat Cummins two years ago, he top-edged an attempted slash through point, off Romario Shepherd. It was a massive inflection point in this game, leaving PBKS needing 112 off 62 balls.They were still in with more than a shout, though, because of their batting depth, and because Josh Inglis was playing a blinder. On this pitch where the short or shortish ball wasn’t coming onto the bat at anything like a predictable pace or height, he was playing the pull like a man in a dream. He scored 33 off 10 pulls, against pace and spin, hitting one four and four sixes.At 39, however, he looked to step out and launch Krunal over long-on, and didn’t quite find either the power or elevation to do so. At that point, with PBKS needing 93 off 47, it seemed all but over.2:03

Do titles alone define a team’s legacy?

Too late for a Shashank RedemptionShashank had started his season at the same ground, and hit five fours in a now iconic final over, leaving his captain, on 97, without the strike.He ended it with another burst of brilliance, keeping PBKS hanging on by their fingernails even as the required rate kept climbing. He hit Hazlewood for two sixes in the 16th over, and kept the equation within the bounds of possibility: 55 off 24. Then, with the rest of PBKS’ batters and genuine allrounders back in the hut, he refused singles and kept the strike all through the 19th over, hitting Bhuvneshwar for a six and a four to bring it to 29 off the last six balls.It wasn’t to be, but the explosion at the finish, when the match was done, showed how much closer PBKS could have come if things had gone just a little differently.Virat Kohli and silverware make quite the striking pair•BCCIJitesh plays a crucial handThrough most of RCB’s innings, it felt difficult to pin down whether they were going a touch too slow on a flat pitch or laying a strong platform on a slow one. While Kohli did his thing at one end, his top-order colleagues kept falling just when they were looking threatening, with Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Liam Livingstone scoring 66 off 43 between them. All three fell to Kyle Jamieson, who used the slower legcutter to telling effect, either getting it to die on the batter from shorter lengths or dip disconcertingly when he went full.Jamieson, Azmatullah Omarzai and Vijaykumar Vyshak all hammered away on a hard length, and RCB couldn’t quite find a way to attack that length until Jitesh Sharma walked in. His 24 off 10 balls was a crucial little cameo in the end, featuring a flat-batted six over cover when he exposed all his stumps to create room, and a scooped six over his head, hit while chest-on to the bowler, Jamieson.Jitesh’s innings threatened to take RCB past 200, but their ambitions were nipped in the bud by Vyshak, who dismissed Jitesh while conceding just five runs in the 18th over, and Arshdeep Singh, who found the reverse-swing that allowed him to go full and attack the stumps in a three-wicket final over that cost PBKS just five runs.

Manchester United are preparing to send scouts to watch an “incredible” player ahead of a potential move for him in the January transfer window.

Man Utd eyeing January signings

The Red Devils had a productive summer overall, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko all big-money signings who should add a huge amount of quality to the attack.

That said, United’s squad is still far from perfect, following a hit-and-miss start to the new Premier League season, they also exited the EFL Cup at the hands of Grimsby Town, so further new faces could be looked at when January arrives.

Atlético Madrid and England midfielder Conor Gallagher was linked with a move to Old Trafford during the summer window, and he is still reportedly a target for the Red Devils midway through the season, with a loan-to-buy option mooted.

Meanwhile, highly-rated young Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has also been mentioned as a transfer option for United in the coming months, with added quality and depth badly needed in the middle of the park.

Man Utd’s most expensive signings of all time
Rank	Player	Fee	Signed from	Year
1	Paul Pogba	£89m	Juventus	2016
2	Antony	£81.3m	Ajax	2022
3	Harry Maguire	£80m	Leicester City	2019
4	Romelu Lukaku	£75m	Everton	2017
5	Jadon Sancho	£73m	Borussia Dortmund	2021
6	Bryan Mbeumo	£71m	Brentford	2025
7	Benjamin Sesko	£66.4m	RB Leipzig	2025
8	Rasmus Hojlund	£64m	Atalanta	2022
9	Matheus Cunha	£62.5m	Wolves	2025
=10	Angel Di Maria	£60m	Real Madrid	2014
=10	Casemiro	£60m	Real Madrid	2022
12	Bruno Fernandes	£56m	Sporting CP	2020
13	Mason Mount	£55m	Chelsea	2023
=14	Anthony Martial	£52m	AS Monaco	2015
=14	Leny Yoro	£52m	Lille	2024
16	Aaron Wan-Bissaka	£50m	Crystal Palace	2019
17	Lisandro Martinez	£48.3m	Ajax	2022
18	Fred	£47m	Shakhtar Donetsk	2018
19	Andre Onana	£43.5m	Inter Milan	2023
20	Manuel Ugarte	£42m	PSG	2024

Man Utd sending scouts to watch "incredible" ace

Now, according to Give Me Sport, Manchester United are eyeing a move for Sporting CP centre-back Zeno Debast in January, with Ruben Amorim knowing him well from their time together.

In fact, the Red Devils are even preparing to send scouts to watch him in action, as they look to bring in the 21-year-old as an important long-term member of their defence.

Debast is a player with so much potential, and with United not wholly convincing at the back, he could provide great competition for places.

The 21-cap Belgium international is already a key man for club and country, despite his tender years, and scout Jacek Kulig has hailed him as “incredible” in the past.

The fact that Amorim knows the £70m-rated Debast so well as a player can only be a good thing, and he could be viewed as the defensive partner for the likes of Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt.

Newcastle United already have Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale fighting it out for the number one jersey, but Eddie Howe has now been offered the chance to sign another figure to provide goalkeeping competition.

Newcastle see off Wolves with Woltemade winner

After a difficult start to the Premier League campaign and having to undergo a lengthy search for a striker in the wake of Alexander Isak’s exit, Newcastle claimed their first victory of the season on Saturday against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Establishing himself as a new hero of the St James’ Park faithful, Nick Woltemade scored the only goal of the match to give the Geordies a precious three points on home soil.

Speaking post-match, Howe came in for high praise from the Germany international, who illustrated his gratitude to the manager after galvanising his side to claim a vital win after a slow start to the season.

Woltemade said: “I was just here for four days now, so everything was new for me. I was putting that bit away and I was focusing on myself today. I think the coach already gave me such a good feeling, so I felt good on the pitch. I knew what to do and I guess you saw today everybody knew what they have to do. This win was really important.”

Barcelona await next for Newcastle in their much-anticipated first Champions League fixture, and they will feel their solidity at the back can give them half a chance of stopping Lamine Yamal and company on Tyneside.

Three clean sheets in four Premier League encounters is a solid return for Nick Pope, who was linked with a summer exit to both Leeds and Manchester United.

Nevertheless, Newcastle appear to be looking at life after the Three Lions international and have now been offered a shock chance to sign an up-and-coming stopper.

Newcastle offered surprise chance to sign Sheffield United's Michael Cooper

According to Chronicle Live, Newcastle have been offered the chance to sign Sheffield United goalkeeper Michael Cooper by intermediaries, with the approach coming as a surprise due to his recent dip in form.

Conceding 12 goals in the Blades’ first five Championship fixtures, the 25-year-old has recorded a save percentage rate of 62.5%, per Fotmob. Following an extremely disappointing start to the campaign for his club, Ruben Selles has now been sacked at Bramall Lane.

Newcastle have hit gold on “monster" worth more than Wissa & Woltemade

Newcastle United have struck gold with this standout star, who is worth more than both Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade.

ByKelan Sarson Sep 14, 2025

Despite this, Cooper has made 20 saves in that time period and is also on the radar of West Ham United and Everton, becoming an appealing homegrown option on the market as his contract is set to expire in 2026.

After Odysseas Vlachodimos left to join Sevilla, Newcastle are said to be keeping a ‘close eye’ on his situation, likely as a consequence of 33-year-old Pope coming towards the twilight of his career.

While he wouldn’t be a first choice immediately at St James’ Park, Cooper would add another layer of talent to the goalkeeping group and could potentially be a long-term successor to Pope if he can rediscover his form.