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West Bromwich Albion would have been the happier of the two sides come full-time at Portman Road, Carlos Corberan's Baggies battling to a 2-2 draw versus Ipswich Town despite the hosts dominating for large spells.

Scoring two goals from just two shots on target is a very impressive statistic from the away side's perspective, although lone striker Brandon Thomas-Asante couldn't quite get on the scoresheet himself.

A passive display from the West Brom number 21 saw Corberan haul off the striker on the 56th minute mark, only for his replacement in Daryl Dike to heartbreakingly pick up another serious-looking injury moments after being introduced.

This could well throw up a striker selection dilemma for the Spanish boss to resolve, with Thomas-Asante in real danger of being dropped for tonight's game with Cardiff City regardless of Dike re-entering the Hawthorns treatment room.

Thomas-Asante's performance vs Ipswich in numbers

Thomas-Asante will have been left frustrated with how his time on the pitch against the Tractor Boys played out, with his barren patch in front of goal in the Championship stretching tothree games in a row now after his torrid showing at Portman Road.

Only managing 17 touches of the ball in total in Suffolk, the 25-year-old was isolated up top on his own with zero shots managed on Václav Hladký's shaky goal.

Minutes played

56

Goals scored

0

Shots on goal

0

Touches

17

Passes managed

9/10

Duels won

3/7

With a number of below-par performances before this no-show at Portman Road further troubling his cemented first-team spot – failing to win a single duel against Birmingham the game prior to this Ipswich draw – the time could be right for Corberan to give a young January recruit an opportunity to impress against the Bluebirds tonight ahead of Thomas-Asante.

Thomas-Asante's replacement at West Brom

Yet to be given time to really to cut his teeth at West Brom – only given one 28-minute run-out so far against Birmingham – the Baggies boss could ruffle a fair few feathers by chucking West Ham United loanee Callum Marshall into his lineup.

Having one effort blocked in that brief cameo at the Hawthorns against Tony Mowbray's Blues, Marshall will hope he can find the back of the net against Cardiff if selected to show he can score goals for fun in men's football and not just in the comforts of youth action.

Bagging a remarkable 19 goals from just 16 games playing for the West Ham U21s just this season, everyone with connections to West Brom will hope Marshall won't flounder making the step-up transitioning to the intense demands of Championship football.

With Thomas-Asante passenger-like in the past couple of second-tier games, and Dike facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines again with a ruptured Achilles tendon, Marshall will need to seize his opportunity when it comes his way.

Described as being an "incredible" talent by football scout Antonio Mango when emerging as a breakout star for the Hammers at youth level, Marshall would no doubt endear himself to his new fanbase if he could bag his first-ever Baggies goal against Cardiff.

The teenager could well see Dike pulling up with yet another injury as one way he can begin to make waves in the Baggies first team, able to push Thomas-Asante all the way for a starting spot as a consequence.

Angelo Mathews’ third ODI hundred against India came in defeat, while Lasith Malinga ended his World Cup career conceding 82 runs

The Report by Varun Shetty06-Jul-2019
As it happenedIndia didn’t quite get to test their middle order one last time before the semi-final, but Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul put up India’s fourth century for the opening stand in the tournament, made centuries of their own, and helped India to 15 points at the end of the group stage as they galloped to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.WATCH on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of India’s win over Sri LankaThe openers put on 189 of the 265 India were set, unleashing strokes that ranged from pristine to borderline outrageous. They were able to recreate a pace that resembled that of India’s regular opening pair, and it came about because of Rohit’s uncharacteristic early aggression.Rohit’s century was accurately capsulised in the 17th over of India’s chase. His strike rate had only briefly dipped below run-a-ball when he was on 46, and he sorted that out by launching Dhananjaya de Silva over wide long-off, feet firmly rooted on the pitch. That didn’t seem enough; a ball later, he skipped down the track, and brought out a clean swing from underneath the ball, sending it straight back over the bowler for the longest six of the day.Preceding them were eight fours of all makes – languid pokes through the covers, whips through midwicket, even a one-handed loft over mid-on. Through the course of the stand, Rohit did pretty much anything he wanted. On 99, he pulled a Kasun Rajitha off-stump delivery to the midwicket boundary to bring up the record for most centuries – crossing Kumar Sangakkara’s four – in a World Cup well after he had vaulted to the top of the run-scoring charts.WATCH on Hotstar (USA only): Full match highlightsRahul was more true to his theme in the tournament but managed to play out his plans longer than any previous innings. While still occasionally circumspect outside the off stump, he began with a string of glorious drives through the off side against the new ball. India’s scoring rate at the start was significantly helped as a result, with even Lasith Malinga enduring a difficult time against the two right-hand batsmen. Rahul’s own scoring rate slowed down in the midst of Rohit’s fluency, but he too chose to break the shackles against Dhananjaya. His kickstart also involved getting to fifty against Sri Lanka’s only spinner on the day, and then hitting him straight.Rahul’s century was brought up with more precision than power, though that was understandable: it was his first ODI hundred since his debut ton against Zimbabwe in 2016. Malinga did manage to dismiss though, Rahul gloving behind as he limboed against a short ball that kept tailing back. India needed another 21 to get at that point, and Virat Kohli was there to see them through to the end.Rohit Sharma becomes the first player to hit five centuries in a single World Cup•Getty ImagesIndia’s opening stand outdid the other century partnership on the day, a patient 124-run alliance for the fifth wicket between Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne that kept Sri Lanka in the game after they had lost four wickets inside 12 overs. Sri Lanka’s most experienced batsmen had two jobs to do on the day – blunt India’s attack, aggressive fields and all, and try to give their bowlers a total to bowl at. They managed both, starting by playing low-risk shots and staying content scoring just over four an over for the first half of their partnership. Their first three boundaries together came after Kuldeep Yadav’s introduction – and against him – nearly 50 balls into the stand. Mathews was happy slashing the spinner through the off side on a pitch that offered a hint of grip and bounce.It was largely a batting-friendly surface and got easier and easier as the sun burst through in the middle of the day. Thirimanne couldn’t reap the benefits much past his fifty, but Mathews grew more dangerous as Dhananjaya stuck around with him. Mathews reverse-swept Kuldeep twice as he approached three-figures and continued punishing any width, of which there was plenty as India’s bowlers endured tepid second spells. Even the shot to bring up his third ODI century, all of which are against India, was a generous half-tracker that was carved over point.That innings, and that partnership came after India seemed to have sealed Sri Lanka’s fate much earlier in the day. Jasprit Bumrah had begun with two consecutive maidens, one of which contained the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne, who edged behind on the angle. Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t quite hit his straps in overseas conditions though, and his day didn’t get any better when Kuldeep and Hardik Pandya had a moment of miscommunication as they got under a toe-ended loft from Kusal Perera; Hardik didn’t seem to hear the call at mid-on, and Kuldeep, the mid-off fielder who was closer to the line of the ball only mustered a weak flap at the ball with Hardik in his peripheral vision.But onto that vulnerability was Bumrah again, this time using the angle to induce a cut from Kusal, only to get his inside edge, which MS Dhoni grabbed onto. Kusal chose to walk as India contemplated a review, and he would be followed shortly by Kusal Mendis, who ran down at Ravindra Jadeja’s fourth ball of the day to be beaten in flight and stumped. Dhoni added a fourth dismissal – two fewer than Adam Gilchrist’s World Cup record of six – when Avishka Fernando gloved a slower bouncer to him but Sri Lanka’s collapse stopped at 55 for 4. It did prove vital though – 264 on a good batting surface was not going to trouble India. And it was the perfect representation of a disappointing tournament for them.

Jude Bellingham has arrived in style for the Champions League final as the Real Madrid star is snapped in a suit after landing in London.

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• Bellingham set to star in UCL final
• Landed in stylish business attire
• Real Madrid man looking to cap off incredible debut season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellingham touched down with the rest of the Real Madrid squad in London on Thursday ahead of Saturday's eagerly anticipated Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. He was snapped leaving the club's jet in a tailored black suit and with a big smile on his face as he emerged into some rare English sunshine.

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• WHAT BELLINGHAM SAID

  The 20-year-old took to Instagram to let his 31.8million followers know that he is ready for the spectacle at Wembley. He posted a single picture of himself with the caption "London.📍".

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  At such a young age, Bellingham has the chance to achieve something most players can only dream of during their professional careers. The Champions League is the most coveted piece of silverware available to clubs and Madrid fans will be confident that they have a player capable of delivering a record-extending 15th title to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BELLINGHAM AND REAL MADRID?

  The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder will go up against his old club in England's home stadium. He will be facing a close friend in Jadon Sancho, who is on loan at the Bundesliga side from Manchester United. A win for Los Blancos would complete the double after they comfortably won the La Liga title at Barcelona's expense.

West Ham United’s recent Premier League win against Arsenal has moved them up to sixth position in the table and David Moyes’ men head into 2024 full of confidence.

Not all is perfect at West Ham, however, as Moyes clearly needs some investment into his side if they wish to maintain their current position and challenge for more European glory.

Jarrod Bowen is West Ham’s top scorer this season with 13 goals from 24 matches and he has had to operate through the middle due to Moyes’ lack of centre-forward options.

This will surely be an area the Scot targets when the January transfer window opens and there have already been a few names linked with a move to the Irons – including Hugo Ekitike.

West Ham transfer news – Hugo Ekitike

Moyes previously showed interest in the young striker during the summer transfer window, yet no move ever materialised, and he joined Paris Saint-Germain on a permanent deal from fellow French club Reims instead.

An update from French outlet Le Parisien claims that PSG are open to letting the youngster leave on loan during the January transfer window and this has certainly piqued West Ham once again.

Just like in the summer, Crystal Palace are also keen on luring Ekitike to the Premier League in January, and it means Moyes will have to act sooner rather than later in order to finally sign the player.

The 21-year-old is valued at €17.6m (£15m) according to Football Transfers and while it is a loan move being touted, if West Ham make a substantial offer, they could secure his signature permanently.

This could be the best outcome for Moyes, especially as Michail Antonio is out of contract in the summer, while Danny Ings simply cannot be relied on as a regular source of goals in the long term.

The manager has built a wonderful midfield which features talent such as Lucas Paqueta, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse and Moyes could form a devastating duo by signing Ekitike to partner with the latter.

James Ward-Prowse’s season in numbers

The former Southampton gem signed for the club during the summer, and it looked as though he was the missing piece of the jigsaw for Moyes, especially with his attacking talents.

With 55 goals and 54 assists across 410 games for the south coast side, it was clear he would be in high demand following their relegation from the Premier League last season and West Ham were the club to stump up the asking price of £30m – and it already looks to be a wise move.

The Scot praised him heavily upon his arrival, saying: "He's performed to a very high level in the Premier League over the last decade, constantly producing good numbers season after season.

"His leadership qualities are obviously another huge plus for us – he'll be a big voice for us, someone who drives the team on from the middle of the pitch."

The 29-year-old may have scored only three goals so far, yet his 11 assists more than make up for it and he has proven to be one of the most creative players in the squad during the 2023/24 campaign.

The Englishman currently ranks second in the squad for goals and assists (nine) in the Premier League, along with ranking second for big chances created (six), first for key passes per game (two) and third for shots on target per game (0.5).

James Ward-Prowse's Premier League statistics	2022/23	2023/24
Key passes per game	2	2
Goals	9	3
Assists	4	6
Big chances created	9	6
Successful dribbles per game	0.2	0.3
Stats via Sofascore

He has certainly settled in well at the Irons since his summer move and all that Moyes needs now is to sign a talented centre-forward who could benefit from Ward-Prowse’s creative spark. Ekitike could well be the ideal candidate.

Hugo Ekitiké’s career statistics

The 21-year-old made his Reims debut during the 2020/21 season, but it wasn’t until the following campaign that he would enjoy his big breakthrough.

In just 26 matches for the French side, Ekitike found the back of the net on 11 occasions and this sort of form didn’t go unnoticed, especially in his homeland.

Of course, PSG were the frontrunners for his signature and while they couldn’t agree to a permanent deal during the summer of 2022, the two clubs agreed on a season-long loan move with the option to buy, and he joined the capital club.

It was a gamble for both parties and with Ekitike facing stiff competition from the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, the youngster had to take his opportunities with both hands.

He didn’t do too badly considering the circumstances as he finished the season ranked fifth among the squad for goals and assists in Ligue 1 (seven) while also ranking fourth for shots on target per game (0.5) and fifth for scoring frequency (a goal every 385 minutes) in what was a relatively decent maiden season at the club.

West Ham could land Antonio upgrade in £40m gem who's "very Ian Wright-like"

West Ham are currently interested in a fellow Premier League striker

By
Ross Kilvington

Dec 30, 2023

With Messi and Neymar both leaving ahead of the 2023/24 season, it should have given Ekitike a major boost that he could strive for a regular first-team role, but it has been a nightmare campaign so far.

The French U20 international has played just eight minutes of football during the current season, and it is evident that a move is the best thing for him to reinvigorate his stagnating career.

Journalist Graeme Bailey lauded the striker back in 2022 when Newcastle United were leading the chase for the player, saying: “many in France believe he could be the next Mbappe” and while for a short period this looked accurate, his progress has stalled recently.

Ekitike could link up well with Ward-Prowse should he make the move to West Ham, and he needs some regular game time in order to fulfil his massive potential.

The Premier League could be the perfect platform for the PSG starlet to rediscover his form and forge a solid partnership with the former Southampton gem and if Moyes can make a deal happen in the coming weeks, it could give the Frenhman renewed hope that he can reach the very top and more importantly, stay there.

Napoli have contacted Manchester United over signing Getafe loanee Mason Greenwood.

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Greenwood joins Getafe on loan from Man UtdSet to leave Red Devils amid transfer linksNapoli contact United over possible transferWHAT HAPPENED?

According to the the 22-year-old is expected to leave United permanently this summer after a season-long loan at Getafe. The Madrid outfit want to bring him back on loan next season but the Red Devils would reportedly prefer a permanent deal. Now, Napoli are keeping tabs on the forward, especially with star striker Victor Osimhen expected to leave in the coming months.

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Greenwood, who had charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive control dropped in February 2023, has also been linked with Juventus, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. The one-time England international is out of contract in the summer of 2025 but the Red Devils have an option to extend that a further 12 months. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe has not ruled out a return for Greenwood, he may be heading for pastures new soon.

DID YOU KNOW?

After joining Getafe on loan in September 2023, Greenwood has played 34 times for the Spanish side. He has scored 10 goals and bagged six assists in all competitions. Incidentally, United have not ruled out the possibility of their academy product going out on loan again.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

Before Greenwood heads off for his summer break, the Getafe loanee will hope to feature in their matches away to Alaves on Saturday night and then at home against Mallorca on May 25. They currently sit 10th in the table but could finish ninth if Valencia lose their last two matches and they win both of theirs.

Is a knight in shiny padding about to ride to the team’s rescue for the St Lucia Test? Err … probably not

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2019

Alastair Cook says hello to former team-mates in his role as a radio commentator•Getty Images

With England’s Test plans in turmoil after their thrashings in the first two Tests in West Indies, is a knight in shiny padding about to ride to the team’s rescue for the St Lucia Test, and beyond it, the Ashes?Well, err … no. But when put on the spot by his new employers, the BBC, Sir Alastair Cook couldn’t quite bring himself to admit that, if his country did come calling, he could not be tempted to reach for his bat once more, and step out to open England’s innings for a record-extending 162nd Test.”You can never, never, never say never because you don’t know what the situation is,” Cook told BBC Five Live. “But I am very, very unlikely ever to play for England again.”English hankering after a batsman of Cook’s solidity is understandable given their failings in Barbados and Antigua, where they have twice lost all ten wickets for fewer than 100 runs – all out for 77 in the first Test, and a collapse of 10 for 97 in the second.Cook’s direct replacement in the team, Rory Burns, has acquitted himself adequately in the circumstances – scoring a fluent 84 in Barbados – but Keaton Jennings was dropped for his twin failures in that Test, while Joe Denly, on debut, was lucky to avoid a pair in his two unconvincing visits to the crease.The situation has distant echoes of the 1990 tour of the Caribbean, when David Gower – England’s recently disposed captain – was signed up by Sky to cover that winter’s Test series, having been controversially omitted from the squad by the new skipper, Graham Gooch.The speculation that Gower could be about to swap the press box for the dressing room reached fever pitch after the third Test in Trinidad, when Gooch suffered a broken hand that would rule him out of the rest of the tour. He even played in a tour match against Barbados, making 4 in his only innings.And though his Test prospects did eventually came to naught in the Caribbean, Gower returned to England action midway through the following English summer, in which his match-saving innings of 157 not out against India at The Oval secured his place for that winter’s Ashes tour.The Oval was also the venue of Cook’s magnificent send-off last summer, when he put aside the lean run of form that had persuaded him to announce his retirement in the build-up to the match, and signed off his England duty with scores of 71 and 147 in a 118-run victory.And if that performance is proof that Cook remains good enough to succeed at the highest level, the man himself is (almost) adamant that there will be no encore.”I retired because I had done my bit,” Cook said. “I’d loved my time playing for England and lived my dream for 12 years.”But I got to the end where I wasn’t quite good enough, I wasn’t quite delivering as I would have liked to have done. Just that top inch in my brain was slightly different.”Never say never. But we can probably say probably not.

Celtic could be set to lose one of their rising stars next month, with a report revealing that he’s a target for three clubs ahead of January.

Celtic summer departures

The Hoops sanctioned the sales of 10 players in total during the previous window, seven of which were on a permanent basis, while the remaining three were sent out on loan for the remainder of the season in order to increase their experience and game time.

Jota (Al-Ittihad)

Sead Haksabanovic (Stoke City)

Carl Starfelt (Celta De Vigo)

Liam Shaw (Wigan Athletic)

Albian Ajeti (Gaziantep)

Adam Montgomery (Fleetwood Town)

Conor Hazard (Plymouth)

Vasilis Barkas (FC Utrecht)

Ismaila Soro (Beitar Jerusalem)

Osaze Urhoghide (Amiens)

The Scottish Premiership outfit also have Joe Hart, Greg Taylor, David Turnbull and Scott Bain who will reach the expiration of their deals at the end of the campaign, so they could be heading for the exit should they not sign fresh terms (Celtic contracts).

Brendan Rodgers’ attacking midfielder Rocco Vata is an additional player whose contract is set to expire upon the conclusion of the current term, and having made just four senior appearances during his time at the club, the 18-year-old’s potential availability has alerted several potential suitors (Transfermarkt – Vata statistics).

Back in September, The Daily Record reported that the Republic of Ireland youth international was watched by scouts from RB Leipzig, Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford, and if the following update is to be believed, another trio have now also entered the race to secure his services in January.

Celtic facing battle to keep Vata

According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato (via Sport Witness), Vata is of interest to Torino, Frosinone and Sampdoria who are all “ready to clash” to sign him. The Serie A and B clubs could make their move “as early as” the start of next year due to the teenager’s contract situation, so this may well be one to watch in the coming weeks.

Rodgers needs to retain "exciting" Vata

While Vata isn’t a regular first-team player at Celtic, Rodgers will be aware that he’s already scored 10 goals across all competitions this season from 14 appearances, and it’s not just in the centre of the park where he’s comfortable playing.

The Hamilton-born talent is a versatile operator having been deployed in five different positions over the grass, including three across the frontline and two in the midfield, making him a useful option to have in the building should any unexpected injuries occur.

Sponsored by Adidas, the up-and-coming prospect has helped contribute towards winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup trophies during his time with the green and white stripes, so he will know what it takes to compete and be successful.

Football scout Jacek Kulig has also described Vata as an “exciting” player for all of the qualities that he possesses, and with the bags of potential he is already showing, retaining his services should be a no-brainer of a decision for the hierarchy to make in January.

Usually an unrepentant strokemaker, Sri Lanka’s No. 4 overturned his batting style to block his way to an outstanding match-saving hundred

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Wellington19-Dec-2018

Kusal Mendis pulls aerially•Getty Images

Kusal Mendis didn’t quite manage the double ton he had hoped to score as a leaving present for batting coach Thilan Samaraweera, but he did get something else after the innings in Wellington: the label of Samaraweera clone.After making a hundred on day four, Mendis had thanked Samaraweera for helping him out of a substantial batting rut over the last few months, and said that he hoped to make double-century for Samaraweera on day five. As only 12 overs of play were possible on Wednesday, Mendis could only get himself to 141 not out. However, in having batted dourly during the afternoon and evening sessions on day four, the naturally attacking Mendis had inspired his team-mates to label him the new Samaraweera – the most obdurate from among Sri Lanka’s former greats.”After the match yesterday everyone was having a bit of fun telling Mendis that he was batting like Thilan Samaraweera,” captain Dinesh Chandimal revealed after Sri Lanka had drawn the match. “He works really closely with Thilan on his batting, and we were just making fun of the way he’d played.”The gag is that Mendis had had to completely overturn his batting style in order to produce the kind of innings that he did in Wellington. Though the two are close, Mendis as a batsman is generally an unrepentant strokemaker, completely unlike Samaraweera, who had been a batting boulder – unmoving and, at his best, immoveable.Team-mates especially enjoyed Mendis’ blocking, leaving and ducking in the final session of day four – a period in which he scored only 18 runs off 80 balls.”We’re really happy with Mendis, because this innings was very different from the normal knocks he plays,” Chandimal said. “Right through it was very different.”We should especially mention that at tea yesterday, he had 98 runs, and at the end of the day, after batting 31 overs and playing out a whole session, he had only made it to 116. You look at that and you really see he played for the team. It’s a really valuable century, and it’s one that he had to go away from his natural style to produce.”Chandimal, who had spent seven hours padded up as the next batsman in on Tuesday, was also overjoyed with the performance of Angelo Mathews – the senior-most batsman in the side. Mathews finished on 120 not out, off 323 deliveries. Unlike Mendis, who had enjoyed brief flurries of scoring in the first sessions of days four and five, Mathews stonewalled for virtually the entirety of his innings. He was rewarded with his first century of the year, having failed to convert five fifties into triple figures across his eight previous innings.”When Angelo got out in the first innings for 83, I had a chat with him and he said: ‘Yeah, I missed a century. Again I have to go from zero to get a century from here,” Chandimal said. “He has a lot of courage and he has a lot of concentration when he’s batting. He’s one of the most experienced players we have in our line-up. If he’s scoring, that gives us a lot of confidence going forward. I’m extremely happy with the way he played.”The most important thing about both their innings was that they were playing for the team. That’s the most important thing.”

Alessia Russo couldn't stop laughing while filming a TikTok video with Lionesses team-mates Ella Toone and Millie Turner.

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• England to play Sweden in Euro 2025 qualifier
• Lionesses squad preparing for clash
• Russo, Toone & Turner in TikTok video

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ahead of England's Euro 2025 qualifier against Sweden on Friday night, Arsenal's Russo and Manchester United duo Toone and Turner dance and lip synced to a remixed version of Jess Glynne's 'Hold My Hand', and none of them could contain their laugher.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

  @millie21turner

  Nailed it hahahahahahah 🤣🤣🤣 #fyp

  ♬ original sound – Spotify 🎶

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After losing in the 2023 World Cup final to Spain last year, England will be eager to start their Euro 2025 qualifying on the front foot when they take on Sweden, the Republic of Ireland and France in a difficult group. They will look to romp into the competition, where they are the defending champions.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  After facing Sweden – who are sixth in the world rankings – at Wembley, Sarina Wiegman's side, who are the second-highest ranked side on the planet, travel to Dublin to take on the Republic of Ireland next Tuesday.

Manchester United have now made contact for an impressive defensive target as Erik ten Hag begins to step up his recruitment drive ahead of the January transfer window.

Manchester United updates

The Red Devils narrowly defeated Fulham in the Premier League at the weekend courtesy of a late strike from captain Bruno Fernandes to pick up their fourth victory in six matches across all competitions; however, it is fair to say that they have trod a tightrope within their recent run of fixtures. In between defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle United at Old Trafford, Ten Hag's four victories have all come by a single-goal margin.

Incredibly, their triumphs against Brentford and Fulham both came courtesy of injury-time strikes; meanwhile, Andre Onana was called upon in the dying embers of the Red Devils' 1-0 win against Copenhagen in the Champions League to make a dramatic penalty save from Jordan Larsson to save his side's blushes at Old Trafford.

On Saturday, some of the travelling Manchester United contingent unveiled a banner that read 'play like you mean it' amid a spate of underwhelming Red Devils' performances this term. Scotland international Scott McTominay revealed after the Fulham clash that the banner actually helped to spur his side on to claim three points at Craven Cottage.

He told TNT Sports: "We seen it, we seen the banner before the game and a few of us said, 'You know what? The fans pay good money to come and watch us every week and the support is relentless towards us every single week. We just want to repay them as best we can. Things aren't going the best at the moment but it's building blocks. Step by step and with the manager, the coaching staff, we trust them a lot, we trust the players and I feel we can go and kick on and do better."

Now, encouraging reports have emerged regarding Manchester United's pursuit of a January target who could help to alleviate the pressure on Ten Hag's shoulders.

Manchester United make enquires for Sacha Boey

Taking to social media platform X, RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins has confirmed that Galatasaray full-back Sacha Boey is a target for Manchester United, who have officially enquired about the availability of the Frenchman amid his contract stalemate at the Turkish giants. Boey's contractual situation could see him available as a free agent in the summer of 2025, having failed to agree a one-year extension to his current deal.

Sacha Boey defensive statistics 2023/24 – Turkish Super Lig (WhoScored)

Clearances per game

1.4

Successful tackles per game

2.5

Interceptions per game

1.8

Detailing the Red Devils' initiation of direct contact with Galatasaray, Hawkins wrote: "Things are stuck for the extension of Sacha Boey at Galatasaray. No agreement has been reached on the terms of this one-year extension. Manchester United have made inquiries about the Frenchman."

Boey, who shares the same agency as Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw, CAA Stellar, has already featured 20 times for Galatasaray this term, registering one assist in the process (Boey statistics – Transfermarkt).

As per Milliyet transcribed via One Football, former Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna has previously labelled Boey "great" amid previous links between the 23-year-old and Arsenal. Nevertheless, a move to Manchester United could now be on the cards for Boey as Ten Hag looks to bring in some extra quality come the January transfer window.