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Tottenham Hotspur has been one of the busiest Premier League clubs transfer-wise since Daniel Levy decided to appoint Ange Postecoglou last summer.

Regardless of the club's league finish this season there is bound to be plenty more activity after the campaign finishes. Spurs finished eighth last term and have hence been limited to domestic action, falling early in both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup nonetheless.

But there's a bigger picture here, and the lion's share of Tottenham supporters are enjoying the gains made under Postecoglou's leadership so far, with last weekend's emphatic victory at Villa Park narrowing Aston Villa's lead in the top four to just two points.

Spurs, who are fifth, have a game in hand. They also have a revived sense of fluency and two wins on the bounce. In short: Postecoglou has done stellar work bringing this squad's quality back to the fore.

Fully fit, Tottenham boast a line-up worthy of challenging for the title; this much was evident after the blistering start to the term, eight wins, two draws, top spot in the Premier League.

Injuries to influential summer signings Micky van de Ven and James Maddison back in November sent this remarkable resurgence into a spiral and the latter, amazing in his playmaking after signing from Leicester City last summer, was a gut-wrenching blow.

Maddison won the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August; the England international operates with intellect from No. 10. That can't be replaced, not readily.

Giovani Lo Celso stepped up, and a pat on the back to him, but his time in N17 may have entered its final few months and he must be sold during the off-season.

Why Giovani Lo Celso must leave Spurs this summer

Do the pros outweigh the cons? Likely not. Lo Celso joined Tottenham from Real Betis in a permanent £27m transfer back in January 2020 after spending six months in the English capital on loan, with Levy having already granted a £15m outlay for his services.

£43m, give or take. That's more than the £40m figure that Tottenham parted with to land Maddison last year. And after 98 appearances the Argentina international has ten goals, eight assists and 14 bookings for his labour, spending a sizeable chunk of his Tottenham career out on loan in Spain with Villarreal.

(GK) – Paulo Gazzaniga

(RB) – Serge Aurier

(CB) – Eric Dier

(CB) – Davinson Sanchez

(LB) – Ben Davies

(CM) – Dele Alli

(CM) – Moussa Sissoko

(RW) – Giovani Lo Celso

(AM) – Tanguy Ndombele

(LW) – Heung-min Son

(CF) – Harry Kane

He's an elegant and creative player and in fairness stepped up in Maddison's absence before Christmas, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the Premier League over November and December.

Moreover, the 27-year-old ranks among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 1% for pass completion and progressive passes and the top 3% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

But he must leave. Lo Celso is clearly unfavoured by Postecoglou and has only really been handed roles from the outset when his manager had no other option. He's also on £70k-per-week and is out of contract in 2025, so he's not exactly earning a pittance and will continue to clog up valuable space and resources if not cashed in, when that is still possible this summer.

There have been rumours of late that Lo Celso is preparing to leave the club this summer and given the importance of catching up with those at the forefront, it may well be worth shipping him on.

Especially given the rise of Alfie Devine, who is currently competing out on loan with Plymouth Argyle in the Championship but could be ready for a role in Spurs' squad next year.

Why fans should be excited about Alfie Devine

Described as an "exquisite technician" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, Devine is a versatile midfielder with skill on the ball and intelligence without it.

He's scored 20 goals and added 12 assists over 80 outings for Tottenham's various youth sides and scored in the FA Cup for the senior side when he was just 16 years old, etching his name into the record books.

After that prodigious beginning to life on the major stage, Devine spent the next few seasons honing his craft with the development squad, moving out on loan to Port Vale earlier in the 2023/24 campaign and returning in January to move up a notch to the Championship, signing a short-term deal with Plymouth.

Alfie Devine's season in numbers

Devine was fantastic across the opening half of the season with Port Vale in League One. Still, Spurs exercised their option to recall him with the view that his skill set would be better served within the second tier of English football. While Argyle are struggling against relegation, he has offered plenty of promise.

As per Sofascore, the dynamic midfielder has chipped in with two assists across six starts for the Pilgrims, winning 57% of his ground duels and averaging 3.1 ball recoveries per game.

Once lauded as a "top-class" prospect by outspoken pundit Jamie Carragher, Devine has showcased his versatility across his separate loan spells this season while chalking up three goals and six assists in the process,

“Alfie’s performances have been very good, with and without the ball,” says Plymouth manager Ian Foster after his side's 2-0 defeat against promotion-chasing Leeds United.

“He has got a really good tactical brain, a really clear understanding of what we are asking him to do. He applies himself brilliantly.”

Postecoglou likes clever, he loves intuition and understanding. Devine is enjoying a season of growth and he must continue to ply his trade with conviction, as he has been doing, in order to bloom into the kind of player who can really make an impact for Spurs.

With Lo Celso headed for the exit, there's every chance that a prospect of his quality will be handed an opportunity next season.

European competition will be on the cards and Tottenham will hope to wade deeper in the domestic cup competitions.

Rising stars of Devine's ilk will be necessary, and he might just prove to be the perfect homegrown replacement to the likely leaving Lo Celso.

Manchester City have named their price for Al Ittihad target Ederson, with Kevin De Bruyne also still linked with the Saudi Pro League side.

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Man City open to selling EdersonAl Ittihad interested in 'keeperDe Bruyne not in talks with Saudi clubsWHAT HAPPENED?

Fabrizio Romano reports that City want between €50 and €60 million (£42m-£51m/$54-$65m) for Ederson. But Al Ittihad are described as "still not close" to that amount for the Brazilian goalkeeper. It suggests he is going nowhere any time soon.

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Speculation linking De Bruyne with a high profile switch to Saudi Arabia is persistent. But Romano adds that the stories can be considered "fake" at this time, with no talks even taking place.

WHAT DE BRUYNE HAS SAID ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA

"For Michele [my wife], an exotic adventure is okay. These are also conversations that we are increasingly having as a family," De Bruyne told in June, not ruling out Saudi Arabia. "I still have one year left on my contract, so I have to think about what could happen. My eldest is now eight years old and knows nothing but England. He also asks how long I will play for City. Once the moment comes, we will have to deal with it in a certain way.

"At my age you have to be open to everything. You're talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that. If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money. Before that I had to play football for 15 years. I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven't had to think about that yet."

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Facing continued competition from Arsenal this coming season, City have prepared for that by spending an intial £21m ($27.2m) on Savinho. But more than twice that has been brought in by selling Liam Delap, Sergio Gomez, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and others, leaving more room to invest in the market. There are no obvious gaps in the squad but goalkeeper could become an area to target if Al Ittihad up what they are willing to offer for Ederson.

England coach says New Zealand’s tactics on a flat pitch may be the way to compete

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui23-Nov-2019Chris Silverwood conceded England – and their strike bowler, Jofra Archer – were “on a learning curve” in overseas conditions after a tough day in Mount Maunganui.Silverwood, England’s new head coach, saw his team take just two wickets in an entire day’s cricket and concede what may prove to be a crucial first-innings deficit with power for New Zealand to build on their 41-run lead on the fourth day. Archer, despite much pre-series expectation, finished wicketless.But while he acknowledged his team had endured “a tough day”, Silverwood insisted they “can take pride” in the efforts they had put in and that such experiences were all part of the learning experience. And he reminded supporters that Archer was playing just his fifth Test and his first overseas and that both he and his captain, Joe Root, were learning how to use his skills in such circumstances.”The spirit is good and one thing we can take pride in is we worked really hard,” Silverwood said. “The wicket is fairly flat and slowed down during the day We know we have done a shift in the dirt. It’s been hard work and we can be proud of it. I thought we showed a great attitude and put a lot of effort into it today.”It’s a learning curve for us. How do we take 20 wickets abroad? This is part of the process and we’re building from it. We’ll be talking about using new methods going forward. It’s a constant build.ALSO READ: Watling whittles away at England’s resolve”Jofra is still very young in his Test career. Jofra’s learning about himself and the game of Test cricket and equally Joe is learning to captain him as well. From a holistic point of view we’re growing together, really.”Jofra is learning ways to operate when he’s out there and the one thing we know he has is a ferocious bouncer.”It may be, Silverwood suggested, that England can learn from New Zealand’s tactics. Certainly their bowlers seemed more adept at tempting the batsmen into errors, though whether that is a reflection on England’s batting as much as New Zealand’s bowling is debatable.”I was watching how the New Zealand boys bowled on that wicket,” he said. “I was watching the tactics used and what we can learn from them. We can take them and try to implement some of them.”Look at how Tim Southee bowled. He held his length very well. At times he hung the ball wide of the stumps and made us go to him. We tried that. We almost tempted some shots out of their guys but on a flat wicket you have to go through ideas and you have to give those ideas time to work.”Silverwood also accepted that England’s catching had to improve. Here Ben Stokes’ dropping of BJ Wating at slip on 31 off the bowling of Root proved particularly damaging.”We’ve got to face into this,” he said. “You’ve probably seen on the morning before play that we are doing a lot of catching. We know that we’ve got to try to get better and we’re trying very hard to do that. I think the more we practice, the better we’ll get.”Despite England’s struggles, Silverwood had no criticism of the pitch.”I think it is a good wicket for Test cricket,” he said. “It’s been a good, hard-fought day. And we don’t know what the next two days are going to be like. It could end up a very good Test wicket but we’ll see in the next two days, won’t we?”

With Raphael Varane's future still in doubt and his contract set to expire in the summer of 2025, Manchester United have reportedly made contact to secure a long-term replacement in the coming months.

Man United transfer news

It seems Sir Jim Ratcliffe certainly isn't messing around, with links to the likes of Ivan Toney, Donyell Malen and Bologna's Jhon Lucumi already emerging ahead of the summer transfer window. Toney would particularly be a statement signing, given the interest in the Brentford striker elsewhere in the Premier League, but it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils can put forward a convincing pitch to the England international.

When it comes to departures, meanwhile, United are reportedly ready to show Christian Eriksen the door with the Dane now behind Kobbie Mainoo in Erik ten Hag's pecking order. The 18-year-old has been quite the revelation and has for now eliminated the need for United to search for another central midfielder this summer.

Man Utd make first move for bargain Varane replacement in summer deal

Varane’s future remains uncertain…

ByTom Cunningham Mar 29, 2024

Young players could be the way forward for those at Old Trafford, too. The Red Devils have a lot of work to do, but players like Mainoo emerging is certainly a good start. And joining him could yet be Aaron Anselmino to improve that good start even further.

According to Ole via Sport Witness, Manchester United have made contact to sign Anselmino from Boca Juniors this summer. The 18-year-old centre-back has reportedly reiterated his desire to stay put at the Argentine club, but United have persisted with their interest alongside Italian giants Milan.

It's no shock that the Premier League heavyweights are interested in a deal, given that Anselmino's release clause currently sits at just €18.5m (£15.8m). With Varane set to leave in summer 2025 at the latest, United need to start thinking about long-term replacements, which is where Anselmino should come in at Old Trafford.

"Dominant" Anselmino is one for the future

It speaks volumes about just how talented Anselmino is that he's already made seven appearances for the Boca Juniors first-team, playing as both a defensive midfielder and central defender in the two appearances that he's made so far this season, only adding to his reputation.

At 18 years old, the Argentine is only set to get better, and for less than £16m, United would be getting themselves a bargain deal before his valuation rises. Signing Anselmino would also represent the direction in which Ratcliffe is attempting to head towards when it comes to incomings.

Ratcliffe said (via Fabrizio Romano): "Mbappé to Man United? I’d try to find the next Mbappé rather than spend a fortune trying to buy success. It’s not that clever to sign Mbappé now, it’s more challenging to find the next Mbappé, next Bellingham or next Roy Keane."

What's more, Anselmino is certainly rated despite his age, with Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig posting on X:

Whilst he will take some convincing thanks to his desire to stay put at Boca Juniors as things stand, United should push on and try everything possible to land a future star in Anselmino.

A concerning Celtic transfer update has emerged regarding the exit of a "wonderful" Hoops player, with a summer move away from Parkhead potentially on the cards.

Celtic transfer news

The upcoming summer transfer window is going to be an important one for Celtic, regardless of whether they end up winning the Scottish Premiership title over Rangers or not. By the club's usual high standards, performances haven't always been as impressive in comparison to previous years, which is why they will be second in the table if their rivals win their game in hand.

New signings could be needed to add new life to Brendan Rodgers' squad at the end of the season, and some potential additions have emerged in recent times, as they look to act fast.

Paulo Bernardo is currently on loan at Celtic from Benfica, and such is the manner in which he has impressed at Parkhead this season, a permanent move to the club has been mooted. He has two league goals and assists apiece to his name in 2023/24 to date, as well as averaging 1.6 tackles per game.

Wolves left-back Hugo Bueno is seen as another possible target for the Hoops, having failed to snap him up in the January transfer window, with a summer switch potentially on the cards instead.

Celtic could sell "wonderful" O'Riley

According to a new update from Give Me Sport, Celtic could end up selling Matt O'Riley this summer if they receive a huge offer, as interest emerges from other clubs such as Brighton, Brentford and Leeds United.

"Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley will 'definitely' be in demand during the 2024 summer transfer window at Parkhead, according to GIVEMESPORT sources.

"According to GMS sources, O'Riley will be 'in demand' this summer, with a move to the Premier League a distinct possibility. The 23-year-old arrived at Parkhead from Milton Keynes Dons during the 2022 winter transfer window for a fee of £1.5m."

O'Riley is undoubtedly one of Celtic's most talented and influential players currently, so the idea of him moving elsewhere this summer doesn't bear thinking about. The 23-year-old Dane has scored 11 goals and registered 10 assists in the league this season, producing so much quality from his attacking midfield role. Rodgers has also lauded him in the recent past, saying:

"It is all about arriving in the areas and finding composure to finish. I really like him, his build-up play is good, he takes the ball, and he needs to work on his pressing and intensity but he is a wonderful footballer and he is a good guy as well."

Kyogo Furuhashi

12

Matt O'Riley

11

Luis Palma

8

David Turnbull

7

Adam Ihah

5

Oh Hyeon-Gyu

5

There is always the chance that O'Riley feels that a fresh challenge is required, however, possibly moving to the Premier League, so it could be hard to begrudge him a move away, although it would be nice if he bowed out with a title win.

On the plus side, Celtic will be able to demand big money for the Denmark international, considering he is contracted at Parkhead until 2027, which could at least ease some of the pain of seeing him leave, should he decide to.

British actor Danny Dyer has shared a beautiful tribute to his daughter Dani's relationship with West Ham star Jarrod Bowen.

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Dyer talks about West Ham's Jarrod BowenWest Ham star dating Dyer's daughter DaniActor talks about duo's blossoming relationshipGetty/GOALWHAT HAPPENED?

The former EastEnders star has been very active on the footballing circuit and when his daughter started dating Bowen, that went to another level as he started regularly visiting West Ham and England matches to support his daughter's boyfriend. He has now praised the forward and provided an insight into Bowen and Dani’s blossoming relationship.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT DYER SAID

Speaking on talkSPORT's Breakfast Show, Dyer said: "It’s a weird one when you’ve got daughters because they do bring home fellas that are no good. The thing about Jarrod is that he’s such a lovely geezer. He’s humble, quite a shy kid and loves my daughter and worships the ground she walks on.

"That means the world to me and the bonus is he got the winning goal in Prague [Europa Conference League final in 2013], so I feel sorry for my other daughter who’s 17. She can never bring a boy home that can ever match what this boy has done!

"It’s a beautiful thing, I’m so happy for the pair of them, they're so bang in love. She hasn't seen him," Dyer added. "He’s been away for six weeks. It's been a very intense camp. She’s been going back and forth, every time she goes we’ve got the chavs unfortunately for us!"

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On the show, Dyer also talked about the mood in the England camp following their heartbreaking loss against Spain in the Euro 2024 final. He said: "After the game you wait for the players to come and see you. Usually, if we lose a game, I’m out the door. We had to sit and watch the Spanish celebrate for an hour and a half, so that hurt. Then the players came and they were all a bit down and I think everyone was in shock.

"I think we all really did believe this time. I’m so grateful that the boys scored that goal and we had the chance to jump around. Every boozer, we had the opportunity to jump around cuddle each other an go crackers because it was underwhelming the whole game and then of course they done us in the last minute. They only just nicked it off us but what a side Spain are."

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WHAT NEXT FOR BOWEN?

Bowen only played 35 minutes at the Euros for Gareth Southgate and, after a break with Dani, will return to pre-season training with the West Ham squad as they prepare for the start of the Premier League season.

Lasith Embuldeniya took four as well as Pakistan folded for 191, before Sri Lanka limped to 64 for 3 at stumps

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Karachi19-Dec-2019A flat surface had been expected at Karachi. Instead the first day delivered 13 wickets, eight of them in a manic final session, as Pakistan first nosedived to 191 all out, losing their last six for 24 runs, before Sri Lanka limped their way to 64 for 3 at the close.The day belonged to all manner of bowlers – speedsters, seam-bowling wizards, ambling spinners – but if one stood out from the crowd, it was Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara. He touched 150kph at times in the morning, and kept his pace up all day, sending down hostile bouncers in stretches, and teasing the outside edge at other times. He had most success going full, straight and fast, however, nailing Abid Ali and Yasir Shah lbw, and cleaning up Mohammad Rizwan with an inducker on his way to 4 for 49 from 18 overs.Lasith Embuldeniya, the left-arm spinnner, was the perfect foil, recovering from a wayward first session to settle into an alluring rhythm later on. He had excellent drift from the outset, but once he’d settled into his work after lunch, he had flight, dip, bounce and spin at his command as well. He took the vital wicket of Babar Azam early in the second session, getting one to spit past the face of his bat as he ran down the pitch at him, Niroshan Dickwella completing an easy stumping. Just before that middle session finished, Embuldeniya also trapped Haris Sohail in front of the stumps with another sharply-turning delivery. Taking two tail-end wickets as well, he finished with 4 for 71.Their middle and lower orders having collapsed abysmally either side of tea, Pakistan’s bowlers were then called upon to haul their side back into the game. Hunting as a pack in the dying light, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah both delivered searing pace – Naseem the quicker of the two, frequently breaching the 145kph mark. Shaheen made the first breakthrough, nicking off Oshada Fernando in the seventh over with a full delivery outside off stump that prompted a fatal drive.Mohammad Abbas had perhaps been a little underwhelming in his first spell, sharing the new ball with Shaheen, but was at his conniving best in the second. He angled one across Dimuth Karunaratne before jagging it back off the seam – Karunaratne managing only to drag the ball back onto his stumps after attempting to cut. Abbas’ next dismissal – the one to round off the day – was superbly characteristic of his best bowling. He sent a length ball just outside off stump at Kusal Mendis, who is especially vulnerable in that area, wobbled it away, and drew an outside edge that flew low to second slip.Barely 90 minutes previous, Pakistan had been reeling, after their sudden surrender with the bat. By the end of the day, they could see a path back into this game.The collapse had been partially the result of good Sri Lanka bowling, but perhaps it did not need to be quite so dramatic. Pakistan had seemed to be building a decent score, at 167 for 4, when Haris was nailed in front by Embuldeniya. Then first thing after tea, Kumara delivered the over of the day to really set Pakistan’s decline in motion.He sneaked a ball between bat and pad to rattle Rizwan’s stumps, then next ball hit Yasir Shah on the boot to effect a plumb lbw. Sri Lanka would lose a review trying for a third wicket a few balls later, but Kumara nevertheless completed a double-wicket maiden that transformed the outlook of the game. From then on, it was a question of how many Asad Shafiq would manage to squeeze out in the company of the tail. It would turn out it wasn’t many.Shafiq, who made 63, was day one’s top scorer, and was the only other half-centurion after Babar had lit up the morning with 60 off 96 balls. Through those early sessions, Pakistan’s batsmen looked largely comfortable, and there didn’t seem to be much to fear from the surface. Babar drove majestically as usual, and ran down the pitch once to clobber Embuldeniya over long on for six. His dismissal was almost certainly the result of telegraphing another advance against Embuldeniya, who saw the batsman coming and slipped in a shorter ball that spun.When Sri Lanka’s third wicket fell with about 15 minutes to go till stumps, Embuldeniya came out as the nightwatchman. He will have Angelo Mathews for company when play resumes on day two.

Since being taken over in 2008, many things have changed about Manchester City. They are completely unrecognisable on and off the pitch, are now considered one of, if not the best team in world football, and have a superb footballing structure off the pitch.

Not only have their owners invested in the first team, but they have also put money into the community to help develop a better area around the Etihad Stadium, and they have put £200m into the City Football Academy, which is opposite the Etihad, as of May 2021.

City’s investment into their academy has begun to pay dividends in recent years. Whilst they often bring talent in from elsewhere, such as Romeo Lavia, who they signed in 2020 from Anderlecht before selling him to Southampton in 2022, for £10.5m, they have seen homegrown success, players who cost them nothing and could result in profit or a first-team place.

Cole Palmer came through the City academy, and broke into the first-team before being sold to Chelsea last summer for £40m, where he now has 25 Premier League goal involvements in 26 games. Rico Lewis made his debut in 2022, where he scored, and is now an important squad member under Pep Guardiola.

However, there is one academy graduate whose first-team career so far for City has been wonderful, and he is now recognised as one of the most valuable players in world football.

Phil Foden's Man City career in numbers

The player in question is Phil Foden, who was signed by City at the age of eight and has risen through their academy ranks, eventually becoming one of the most important players for Pep Guardiola’s side

Foden’s time at City has been exceptional so far. He has already won 16 major trophies at just 23 years of age, which includes five Premier League titles and a Champions League which was one-third of a historic treble in 2022/23.

He has already made 262 appearances for the Citizens and has 82 goals and 51 assists to his name so far. The attacker had a rapid rise into City’s first team and has thrived under the tutelage of Guardiola since he was given his debut in November 2017. He has never looked back.

Phil Foden's transfer value in 2024

According to CIES Football Observatory, there are only two players currently more valuable than Phil Foden in world football, namely Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. The England star is valued at £171m, the same as international teammate Bukayo Saka, and Real Madrid duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior. He's also valued far higher than the likes of Rodri (£86m) and Bernardo Silva (£51m).

#1 Erling Haaland

£214m

#2 Jude Bellingham

£214m

#3 Rodrygo

£171m

#4 Vinicius Jr

£171m

#5 Phil Foden

£171m

#6 Bukayo Saka

£171m

This is certainly reflected in Foden’s exemplary 2023/24 season so far. The 23-year-old has arguably been the best player in the Premier League this season.

He currently has 14 goals and seven assists in the top flight, with 22 goals and ten assists in all competitions. The latest of which was a simply scorching strike in the Bernabeu as City drew 3-3 with Real Madrid.

For context, only Erling Haaland has more goal involvements for City this season than Foden’s 32, with the Norway striker currently sitting on 36 in total.

Described by his England teammate Declan Rice as “very very special” back in 2021, it is clear why Foden is so highly rated and valued. Credit must be given to his manager Guardiola, who has given him a new role in central areas of the pitch this season, which is clearly working for his side and for the player.

It is somewhere that Foden himself has admitted to preferring to play. In an interview with Sky Sports following his hat-trick away to Brentford in February, the 23-year-old said “I'm enjoying playing in the middle and that's where I see myself. Hopefully I can get more game time playing there."

Playing centrally allows Foden to get on the ball much more between the lines, and he can have more of an impact in the final third. This season, he averages 2.23 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 16% of positionally similar players in Europe, as per Fbref, which shows how much more control he can have on the game in central areas.

It is perhaps unsurprising to Guardiola that Foden is playing as well as he is this season. The former Barcelona manager has previously described him as “the most, most, most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager”. That is high praise given that Guardiola managed Lionel Messi in his prime.

If Foden continues this upward trajectory, he could become one of the greatest English players of all time. He does not seem to be slowing down any time soon, and there is likely a decade or more left of his career. It certainly feels like we are witnessing the career of one of the all-time great Premier League footballers.

Manchester United have confirmed new signing Leny Yoro has had 'successful surgery' on his foot injury.

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Yoro swaps Lille for Man Utd for £52m ($68m)Defender suffers foot injury in pre-season gameRed Devils confirm 18-year-old has had surgeryWHAT HAPPENED?

United paid Lille £52 million ($68m) last month but less than a fortnight after signing for the club, he picked up a foot issue in a pre-season match against Arsenal. Now, the club have confirmed his operation went well and will be back in 'around three months'.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Yoro was a statement signing for United, particularly as they beat Real Madrid to his signature. However, his injury is a big blow to them and it may have been keenly felt during the rest of a difficult pre-season campaign. That has heightened the need for more reinforcements in that area of the pitch, with the Red Devils chasing Bayern Munich defensive duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

DID YOU KNOW?

The 6ft 3in Yoro had a breakthrough season for Lille last term, making 44 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals along the way. The France Under-21 international will hope he can have an instant impact at Old Trafford upon his return from injury.

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Yoro's United side return to action on Saturday against rivals Manchester City at Wembley in the Community Shield, before they begin their 2024-25 Premier League season at home to Fulham on August 16.

Captain refuses to answer questions about his playing future as he prepares for must-win clash at the Wanderers

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg23-Jan-2020Faf du Plessis refused to answer questions pertaining to anything other than the Wanderers Test, including one that asked if the series finale would be his last red-ball match, as he prepared for the must-win clash.A tired-looking du Plessis did not respond to acting director of cricket Graeme Smith’s assertion that the pair would meet post-series to seek “clarity,” on du Plessis’ future or on having the ODI captaincy taken away from him and given to Quinton de Kock. Instead, he asked for tunnel vision for the next five days as he attempts to stave off a third successive Test series defeat.”I’d like to, for my own personal reasons, have my focus specifically on this Test match,” du Plessis said. “I know there’s has been a lot spoken about all the other things and too much noise away from Test cricket and the Test team. I would like to speak about what is in front of us.”This is about this Test match for me. I have not changed communication to you guys in one instant. I’ve said the same thing but the question keeps coming up. I am still committed to playing for South Africa. That hasn’t changed. It’s normal business as usual.”ALSO READ: Philander a good thing we never fully appreciated while we still had himThe announcement of de Kock as ODI captain to lead South Africa to the 2023 World Cup and Smith’s indication that du Plessis’ leadership across formats is up for discussion suggests it is not “business as usual”. But it’s understandable that du Plessis needs to create a vacuum for the next week. His legacy is at stake.He is arguably South Africa’s most astute captain, who took over at a time of uncertainty with AB de Villiers see-sawing over his availability and several strike bowlers injured, who steered the team to series wins against Australia home and away and who stayed when it would have been simpler to jump ship. That is perhaps du Plessis’ most underrated quality. His selflessness.He could left after the 2019 World Cup, when overseas offers abounded and knowing that the Ottis Gibson era was over, a tour to India loomed and CSA were at the tip of an iceberg of administrative and financial crises. Du Plessis decided his duty called more than the dollars of overseas leagues and decided to shield his successor by taking the blows.That du Plessis’ reign has to end, if not soon then at some point, is obvious. He said so himself after the Port Elizabeth Test when he admitted, “I can’t do it forever.” Now, it is about how it ends.Du Plessis began his career by taking advantage of an opportunity created by injury (JP Duminy tore his Achilles’ during the first Test against Australia in 2012) and built it on tenacity. The most honourable thing his team can do is emulate that in what could be his final bow and he seemed to ask for it when, instead of calling on them to be technically better, he asked them to have a change of mindset.”When you are deep in the series already, the extra time in the nets is not going to make that much difference,” du Plessis said. “The challenge is how mentally strong we are. There’s not enough time to change techniques. The secret weapon lies in how strong we can be emotionally and mentally.”The captain’s call comes from first-hand experience of seeing how a team that has been dominated can capitulate at the final hurdle. Two years ago, South Africa came here 2-1 up against an Australian side that were reeling from off-field scandals and beat them by 492 runs. Du Plessis does not want a reverse repeat of that to affect his team.”If you are mentally off it, teams that are on top of you just keep running with that momentum,” he said. “We need a solid, where we can get a partnership going and feel confidence through the dressing room or if we are fielding, then get early wickets so we can get stuck into their middle order. But we know England are not going to say, ‘here you go guys here’s five or six wickets in this next session, let’s play now’, we have to earn it.”There are no easy answers on the horizon for Faf du Plessis•Stu Forster/Getty ImagesThe hardest thing South Africa will have to work for is runs after failing to pass 300 in the first innings all series. Team management have called on the line-up to show more fight, but du Plessis wants them to combine it with clever strategic thinking.”You can also get let down by your skill and then your skill looks like you didn’t fight but you either let down in your skill levels or you are let down in a mental error and then it looks like you are not a fighting team but actually it was just bad decision making,” he said. “There needs to be fight and we showed that at Newlands. There was good decision-making there, good game plans and the guys batted with clarity. If you look at PE, we were almost confused as a batting unit.”Du Plessis has instructed his batsmen not to listen to too much advice from outside, particularly from television commentators who have been picking apart South Africa’s game plan.”It’s dangerous to listen to all the outside influence,” he said. “As a young player, when great players talk about how you should bat, guys listen because they want to improve. But there is also enough information in our dressing room. Most importantly, it’s about trusting what has got you to the level now to be successful and not feel you have to change your game to be successful.”He may as well have been saying the same thing to himself. Du Plessis has been zoomed in on in this series with scrutiny on his form (no half-centuries in his last eight innings) and whether he is doing enough to front up. It may be time to acknowledge that the latter is all he has been doing.With no clear successor for the Test team, du Plessis has had little choice but to keep the job, no matter how badly it’s going for him or how much he wants to run away. His harsh tone and hollow expression may have been the embodiment of that sentiment. Or it could be the perfect facade.Under this kind of pressure, the best leaders have the ability to emerge with their reputations enhanced. Du Plessis has done it before and if the Wanderers Test is his final frontier, he will want to cross it with class.