Has there been a better team on the continent than Arsenal in 2024? Perhaps not. The Gunners have soared to the top of the Premier League table courtesy of some stunning performances, breaking records left, right and centre.

Mikel Arteta's mighty Reds are yet to drop points in the league this term and over the course of their last eight matches have scored a staggering 33 goals.

They scored two plus goals in eight consecutive halves of football, the first team in Premier League history to do so and have reduced their opponents to just an xG of 4.9 in that time. For those of you who are less familiar with that metric, it basically means they have been phenomenal at the back.

You'd be forgiven for thinking Arsenal have been at full strength in that time but they have not. Gabriel Jesus has largely been absent courtesy of a knee injury while Oleksandr Zinchenko has also been sidelined.

Kai Havertz – who has four goals in his last four matches – and Jakub Kiwior have both stepped up to the plate admirably in their absence. The latter was merely a peripheral figure heading into 2024 but has been their most improved presence, having a hand in four goals of his own in the last seven games across all competitions.

However, there is one man who just continues to deliver week in, week out and is arguably getting even better; Declan Rice.

Declan Rice's season in numbers

What can you say about Rice that hasn't already been said? Very little but the list of superlatives you can throw his way are extensive.

Valued at £85m as per CIES Football Observatory might suggest that when Arsenal coughed up £105m for the player last summer they overpaid a tad. However, most adoring supporters at the Emirates Stadium would chuck another £100m West Ham United's way if they could. Simply, he has been that good.

Rice has won points on his own this term, notably scoring dramatic late winners against both Manchester United and Luton Town but it's in 2024 when granted a freer role ahead of Jorginho that goal contributions are following in abundance.

The England international has registered four assists and three goals in the league this calendar year, registering three involvements in each of the last three outings, assisting versus Newcastle before popping up with a strike in the 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United and a vital headed goal against Brentford last time out.

In the process, the 25-year-old is becoming the master of the set piece and indeed the master of arriving late in the box, Aaron Ramsey style.

Signed for what he could bring defensively, it says it all that we're now discussing the midfielder's attacking attributes. Sitting in the top 13% of Premier League midfielders for percentage of dribblers tackled and the top 10% for carries – as per FBref – this really is a player who has it all. £105m feels like a bargain now.

If Rice continues to excel and improve at his current rate then it would not be a surprise to see him go down besides the likes of Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp as club icons.

Speaking of Bergkamp, he's a player who would be worth a pretty eye-watering sum of money in the modern market as well.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Dennis Bergkamp's transfer valuation in 2024

Like Rice, Bergkamp was a master of manipulating the ball to do exactly as he pleased. A more forward-thinking player, of course, the great Dutchman found the net on 120 occasions in 422 outings for the Gunners, also supplying 103 assists as if that goal tally wasn't already enough.

Such a record in front of goal puts him fourth on the list of Arsenal's all-time top scorers, cementing himself as a legend of Highbury in the process. This was well and truly a transfer where the club struck gold.

#1 Thierry Henry

228

#2 Ian Wright

179

#3 Robin van Persie

132

#4 Dennis Bergkamp

120

#5 Theo Walcott

108

#6 Alan Smith

106

#7 Olivier Giroud

105

#8 Joe Baker

94

#9 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

92

#10 Paul Merson

92

There are arguably very few players that live up to Bergkamp's extreme quality in Premier League history. Standing at 6 foot, he had the height to trouble defences but it was the technical ability, and to be quite frank, his aura that made him so special.

Remember that goal against Newcastle? Of course, you do. The way he spins the defender is a thing of beauty before rolling the ball home in jaw-dropping fashion.

Initially signed for a fee of just £10m by Arsene Wenger after leaving Inter Milan behind, it's remarkable to think what he could cost in the modern market.

Well, fortunately the numbers have been crunched and we have the answer thanks to Totally Money.

They have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five big leagues and armed with plenty of historical financial data have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day. That's after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation in the sport.

So, what's the answer? Well, the whopping sum of money would be £96m. That's more than the aforementioned £85m Rice is now valued at, as per CIES.

For further context, Thierry Henry's £14.5m move from Monaco would be worth just shy of £50m in today's market. Sylvain Wiltord's £15.7m transfer from French shores to Highbury would now see Arsenal cough up £40m.

Dennis Bergkamp (1995)

£10m

£96m

Mesut Ozil (2013)

£42m

£77.5m

Jose Antonio Reyes (2003)

£18m

£75m

Alexis Sanchez (2014)

£38m

£69m

David Platt (1995)

£6m

£61m

Granit Xhaka (2016)

£40.5m

£55m

No doubt this is all a bit of fun but it demonstrates just how much money is now involved in the modern game.

We might not ever reach the £200m PSG paid for Neymar again but transfer fees have clearly escalated a remarkable amount over the last 30 years. It's no wonder teams are now finally succumbing to financial fair play and profit and sustainability rules.

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ByStephan Georgiou Apr 16, 2024

Tottenham have been described as "ever closer to closing" a move for one of their rumoured transfer targets, with ex-managing director Fabio Paratici named as being involved in the background.

Spurs in the market for new defender

Despite their reliably reported eagerness to sign another star winger later this year, other media sources have suggested that Ange Postecoglou's side are keen on bringing in a new defender.

Ange targeting "unique" star alongside Pedro Neto as Spurs plan big signing

Spurs are eyeing marquee additions in the wide areas.

By
Emilio Galantini

Mar 1, 2024

Indeed, both Pedro Neto and Eberechi Eze are top Tottenham targets but it appears the wider recruitment team want to continue overhauling the Lilywhites defence.

Radu Dragusin was signed from Genoa at around £25 million in January, but the north Londoners have maintained an interest in centre-backs, including Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite – despite some rumours he could cost a marquee fee.

Eric Dier joined Bayern Munich in the winter, with Postecoglou potentially wanting another centre-back to fill the hole he left behind.

Meanwhile, given Ryan Sessegnon's injury curse, Ben Davies' age and Emerson Royal's arguable lack of cutting edge going forward, Spurs are thought to be eyeing up full-back alternatives to star men Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie.

Both men's absences can be felt in the Tottenham side, given they play a pivotal role in Postecoglou's inverted full-back system. There are suggestions that the north Londoners could even re-sign Kyle Walker-Peters from Southampton to fix the problem.

“My understanding is they are looking for someone who can possibly play both sides, not Diego Dalot but someone of that ilk,” journalist Graeme Bailey said to Tottenham News recently.

“I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out, Walker-Peters is someone who Chelsea looked at as well. For these signings as well, the fourth centre-half I still think is probably Lloyd Kelly or Tosin Adarabioyo to come in on a free. Good Premier League players but at the end of the day, they are going to be fourth choice. Spurs don’t need to go and spend £60 million on a centre half.”

Tottenham "ever closer to closing" Festy Ebosele move

Another player to be linked is Republic of Ireland international right-back Festy Ebosele. The Serie A defender has been impeccable for current club Udinese this season, and this has alerted people at Tottenham.

According to Mondo Udinese.it, he could cost a bargain fee of around £13m to sign this summer, with ex-managing director Paratici described as "putting a red circle" on Ebosele from the "outside".

They also describe Tottenham as "ever closer to closing" a move for Ebosele, who would come from the same club as Udogie. Former Derby teammate Craig Forsyth has interestingly called the 21-year-old a "nightmare" to play against.

"He's been getting better and better and that's the thing. It's good to see him improving with that final ball," said Forsyth.

"Still he can get better, there was a lot of opportunities tonight. He's a threat and he's horrible to play against. He's so strong and he's so quick and he can go both ways. He's a nightmare for a defender."

Winning is the priority, but T20I is the best format to give fringe players a chance, India’s stand-in captain has said

Sruthi Ravindranath06-Nov-20194:31

‘Pretty sure Rajkot pitch will be better than Delhi’ – Rohit Sharma

India are the top-ranked Test side in the world, and only behind England in ODIs, but they haven’t quite been up there in T20Is, where they are currently fifth in the ICC rankings. For India’s stand-in captain Rohit Sharma, though, it’s not something to lose sleep over. With the next T20 World Cup just under a year away, he says the focus is on strengthening India’s bench, while not compromising on results.”Of course this a format where we are trying a lot of players,” Rohit said at a press conference ahead of the second T20I against Bangladesh in Rajkot, when asked why the team wasn’t up among the best in the format. “The key players are not involved so we’re trying a lot of younger players in the lot, sitting on the fringe.”Probably that’s one of the reasons, to be honest. The other formats, we have our entire squad playing the game. You get what you want from that squad. This is a format where you can try [other players], and there’s no harm in that.”India have won just two of their five T20I series since November 2018, both wins coming against tenth-ranked West Indies. Following a series loss at New Zealand’s hands earlier this year, they lost a series against Australia at home and drew one against South Africa. A loss in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Delhi has led to questions being asked anew.India are without regular captain Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni continues to be on an indefinite break, and a number of fast bowlers including frontman Jasprit Bumrah are missing at the moment.”We want to try a lot of players and make then ready for other formats,” Rohit said. “This is the format where these individuals can come out and express themselves so they’re ready for ODI and Test cricket also. We’ve seen a lot of players who have emerged from this format and have gone on to play ODIs and Tests. We want our bench strength to be as strong as possible so this is probably the reason why you see so many new guys coming into the fray.”It doesn’t mean that we have to not win games. Winning is the priority, but again these guys will learn from it. This is how a lot of guys, including me, learnt. That’s how it happens.”India have handed four T20I debuts this year, to Navdeep Saini, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar and Shivam Dube. While Markande did not get another chance after his debut against Australia, the other legspinner, Chahar, who made his debut against West Indies in August, was included in the squads for the games against South Africa and Bangladesh. Dube earned his maiden call-up in the Delhi T20I against Bangladesh, while Saini has missed out because of injury.Rohit Sharma throws mid-air•BCCI

In the first T20I against Bangladesh, the relatively inexperienced bowling attack was handled competently by the seasoned Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar. Young Khaleel Ahmed, given the job of bowling three overs in the last six, went for 18 runs in the 19th over, which pretty much sealed the game for Bangladesh, leaving them needing just four off the last over.Rohit, however, was not ready to point fingers at anyone. “Pressure is just on the team to perform and on no particular department,” he said. “You’ve lost as a team, not lost as a bowling unit. The focus will be on the team to perform so collectively all of us need to come together.”Bowlers need to come and get crucial wickets and defend the score. That’ll be the idea. We aren’t focusing on one department. We lost as a team and not as individuals.”Another area that has come under the spotlight is India’s cautious approach while batting in the Powerplay; they only scored 35 in the first six in Delhi.”Conditions were not ideal,” Rohit, who lost his wicket in the first over of the match, said. “The pitch was a little soft. The shot-making was not easy, so we have to assess and see what sort of score we want in the first six overs, then seven to 15, and the last five overs. You have to break it down like that. When you are playing on a pitch like that, you’ve to see what the ideal score would be to defend. That was the idea. But if the pitch is good you’ll see a different team India approach tomorrow.”

Tottenham Hotspur fan favourite Rafael van der Vaart has commented on an "ultra-attacking" coach who he wanted at Spurs over Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou enjoys terrific debut season at Spurs

The Lilywhites have been given a new lease of life by Postecoglou's arrival last summer, with the popular Australian introducing an electric brand of football and one which has Spurs as favourites to qualify for the Champions League.

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The Dane is identifying transfer targets for this summer.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Mar 12, 2024

Spurs soundly beat top-four rivals Aston Villa 4-0 on Sunday in a major boost to their European hopes, with goals from James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and Timo Werner putting Unai Emery's side to the sword.

Tottenham now hold all the cards mathematically, possessing a game in hand on Villa who are now just two points above the north Londoners in fourth.

Tottenham's next league fixtures

Date

Fulham (away)

March 16th

Luton Town (home)

March 30th

West Ham (away)

April 2nd

Nottingham Forest (home)

April 8th

Newcastle United (away)

April 13th

While they're set to go another season trophyless, Spurs have been exciting to watch, and if they seal a place in the Champions League group stage pot for 2024/25, you can say Postecoglou's debut campaign has been a success.

Chairman Daniel Levy appeared to make the right choice in selecting Postecoglou as Antonio Conte's replacement last summer, but van der Vaart actually wanted another forward-thinking boss in the Spurs dugout.

Van der Vaart says Spurs "need" a coach like Arne Slot

Speaking to 1908.nl, the former Lilywhites star said he was a big fan of Feyenoord boss Arne Slot for the job last year. The Dutchman guided Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title since 2017 last year, and van der Vaart says Tottenham "need" a coach like Slot.

“I don't think so, at least I know that," said van der Vaart on whether Slot rejected Spurs.

“Spurs has chosen a different path, I know that. Although I would have liked Slot to be the one, because my Spurs heart says that that club needs such a trainer. He's [Postecoglou] a really nice guy. He also did well at Celtic and is now also doing very well at Tottenham."

Tottenham certainly won't have any regrets over picking Postecoglou over Slot, but if things don't work out with the 58-year-old in future seasons, perhaps he is someone they can turn to in the coming years.

"The best thing about Arne Slot is that he is probably the best attacking coach I have seen in the last 35-40 years at Feyenoord," said journalist Marcel van der Kraan to talkSPORT (via FFC).

"He is very similar to Pep Guardiola, his ideas are very similar, he is a massive fan of Pep and he plays the same time. He goes ultra-attacking, he is almost like a maniac. Not on the touchline but it is fantastic to see how he has turned an average side into a wonderful attacking machine."

Jurgen Klopp may be out of the running, but LAFC boss Steve Cherundolo is expected to be a “finalist” in the race to become the next USMNT head coach.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Change made after disappointing tournament showing
• Ex-Liverpool boss Klopp is out of the running
• Former defender a leading contender to take the reins

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  That position has become vacant following the decision to part with Gregg Berhalter. His second spell in charge of the United States has been brought to a close following a disastrous 2024 Copa America campaign that delivered a humbling group stage exit on home soil.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The search is on for a suitable successor, with various names being thrown into the mix. Many fans had been hoping that former Liverpool boss Klopp could be talked out of his brief coaching sabbatical, but the German has reportedly knocked back a tentative approach.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Former USMNT star Cherundolo is now considered to be a leading contender, given his MLS record in Los Angeles, and Taylor Twellman has suggested that talks may have already been held with 45-year-old – who earned 87 caps for his country as a player and spent his entire club career in Germany with Hannover.

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  have confirmed that the former defender is in the frame, with Michele Giannone stating: “He has indeed had those conversations and, as of now, if he’s not the leading candidate, he will definitely be a finalist for the job, I believe.”

Pieter Seelaar, the Netherlands captain, would love to have the services of Ryan ten Doeschate at next year’s men’s T20 World Cup even as the talismanic allrounder approaches his 40th birthday.Ten Doeschate was Netherlands’ second top-scorer at the men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in the UAE, making 233 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.25.Seelaar knew the importance of having a performer like that at an ICC event but insisted the decision would be “entirely Ryan’s alone”.”There are no concerns, Ryan is one of the fittest blokes around in the change room,” Seelaar said after their win over Papua New Guinea in the final. “I’m not sure what his decision is going to be, it’s entirely up to him. He’s got a contract extension at Essex, which will keep him busy, but he’s told me he’d like to play another World Cup. We have to see when we get there, but it will be helpful to have his experience and quality, which we don’t get very often.”He’s the sort of guy who can win you games at No. 5 from any sort of position. For me, he’ll be quality to have in Australia. Having a guy like him helps not just on the field, but off it as well. There’s a lot of knowledge you can turn to, take a lot of information from when he’s out on the field. Having him out in a tough chase eases the nerves down a little because he’s such a quality player. He’s done it in tournaments around the world, so his quality and experience are invaluable not just for me but the whole team.”Seelaar also heaped praise on Roelof van der Merwe, another allrounder who delivered at crucial moments, most notably in the final with figures of 2 for 15 in four overs. “The fast bowlers as a whole have been good, but I have to single out Roelof van der Merwe,” Seelaar said. “Be it with the bat, ball or on the field, he always does something special.”Looking ahead to the next 12 months, the captain hoped Netherlands would be able to build a pool of 20-25 players, as compared to the 15 to 20 they have currently. He also hoped clarity of roles and clear communication would be the endeavour as they looked to sustain this momentum going into the T20 World Cup.”You can’t go in depending on 15-16, we need a pool of 20-25 guys to choose from when we go to Australia,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of players waiting in the wings, but this team has set high standards. It’s up to them to live up to the standards. We’ve to keep working on our fitness. Tournaments like these break you down physically and mentally. We’ve got Pakistan up next at home, which is going to be tough. Generally, we should build a squad of 20-25 who all have an equal shot at going to Australia.”We want the guys coming in to play a certain way. We want to pick guys suitable to roles, but it’s not just about winning games, it’s about coming from hard practice and having good solid plans so that everyone’s clear and have the freedom to do something special. We’ve to create a hard-working culture to make sure we maintain this success and bring it along by the time we get to Australia.”

Chelsea have had something of an inconsistent 2023/24 season thus far. Despite reaching the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool last month, the Blues currently reside in 11th place, 14 points off the top four spots.

Granted, their form in the last campaign wasn't much better as Todd Boehly's team found themselves finishing the season in the bottom half of the table.

The last couple of years have been a major fall from grace for the west London club as, prior to Boehly's takeover, the side not only finished in the top half of the Premier League table, but they managed to achieve Champions League qualification.

So, despite the American spending over £1b in both transfer and loan fees since the start of his tenure, the Stamford Bridge club have made little obvious progress to date.

For example, in Saturday's clash against Brentford, the Blues had to rely on an 83rd-minute goal from Axel Disasi in order to gain a point from the encounter, the two sides playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw in west London.

It wasn't just Disasi who proved to be Chelsea's saviour this afternoon, however, one other player whom Boehly acquired from Ligue 1 having started to pick up form and showcase his ability. That player being, Malo Gusto.

Malo Gusto's game in numbers vs Brentford

Gusto has been a fairly consistent starter for Mauricio Pochettino this season due to the injuries which Reece James has suffered to date.

The France international has played a total of 26 times for Chelsea in all competitions this term and has provided his team with six assists – notably teeing up Nicolas Jackson's opener against the Bees with a delicious cross.

During the game, the promising defender also managed to successfully dribble past his opponents twice and win 66% of the duels which he attempted, as per Sofascore, having also chalked up three key passes from his wing-back berth,

The former Lyon man did, however, manage to lose the ball 17 times, although that was likely due to his willingness to make things happen for his side in a creative sense, seemingly more than deserving of his 7/10 match rating – as per GOAL.

The attack-minded defender wasn't the only Chelsea player who had a stellar game, however, as Disasi was the reason behind the Blues getting a point at all.

How well Disasi played against the Bees

Disasi is another one of Boehly's signings which seems to have aged well. The defender was signed for a fee in the region of £38m and has been a regular in Pochettino's squad.

The 25-year-old has appeared a total of 34 times for the west London club and has scored twice during that time.

Whilst these returns aren't the strongest, defenders are often not judged by the amount of goals they contribute to their team, rather, they are judged by the amount of goals they can keep out.

The former Monaco man largely did a stellar job at that during their meeting with Thomas Frank's side as he managed to win 60% of the duels which he attempted and cleared the ball a total of three times.

Disasi also had 81 touches of the ball, which is more than what Ben Chilwell managed despite the former Leicester man playing in a much more advanced role.

If the centre-back's form continues as it has been doing over the last few seasons, there is no reason as to why we won't be seeing the 6 foot 2 titan donning the blue of Chelsea for many years to come.

استأنف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك تدريباته اليوم الإثنين، على ملعب عبد اللطيف أبو رجيلة، من أجل الاستعداد لمواجهة البنك الأهلي في الجولة الأولى من بطولة الدوري المصري.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي الزمالك مع البنك الأهلي، يوم الجمعة المُقبل الموافق 1 نوفمبر، في الجولة الأولى من الدوري المصري على ملعب السلام. أحمد سليمان يحضر المران

حرص أحمد سليمان عضو مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك والمشرف على فريق الكرة، على التواجد في المران، لمؤازرة الفريق في التدريبات قبل انطلاق مسابقة الدوري.

وعقد أحمد سليمان جلسة مع البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز المدير الفني، للاطمئنان على الفريق ومعرفة احتياجاته خلال الفترة المقبلة. تدريبات تأهيلية لـ عبد الشافي

أدى محمد عبد الشافي الظهير الأيسر للفريق، تدريبات تأهيلية خاصة تحت إشراف الجهاز الطبي، من أجل تجهيزه للمشاركة في التدريبات الجماعية، بعدما سبق وخضع اللاعب لجراحة الرباط الصليبي من قبل. انتظام سيدي ندياي

انتظم السنغالي سيدي ندياي مهاجم الفريق في التدريبات الجماعية بعد أن تماثل اللاعب للشفاء من الإصابة التي كان يعاني منها بكدمة في وجه القدم. فقرة تدريبات بدنية

خصص الجهاز الفني فقرة تدريبات بدنية خلال المران، وتولى جواو ميجيل مدرب الأحمال الإشراف على هذه الفقرة من أجل تجهيز اللاعبين بدنياً لانطلاق مسابقة الدوري الممتاز.

طالع أيضًا | جوميز يوجه رسالة قوية للاعبي الزمالك في أول تجمع بعد خسارة السوبر المصري محاضرة فنية

ألقى البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز المدير الفني للفريق، محاضرة فنية على اللاعبين في أرضية الملعب قبل انطلاق الفقرة الفنية.

وحرص المدير الفني على شرح بعض الأمور الفنية للاعبين ومنحهم بعض التعليمات قبل خوض الفقرة الخططية والتقسيمة الفنية. انتظام ثلاثي الفريق

انتظم محمود بنتايج ومحمد شحاتة ومحمد السيد ثلاثي الفريق في التدريبات الجماعية.

وكان بنتايج وشحاتة يعانيان من إجهاد عضلي بعد مباراة الأهلي في نهائي السوبر المحلي، في حين تعرض محمد السيد لإصابة في الرأس واطمأن الجهاز الفني على سلامته.

وحرص الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك بقيادة البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز على التركيز على تطبيق بعض الجوانب الخططية.

وخاض اللاعبون تقسيمة فنية في نهاية المران لتنفيذ ما تم التدريب عليه، استعداداً لمباراة البنك الأهلي المقبلة، وحرص أعضاء الجهاز الفني على توجيه اللاعبين باستمرار خلال التقسيمة وتصحيح الأخطاء.

Manchester United are braced for yet more changes above Erik ten Hag as INEOS group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe continue their overhaul of the club.

Derby defeat hammers home the job on Ratcliffe's hands

As Sunday's Premier League derby day drubbing demonstrated, Manchester United are miles away from where they want to be. The Red Devils have floundered around the edge of the European places all season in what has been a trying year for Erik ten Hag.

Finishing bottom of their Champions League group, they sit a massive 11 points outside the top four and look likely to be missing out on Champions League football again this season barring a drastic turnaround. Though there have been injuries aplenty, there are a large majority who believe it is a matter of when, not if, Ten Hag is shown the exit door in the north west.

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While on-field performances may be stagnating, there has been progress off it. Ratcliffe took charge officially in February after agreeing to buy a minority stake in the club at the end of 2023. He has wasted no time since. Already the club have added Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City, with the Moroccan arriving at the end of the season to take on the CEO role at the club.

They are also believed to be finalising a deal for Dan Ashworth, with the Newcastle United sporting director having been placed on gardening leave by the Magpies as a deal looks to be agreed, though there is a steep £20m asking price involved.

Ashworth would overhaul a dated transfer policy at Old Trafford, having already had success at Brighton and more recently at St James' Park. There is hope that his presence would prevent deals such as that for Antony being completed in the future.

Another Premier League appointment in sight

Now, the off-the-field overhaul is set to continue, with Dougie Freedman being lined up to become the Red Devils' new head of recruitment, where he would work in tandem with Ashworth over transfer business.

Currently Sporting Director at Crystal Palace, United are "expected to make an official approach" for the Scot in the coming days, with the club keen to have their infrastructure in place before the end of the campaign.

Having helped overhaul Palace in the previous five years, Freedman was 'instrumental' in the arrivals of the likes of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. It is added that he is 'open' to the idea of making the switch to Old Trafford from South London, meaning that should Palace allow him to depart, a deal could be completed very soon.

USWNT star Trinity Rodman has revealed her sporting idols, with a World Cup winner and NBA legend looked to for inspiration.

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• Grew up watching Olympic heroes
• Now chasing down goal medal of her own
• Looking to inspire the next generation

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rodman, at just 22 years of age, has become a hero in her own right to countless of soccer hopefuls in the United States. She is plying her trade at the very highest level, with 40 senior caps to her name, and will form part of a gold medal bid at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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• WHAT RODMAN SAID

  The USWNT last savoured Olympic glory in 2012, with Rodman admiring one of the stars in that side. She has told when asked to pick out childhood favourites: “They’re, honestly, all idols. But specifically, I would say I always touch on Tobin Heath because I feel, like, in her game, she shows a lot of creativity and spunk while also being explosive and fast. You can tell her mind is going a million miles per hour, but when she gets on the ball, everything slows down. It’s amazing to watch. She’s someone I’ve studied a lot.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pressed further on athletes from other sports that she has looked up to, Rodman – who is the daughter of former Chicago Bulls star Dennis – added: “Kobe Bryant was a big one. And obviously, I had a personal connection with him, so that added to it. He was just…his mentality was like no other. The way that he worked the court, the way that he would toy with defenders. I always preach that being able to play with the defence is a huge part of the game. Kobe was so mentally fit all the time. Even if his team lost, he was winning the one-on-one battle.”

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Rodman will be hoping to do that herself when taking to the field in France. The USWNT are set to get their Olympic gold medal bid underway when taking on Zambia in Nice on Thursday – with new head coach Emma Hayes piecing together a star-studded squad.