Cavani should have been signed sooner, says Hughes (Picture: Getty Images)
Mark Hughes feels Manchester United signed veteran striker Edinson Cavani at ‘the wrong time’ and should have bought him half a decade ago.
Hughes, the ex-United forward, says his former club need a striker in their ‘pomp’ rather than one who is in the twilight of his career.
That said, the former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City manager still thinks the Uruguay international is the best option available to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer through the middle.
‘United have got good quality at the top end of the pitch but they need someone in like Edinson Cavani five years ago, when he was in his pomp,’ Hughes told Sky Sports.
‘United probably got Cavani at the wrong time but he’s still an outstanding centre-forward; when he plays in this team, he gives them more focus, more confidence going into his feet, and things happen around him.
‘With Martial, Rashford and Greenwood, they all want to play in any position other than through the middle.
The teenager has hit the ground running at Vitesse (Picture: ANP Sport via Getty Images)
Chelsea loanee Armando Broja, who is impressing at Vitesse, has set himself the lofty target of attempting to ‘surpass’ club legend Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues academy graduate has excelled at youth level and made his first and only senior appearance after coming on for Olivier Giroud in a victory over Everton in March of last season.
Broja, 19, was sent out on loan to Vitesse for the 2020/21 campaign to gain more first-team experience and has dazzled at the Eredivisie club with nine goals and two assists in 20 league games.
Broja has made one senior appearance for the Blues (Picture: Getty Images)
The Albania international striker is already looking to the future and named Drogba, who scored 164 goals for the Blues, as the player that he is looking to eclipse over his career at the west London club.
‘I was like: ‘Wow! That’s Frank Lampard, [Didier] Drogba or John Terry right in front of me’, when I would see them around,’ he told Goal.
‘I loved to take pictures with them because I wanted to be them. I wanted to be in their shoes at the top level.
‘Now I am approaching the age they were when they were playing, I want to try and surpass Drogba.
‘It might not be easy, but that’s my mentality and how I am feeling.’
Despite almost reaching double figures for goals in his first full season of senior football, Broja is still hungry for more.
‘Nine goals and two assists is good but I am never satisfied,’ he added.
‘I want to get more goals and assists to keep tallying them up.
‘I have played over 1000 minutes and I have 11 goal contributions. It is not bad but I want more goals and assists. I want to do more.’
Kyle Joseph has made an impact at Wigan (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal are interested in teenage Wigan striker Kyle Joseph, who is available on a free transfer in the summer, but face competition from a string of big clubs.
The 19-year-old only made his debut for the Latics in October last year but has already scored five goals in 14 League One appearances.
Joseph has been at the club since the age of 13 but they only have him under contract until June, meaning he will be free to leave then after his impressive start to his senior career, although there will be a tribunal fee required.
His goals in League One, and his appearances for Scotland at youth level, have attracted the attention of some big clubs, especially as he is available for very little.
The Mirror report that Arsenal are involved in the race for his signature, as are Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic, along with unnamed clubs across Europe.
Former Leeds United and Coventry striker Noel Whelan was asked about the prospect by Football Insider in terms of a move to one of the Scottish Premiership powerhouses and questioned whether he was ready for that step, never mind Arsenal.
‘He’s young and has experience in League One. It’s a risk, of course, can he make that leap up to the Scottish Premiership?’ Whelan said.
‘Can he deal with the pressure of being at a big club like Celtic? No disrespect but he’s at Wigan. It’s not a huge club and never has been.
‘There are a lot of things that come with moving to a massive club like Celtic. We’ll have fans back in the stadium next season. The pressure’s gonna be on. You can do it in the third-tier, but can you do it on a bigger stage? These are things that need to be taken into consideration.’
The two players had to be separated by their teammates before things escalated (Picture: Getty)
Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he nearly came to blows with Ruud van Nistelrooy in Manchester United training after ‘smashing’ the forward as payback for a naughty challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo.
The central defender moved to Old Trafford a year after Van Nistelrooy had signed from PSV and they lifted the Premier League title together in 2003, though the Dutchman was offloaded three years later when it became clear he could not play alongside the emerging Ronaldo.
Tensions between Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo were clear in training and Ferdinand nearly got into a scrap with the striker when he intervened on behalf of the young Portuguese winger.
Ferdinand went in hard on Van Nistelrooy after he ‘smashed’ Ronaldo (Picture: Getty)
‘It was mad at United, things could just switch just like that [clicks fingers] in training. I think all training grounds are the same, there’s a lot of testosterone flying about,’ Ferdinand explained on his Vibe With FIVE YouTube show.
Asked if he was ever involved in a fight, Ferdinand continued: ‘It never really got to that. It’s funny, because I’ve got the biggest mouth on the training ground. I used to always be shouting and screaming and I used to love jokes.
‘Obviously I got serious in training, with the games and that, especially on a Friday before the game on a Saturday, everyone’s playing, it would be hard games, fast games.
‘One time something happened with Ruud. Ruud van Nistelrooy smashed Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of times, went down his Achilles.
‘And then the ball went into Ruud and I smashed Ruud. I said, “What you doing? Why you kicking him for?”
‘And then Ruud got up and he was [not happy] and all the players just got in the way, so nothing happened.
‘But that’s the way it used to be in training. I was thinking, “Ronnie’s a young kid man, leave him alone, what you doing?” but Ruud was an animal, an animal player.
Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy did not get on well before the latter’s sale to Real Madrid (Getty)
‘He’s the best finisher I played with. Brutal finisher. If he’d stayed at United he’d have broken every record going, he was a joke.
‘We’d play a game, we’d win 4-1, but he didn’t score, he’s in the training room after and he looked emotional. I thought, “Wow, this guy cares that we won this much, Ruud’s my guy”. I asked him if he was alright, he goes “I didn’t score! I didn’t score!” He was vexed!
‘To put the nail in the coffin, Thierry [Henry] scored two on the same day so the Golden Boot was going away. He was fuming. He was so driven to score, he was born to just score.’
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – MARCH 01: (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Andy Murray won his first tour-level match since August on Monday night but admitted after he is playing under ‘extra stress’ amid constant speculation over his future.
Murray, the three-time Grand Slam champion from Dunblane, fought his way back from a set down to beat Robin Haase at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and recovered from 3-0 down in the final set in a hard-fought 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win.
It was just Murray’s second tour-level match of the year, having lost to Egor Gerasimov in Montpellier a week ago, and he did well to swerve back-to-back defeats to unfancied opponents.
After the match, the 33-year-old – who was forced to miss the Australian Open after testing positive for coronavirus – confessed he was feeling the strain of competing at the top level, with critics calling for him to end his career.
‘It’s not easy,’ said the former world No. 1. ‘Every time I lose a match I’m getting told to retire, that I should stop playing, that I’m finished and got nothing left or whatever and it’s sad and all of these things.
‘It’s not easy. I feel like I’m playing for my career just now, each time I step on court, which is a motivation in some ways.
Murray came through in three sets (Picture: BSR Agency/Getty)
‘But it also adds a bit of extra stress. There’s a bit of extra doubt there and on top of that I’m playing with a metal hip, which is hard. Trust me, it’s not easy.
‘So it’s a big challenge for me just now and one that I’ll meet head on, but it’s not easy just now. The last few months have been a bit of a struggle.’
Murray – currently ranked 123 in the ATP leaderboard – was the first to admit it was far from his best performance against Haase, the world No. 193 from the Netherlands, but could take positives in finding a way through.
‘From the mental side yeah, I did well to win because I was really struggling with my game for probably about an hour and a half of that match,’ added Murray.
‘I haven’t really felt like that many times in my career, mis-timing the ball, I was…I don’t know. It was very strange. I didn’t quite know what to do out there.
‘When I did feel I was making the right decisions, I was just mis-timing the ball, it wasn’t coming off my racquet like usual.
‘I didn’t return well and then I found a way and actually at the end, I started to play a bit better – so the mental side and the physical side was positive.
‘I moved pretty well and played for two-and-a-half hours and my hips and groin and stuff felt good, so that was positive.
‘But from the tennis side, it was average at best.’
Despite being far from his best, Murray does look physically superior to last season – something that can’t be taken for granted given his long-term hip struggles.
‘I know physically I’m in a better place that I was at then end of 2019, from all of the results I have from all of the gym work and stuff,’ added Murray.
‘When I finished in Antwerp in 2019 I felt good physically and then the next time I got on the court I had an issue with my groin and it took ages for that to get better.
‘Physically I feel good right now, but you don’t know what’s round the corner and that’s the thing I’ve been more anxious and apprehensive about, more than my tennis.’
Does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer need to take the handbrake off against the big clubs? (Picture: Getty Images)
After watching Manchester United’s goalless draw with Chelsea at the weekend, Andy Cole says his former club cannot play in such a way and feels they are betraying the attacking style built under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils stayed second in the Premier League with the stalemate at Stamford Bridge, a solid enough result, but one that leaves them 12 points behind Manchester City at the top of the table.
In games against the perceived ‘Top Six’ in the league this season United have scored just one goal and Cole feels that Solskjaer is not taking the game to his closest rivals enough.
Results may be solid, but the Red Devils cannot hope to win a title with this defensive ethos against the big clubs, believes Cole, and it is not something you would have seen under Sir Alex Ferguson.
’Manchester United can’t play like that,’ Cole told the Mirror. ‘It has to be a concern. If you think you can genuinely win the title or challenge for it, you have to score goals.
‘Playing under Sir Alex Ferguson, the only thing he used to say to us was “Go out and enjoy yourselves and entertain”. That’s what United are supposed to do, you’re supposed to entertain. You have to show your opponents respect, but you can’t fear them.
It was a blunt performance from Manchester United at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty Images)
‘If you look back, United’s history is about playing good football, trying to win games playing a certain way, not being tight at the back and trying to nick a 1-0 win.
‘United cannot play like that, and when they’ve tried to, they’ve come unstuck. Let’s get this straight – if you’re ever going to win the league, you have to knock over the big teams as well. Draws aren’t going to do it.’
Solskjaer felt that his side’s performance was good against Chelsea, they just let themselves down in the final third.
‘We haven’t had the quality or the fine margins or the luck ,but mostly today it was about the lack of quality in the last third,’ Solskjaer said.
‘We had some moments that were close and some great counterattacking opportunities, but the last pass or the cross wasn’t good enough. That’s the next step for us and we will improve.
‘Last season we had some great results, but in a different manner. At the moment we are trying to develop this style and develop ourselves to win these games and have that little last bit.’
Liverpool legend Ian St John sadly died Metro/Getty)
Liverpool legend Ian St John has sadly passed away aged 82.
The forward made 425 appearances for the Reds during 1961 and 1971 and banged in 118 goals. He also played 21 times for Scotland, scoring nine goals.
St John scored one of the most iconic goals in Liverpool’s history when he scored in extra time to seal the club’s first FA Cup win with a 2-1 victory over Leeds in 1965.
He was signed for a then club-record fee of £37,500 from Motherwell and won two league titles in 1964 and 1966.
After playing a big part under Bill Shankly’s famous Liverpool side, St John left in 1971 and played for Hellenic in Cape Town, South Africa and Coventry City before retiring in 1973.
In his post-playing days, he managed Motherwell and Portsmouth and became a well known pundit alongside fellow former player and Tottenham Hotspur legend Jimmy Greaves.
The pair hosted popular Saturday football television show Saint and Greavsie from 1985 to 1992.
A statement from his family released to the club read: ‘It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that after a long illness we have lost a husband, father and grandfather.
1st May 1965: (Photo by Larry Ellis/Express/Getty Images)
‘He passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside.
‘We would like to thank all the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital for their hard work and dedication during these very difficult times.
‘The family would be grateful for privacy at this extremely sad time.’
Former Liverpool stars Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard were saddened by the passing of the Reds legend.
‘RIP Ian St John,’ Carragher wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a broken heart emoji.
‘Another Liverpool Legend sadly passes away. One of the players along with Bill Shankly who made this club what it is today.
‘I’ll remember him most on the best football show on tv, The Saint & Greavsie. X’
Ian St John passed away (Picture: Getty Images)
Gerrard wrote: ‘Ian St John is an iconic figure at Liverpool FC.
‘A fantastic and insightful guy. Devastated to hear this news and would like to send my condolences to all of his family.’
The Scot kept his retirement a secret from the world but Mourinho was one of a handful of people in the industry to know about Ferguson’s decision.
The Portuguese had long been thought of as a perfect replacement for Ferguson and Mourinho was coming towards the end of his time at Real Madrid – who United drew in the Champions League that season.
Mourinho claimed he had already agreed to rejoin Chelsea by the time that Ferguson informed him of his decision to retire, meaning the Scot was prevented the chance of tapping up the Portuguese as a replacement.
United instead turned to David Moyes but the Scot lasted just ten months at Old Trafford, leaving the club in seventh having inherited them as Premier League champions.
Ferdinand was not fond of Moyes’ management and the former England skipper admits he felt that Mourinho should have succeeded Ferguson.
Moyes lasted ten months at Old Trafford (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
‘I thought Mourinho would have been the one the one to come in then to carry on what the manager was doing.
‘He had the experience of that type of player, that stature of club etc but it never materialised. At that time I would have been punching the air if Mourinho came through the door.
‘Mourinho has the experience, he’s won the league, won the Champions League, managed at Inter, Real Madrid, Chelsea – they’re all big clubs man!
‘He knew what he was coming into but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee you success at Manchester United as we saw when he came at the time he did.’
Mourinho ended up joining United three years later but he failed to deliver the league title at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese left after two-and-a-half-years at the Theatre of Dreams, having won the Europa League, League Cup and guided the club to a second-place finish.
Mourinho is back in the Premier League with Tottenham but he’s suffering now with many of the same problems that blighted his reign at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand believes he needs the front three of Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and Heung-Min Son to keep firing if he’s to stay in a job.
Asked how long Mourinho will survive at Spurs, Ferdinand said: ‘I don’t know! This game is a results-driven game – none of us have got a crystal ball but he’s going to have to get a tune out of these boys towards the end of the season.
‘He’s going to need the front three firing and we saw at the weekend if them three are firing they’re in games with people because they’re going to score – they’re that good.
‘It’s the rest of the team keeping up with that front three because if they’re firing they need to be about.’
Boris Johnson has backed the UK’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup (Picture: Getty)
The UK could host the 2030 World Cup after Boris Johnson gave his backing saying it was time to ‘bring football home’.
All four nations have joined together to put forward a bid when the formal process starts next year.
The Prime Minsiter told The Sun: ‘We are very, very keen to bring football home in 2030. I do think it’s the right place.
‘It’s the home of football, it’s the right time. It will be an absolutely wonderful thing for the country.’
The English Football Association said on Twitter that it welcomed ‘the Government’s pledge of £2.8million towards a potential bid’ for the 2030 World Cup.
England hasn’t hosted a major football tournament since Euro 1996 (Picture: Getty)
A joint statement from the FA and the football associations of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland last night said: ‘The football associations and Government partners of the UK and Ireland are delighted that the UK Government has committed to support a prospective five-association bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
‘We will continue to undertake feasibility work to assess the viability of a bid before FIFA formally open the process in 2022.
‘Staging a FIFA World Cup would provide an incredible opportunity to deliver tangible benefits for our nations.
Euro 2020 Host Cities & Stadiums
Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Johan Cruyff Arena
Baku (Azerbaijan) – Olympic Stadium
Bilbao (Spain) – San Mames
Bucharest (Romania) – Arena Nationala
Budapest (Hungary) – Puskas Arena
Copenhagen (Denmark) – Parken Stadium
Dublin (Republic of Ireland) – Aviva Stadium
Glasgow (Scotland) – Hampden Park
London (England) – Wembley Stadium
Munich (Germany) – Allianz Arena
Rome (Italy) – Stadio Olimpico
Saint Petersburg (Russia) – Krestovsky Stadium
‘If a decision is made to bid for the event, we look forward to presenting our hosting proposals to FIFA and the wider global football community.’
The 2022 World Cup will take place in Qatar next year, while the 2026 tournament is to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
England has not hosted the World Cup since the victorious 1966 campaign. London, Glasgow and Dublin are among the 12 host cities for the delayed 2020 European Championship, which is scheduled to take place this summer.
Boris Johnson has also offered up Britain’s stadiums to help for the duration of the upcoming Euros. The tournament was due to be staged across a number of cities across Europe last summer, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The event will go ahead this summer, however, there remains a degree of uncertainty as to where matches will be played.
Both semi-finals are due to be hosted at Wembley but the PM says more matches could easily be held in Britain should UEFA face further logistical issues, adding ‘Any other matches they want hosted, we are certainly on for that.’
