Manchester United have now gone four games undefeated in the Premier League, which is perhaps a sign of things changing for Ruben Amorim’s side. His first year in charge at the club has been underwhelming to say the least, and it has taken time to adapt to his infamous 3-4-2-1 system.

Well, one of the most important positions in Amorim’s system are the two number 10s. It took him some time to find the right solution in those roles. Bruno Fernandes has been operating in the pivot, with Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount two key options.

Bryan Mbeumo has also made a fast start to life at United.

Mbeumo’s exceptional October

October felt like the month where Mbeumo truly arrived at United. He had played well in the weeks before that, scoring against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup and Burnley in the Premier League, but it was last month that he began to shine truly.

Mbeumo played three games in October for United, chipping in with at least one goal or assist in each of them. In total, he contributed four goal involvements in three games last month for the Red Devils.

It is perhaps easy for United fans to pinpoint which was the most important. Mbeumo’s strike at Anfield against Liverpool just seconds into the match summed him up.

Their number 19 managed to run in behind the Reds’ defence and fire home first time on his weaker right foot.

After grabbing an assist for Mount against Sunderland at the start of the month and scoring twice against Brighton and Hove Albion, Mbeumo was nominated for Premier League player of the month.

Club legend Wayne Rooney said the Cameroonian star is “by far United’s best player of the season.”

It is certainly exciting that United are brewing the new version of Mbeumo in the academy.

United’s homegrown Mbeumo

For decades, United have produced some exceptional players in their academy. In the current crop of youngsters, there are some exciting talents. JJ Gabriel is a player who has a lot of hype surrounding him.

Another young talent United fans can get excited about is 18-year-old Shea Lacey. After overcoming injury issues in recent seasons, the Liverpool-born attacker has shown exactly how good he is this season.

In nine games across all competitions, Lacey has found the back of the net on three occasions and assisted two other goals for teammates.

They have come in just 507 minutes, leaving him with an average of a goal involvement every 101 minutes.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

One of the best examples of Lacey’s talent came in the under-21s’ recent 2-0 EFL Trophy victory away to Notts County. Operating on the right-hand side, the 18-year-old scored one and created one chance.

The “wing wizard” – as hailed by the Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler – was a handful for defenders all night, completing three from five dribbles and winning two fouls

Touches

72

Pass accuracy

80%

Passes completed in opposition half

24/32

Ground duels won

8/14

Ball recoveries

7

Dribbles completed

3/5

Chances created

1

Goals

1

One of the striking things about Lacey is his technical ability. He thieves in tight spaces in the right half-space, which could certainly make him suitable for Amorim’s system, playing in the right 10 role just like Mbeumo does now.

The England under-20 star was described as a “creative talisman” by Academy Scoop on X, a page dedicated to the Red Devils academy sides. That is easy to understand, with the 18-year-old having passes like this in his locker.

It is certainly easy to see how Lacey can be United’s own Mbeumo. The talented youngster is comfortable on the right wing or as a number 10, just like the Red Devils’ number 19.

Both are left-footed attackers, too.

It remains to be seen when Lacey will get his first-team debut at United, but it is bound to happen sooner or later. He is a superb talent who has even trained with England’s first team this season. United have another gem on their hands.

Man Utd have a "deadly" academy star who's another Fernandes in the making

Man Utd might not have to look far to replace Bruno

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 6, 2025

If the ICC does decide that a two-tier system is best for the World Test Championship (WTC), West Indies could well be one of the teams outside the top tier – they were eighth out of nine teams in each of the three editions so far and have lost each of their three Tests in the ongoing cycle, to Australia. It’s a possibility the stakeholders in West Indies cricket are wary of – Clive Lloyd is worried about “being in that group for a hundred years” – and they are hoping to have a say in it, as Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive Chris Dehring put it.”All of that we have a role to play [in], we have a seat at the table at the ICC,” Dehring said at a press conference after the CWI’s emergency meeting in Trinidad on Sunday and Monday, organised in the aftermath of their 27 all out at Sabina Park against Australia. “We have to just stay abreast as close as possible to all the changes that could happen, position ourselves, hedging our bets so to speak, to make sure we are in there as West Indies cricket no matter which way the wind blows and try to take advantage of it.”The ICC last month formed a working group, led by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose, to look into, among other things, improving the WTC ahead of the 2025-2027 cycle. A two-tier system was among the most significant topics discussed at the ICC annual conference in July. Twose, New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) representative on the ICC Board, is expected to make recommendations to the board.Related

• Williamson wants 'additional resources to support the growth' of Test cricket globally

• CWI works on roadmap with 'about a hundred things to improve'

• West Indies come face to face with deepening Test crisis

A two-tier WTC has been debated for more than 15 years, with the ICC showing its willingness to consider the idea as far back as 2009, though Full Members have been split on the issue for various reasons.Lloyd, one of the former cricketers – along with Brian Lara, Viv Richards and others – who were invited to be part of the meeting, pointed his finger at the share of the ICC pie that the member boards are given, saying that West Indies, as the top team in the 1970s and 1980s, and a force even in the 1990s, deserved consideration despite their falling standards.”We have to look at what’s happening at the ICC with the shareout of the money. India, Australia and England get 180 million and West Indies will get 80 million like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and we are just two years out of being in that group for 100 years,” Lloyd said. “To me, it’s not right. We have to stand up. We have to go to the ICC and ask for special dispensation. Because when we were in the ascendancy, and we were playing so well, everyone wanted to play with us.”We were playing Australia very often, with England very often, and when we went to Pakistan or India, getting millions of people [to the grounds]. We need to get a better share of the pie, because we were the cash cows for a long time. And we need to get some of that. I am hoping the board follows up on that recommendation where we can be adequately given the money that is needed.”Daren Sammy’s stint as West Indies’ Test coach began with a crushing 3-0 defeat•Getty Images

Is Daren Sammy’s honeymoon period over?

Daren Sammy, the former allrounder and captain of the West Indies teams that won the World Cup in 2012 and 2016, took over as the all-format West Indies coach in April this year. All three of their Tests since then have been lost. Australia were the opponents, in the Caribbean, and were favourites, but 3-0 was a bit too one-sided, and the 27 all out in the last innings of the series was humiliating.Was it the wrong call to increase Sammy’s responsibilities?Miles Bascombe, the CWI director of cricket, pointed to the handicaps Sammy had been working with, but didn’t confirm or deny anything about the future.”We still need additional support for him. We still have to have camps. Many times, he would not be available himself, because he would be on tour. We still need to bring in other support staff, which would come at a cost. There was no financial consideration in terms of merging the roles,” Bascombe said. “The underlying reason [for choosing Sammy] was that we felt Daren had been able to articulate a clear plan, and we saw him do that in the white-ball formats, both T20 and ODI. And we pretty much wanted the same sort of approach. We saw some success once we had gotten that done. And we wanted to see that approach in Test cricket.”He is still only one series into his tenure as all-format coach, and while the 27 might be the highlight, or lowlight, of that series, we have to admit that we saw substantial improvement in terms of our bowling unit. We saw even Brandon King, who is one of those players who some persons might have pigeonholed as a white-ball player, was able to show that he was up for the challenge for Test cricket. Some light there.”As Daren goes on, and as we start to put some of the strategic initiatives in place, we expect that performances will be better.”

Barcelona centre-back Andreas Christensen addressed his future at the club, claiming that he doesn't "have a Plan B" in case he doesn't receive a contract extension from the reigning La Liga champions. Persistent struggles with injuries have prevented the defender from becoming a vital player for Hansi Flick, with the club reportedly wanting him to leave as a free agent next summer.

• Christensen no longer important for Hansi Flick

  Christensen had won over the trust of head coach Flick towards the 2024-25 season after spending the majority of the campaign on the sidelines due to an Achilles tendon injury and muscle issues. The centre-back played only six games, all of them towards the end of last season, making two starts. His return was a big positive. 

  Ahead of the start of the ongoing season, Barcelona sold Inigo Martinez – one of the best performers last season – to Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Nassr, with the ex-Athletic Club defender claiming he felt he wouldn't be able to contribute at the highest level anymore.   

  Despite a spot alongside Pau Cubarsi opening up, Christensen still remains a long way from sealing his starting berth. While the Danish international has featured in 10 games across all competitions, he has managed to accumulate a paltry 342 minutes of action. He has been handed a place in the starting XI only thrice, although it may be argued that he spent two weeks out of action due to a calf injury last month.

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  No renewal in sight for Christensen

  All signs point towards the reigning La Liga giants opting against offering a new deal to the 29-year-old, especially if Flick doesn't use him a lot between now and the end of the season. Numerous reports have stated that Barcelona have no intention of keeping Christensen on their books beyond next summer, despite the player's wish to continue in Catalunya.

  Last month, Barcelona sporting director Deco refrained from commenting extensively on Christensen’s future but hinted that a contract renewal remains a possibility.  

  “We’re taking Andreas step by step. He had a spectacular first year. Then injuries have affected him quite a bit,” he told last month. “We’ll see how he does this season and we’ll talk. He’s a great player. We don’t have to renew all the players in October either."

• Christensen has no 'Plan B' amid contract uncertainty

  Speaking to , Christensen admitted that Barcelona had not yet reached out to him with regards to an extension. When asked if he was bothered by it, he said: "No, not really. I don't think so. I think we're in a good situation, and there's not really anything that can change anything I do in my everyday life. Of course, you want to have it in place and know what's happening. But it's not something that changes our mood during the days, or something we talk about

  "Of course we have desires, we all do, but it's not something I think about in my everyday life. I try to do what I can do on the pitch, and hopefully that's enough for me to stay there."  

  Christensen also admitted that his agent will remain involved over future decisions. "If there is something that needs to be done, he will of course do it. Of course I would like to know what is happening, but I would rather focus on what I can do, and that is to do what I can do.

  When asked about whether he knows what Barca will do, he added: "Oh, no, I have no idea. Not yet. I'm just choosing to focus on being part of the team and playing as much as I possibly can. Hopefully that's how it ends up, but I'll have to take it as it comes, right now. 

  "Not at all. No plan B," he replied when asked he has started thinking about the potential leagues he could join should he leave as a free agent next summer.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Christensen to return to Denmark?

  The former Chelsea centre-back, in the same interview, was also asked about whether he considers a return to Brondby in Denmark to be a possibility. In reply, Christensen said: “In an ideal world, I would like to finish my career at Brondby, but it also depends on the stage of life I’m at. It also depends on what my family is doing. I feel I still have a lot to offer; I’m 29 years old, and I can still compete.

  “When you’re that age… it depends a lot on the situation, so it’s difficult to say. I repeat, in an ideal world, I would like it to happen. But if it doesn’t, I won’t be angry or sad. It depends a lot on my family’s situation and my performance as a player.”  

On a day when one of them ran through New Zealand, the other endured 14 overs of wicketless toil

Alagappan Muthu01-Nov-20241:31

Manjrekar: ‘This pitch was tailor-made for Jadeja’

Mumbai was really pretty for Diwali. The high-rises were all lit up. The roadside had pop-ups selling garlands. The sky had trouble holding onto the night. There was colour everywhere. Then the sun came up.Daryl Mitchell spent a little over three hours under it. On occasion, he tried to hide from it. At 1.28pm, with temperatures hitting 37C, he crumpled into a heap and toppled clean over onto his back. This was a small window where he could relax. Will Young had just been dismissed and there were precious seconds before the new man would make his way out to the middle. He wasn’t the only one in discomfort.R Ashwin had figured out what to do on this pitch. He needed to bowl straight. He did that. He needed to put revs. He did that. He needed to be quick. He did that. But the wickets just would not come. It was only the ninth time in 126 innings at home that he’s returned to the dressing room without any success. Even when he thought he had something, the umpire raising his finger to adjudge Mitchell lbw on the reverse sweep, Ashwin already knew there was bat on it.Related

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The funny thing is, he was bowling from the other end when New Zealand were made to part with four of the their top five. He was helping build the pressure that paid out at the other end because it was being manned by bowlers who were a little more naturally suited to bowling those 90kph darts.Ravindra Jadeja bagged his 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. But even he seemed to have trouble operating at the pace that India seemed to have collectively decided upon. He offered a lot of easy drive balls after lunch, New Zealand scoring 24 off 34 deliveries in the full-length area, which was weird because, before lunch, 17 of Jadeja’s first 18 deliveries had been full, but had only led to nine runs. Before the break, he was better at bringing the batter forward and then stranding them there, denied the opportunity to really get to the pitch of the ball.ESPNcricinfo LtdAshwin created similar uncertainty, but as many boxes as he ticked, there was just one more that let the batter off the hook. In the 19th over, Rachin Ravindra faced an offbreak at 91kph. It drew him onto the front foot. It squared him up. All of this was good. But the menace in this ball was doused all too easily because it pitched just that little bit too close to the batter. Ravindra pressed down with his hands so that his mis-hit went straight to ground right by his own feet. This outcome was still an improvement from Ashwin’s first spell, where he was being played off the back foot.None of these things made him seem like a weak link. New Zealand still couldn’t relax while he was there at the top of his mark. His bowling led to 20 false shots, which was only seven fewer than the guy who ended up running through the opposition.”Sometimes it happens that you don’t even get a wicket on a turning track,” Jadeja said. He was speaking about himself here but the point he made applied to Ashwin too.”Sometimes it happens. Sometimes you don’t even need a lot of turn, a little turn is enough for the slip and keeper to come into play. Sometimes when the pitch is turning a lot, it becomes a matter of luck. I haven’t got a wicket on a lot of such pitches. I haven’t got a wicket in a lot of such matches. And sometimes it happens that I get a wicket with a little turn. That’s why I would say that it is important to have some luck.”Ravindra Jadeja acknowledges the cheers after his five-for•BCCIJadeja bowled unchanged in the middle session in the kind of heat that was trying to melt people’s faces off. The wicket of Young kicked off a period where his control of length, line and pace was as close to perfect as can be. No more easy drives. Forty-seven full-length deliveries from the 44th over onwards could only be converted to 13 runs and they came at the cost of two wickets.The Glenn Phillips dismissal highlighted the agony that Jadeja can put a batter through in conditions like these. He had walked in to bat after seeing Tom Blundell play for the straight ball – badly, he closed the face, suckered in by the angle Jadeja was creating from wide of the crease – and get bowled. That ball pitched outside leg stump and took out off stump.Phillips was bowled by the one that went straight on. It landed on the fuller side of a good length, which meant he had to go forward even though he knew he was never going to reach the ball on the half-volley, and it came at him at a speed of 94.3 kph. He played for the turn. There wasn’t any. And at that pace, he had no hope of coping with the natural variation.These were the kinds of wickets Ashwin was looking for too, but he was just missing his marks. When the pace was right, the length was not quite right, when the length was right, the pace was a touch off. That’s partly why, even though he was the first spinner that India turned to, the other two outbowled him just in terms of overs.0:57

Manjrekar: ‘Unfair to say Ashwin’s skills are waning after one series’

Could a line be drawn from Ashwin’s outcomes in this series – six wickets in five innings at an average of 51.33 – to India finally being beaten at home? His figures are startlingly similar to when the last time that happened, against England in 2012-13 – 14 wickets from eight innings at an average of 52.64.That seems way too simple.”Sometimes we lose a couple of matches. But it’s okay,” Jadeja said. “As a player, we [he and Ashwin] never had a discussion in the dressing room about who played badly. We lost two matches, but no one pointed out to each other that you played badly, he played badly. Okay, if we win, we all play together. If we lose the series, 15 people from each team still play together.”India didn’t get enough first-innings runs in Bengaluru and Pune. That’s why they’ve lost their fortress. Though Jadeja has a different theory. “I was afraid of this. I had personally thought that [as long as] I played in India, I didn’t want to lose a single series. But this happened. So, now I haven’t thought in my mind that I don’t want to do this. Whatever I think about, it happens suddenly.”That’s all gone now. It’s time to build again and Ashwin definitely remains a part of that process, though it isn’t often that a plan he puts together doesn’t come off, and it is even rarer that he gets outbowled by someone practicing the same discipline he does. Washington Sundar’s arrival has added an unexpected chapter to this story.

Newcastle United just can’t string together a consistent run of results in the Premier League this season.

Three wins have been collected back on home turf at St James’ Park, but Eddie Howe’s up-and-down Magpies remain winless on their travels, with back-to-back defeats in London at the hands of West Ham United and Brentford very much souring the mood on Tyneside.

Howe is under severe pressure to turn the Toon’s fortunes around four years into his position as their boss, with journalist Jordan Cronin labelling the current situation as “unacceptable”, as Newcastle now loiter just two points above the relegation zone.

Journalist Luke Edwards further weighed in by saying there are “huge problems all over the pitch”, with the sad decline of Dan Burn an indictment of this.

How Dan Burn let Newcastle down vs Brentford

While it was a collective effort that saw Newcastle slip to their third away defeat of the season, the 6-foot-7 defender did, ultimately, gift Brentford a platform to win when he was sent off late on, which then handed Igor Thiago a penalty.

When he was still on the pitch, the calamitous number 33 was all over the shop, standing in as a left-back option again as the 33-year-old only completed 20 accurate passes and successfully won just one tackle.

He has been saved, somewhat, by being the hero who gave Newcastle a 1-0 lead in the Champions League against Athletic Club.

But, that was only a temporary respite from his awful form in the Premier League, with Burn also poor at the London Stadium when winning none of his ground duels.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Even when Newcastle were victorious versus Fulham to see out October, the Blyth-born warrior looked way off the pace, with only three of his 11 duels won during the 2-1 win. Thankfully, on that occasion, it didn’t cost his team dear.

But, with two horror shows on the road now in a row, and Burn finding himself suspended, it feels like the perfect opportunity to ditch the 33-year-old for Lewis Hall to come in.

Burn isn’t alone in looking like he’s on borrowed time as a Howe mainstay, however, with another waning first-teamer needing to be replaced if the Toon want to turn around their topsy-turvy campaign.

"Petrified" Newcastle man is also on borrowed time

Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes came out after the 3-1 defeat at Brentford to deliver a rallying cry, stating that “we need to stick together” to navigate the current choppy waters at St James’ Park.

While a sense of togetherness and a strong core have helped Howe to succeed at Newcastle in the past, it’s clear that Burn and his defensive teammate in Nick Pope, aren’t at the required standard anymore, and will soon need to be shelved from his starting XI.

Games played

110

Minutes played

9845 mins

Goals conceded

107

Clean sheets

43

This will be easier said than done for the under-fire Newcastle boss, though, with Pope 110 games down now on Tyneside under the former AFC Bournemouth manager’s reign, with the 33-year-old once even branded as “one of the best shot-stoppers” he has worked alongside.

Still, much like with Burn, the 6-foot-6 ‘keeper might well have overstayed his welcome now as a key part of the first-team jigsaw, having been described as “petrified” last season by journalist Adam Clery, when injuries had frustrated his campaign.

Now, he’s looking unsure and shaky with unconvincing displays in between the sticks, with Pope unable to put his towering frame to good use when Kevin Schade scrambled home his equaliser last time out from a long throw-in.

With the England international also, arguably at fault against West Ham when failing to palm away Lucas Paqueta’s stinging effort, it’s clear that Aaron Ramsdale should be handed more first-team chances shortly, over the declining number 1, with Pope further set to miss matches for the Three Lions in the international break through injury concerns.

If he remains out of action, Ramsdale is the easy choice to replace him, with one Newcastle-based social media account going as far as to state that Pope’s constant errors are “crucifying” Howe and Co. It’s a pity for somebody who has largely been so consistent during the Howe era. Such has been his reliability that it’s not too big a stretch to suggest he’s been one of the best signings of the present day.

That said, Newcastle desperately need to turn results around when the break is over, and the aforementioned duo of Pope and Burn simply have to be discarded to try and kickstart that positive sequence.

As bad as Botman: Howe must drop Newcastle dud who lost the ball 20x v Bees

Newcastle United had another away day to forget in the Premier League when losing 3-1 versus Brentford.

2 ByKelan Sarson Nov 10, 2025

Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind half-centuries helped Trinbago Knight Riders extend their dominance at the top of the points table with a 12-run win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Tarouba on Monday.Sent in, Knight Riders found themselves in early trouble, reduced to 27 for 2 in the fifth over and then 78 for 3 in the 11th. But Pollard and Pooran launched a massive counterattack, adding 90 runs in 8.1 overs to take them to 179 for 6. Patriots started the chase strongly, but soon withered away with seamer Nathan Edward picking up 3 for 30 in 3.2 overs and Mohammad Amir returning 2 for 29.