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On the whole this season, Manchester United’s League standing isn’t a true reflection of their performances, and in truth, they should be even lower in the table.

Erik ten Hag is now under increasing pressure to succeed, but the same problems continue to occur every game, with no signs of visible progression.

The only positive that can be taken from this campaign is the rise of the youth, with Alejandro Garnacho thriving in particular, becoming a key player for the Red Devils, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in the Premier League.

At just 19 years of age, the winger has truly cemented himself a spot in the starting lineup, as he continues to impress, but just imagine the levels he could go to with a new full-back providing support behind him.

Man Utd’s search for a new left-back

This season, the left-back position has been a huge problem for the Dutch boss due to often being left without a single available player in that role.

That’s currently the case at the moment, with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both unavailable due to injuries, with the latter set to miss the entire campaign. It’s seen young Harry Amass given time among the senior team, however, named among the substitutes against Liverpool last Sunday.

Therefore, it’s no surprise to see that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to sign a new left-back this summer, and his first potential acquisition could be Miguel Gutierrez, according to the Sunday Mirror via TeamTALK.

However, the English club will not get a clean run at the Spaniard, with Real Madrid having a £6.8m buy-back clause and Arsenal previously scouting him.

That said, let’s take a look at the potential influence Gutierrez could have on Garnacho in particular.

Why Gutierrez could turn Garnacho into a monster

Gutierrez has taken Spain by storm this season, thriving in the unbelievable Girona side that has won the hearts of many football fans across Europe.

The 22-year-old defender has been simply sublime across his 28 La Liga appearances, showing he can impact the game both defensively and in the final third.

But most importantly, he’s suffered no injuries all campaign, with his latest and only setback of his career occurring in the 2021/22 season.

This means that if he were to join the Red Devils, he would be able to develop a brilliant relationship down the left with Garnacho, who’s slowly nailing down that role even over Marcus Rashford.

As you can see by the table below showcasing Gutierrez’s recent performance against Rayo Vallecano, the “fantastic” ace, as dubbed by scout Jacek Kulig, is an exceptionally well-rounded star.

Assists

1

Big chances created

2

Key passes

3

Successful dribbles

3/4

Duels won

6

Interceptions

2

Dribbled past

0

Firstly, the number 3 is an extremely solid defender who likes to take a proactive approach, as shown by his two interceptions, six duels won, and the fact he wasn’t dribbled past once.

However, it’s the threat that he brings in the final third that could see Garnacho improve, with Gutierrez often opting for direct dribbling to evade the opposition and drag them out of position, in turn potentially giving the Argentine more space to work his magic.

The Spaniard is also an accurate crosser of the ball, as displayed via his assist, three key passes, and two big chances created, with his overlapping runs making the United attack on the left far less predictable while giving Garnacho the option to cut inside or lay the ball off.

On top of this, the former Madrid ace currently ranks joint-first for big chances created in La Liga (14), which is the same as Bruno Fernandes in the Premier League and 13 more than Shaw.

Overall, United have needed a reliable left-back for years now, and Gutierrez does tick every box for the kind of profile that Ten Hag’s team needs. It could just prove game-changing for the progression of one of the club’s best young talents too.

Man Utd can sign bigger talent than Garnacho in “future Ballon d’Or winner”

The Man United target is starring at just 16 years old.

ByTom Lever Apr 2, 2024

It has been a superb season for Aston Villa so far, who sit fifth in the Premier League on 60 points and are still in the Europa Conference League, with a tie against Lille coming up this week.

The Villans have improved leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Unai Emery, and have risen from 16th in the Premier League when he took over last season, to Champions League contenders in 2024.

Emery inherited a squad with plenty of talent, and he is getting the best out of his players this season. Ollie Watkins has been one of the best players in the Premier League and has scored 18 goals and registered ten assists in just 31 games, a remarkable return.

Leon Bailey is another who is enjoying a fruitful season in front of goal under Emery, with eight goals and eight assists so far while the likes of Ezri Konsa are also performing well, with the 26-year-old recently making his full England debut.

However, there is perhaps one glaring hole in Emery’s squad, in defensive midfield. Villa’s first-choice number six, Boubacar Kamara, suffered an ACL injury in February, meaning they have been without Douglas Luiz’s regular midfield partner.

It is certainly a hole that Villa need to plug soon, and there is one particular rumour linking them with a former Premier League midfielder ahead of summer.

Aston Villa looking to sign a new midfielder

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Villa, alongside other Premier League sides including Tottenham and Newcastle, are monitoring the situation of Leicester City and Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

It is not the first time the Villans have been linked with Ndidi. Back in 2022, they were rumoured to be interested in placing a £50m bid for the Nigeria international, although then-Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers did not seem to agree with that value, saying he is “worth much more than that”.

However, Villa would not have to pay a penny for Ndidi this summer, with the 27-year-old available on a free transfer, along with several other Leicester players including club legend Jamie Vardy.

No doubt, Villa would face stiff competition for Ndidi’s signature during the transfer window, but he could certainly be one player who solves some of their midfield issues and helps fill the void left by Kamara’s ACL injury.

The perfect partner for Luiz

Ndidi has previously had heaps of praise from significant people in his career. Former Nigeria midfielder Sunday Oliseh once described Ndidi as “the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League, so far this season” back in 2020, high praise from someone who made 63 caps for Nigeria.

Ndidi’s former manager, Rodgers, did not hold back on his praise for the midfielder either. In 2019, Rodgers summed up the 27-year-old’s impact on his Leicester side, explaining how he “does the dirty work”, can always “smell danger” and is one of the “top players at winning the ball back”.

The stats suggest Rodgers was correct in his statement; according to the numbers by Fbref, Ndidi is a great ball-winner. Albeit now playing in the Championship, he averages 1.24 interceptions per 90 minutes, placing him in the 69th percentile of midfielders in comparative leagues, and also works hard to win the ball back in the final third, something required of him in Enzo Marseca’s high-pressing system.

The Leicester midfielder wins 0.32 tackles per 90 minutes in the final third, placing him in the top 21%. He also completed 3.1 ball recoveries per 90 minutes this season, as per Sofascore.

The Nigerian could prove to be a dream partner for Douglas Luiz in Villa’s midfield. The Brazil international has scored nine goals and registered five assists this season in the Premier League, his best-ever return for combined goal involvements.

With Ndidi sitting at the base of Villa’s midfield, it allows Luiz more security to get forward and impact the game in the final third, chipping in with goals and assists along the way. As Rodgers said, Ndidi “does the dirty work”, and this is certainly something Luiz, and Villa, could benefit from, to make them an even better side ahead of a big season in 2024/25.

MatériaMais Notícias

O atraso do Flamengo no aquecimento da partida contra o Unión La Calera, na Libertadores, rendeu advertências ao treinador Rogério Ceni e ao clube, conforme informou a Conmebol em decisão do processo disciplinar que foi aberto por conta do episódio, no Maracanã, no dia 27 de abril. Além do atraso, o delegado do jogo relatou na súmula uma discussão com Gabriel Barbosa.

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As infrações cometidas pelo Flamengo foram aos artigos 5.1.4 e 5.1.12.6 do Manual de Clubes da Libertadores 2021.No caso de segunda e subsequentes infrações, estão previstas aplicações de multas de valor mínimo de 50 mil dólares cada, cerca de R$ 265 mil, tanto para o clube quanto para o técnico.

Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Virender Sehwag and Muttiah Muralitharan are among the big names set to feature in a T20 tournament aimed at promoting road safety, called the Road Safety World Series. Some other prominent names that are set to be part of the tournament are Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.ESPNcricinfo understands the first season of the tournament will be played in 2020 between February 2 and 16 in Mumbai and will feature the following teams: India Legends, Australia Legends, South Africa Legends, Sri Lanka Legends and West Indies Legends.It is understood that a total of 110 players – all retired – have confirmed their participation in the tournament, which would be based on the franchise model prevailing across domestic T20 leagues around the world. The participating teams have been restricted to only Test-playing countries for the first season.Among the organisers promoting this event are Professional Management Group and the Road Safety Cell of the Maharashtra government. Part of their business plan is to host the event for ten years across India. It is understood that the organisers had received the nod from BCCI in August 2018 to conduct the tournament.Although the players’ payments would be taken care of by the franchises, the proceeds from the tournament itself would be utilised by the Road Safety Cell to promote the cause in addition to highlighting how India ranks the highest in the world in terms of deaths caused on roads.Tendulkar will be returning to play cricket in front of a crowd for the third time since his retirement in 2013, having played for the MCC against Rest of the World XI at Lord’s in 2014 and three exhibition T20s in the USA in 2015.

Kai Havertz may have aimed a cheeky dig at English cuisine after "finally" settling down for a good breakfast in Germany during Euro 2024.

Article continues below

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Havertz starring for Germany at EurosForward enjoys German breakfast Aims cheeky dig at English cuisineWHAT HAPPENED?

Havertz has been playing in the Premier League since swapping Bayer Leverkusen for Chelsea in 2020, and then joining Arsenal last summer. In that time, he has, seemingly, been starved of his native German cuisine – but now that he is back in his homeland for the Euros, the 25-year-old doesn't have that problem. And it seems he is quite happy to being eating some more familiar grub to the food he has in England.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT KAI HAVERTZ SAID

When asked by German publication if he was well looked after in the food department at present, the former Bayer Leverkusen man replied: "Yes, luckily. Finally, a good breakfast for a month. I can count myself lucky."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Havertz is hoping to lead Germany to Euro 2024 glory in front of their own adoring fans. They topped their group and the ex-Chelsea ace says his team-mates are in a confident mood at present.

He added: "Yes, the mood is very good. I think we were very convincing in the group stage and scored a lot of goals. That gives us confidence for the knockout games – even though we know that the tournament is only just getting started. The performances were very good – we all get on well off the pitch too."

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Havertz's side are in last 16 action on Saturday night when they take on Denmark in Dortmund. The versatile German, who has started in all of his side's games so far and scored against Scotland, will hope to feature in the knockout clash.

Perhaps it is to be expected that thalassophiles should also be drawn to cricket. The movement and direction of the oceans are obvious yet their currents and depths repay contemplation. The North Sea was metallic under grey cloud at dawn on Tuesday yet by breakfast time it was a softer velvety blue as Scarborough’s microclimate brought brightness from the east. Patterns moved on the surface of the water. Cricket’s colours and tides are no less complex; no less addictive either.Nottinghamshire are losing this game. So much is plain. They ended this day on 135 for 4 with Ben Duckett unbeaten on 47 and they still need 252 runs to achieve their first victory of a dreadful season in the County Championship. They have no frontline batsmen to come although Tom Moores can be counted upon in any fight. Should Nottinghamshire lose, their relegation becomes almost certain; should Yorkshire win, their pursuit of Essex and thereby the title is maintained.Yet what might all this mean for these 22 players, their confidence, their contracts, their coaches? Marketing men in designer suits issue tedious calls for cricket to be fast and furious yet one of its attractions is its gentle pace interspersed with savage action. There is time for self-doubt to compete with assurance, just as it did, perhaps, during the third afternoon when Nottinghamshire’s top-order batsmen went to the wicket at North Marine Road knowing hardly any of them were in decent nick. Still waters ran deep and perhaps they also churned.Nottinghamshire’s target was 387, rather less than it might have been had Yorkshire’s batsmen shown a little more aggression earlier in the day. Yet that target would still be the largest score they have made since these two sides met in blithe April. One did not expect them to make a good start, which is neither here nor there; but one has the impression the Nottinghamshire openers do not expect to survive long, which matters very much indeed and explains why both were gone inside 14 overs.Ben Slater was the more culpable; his poke at a wide ball from Duanne Olivier merely gave a catch to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip. Jake Libby, by contrast, played a forward defensive you could show to your housemaster but was defeated by Steve Patterson’s late movement and Swiss accuracy.Six overs later Joe Clarke played forward to a well-flighted delivery from Keshav Maharaj but still did not get to the pitch of the ball and nicked it to Jonny Tattersall. Clarke has scored 175 runs in 17 innings since he made 112 and 97 not out against Yorkshire in early April. Some of his problems have been self-inflicted and merit no pardon. But there comes a time when every man has the rest of his life to live. How does Clarke see his career unfolding? T20 will probably help.Nottinghamshire were 51 for 3 when Clarke was out and brief respite was provided by a 52-run partnership between the stand-in skipper, Chris Nash, and Duckett, who twice lifted Maharaj for sixes onto the Popular Bank. Duckett hardly knows any other way of playing than to take the fight to the bowlers. Whether his career now prospers after a mediocre season will depend on him acquiring a little more judgement to go with his ability.Nash, of course, has that judgement and his dismissal, leg before to Maharaj for 30, was a grievous blow. The captain departed shaking his head and replays suggested the ball had hit him a slice of New York pastrami outside off stump. There will be replays in the bar this evening. Liam Patterson-White joined Duckett and the pair took the visitors to the close in poor light. Patterson-White is playing his third first-class match and has been preferred to Samit Patel. What might the incomparable game have in store for him?And all this followed a quiet first hour of the day, one in which Yorkshire built their lead for the loss of Patterson and Gary Ballance. Both wickets had particular significance: Patterson was Paul Coughlin’s maiden first-class wicket for Nottinghamshire but this is only his third game in two seasons all but lost to serious injuries. Ballance departed when he hooked Luke Wood and Louis Bhabra, Nottinghamshire’s substitute fielder, tumbled forward at long leg to take a catch he seemed to have misjudged. It was a lovely moment for the 18-year-old and who knows what it might contribute to his future? A slight sense of belonging, mayhap. At least one hopes his mates at Papplewick and Linby were bucked for him.Ballance’s replacement, Harry Brook, hit the first four of the morning at 12.15pm when he cover drove Wood as pleasantly as one could wish and was so pleased with his effort that he repeated the stroke four balls later. But having hit two boundaries that would have graced any field Brook tried to pull a shortish ball from Patterson-White but only skied a catch to Jake Ball at mid-on.Yorkshire showed more a little aggression after lunch; Kohler-Cadmore’s three fine fours in a Luke Fletcher over were a prime example. But our cricket this afternoon was dominated in a different way by the huge frame of Fletcher who bowled a superb 11-over spell with the new ball, one in which he took 4 for 41 and finished with 5 for 67. Fletcher is a skilful workhorse whose allegiance to Nottinghamshire runs very deep. He is Boxer in . Such devotion is always reciprocated at Trent Bridge and so the travelling fans will have rejoiced in Fletcher’s successes. He played at Papplewick and Linby, too.The North Bay is darker in the evening but the ruffled waves are as beguiling as ever. Across England this week first-class cricket has been played near the sea. At Colwyn Bay, Lancashire have all but sealed promotion. At blessed Hove Sussex have revived their chances. And at Scarborough tomorrow the 133rd festival will end after a match which will decide nothing but clarify much. Cricketers have long been aware they cannot turn back the tide but that chilly truth has never stopped them wondering if it might be so.

It happened to Mark Haddon. After his first novel, sold more than two million copies, Haddon was the British author to watch. Remember his follow-up, Me neither.It happened to Michu, the Spanish striker who scored 18 league goals in 2012-13, his debut season for Swansea City; the following campaign brought just two.And it happened to the Kaiser Chiefs, the noughties rock band from Leeds, who followed up their debut album with an effort that Pitchfork described as an “extended dreary hangover from the drunken escapade of the first”.But Pat Brown is determined that it won’t happen to him. After a breakout year in the Vitality Blast last year, in which he came seemingly from nowhere to spearhead Worcestershire’s attack and lead them to a maiden title, the underlying symptoms of sophomore syndrome loom large.Other teams will no longer be taken by surprise. Analysts have prepared footage; coaches have prepared plans. How to deal with Brown is now the first bullet point on the dossier, not a rushed footnote added by hand.Not that any of that fazes him, of course. “At the end of the day if I nail my skills how I did last season and how I can then I’m still going to do alright,” Brown tells ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously I’m prepared maybe not to have as good a year since people are more prepared to face me, but if I stick to focusing on my skills, then I can let them do the talking.”It’s not so much a plan to stop it happening, it’s just a case of looking to keep improving, keep one step ahead of batters. I won’t worry too much about research being done.”After all, Brown’s success was hardly a surprise come the knockouts of a tournament that stretches out over several months. And yet, despite the preparation teams had done to counter his threat, he was the star of Finals Day. He returned 4 for 21 in the semi against Lancashire before Sussex played out his four overs for just 15.”You saw in the final, Sussex didn’t really try to hit me around too much – that was obviously good for my economy. I didn’t take any wickets in the final, but went at under four [an over]. If that happens, I’m just as happy not to take wickets but to try and control the run rate for the team.”Perhaps the most impressive feature of Brown’s season was that all his achievements – most wickets in the tournament, the second-most in an English T20 campaign – came about while he played through a serious injury.