Sir Jim Ratcliffe could finalise a deal to become a minority shareholder at Manchester United during the upcoming international break.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is expected to pay in the region of £1.25billion for a 25 per set stake in the Old Trafford club, while also acquiring significant control over footballing operations.
There is no a firm timetable for the deal to be finalised, but the PA news agency understands it could come as early as next week, with Ineos optimistic it will be done before the Premier League campaign resumes on November 25 after the international break.
Reports that the deal could come as soon as Monday have, however, been dismissed as that is the date of Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral.
It is almost a year since the Glazer family announced, on November 22, 2022, that they were considering “strategic alternatives” to help the club grow, which included consideration of a sale.
Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Ratcliffe emerged from a large field of interested parties, and made offers in the region of £5bn for a complete takeover, but that fell short of the Glazer family’s valuation.
Sheikh Jassim then withdrew from the process last month, while Ratcliffe continued to pursue a minority shareholding which could later be increased.
The 71-year-old, who tried to buy Chelsea last year, grew up in the Manchester region and describes himself as a lifelong fan of United.
The deal is expected to lead to a major shake up of United’s football operations. Sir Dave Brailsford, the former performance director of British Cycling, is expected to take on significant influence in his role as Ineos’s director of sport.
The group already owns French Ligue 1 club Nice and Swiss club Lausanne, as well as the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and Ineos Britannia – the sailing team led by Sir Ben Ainslie.
They also have a stake in Formula One team Mercedes, whose team principal Toto Wolff last week said he would also consider investing in United once Ratcliffe’s deal is completed.
Ongoing speculation and uncertainty over the club’s ownership has come at a time when United are struggling on the pitch.
Wednesday’s stunning 4-3 defeat to Copenhagen has left Erik ten Hag’s side bottom of their Champions League group, while they are eighth in the Premier League, having lost nine of 17 games in all competitions.
Highly-rated striker Evan Ferguson has signed a new contract with Brighton which ties him to the club until 2029.
The 19-year-old Republic of Ireland international has extended his existing deal with the Seagulls, amid reports that other Premier League clubs were tracking his progress.
“Evan deserves this new contract and he has a very big future ahead of him,” Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said.
Ferguson joined Brighton from Irish side Bohemians in January 2021 and made his first-team debut later that year in a Carabao Cup tie against Cardiff.
He has scored 15 times for the first team since then, having opened his account against Arsenal last December.
Brighton technical director David Weir said: “Evan is a brilliant young talent and we are delighted for him.
“He’s shown his ability at club and international level, after breaking into the team at the start of the year, and we are looking forward to working with him and watching his continued progress.”
Ferguson made his senior Ireland debut in March, scoring in a 3-2 win over Latvia.
Connections are hopeful Stage Star will give his legion of owners plenty to shout about when the Cheltenham Festival hero returns in the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday week.
Trained by Paul Nicholls, the seven-year-old is 5-1 favourite with the sponsors ahead of his return in the prestigious handicap that is the feature of Cheltenham’s three-day November meeting.
It is at Prestbury Park where Stage Star enjoyed some of his finest moments over fences last term and having carried a huge weight to victory on Festival Trials Day, returned in March to claim the Grade One Turners Novices’ Chase with a fine front-running display.
His course form gives his ownership team plenty of hope ahead of his seasonal reappearance and although disappointing when a heavy favourite on his final start of the 2022-23 campaign at Aintree, he is yet to finish outside of the first two when running between October and December.
“He’s in good form and obviously likes the track,” said Dan Downie of Owners Group, owners of Stage Star.
“He’s ready to go and this has been the target for a while. It’s going to be tough and he’ll be carrying a lot of weight, but Paul is happy with him and we’re looking forward to running him.
“We looked at a few options, but he does need to go left-handed, so we were a bit short on where we could go, But we know he loves the track so we thought this would be a reasonable starting point for him.”
Naomi Osaka will make her return to tennis at the Brisbane International to start next season.
The four-time grand slam champion has not played a match since September 2022, taking the whole of this year off and giving birth to daughter Shai in July.
“I am really excited about getting back out on court and competing,” said Osaka. “I always love starting my season in Brisbane and can’t wait to return. The Brisbane International is such a great tournament and will set me up for a brilliant comeback this summer.”
The 26-year-old had played an increasingly sparse schedule before her maternity leave, stepping away from the court several times to prioritise her mental health.
But, speaking to ESPN during the US Open, she said of her time away: “It really raised my love for the sport. It made me realise I’m not going to play forever. I have to embrace the times. I’ve been playing tennis since I was three.
“I don’t think I can predict what I’ll do. I never am able to do that, but it definitely made me appreciate a lot of things that I took for granted.”
Osaka will play her first grand slam since the US Open in 2022 at the Australian Open, which she won in 2019 and 2021, later in January.
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Also playing at the Brisbane International, which takes place from December 31 to January 7, will be Andy Murray.
“It’s great to see the Brisbane International back and I am really looking forward to returning to Queensland this summer,” said Murray.
“I have great memories of winning the title in 2012 and 2013 and I would love to lift the trophy again for a third time in Brisbane.”
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison has been withdrawn from the England squad due to injury.
The 26-year-old was taken off during the first half of Spurs’ 4-1 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Monday with an ankle injury, and his club have now confirmed he is unavailable for England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers at home to Malta on November 17 and away to North Macedonia on November 20.
Spurs said in a statement that the player would continue his rehabilitation at their Hotspur Way training centre under the supervision of club medical staff.
Maddison had been included in the initial 25-man squad named by England manager Gareth Southgate on Thursday.
England sealed qualification for next summer’s Euros in Germany in their last qualifier, a 2-1 win over Italy at Wembley last month.
What the papers say
Tottenham will look to fill the hole left by Micky van de Ven – who was injured in their 4-1 loss to Chelsea on Monday – identifying Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly as a possible replacement, according to the Standard. Kelly, 25, was a transfer target in the summer and his contract expires at the end of the season.
Arsenal could look for midfield cover in January with Thomas Partey set to be out for the rest of 2023, the Daily Mail says.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Raphael Varane: The Saudi Pro League are after the 30-year-old Manchester United man but the club want to keep him, Football Insider reports.
Florian Wirtz: Liverpool and Chelsea are interested in the 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder but they will have to wait until the summer transfer window, TEAMtalk reports.
Connor Bedard tallied two goals and two assists for his first multipoint game and the Chicago Blackhawks stopped an eight-game losing streak against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-3 victory on Thursday.
Bedard has five goals in his last five games and has taken over the rookie scoring lead with 11 points this season.
Rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski and ex-Lightning forwards Tyler Johnson and Corey Perry also scored for the Blackhawks, who hadn’t beaten Tampa Bay since a shootout win on March 5, 2021.
Anthony Cirelli, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay, which lost in regulation for the first time in seven home games (4-1-2).
Pettersson leads Canucks to 5th straight win
Red-hot Elias Pettersson scored one goal and set up two others as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 for their fifth consecutive win.
Ilya Mikheyev scored twice and Brock Boeser and J.T Miller also had goals to help Vancouver extend its point streak to nine games (8-0-1).
Pettersson has five goals and nine assists during a seven-game point streak and leads the NHL with 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists).
Drake Batherson and Artem Zub scored for the Senators, who have allowed 25 goals during a five-game home skid.
Lafreniere keeps Rangers surging
Alexis Lafreniere snapped a tie early in the third period and added two assists as the New York Rangers extended their point streak with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Vincent Trocheck also had a goal and two assists and Louis Domingue made 25 saves in his first NHL game in nearly 18 months as New York improved to 8-0-1 in its last nine games.
Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist for the Rangers to push his season-starting point streak to 13 games, one shy of the franchise record set by Rod Gilbert in 1972-73.
David Moyes was named as the new head coach of LaLiga side Real Sociedad, on this day in 2014.
Moyes, who was axed by Manchester United the previous April following a dismal first season in charge at Old Trafford, was handed a contract until June 2016 with the Spanish outfit.
Moyes left United just 10 months into a six-year deal after being named as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013.
At the time of his departure, United – the defending champions – were seventh in the Premier League and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The 20-time title winners had broken a host of unwanted records during his tenure, including failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades.
Moyes, who served the third-shortest managerial stint in the club’s history, won 27, drew nine and lost 15 of his 51 games in charge.
The former Everton boss took over a Sociedad side who had moved out of the relegation zone a day earlier with a 2-1 home win over champions Atletico Madrid.
Following a goalless draw at Deportivo in his first match in charge, Moyes secured his maiden win with a 3-0 victory over Elche, courtesy of a hat-trick from Carlos Vela.
Sociedad also beat Barcelona 1-0 in January and finished 12th in the table, but Moyes was sacked on November 9, 2015 following a poor start to the following season.
Moyes was appointed Sunderland manager in July 2016 following the departure of Sam Allardyce, but the Black Cats were relegated from the Premier League and Moyes resigned a day after the season ended.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored an NBA season-high 54 points, but the Indiana Pacers rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-124 on Thursday.
One night after being ejected for celebrating after a dunk, Antetokounmpo was 19 of 25 from the field and 16 for 18 from the free throw line to come up one point shy of his career high.
With Damian Lillard sitting due to an ankle injury, Antetokounmpo carried the offense but scored just eight points in the fourth quarter and finished with eight turnovers, including two at crunch time.
The Pacers trailed 117-108 with under five minutes remaining but took the lead for good with a 16-4 run down the stretch.
Tyrese Haliburton made five of Indiana’s 20 3-pointers, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:29 remaining, and led the way for the Pacers with 29 points and 10 assists.
Bennedict Mathurin added 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Myles Turner chipped in 21 points, six rebounds and four assists as Indiana improved to 6-3 with its third straight win.
Young scores 41 in Hawks’ win
Trae Young scored 33 of his 41 points in the first half and Dejounte Murray hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Orlando Magic, 120-119 in Mexico City.
Jalen Johnson had 19 points and nine rebounds and Murray finished with 16 points to help the Hawks win for the fifth time in six games.
Jalen Suggs scored 21 points to lead seven Magic players in double figures, including 17 from Paolo Banchero and Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner’s 13 apiece.
Franz Wagner’s hook with 45 seconds left gave Orlando a 119-117 lead, but Murray answered with a 3 11 seconds later and Banchero missed a 3 with 7.9 seconds to go.
The Chicago Bears defeated the Carolina Panthers 16-13 thanks to a third quarter touchdown from running back D’Onta Foreman.
Although the highlight of the game came in the first quarter, when Carolina wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored an evasive 79-yard touchdown from a punt return.
The touchdown put the Panthers up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Two second quarter field goals from Chicago and one to Carolina inched the game to 10-9 at halftime.
Foreman’s four-yard touchdown in the third quarter gave the Bears a six-point advantage, with a Panther’s field goal in the fourth quarter the only points scored after the touchdown.
Both teams sat in the bottom five teams in the NFL before the match, with the Panthers to next play the Arizona Cardinals, who both sitting with one win and eight losses.
Chicago’s Foreman had 80 yards from 21 carries to go with his touchdown, while quarterback Tyson Bagent threw for 162 yards.
Philippe Clement warned his Rangers players that Europa League knockout football is not yet assured despite a 2-1 win over Sparta Prague taking them in to second place in Group C.
In a thrilling first-half performances Brazilian striker Danilo got the breakthrough after 11 minutes before midfielder Todd Cantwell added a second in the 20th minute but the second half was not so convincing.
Sparta substitute Lukas Haraslin reduced the deficit in the 77th minute and although Danilo soon had the ball in the net again it was ruled out after VAR check for a foul and in the end the Light Blues were glad to hang on.
Real Betis have nine Group C points, Rangers have seven, Sparta Prague have four and Aris Limassol just three.
Rangers host Aris Limassol later in the month and can confirm qualification with a victory before concluding their campaign next month with a trip to Spain to face Real Betis.
However, Clement said: “If there is one thing I don’t want is that the players now think that we are qualified.
“We made a really important step forward that is true but we don’t have anything in our heads for the moment.
“We need to get our points against Aris or against Betis, we still have two games to go.
“It is focus and concentration to try to get three points out of every game and we know that football is a game that you don’t always get what you deserve. There can be circumstances that can go against you so we have to be at the top level every time.”
Clement is unbeaten in six games since taking over the Gers hot seat from Michael Beale – the only blip was a goalless draw against Sparta Prague away – and he claimed the first half was the best so far as he called for a complete 90-minute performance.
He said: “If you see the strength of the opponent, this is the best team we have played against until now, as we did in Prague (0-0).
“The first half was really good, I want to see that football for 90 minutes, that is the goal.
“We could not do that from the situation we were in a few weeks ago, we need more time for that, to get everyone at the top physical level to do the distances, intensity and high speeds with and without the ball.”
Sparta Prague boss Brian Priske, a former team-mate of Clement at Club Brugge, conceded that Rangers were the better side on the night.
He said: “Yes they were, we have to admit it. Over 90 minutes for sure, they were the better side.
“The first half they really punished us, they played well, created big chances and we struggled creating chances and defending as we normally do.”
Gareth Southgate believes he has the best striker in world football in captain Harry Kane – but admits the Bayern Munich forward would benefit from ending his career-long trophy drought.
Kane has been in scintillating form since moving to Germany from Tottenham in the summer, scoring 19 goals in 15 games for the Bundesliga giants.
He is the record goalscorer for both England and Spurs but has yet to win any major honours during his career.
Kane’s debut for Bayern was in a Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig while a shock loss to third-tier Saarbrucken in the DFB-Pokal has also dented his chances.
But Bayern currently sit second in the league as they aim for a 12th consecutive title and also boast a 100 per cent record in their Champions League group.
Heading into next summer’s Euros, hosted in Germany, Southgate believes Kane would profit from breaking his trophy duck.
“I think clearly it’s a missing piece for him at the moment,” he said.
“I’m sure if you spoke to all our guys who have won trophies it changes how you view yourself.
“It isn’t going to change what we think he is capable of and isn’t going to change his talent. But in terms of his mindset and how he will feel I’m sure that’s something he will benefit from.
“Any player wants to win trophies, that’s what we are all geared to. He is of course proud of his individual awards but if you talk to him he wants to win something with his club or his country. That’s how he is driven, like they all are.”
Kane enjoyed a prolific spell at Spurs having come up through the ranks with the Premier League club but has taken his game to new heights since opting to leave for the continent in the summer.
Alongside fellow export Jude Bellingham – who is starring for Real Madrid after joining from Borussia Dortmund – Southgate feels he has an unrivalled pairing.
“I think on form it would be hard to beat them,” he said.
“I’m trying to think of everybody’s strike force, to be fair, and see what others have got. But the long and short of it is we’re really happy. We love the pair of them.
“They’re a handful, but also with the wide players we have who have to work for the team as well, the balance of everything at the moment is good.
“It’s great. We want good players who are playing well. I mean, we’re not the only ones with good players playing well, Portugal looks very, very strong. France is obviously very, very strong.
“But you want, ideally, to be going in as one of the favourites and that’s a position over the last couple of tournaments that we’ve been in and that’s where we want to be.
“So, for us it’s brilliant that they’re playing well, it is a bit early for us! But it’s great that you can see the level of the boys and the confidence that they’ll be getting from playing at big clubs in Europe.
“They’ll have a broader feel of where everything sits and perhaps the lads that have only played in England as well.”
Asked if Kane had gone up a level since making the move to Bayern, Southgate added: “His football has always been really good. What’s brilliant for him is he’s taken on a new challenge, a fresh life if you like.
“He’s moved to a big club abroad, which isn’t straightforward, but he’s adaptable unbelievably well. So I think the confidence he will take from that will be enormous.
“It struck me driving home from our last game, we were understandably talking about Jude but Kane had scored two, his overall performance was incredible and looking at the sheet, (his) caps and goals is staggering, really.
“So there is a risk we really underestimate what we’ve got and what we’ve had for the last few years because any team, any country would love him as their number nine.
“It’s not just his ability to score goals. His creative play, his passing, his hold-up play. And I think he’s pressing and working for the team as well as any stage of his career.
“So he really has relished the leadership, the captaincy, loves playing for England, never misses out – touch wood. So he really is a top level player.”
David Moyes was thrilled to get West Ham’s Europa League campaign back on track after Lucas Paqueta’s goal secured a 1-0 victory over Olympiacos.
The Brazil midfielder crashed in a second-half volley to keep the Hammers on top of Group A and to the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Moyes’ side are also guaranteed European football after Christmas with the worst-case scenario a third-placed finish meaning a return to the Europa Conference League and a chance to defend the trophy they won last season.
They enjoyed a measure of revenge, too, having accused the Greek team of celebrating their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture two weeks ago as if they had won the Europa League itself.
Not only that, but West Ham have now won their last nine home games in Europe since the start of last season, one more than Manchester City.
“We were disappointed to lose our record of 17 unbeaten two weeks ago against Olympiacos, so it’s good to get back on track,” said Moyes.
“We’re top of the group, we still have two matches to play but at the moment I think this is the hardest group we’ve had, in our third year in it, and it’s proved to be the case. We’ve done the job tonight. It’s a great result for us.
“Europe has been great for this football club, we’ve had some great nights and long may they continue.”
Paqueta, the best player on the pitch, broke the deadlock in the 74th minute after Bowen’s square pass found James Ward-Prowse.
The former Southampton midfielder chipped the ball forward into the area for Paqueta to fire home on the volley.
The goal was initially ruled out by an assistant referee’s flag, but a VAR check showed the Brazilian was onside and referee Matej Jug, who had infuriated West Ham with some strange decisions all evening, got the biggest cheer of the night when he signalled a goal.
“I don’t think VAR needed to come to the rescue, it was onside, it was a goal,” added Moyes.
“We needed it because the game was very tight, there was very little in it.
“He took the goal brilliantly tonight but there were lots of things I wanted him to do better. We’ve got room for improvement.”
It was a fourth assist in four European outings for Ward-Prowse, who was overlooked by England again earlier in the day, more than a year after his last call-up.
Paqueta pointedly went to the 3,000 travelling fans to celebrate, probably because the West Ham players were targeted by laser pens from Greek supporters in Athens.
West Ham survived a late scare when Mady Camara rattled a post but they held on to complete their European revenge mission.
Liam Scales admits Celtic need to be more streetwise in Europe.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have been very competitive with a full quota of players in the Champions League but three red cards in four games have proved costly.
Daizen Maeda’s dismissal in Spain on Tuesday led to a 6-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid, which leaves Celtic bottom of Group E with one point and in need of wins over Lazio and Feyenoord and favours from Diego Simeone’s team.
Centre-back Scales, who has not been booked in the Champions League, said of the red cards: “It’s probably that we are a young team and maybe a bit naive at times.
“You come and play in Europe and the referees, you get nothing out of them. They are a lot stricter and tackles that you might get away with domestically, they give.
“With VAR, you are going to pick up red cards in the way we’ve been doing.
“It’s frustrating, because I think with 11 players on the pitch we had started the game quite well.
“I know we had conceded earlier before the red card, but I thought we had quite a bit of the ball, and it definitely would have been a more even game with 11 men.”
Scales also believes they need to learn from the animated reaction of the Atletico bench when Maeda made his tackle and was initially booked, before VAR intervened.
Scales said: “To be honest, you see the way they react and all of their staff are up off the bench. It definitely doesn’t help.
“The VAR screen is right beside their bench as well, and he (the referee) was probably feeling the pressure.
“They are definitely more street-smart than us, that’s for sure, the way they influence the referee.
“It’s not the nicest part of the game, but it helps them win games and we could definitely learn from it.”
The manner of defeat has led to some soul-searching among the Celtic support about their level in European football but Scales pointed out they had drawn with Atletico two weeks earlier.
“I think we’re at the level, it’s just naivety and poor decisions at times have let us down,” the Republic of Ireland international said.
“Some of the goals, we could have defended better, we need to look back on that and see what we could have done better defensively.
“But it’s still difficult with 10 men away from home to get results at any level, and especially there.”
Celtic now travel to Rome needing a win on November 28.
“There’s a few games left in the group and now it’s just about bouncing back and doing as well as we can, because the Lazio game was so tight and it could have gone either way, and we feel that we can go there and get a result,” Scales said.
“It’s the same with Feyenoord at home. We were doing well in Feyenoord up until the couple of red cards, and the same happened here.
“I think we just have to bounce back, that’s it.”
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