Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has reaffirmed that his second bid to buy Manchester United remains on the table.

Zilliacus said earlier this month he would not be entering a third round of bidding for the Old Trafford outfit but that his second offer would still stand.

He insists that remains the case ahead of the deadline for third bids to be submitted on April 28.

As said when I announced that I would not do a new third round bid, I have today informed the bank handling the sale of United that my bid from round 2 stands. My bid does not have a cap. The final price is subject to negotiations with the sellers #ManchesterUnited #UnitedWeStand

— Thomas Zilliacus (@TZilliacus) April 25, 2023

Zilliacus tweeted: “As said when I announced that I would not do a new third-round bid, I have today informed the bank handling the sale of United that my bid from round two stands. My bid does not have a cap. The final price is subject to negotiations with the sellers #ManchesterUnited #UnitedWeStand.”

United’s current owners, the Glazer family, are considering either selling the club or bringing in external investment after announcing last November they were seeking “strategic alternatives”.

Interested parties were invited to submit bids in February and leading offers went through to a second round of bidding in March.

British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and a Qatari consortium led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani were believed to be the frontrunners. It is unknown how many parties have entered the process with Zilliacus the only other one, of those seeking a full takeover, to go public.

One other group known to be involved is American hedge fund Elliott Investment, which has made an offer for a minority stake.

It has been reported the Glazers value the club at £6billion.

Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have changed the landscape of Welsh football for good, according to Football Association of Wales president Steve Williams.

The Red Dragons ended a 15-year absence from the English Football League on Saturday by claiming the National League title as Phil Parkinson’s side produced a fitting Hollywood finale at a sold-out Racecourse Ground.

Wrexham’s rise under their celebrity owners has been one of football’s stories of the season, with fans of a club that was the subject of a winding-up order in 2011 now dreaming of climbing the English pyramid.

But the ripples of Wrexham’s success have been felt far outside its boundaries, throughout the rest of Wales, Great Britain and overseas as actors Reynolds and McElhenney sprinkle their celebrity stardust on a club they bought for £2million in 2021.

“It has gone from a club with three or four thousand people watching the team play to a global enterprise,” said Williams, himself a Wrexham season ticket holder who first watched them in the early 1970s.

“The vibe here is that the club will get even bigger when series two of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary is released later this year.

“You hear American, Canadian and all other sorts of accents when you go in the Turf (the pub next door to the Racecourse) now and the change has been remarkable.

“In Wrexham you used to see Liverpool, Manchester City or Manchester United shirts. But now it’s just Wrexham shirts and that’s great to see.

ATTENDANCE | 9,511

Incredible support for @WrexhamAFCWomen ?

?⚪ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/322LyFzM45

— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) March 26, 2023

“The owners have also raised the profile of the women’s game in Wales and taken it to another level with record crowds and promotion. If they carry on with their progression they could end up playing in European football.

“It’s great to see how Rob and Ryan have engaged with the town and I think that’s why they’ve been so successful.

“Wrexham is attracting people from all over the world, and the only problem is they need a bigger stadium so people can get a seat to watch the games.”

The redevelopment of the Kop stand, which begins on June 1, will boost the Racecourse’s capacity to around 15,600 in time for the start of the 2024-25 season.

While that modest figure will not house all supporters who wish to see Wrexham play, the stadium’s upgrading makes it easier for the FAW to visit the birthplace of Welsh football.

Plans are in place for Wales to play a Racecourse friendly against Gibraltar in October, the first senior men’s international in Wrexham since 2019 and only the second in 15 years.

Senior women’s internationals in Wrexham are also on the agenda, while the FAW want to host the 2026 Under-19 European Championship finals in north Wales to mark the association’s 150th anniversary with the Racecourse as its centrepiece.

Williams said: “We know fans in the north are connected to the Wales national team and there is an appetite to play games in Wrexham.”

The FAW was formed on February 2, 1876 at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham by a group of businessmen.

A redeveloped Football Museum for Wales in Wrexham celebrates that heritage, as well as engaging Welsh language communities, fan culture, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and LGBTQ+ experiences.

“We have been working with the football club and Wrexham Council to put items in the museum,” said Williams.

“We tell our male and female players that today’s news is tomorrow’s history and both teams have been very helpful in that respect.

“Gareth Bale has given one of his World Cup shirts, as have Neco Williams, Harry Wilson and Danny Ward who are all from the area.

“Football has a great history in Wrexham and it’s great to see the town so excited again.”

Auston Matthews urged the Toronto Maple Leafs to finish the job at the earliest opportunity as they bid to clear the first hurdle in the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2004.

A dazzling fightback on Monday saw Toronto surge from 4-1 behind against the Tampa Bay Lightning to win 5-4 in overtime and seize a 3-1 series lead.

The Eastern Conference first-round tussle is a repeat of last year's matchup, when Toronto led 3-2 but wound up losing 4-3.

Tampa Bay went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, denied glory by the Colorado Avalanche.

Toronto have endured a long wait to win a playoff series, so they will be doubly determined to get this particularly job done at the earliest opportunity having put themselves in such a strong position. Their first chance comes on home ice on Thursday.

After being dominated early on in Monday's game, Matthews got the comeback rolling by scoring twice in the third period to cut Toronto's deficit to 4-3 with 7:31 remaining.

It was Morgan Rielly who levelled up, and Alexander Kerfoot hit the game winner on a power play in overtime.

Matthews said: "I thought in the locker room and everything we stayed focused. Just chip away, chip away."

Asked about game-winner Kerfoot, who has an economics degree from Harvard, Matthews said: "I can't say enough good things about 'Kerf'. He's a guy everyone loves and gravitates to in the locker room and on the ice he's so versatile.

"We all love him in this room, and it was a big goal from him tonight to take hold of the series.

"But we all know in this room that the job's not close to finished. We've got to refocus, enjoy this one, but obviously the fourth one's the hardest one to win."

Reflecting on what it took to win a second consecutive game in OT at Amalie Arena, Matthews said: "This is a loud environment, especially when they get going. I thought halfway through the second we started to find our game a little bit.

"We know who we're up against, the group and what they've accomplished, especially in the last couple of years. We know they're going to be ready to come in Game 5."

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said his teams were "on top of the puck more" as the game went on.

"We started the game fine, but when they scored, the building gets loud, they get feeling good, they took it to us pretty good the rest of the first," Keefe said.

"The message going into the third was to not go away, stay with it. You're not necessarily thinking you're going to come back in the game, you just want to stay there and give yourself a chance rather than going away and moving on to the next one."

He told his team to win that third period.

"Credit to the group, the spirit of the group, carrying us through to come back in this fashion," Keefe added. "It was outstanding to witness and be a part of."

Kerfoot was the hero of the hour, and the 28-year-old said: "It's what you dream about, scoring goals in overtime in the playoffs.

"There was a lot of belief in our room, even after the first two periods. We started to put the heat on them a little bit, our big guys came though getting us to overtime, and we got one on the power play in the end."

Only three players who featured in England’s World Cup campaign have been named in Shaun Wane’s 19-strong squad for Saturday’s mid-season international against France in Warrington.

As many as 15 players could earn their first caps in the fixture, as Wane refocuses on building a young squad capable of going beyond last year’s semi-final heartbreak at the next tournament in France in 2025.

Jack Welsby, George Williams and Kai Pearce-Paul are the only survivors who featured for England last year, while Warrington second row Ben Currie – who played in the 2017 World Cup – has been recalled to the squad.

? Ready to face @FFRXIII.

??????? #EnglandRL Head Coach Shaun Wane has named a new-look 19-player squad for Saturday’s mid-season international at @WarringtonRLFC…

— England Rugby League (@England_RL) April 25, 2023

Head coach Wane said: “It was always my intention to pick a young squad for this mid-season game and I am really happy with the final 19 I’ve selected.

“All of these players have been picked based on their form in the Betfred Super League and with an eye on the next Rugby League World Cup in France in 2025.

“I am excited to see how some of these lads go on the international stage and it’s a massive privilege to be able to give them the opportunity to represent our country.”

Warrington are rewarded for their fine start to the Betfred Super League season with seven players in the squad, as Williams and Currie are joined by Matty Ashton, James Harrison, Matty Nicholson, Josh Thewlis and Danny Walker.

Six Wigan players are named with Pearce-Paul joined by Ethan Havard, Toby King – who played for Ireland in last year’s World Cup – Harry Smith, Morgan Smithies and Jake Wardle.

England cruised to a 42-18 win over France in the second round of their World Cup campaign in Bolton in October.

LeBron James described it as "pretty cool" to record a first 20-20 of his career in steering the Los Angeles Lakers to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoffs series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The veteran has been fired up for the Lakers in the playoffs and had 22 points to go with 20 rebounds as Los Angeles secured a 117-111 overtime win to take a commanding advantage.

James also had seven assists and committed just one turnover in what was a record-extending 270th playoff game for the NBA's all-time leading points scorer.

"I just try to be as great as I can be offensively, but more importantly on the defensive end," James said. 

"That was the mindset tonight. I was able to make a couple of plays. My teammates told me I had 20 and 20. It's the first time I've done it in my career, so that's pretty cool, I guess."

It was James who drained the basket to force overtime then nailed a layup while being fouled that saw the Lakers go up by five in overtime with a little under 30 seconds remaining.

The latter bucket saw James flex his muscles in front of a boisterous home crowd.

"I've been a part of moments where you know you get a dagger play or a kill shot," James said. 

"I felt like that play — it wasn't going to close the door, but there wasn't much light at the end. I just let the emotion come out."

Anthony Davis said of James: "He just took over down the stretch. Got us a bucket to get to overtime.

"All our guys [performed], it was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away."

The Lakers will aim to get the series wrapped up back in Memphis in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Chelsea remain in talks with Mauricio Pochettino over becoming their new manager but the club have not yet ruled out other candidates, the PA news agency understands.

Reports that the Argentinian’s appointment is imminent were described by a source as “running ahead of reality” and it is understood that the club are not at the point of making an offer.

However, the former Tottenham boss is believed to be the favoured candidate following a three-week search led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

Pochettino, who has been out of work since being sacked by Paris Saint Germain last summer, spent Monday in talks which have reached an advanced stage, but other options remain on the table should the parties fail to reach an agreement, as happened last week with former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann.

Nagelsmann withdrew from consideration after becoming frustrated by the club’s courtship of other coaches, with a source claiming the German had wanted “a coronation rather than a process”, though Chelsea’s own due diligence on him had led them to doubt his suitability.

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has also been under consideration as the club seek a permanent successor to Graham Potter who was sacked on April 2 just 31 games into a five-year contract.

PA understands a third, unnamed candidate also remains in the running. Some reports have claimed this is Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, but sources have not confirmed this.

Should an agreement be reached with Pochettino or another candidate soon, it could cast doubt on current interim boss Frank Lampard’s immediate future.

Lampard was appointed on a contract until the end of the season but has lost all four games in charge, including Premier league defeats to Wolves and Brighton and both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

It is not known whether a successor would be asked to begin work right away or wait until the season is finished.

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal clash on Wednesday in a hugely-anticipated fixture that could determine the destiny of the Premier League crown.

The Gunners head to the Etihad Stadium with a five-point advantage at the top of the table but champions City, with two games in hand, are also in control of their own fate.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some talking points ahead of the game.

Can Arsenal halt the City charge?

Arsenal have led the way for most of the season but it is City that now have the momentum. The Londoners’ advantage has been eroded after three successive draws while City have hit form. Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasing side have won 11 of their past 12 games, putting their inconsistency of earlier in the season firmly behind them.

Victory on Wednesday would undoubtedly give City the upper hand and, with all their experience of finishing seasons strongly, the signs could be ominous for Arsenal. It does seem that the London club will need to win to have any hope of realising their dream.

No sign of City fatigue

With City chasing glory in three competitions and the fixtures mounting up, Arsenal may have been hoping they would be feeling the strain. Unfortunately for the Gunners, there are few signs of it.

Guardiola did cite tiredness as he made six changes for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United, but such was the ease of their 3-0 victory with Riyad Mahrez coming into the side to score a hat-trick, it was clear there are no serious issues there. Nor does the pressure seem to be bothering them.

Arsenal, by contrast, are facing this situation for the first time and, even without the distraction of other competitions, it is they that seem to be in need of a lift.

Injuries

City have a doubt over the in-form Nathan Ake but, after Phil Foden’s return at the weekend, they otherwise have a clean bill of health. In fact, from what could have been a difficult season with more World Cup call-ups than any other side, City have come through this campaign relatively unscathed so far.

Arsenal have had to deal with some significant injuries to key players this season and the current absence of William Saliba has been felt acutely. The defence has not been as solid without him over the past few weeks and manager Mikel Arteta will be anxious for his return.

Potential headline-makers

There are a number of potentially interesting stories waiting to be written. Most of City’s headlines this season have been generated by the remarkable Erling Haaland and the prolific Norwegian stands on the brink of another couple of milestones.

Two more goals would not only see Haaland equal the Premier League record of 34 goals in a season, but also bring his overall tally for the campaign to 50.

In the Arsenal side, key players Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who were both let go by City last summer, will have the chance to upset their former team-mates.

Managers

Guardiola regularly heaps praise on his former assistant Arteta but the Gunners boss has struggled to get the better of his old boss.
The pair have met eight times in management with Guardiola winning seven. Two of his successes have come this season with City beating Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup at the Etihad in January and following up with a 3-1 Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium a few weeks later. Arteta’s only victory came in an FA Cup semi-final three years ago.

The Tampa Bay Rays have officially made the best home start to a season in over 140 years after defeating the Houston Astros 8-3 on Monday.

With the win, the Rays extended their unbeaten home record to 14-0, breaking their tie with the 2009 Los Angeles Angels for the best start in modern history, while they are seven wins away from tying the 21-0 mark set by the 1880 Chicago White Stockings.

While one modern day record was born, another ended, as it was the first game this season that the Rays have not hit a home run. They had broken the record with a home run in each of their first 22 fixtures to start the campaign.

With no long-ball to lean on, the Rays piled up 14 hits, including a four-for-five day at the plate from 22-year-old franchise player Wander Franco.

Franco collected two singles and two doubles, and he also stole the show in the field, coming down with a remarkable over-the-shoulder, bare-handed catch in foul territory.

Rays left-fielder Randy Arozarena currently owns the sixth-best batting average in the majors (.353), and he improved on that figure by going two-for-three with a sacrifice-fly and a hit-by-pitch. 

He was one of five Rays with multiple hits, joining Franco, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Cristian Bethancourt.

At 20-3, Tampa Bay are four games clear in the race for the best record in the majors.

Strider flirts with perfection

Atlanta Braves young ace Spencer Strider took a perfect game into the eighth inning of his side's 11-0 shutout against the visiting Miami Marlins.

Strider, 24, retired the first 22 batters he faced, before Jean Segura finally broke up the perfect game bid in the eighth frame. He ended up finishing eight innings in 101 pitches, striking out 13 batters while only allowing two hits and no walks.

Strider's 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie would have led the majors had he pitched enough innings to qualify, and he does lead the MLB this year with a figure of 14.7.

Gray pitches a gem for the Twins

Veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray was at his best as his Minnesota Twins defeated the visiting New York Yankees 6-1.

Gray, 33, came into the contest having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his four previous starts this season, and he pitched another seven scoreless frames, allowing three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

The performance lowered his ERA to a league-leading 0.62 – joining Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani (0.64) and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (0.79) as the only players allowing fewer than one run per nine innings.

Just two years ago, Lauri Markkanen had fallen out of the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls and was scoring a career-low 13.6 points per game.

In 2022-2023, he has been voted the NBA's Most Improved Player after finding a new home with the Utah Jazz.

Markkanen received 69 of 100 first-place votes to claim the award, beating out fellow finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson.

Playing for his third team in as many years, Markkanen broke out this season by averaging 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists – all improvements on his numbers last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers of 14.8/5.7/1.3. In February, Markkanen played in his first career All-Star game, where he was named a starter.

He is the first Jazz player to win the award, and the Finland native is the seventh international player to claim the honour.

Markkanen received news of winning the award while fulfilling his required military service in Helsinki.

Markkanen has been involved in several trades and failed to put down roots with his two previous clubs, but he was given a larger role with the Jazz after being part of the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.

After struggling to find his role with the Bulls and Cavaliers, the seven-foot forward has emerged as a cornerstone in Utah.

Markkanen accepted his award remotely on a TNT telecast, crediting his career-best season to his situation with a new team.

"The right place at the right time," Markkanen said of his first season in Utah.

The Atlanta Hawks are preparing for Game 5 against the Boston Celtics without Dejounte Murray after he was hit with a one-game suspension on Monday for his conduct towards an official.

The incident occurred at the end of Atlanta's Game 4 loss, where Murray was seen to make contact with a referee, and he was accused of verbally abusing them also.

He will miss Tuesday's next game in Boston, which could be the last game of the Hawks' season as they go in down 3-1.

Speaking to the media after being alerted of Murray's suspension, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said his young star knows he was out of line, and it makes the task ahead even more difficult.

"Beating Boston in the Garden in the situation we're in right now, we all know is a challenge in and of itself," he said. "[But] it's something the entire group has to absorb.

"Dejounte recognizes his part in the situation. That's just not something you can do. You'd have to ask him directly as far as what had transpired previously. 

"I think there was frustration over the course of the game that built up, and he didn't handle it the way that he needs to – he knows that, we talked about it."

As far as filling the gaping hole Murray's absence leaves in the rotation, Snyder was not willing to reveal his thinking.

"Who starts [for Murray]? I'm not sure," he said. "Normally, historically, when one of those guards is out, you could start another guard, or you can go big. 

"We just found all this out. We need to meet as a staff and talk about it and see what makes the most sense for us relative to our opponent. Dejounte, not just in this series, but over the course of the year, has been a real important part of what our team does. 

"We've got to understand that contributions are going to have to come from a number of different players across the board. I don't think you can plug and play in a situation like this. Everybody's got to do their part."

If the Hawks can take Game 5, they will get a chance to tie the series at 3-3 back home in Game 6.

The Houston Rockets have made a deal to make Ime Udoka the franchise’s next head coach, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

Before committing to Udoka, the Rockets reportedly talked to the league office and the Boston Celtics about the circumstances surrounding the end of his tenure with the Celtics.

Udoka was fired last offseason after the Celtics discovered he was in an inappropriate relationship with a fellow team employee.

Best known in his playing days for his defensive stopper role with the San Antonio Spurs, Udoka’s only season of head coaching experience came in 2021-22, when he led the Celtics to a 51-31 record and an NBA Finals appearance.

At the end of the regular season, the Rockets declined to pick up an option on the contract of Stephen Silas, officially opening a head coaching vacancy.

Silas had a combined record of 59-177 in his three seasons leading Houston through a full roster tear-down and rebuild.

The Rockets will be one of three teams with a 14-percent chance at landing the top overall pick in the 2023 draft as the team looks to build around a very young core of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason.

At full strength, the Rockets had the second-youngest starting lineup in the league this season, averaging 21 years and 147 days old.

The Milwaukee Bucks will receive a huge boost for Monday's Game 4 against the Miami Heat as two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo returns from a two-game injury absence.

Antetokounmpo missed Game 2 and Game 3 after suffering a hard fall early in Game 1, resulting in a back contusion.

After dropping the series opener, the Bucks responded with an emphatic Game 2 victory at home to tie things up, before the Heat jumped ahead 2-1 with their Game 3 triumph in Miami.

Antetokounmpo finished the regular season top-five in both scoring (31.1 points per game) and rebounding (11.8 rebounds per game), and his return will be an enormous boost for the Bucks, who posted the best record in the league at 58-24.

Speaking before Monday's game, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer declared his star "ready to go".

"We'll keep our eyes on him like we do really all our guys, but there's been nothing put on him from medical or anything like that," he said.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra responded to the news by saying it will be a significantly tougher test with Antetokounmpo in the line-up, but he wants the Bucks at full strength.

"You can do all the prep behind the scenes but [Antetokounmpo] is going to bring it at a different level of physicality and force than what we can cover in a practice," he said.

"We have great respect for him and what he can do... when you get in the playoffs, you want everybody available."