Former England international Wayne Rooney will join Tyson Fury's camp for a month ahead of a possible bout with Oleksandr Usyk, the boxer has claimed.
The WBC champion saw off old rival Derek Chisora once again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month, to set up a potential unification bout with the Ukrainian.
Following his win, ex-Manchester United forward Rooney professed his admiration for Fury, with the latter suggesting he should spar with the D.C. United boss.
Though those comments appeared to be in jest, Fury claimed on Monday his offer was serious, with Rooney set to link up with him in training.
"I spoke to Wayne last night and he’s well up for it," he told ITV. "He's a right-handed person, so he has to switch up to be a southpaw, left-handed. We're going to bring Wayne in for preparation for Usyk.
"[I’m being] very, very serious. He's agreed, so he's going to come into camp for about four weeks and help me. I'm a big fan of his as well."
Across a highly successful club career, Rooney enjoyed domestic and international success with United, before transitioning into management with Derby County.
He was previously the outright record goalscorer for England, until current Three Lions captain Harry Kane matched his haul during the nation's 2-1 defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Fury is angling for a bout with Usyk, who defeated Anthony Joshua to take the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles before defending them against the Briton once again earlier this year.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Toronto FC v D.C. United: Lesesne looking to close the gap
D.C. United coach Troy Lesesne has called on his team to seize their opportunity to close the gap to fellow playoff hopefuls Toronto FC when they visit BMO Field on Saturday.
D.C. prop up the Eastern Conference standings with 26 points from as many games this term, but the congested nature of the table means they are within two points of a wild-card place.
Toronto currently occupy the first of those places, sitting five points clear of D.C. having played one additional game, and Lesesne knows that fact gives Saturday's matchup additional importance.
"We're all well aware of the table and we do try to bring that into view for the players," Lesesne said.
"But also, with eight games left, there's a lot still to be played for. This week, we have another opportunity right in front of us.
"We have to stick to what we want to do as a team. We have Toronto this week, they're in eighth place and a few points ahead of us, so closing that gap has to be our focus right now."
Toronto have won both of their matches since returning from the Leagues Cup break, beating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in MLS last week then triumphing 1-0 versus Forge in the Canadian Championship semi-finals on Wednesday.
Youngster Kosi Thompson has impressed in central midfield for the Reds lately despite coming through the ranks as a winger, and he now has one eye on making it on the international scene.
"I've learned that it's a man's game," Thompson said. "I was born in Toronto, and it's one of the biggest hotspots in Canada for football, so I would love to represent the national team.
"It's just about being patient and putting the work in to get there."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi (eight goals, eight assists) is the fourth player in Toronto's MLS history to record at least eight goals and eight assists in a single regular-season campaign, after Sebastian Giovinco (four times), Alejandro Pozuelo and Victor Vazquez (twice apiece).
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke headed home D.C. United's opening goal as they lost 4-3 to FC Dallas last week, his 11th headed goal in regular-season play, more than any other D.C. player over the last 15 MLS seasons.
MATCH PREDICTION – TORONTO FC WIN
Toronto have only lost one of their last seven home matches against D.C. (four wins, two draws, including playoffs), including winning the last two in a row.
Toronto have never won three straight home matches against D.C. United, but after recording two straight shutout wins in regular-season play for the second time this term, could they achieve that feat here?
D.C. won 3-2 at Minnesota United on their last away outing in MLS, but that is their only road win in the competition since early May, losing four and drawing one of their last six.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 43.5%
D.C. United – 29.7%
Draw – 26.8%
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