The dominoes are starting to fall as Manchester United begin to carry out their transfer window plans.

Erik ten Hag's hire has inevitably led to another squad overhaul, and the rest of the market is in some way connected to who leaves and arrives at Old Trafford this off-season.

Reports suggest one of those arrivals could make for a reunion between the new manager and a former player of his.

TOP STORY – MANCHESTER UNITED MOVE ON FRENKIE DE JONG

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is looking to reunite with Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong,   according to Fabrizio Romano.

After announcing the departures of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba, United are moving quickly for replacements and have reportedly commenced discussions with the Blaugrana.

While it is understood De Jong would like to remain with Barcelona amid their own rebuild under Xavi, it could ultimately be dependent on the club.

Although De Jong reportedly desires Champions League football, it could be a moot point if Manchester United meet a £72.5million (€85m) asking price. 

ROUND-UP

– Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah would prefer to join a Premier League rival at the end of next season if a new deal cannot be agreed upon, per the Athletic.

– Chelsea have opened talks with Sevilla over the potential transfer of highly rated France defender Jules Kounde, according to Sport.

– Manchester City remain keen on signing England midfielder Kalvin Phillips but Leeds United want to retain the player after securing Premier League safety, the Sun reports.

– Real Madrid are looking to sign Jude Bellingham, but Borussia Dortmund are not willing to sell the player until the end of next season, Bild is reporting.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni insisted his side can compete with any team at the World Cup, after their 3-0 win over Italy in the UEFA/CONMEBOL Finalissima at Wembley on Wednesday.

The Albiceleste were ruthless in transition, pouncing on any opportunity to counter, with first-half goals from Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria capped off by Paulo Dybala's second-half injury-time strike.

Argentina set a new national team record in the process, now moving to 32 matches unbeaten.

On the back of 2021's Copa America triumph, Scaloni said that while his team is strong as any heading into Qatar, success will only come through spirit.

"What counts is the spirit of sacrifice, struggle and team spirit shown by the group, beyond the results," he told ESPN Argentina. "What we want is a performance, to know what the team is looking for on the pitch.

"There is, perhaps, too much enthusiasm [in the public], because in football when you think everything is done, they take you down with a stroke of the pen. We do know that we are going to go to a World Cup to compete on an equal footing with any team.

"We believe that the confidence of winning frees you from many things, but we are not exempt from the fact that the team can block itself at some point and that is what worries me. We have to be prepared in case fate takes a turn."

The South American champions faced difficulty as the game compressed despite the majority of possession. Chiefly through Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, they sprung into life whenever space opened.

Much like their struggles late in the World Cup qualification phase – which culminated in playoff elimination at the hands of North Macedonia – Italy looked lifeless without Marco Verratti on the other hand, managing only one shot in the penalty area.

Scaloni conceded the result belied certain aspects of his team's performances, but is buoyed by a similar spirit that propelled the team to success in Brazil last year.

"I don't know if it's the best game we played," he said post-match. "In the first half I think they put us in trouble, at times. We feel comfortable afterwards.

"I want that every time we get together we are in the same way, united as we are now. The World Cup is going to be something else, it has a different pressure. Now people enjoy and it is the most important thing for us."

Jamaica Reggae Boy striker Andre Gray is attracting attention from English Championship club Reading FC after recently parting ways with relegated Watford.

The forward has been a part of the Watford squad since 2017 but spent the last season on loan at Queens Park Rangers.  During his stint at Queens Park Rangers, Gray scored 10 goals as they narrowly missed out on the play-offs.

Gray has had a productive stint in Championship football since joining Burnley in 2015.  The forward notched 20 in 52 at Brentford and 33 in 78 at Burnley before making a reported £17m switch to Hertfordshire in 2017.

According to reports, the player has also drawn interest from Birmingham and Preston North End where another Jamaican Daniel Johnson is a part of the squad.

Argentina's impressive 3-0 Finalissima win over Italy saw La Albiceleste set a national new record of 32 matches unbeaten.

Lionel Scaloni's men were sensational at Wembley, producing a dominant and rampant performance that could have seen them claim an even more one-sided victory.

Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala got the goals, while Lionel Messi pulled the strings as Argentina made something of a statement less than six months before the World Cup.

Argentina's last defeat was a 2-0 loss to bitter rivals Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America, but they got their revenge in the final last year, beating the Selecao 1-0 at the Maracana to clinch their first title in 28 years.

Their 32 games unbeaten is a new record for official games, though Argentina did go 33 matches without defeat under Alfio Basile – that run included two fixtures not recognised by FIFA as they were against the Rest of America and the Rest of World in 1991.

Argentina's streak is the longest currently intact in international football and leaves them just five adrift of the all-time record set by Italy themselves last year.

Ukraine claimed an emotional win on their return to competitive football as they moved to within one victory of the Qatar World Cup by beating Scotland 3-1.

The World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final was delayed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier in 2022, but Oleksandr Petrakov's side were deserved victors at Hampden Park despite Georgi Bushchan's blunder setting up a grandstand finish.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke said he was "desperate" to reach the World Cup despite Ukraine's hardship, yet his team could not match the intensity shown by the visitors until late in the match, after Bushchan had fumbled Callum McGregor's shot over the line.

But Ukraine held onto their lead – given to them either side of half-time by Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk – with Artem Dovbyk adding a third in stoppage time, and now only Wales stand in their way of a place in Qatar.

Craig Gordon twice came to Scotland's rescue early on, first tipping over Viktor Tsygankov's strike before smothering Yarmolenko's close-range effort, but Ukraine made a deserved breakthrough in the 33rd minute 

Having beat Scotland's offside trap, Yarmolenko controlled Ruslan Malinovskiy's lofted pass brilliantly before lofting a neat finish over the onrushing Gordon.

It was 2-0 four minutes after the restart – Yaremchuk heading home from Oleksandr Karavaev's right-wing cross after Scotland failed to clear their lines from a free-kick.

Ukraine almost gifted Scotland a way back into proceedings by overplaying at the back, with Bushchan's clearance slicing wide off McGregor.

John McGinn headed wide to let Bushchan off the hook for another error, but Ukraine's goalkeeper was punished when he failed to catch McGregor's poor shot.

Despite Scotland's pressure, Ukraine finished things off in injury time - Dovbyk, who had missed two glorious chances, making it third time lucky to ensure victory.

Argentina made an early statement of intent ahead of the World Cup with an impressively dominant 3-0 win over Italy to win the UEFA/CONMEBOL Finalissima at Wembley.

Although Italy failed to qualify for Qatar 2022, few would have expected the European champions to be so stunningly outclassed by the Copa America 2021 winners.

Much of the pre-game focus was on Giorgio Chiellini, but the last game of his distinguished international career ended at half-time with Argentina deservedly 2-0 up thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria.

Italy somehow prevented the inspired Lionel Messi and Di Maria adding more gloss to the scoreline, but Paulo Dybala finally got their third with the last kick of the game.

A brilliant intervention by Cristian Romero had earlier denied Andrea Belotti a simple finish in the 20th minute, with the striker then seeing a looping header saved by Emiliano Martinez a few moments later.

But Argentina soon took charge.

Messi wonderfully turned away from Giovanni Di Lorenzo and held him off before passing across goal for Martinez to tap home.

The Inter forward then turned provider on the stroke of half-time, spinning Leonardo Bonucci and feeding Di Maria, who lifted an audacious chip over the helpless Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Roberto Mancini made three changes at the break but if anything Argentina only became more dominant – Donnarumma desperately scurried back to stop a Bonucci back-pass going in, before importantly denying the excellent Di Maria twice.

Giovani Lo Celso then missed an open goal – albeit from a slightly tight angle – after great work by Messi, who subsequently tested Donnarumma twice.

But Donnarumma was eventually beaten again at the end, substitute Dybala finding the bottom-right corner after a solo Messi run terrified the Italy defence.

Australia prepared for their World Cup play-off with the United Arab Emirates by coming from behind to beat Jordan 2-1.

The Socceroos will face the UAE next Tuesday, with the winner progressing to an intercontinental play-off against Peru for a place at Qatar 2022.

Australia went winless in their final three games of the third round of qualifying and fell behind at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Wednesday.

Mousa Al Tamari's long-range effort gave Jordan a 17th-minute lead, the winger finding the bottom-left corner.

However, Bailey Wright levelled matters five minutes before half-time as he headed home at the far post from Craig Goodwin's free-kick.

Aaron Mooy struck the post with a free-kick of his own and it was a set-piece that provided the decisive goal in the 68th minute, Awer Mabil netting from point-blank range after Jordan failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Graeme Souness believes FIFA should allow Ukraine to qualify automatically for this year's World Cup in Qatar, to send a message to the Russian government.

Souness' beloved Scotland hosted Ukraine on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifying play-off that was delayed from March following Russia's invasion of the country.

The attack was universally condemned but the fighting has continued since, with millions of Ukrainians displaced and thousands left defending their homeland.

While the winner of Wednesday's encounter in Glasgow will face Wales on Sunday to determine the final European team to reach Qatar, Souness passionately believes that regardless of the outcome, FIFA should ensure Ukraine feature in the tournament.

"It's the strangest emotion I think I've ever had about a football match. I'm Scottish, was captain of the team, every single game we play in I want us to win desperately," Souness said on Sky Sports before the match at Hampden Park.

"Every single game our rugby team plays in I want us to win desperately. I really have mixed emotions about tonight. What's happening in Ukraine right now, it transcends football.

"It's about life and death, we're witnessing pictures I've never seen in my life before, it's only four hours flying time from where we're standing, not the other side of the world, that could visit us one day.

"So we have to stand up and support Ukraine, we have to get right behind them as much as we possibly can. Football has such a big part to play in so many people's lives today.

"For me, what FIFA should do, FIFA should say it doesn’t matter what happens [in the play-offs], this team should be going to the World Cup.

"Make a group of five somewhere. Ukraine should be going to the World Cup. Simply keep the name of Ukraine at the forefront of everybody's mind."

Souness insists that allowing Ukraine to compete in Qatar will help prove to the leaders of Russia – who UEFA and FIFA both banned from their competitions – that they are truly alone in the world because of their invasion.

"We will get immune to the pictures we see, because it's on a daily basis," he continued. "Regularly, we're seeing horror stories that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.

"We have to make sure that the people in the Kremlin understand that the world does not accept what they're doing, and football has a part to play because the profile football has.

"This team should be going to the World Cup to keep the name of Ukraine right at the front of everyone's head so that the people in Russia realise that they're standing alone and are in the wrong, they have to accept that."

Whoever progresses from the play-off path has been drawn with England, Iran and the United States.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of centre-back Diego Carlos from Sevilla for an undisclosed fee.

The Premier League club confirmed last week an agreement had been reached to sign the Brazilian, and after finalising personal terms and the completion of a medical, Diego Carlos' move has been sealed ahead of the transfer window opening later this month.

Villa will reportedly pay Sevilla an initial £26.4million (€31m), though that figure could eventually get to roughly £34m (€40m) through bonuses.

Diego Carlos is Villa's third signing ahead of the 2022-23 season, having also announced the free transfer of Boubacar Kamara from Marseille following on from Philippe Coutinho's loan move from Barcelona having been made permanent.

The defender was pursued by Newcastle United for much of the January transfer window – even reportedly handing in a transfer request – but will now link up instead with Steven Gerrard's side, who finished 14th in the Premier League this season.

The 29-year-old played 136 games for Sevilla since signing from Nantes in 2019, winning the Europa League in 2020 when his overhead kick was turned into the net by then Inter striker Romelu Lukaku for the decisive goal in the final.

Diego Carlos was also a part of the Brazil team that won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Alan Pardew has quit his role as CSKA Sofia boss after several of the club's players were subjected to racist abuse by their own fans.

Pardew initially joined the Bulgarian club in an advisory capacity in 2020 but moved into the dugout after Stoycho Mladenov's resignation this April.

But the former Newcastle United boss has now left the club after four CSKA black players had bananas thrown at them by their own fans before a game against Botev Plovdiv last month, one week on from losing the Bulgarian cup final to fierce rivals Levski Sofia.

In a statement released on the club's website, Pardew said: "First, I want to thank all the real CSKA fans for their support and passion for the club.

"It was a privilege for me to be a part of and to serve this club. Unfortunately, my time here is over. 

"The events before and after the match with Botev were not acceptable for me, for my assistant Alex Dyer, or for our players. The reason no one gave an interview after the match was that we were all very outraged by the situation that had escalated.

"Our players decided to play only out of loyalty and to protect the club. The small group of organised racist fans who tried to sabotage this match is not what I want to lead and represent the team in front of. 

"This is definitely not the right path for the benefit of CSKA, because such a club deserves much more."

Pardew's assistant Dyer, the first black coach at the club, has also left his role.

Real Madrid have expressed their "sincere gratitude and affection" to departing duo Gareth Bale and Isco.

Bale confirmed on Wednesday that, as expected, he was leaving the LaLiga champions and Champions League winners, with his contract with Los Blancos coming to an end.

Isco also revealed earlier this week that he was departing the club on a free transfer.

Both players signed for Madrid in 2013 - Bale joining from Tottenham while Isco arrived from Malaga.

The pair have helped Madrid win 19 trophies in their nine years in the Spanish capital, although Bale did spend the 2020-21 season on loan at Spurs.

They can count five Champions League titles, three league crowns, one Copa del Rey and four FIFA Club World Cup triumphs among their honours.

Bale also scored crucial goals to help seal some of those successes, including a match-winning double in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool.

"Real Madrid would like to express its sincere gratitude and affection to Gareth Bale, a player who will forever be part of the club's legacy," a statement on the club's website read, with the same applying for Isco.

Lorne Donaldson has been appointed head coach of Jamaica’s National Senior Women’s team ahead of the CONCACAF Women Qualifiers set to begin in Mexico on July 4. He replaces Vin Blaine who resigned from the post in mid-May after a falling out with the players.

 After more than two weeks of searching for a replacement, the Jamaica Football Federation has decided that Lorne Donaldson, a member of the coaching staff that took the Reggae Girlz to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, is the best person to lead the team into the qualifiers.

“We looked at all the dynamics involved, including the short period to prepare, and agreed that Lorne brings specific advantages to the position including familiarity with the regional football culture and knowledge of the players and is well placed to navigate the team through what will be a difficult qualifying exercise,” said Michael Ricketts, President of the JFF.

“The JFF will give all the necessary support to him and the team, and we are confident that they will make Jamaica proud in Mexico.”

Donaldson’s backroom staff will be named soon.

Donaldson resigned from the Reggae Girlz coaching staff in January 2020, citing a lack of integrity and professionalism at the JFF, and came mere weeks after head coach Hue Menzies resigned in December 2019.

The Concacaf W Championship will take place in Monterrey, Mexico, from July 4 to 18.

Jamaica is drawn into a tough Group A with hosts Mexico, FIFA’s number one ranked the United States and neighbours Haiti. Jamaica will meet hosts Mexico on July 4, the USA on July 7 and Haiti on July 11 in the preliminary round.

The teams in Group B are Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.

The top two teams from the two groups will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third-placed teams will qualify for the intercontinental playoffs.

In addition, the group winners will qualify for the 2024 Olympics and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup while the second and third-placed teams will advance to the Concacaf Olympic playoff.

The United States are the two-time defending champions, having won the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

Spain will be without Thiago Alcantara for their upcoming Nations League games.

The midfielder was an injury concern for Liverpool ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday, but he was declared fit to start and played 77 minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid before being replaced by Roberto Firmino.

However, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona midfielder will be unable to play for his national team in this month's matches against Portugal, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

That is due to what a muscular injury to the back of his right leg.

Thiago will remain with the Spain camp until after Thursday's clash with Portugal in Seville.

Spain coach Luis Enrique will not be calling up a replacement for Thiago, who last started for his country in June 2021. He later made four appearances at the delayed Euro 2020 finals, all from the bench.

Manchester City and Liverpool will reignite their rivalry in the Community Shield, which will take place on July 30.

The new Premier League season is scheduled to start the following weekend, and champions City will take on FA Cup winners Liverpool in the campaign's traditional curtain-raiser.

Liverpool finished second in the top flight, one point off City, who came from behind on the final day against Aston Villa to secure their fourth league title in the space of five seasons in dramatic fashion.

Jurgen Klopp's team had harboured hopes of an unprecedented quadruple but ultimately had to settle for winning the two domestic cup competitions, having lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in last week's Champions League final.

While the Community Shield is typically held at Wembley Stadium, it is taking place at Leicester City's King Power Stadium on this occasion.

Wembley is hosting the final of the women's Euro 2022 tournament on the same weekend.

City lost last year's Community Shield 1-0 to 2020-21 FA Cup winners Leicester, going down to a late penalty from their former player Kelechi Iheanacho.

Liverpool featured in the 2020 Community Shield, albeit that was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They lost to Arsenal on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Indeed, the last time the league champions won the trophy was in 2019 when City defeated Liverpool 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out, once again after the match had finished 1-1.

Famed schoolboy footballer Dennis ‘Den Den’ Hutchinson has died after a prolonged battle with an undisclosed illness at the age of 63, his family confirmed to Sportsmax.TV Wednesday.