OLIVER GLASNER, Fabian Hurzeler and Andoni Iraola are among the coaches under consideration to replace Ruben Amorim if he is sacked by Manchester United.
Amorim suffered his 17th Premier League defeat out of 33 games in charge of United against Brentford on Saturday, who have lost three of their six league matches this term.
7
Manchester United have struggled under manager Ruben AmorimCredit: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock
7
Although Amorim retains United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s backing, potential replacements are being consideredCredit: Lucy North/PA Wire
7
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is being eyed by Man UtdCredit: BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images
7
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is also being targeted by Man UtdCredit: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Although Amorim retains the club’s backing, United are keeping an eye on potential replacements amid their alarming form.
Club sources insist they do not have a successor to Amorim lined up but accept the speculation around the manager’s role.
Erik ten Hag was dismissed after four defeats from the first nine league fixtures last term, though the United hierarchy is more invested in Amorim, the first managerial appointment under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
United initially placed an emphasis on Premier League-proven signings in the summer with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo and could apply that to their next managerial search.
That has had an impact on former England manager Gareth Southgate’s chances – he has not managed in the Premier League since Middlesbrough were relegated in 2009.
Southgate has suggested he may not return to management while his friend and ally, United director Sir Dave Brailsford, is no longer visible at the club after his disastrous attempt to improve performance at Old Trafford.
Glasner guided Crystal Palace to their first piece of silverware in the FA Cup last season and the Eagles are the only unbeaten side in the top flight, having ended Liverpool’s winning run with a 2-1 triumph on Saturday.
Iraola took charge of Bournemouth two years ago and led them to ninth last season.
However, there is not believed to have been any interest from the Red Devils as yet.
Amorim insists he’s right man
Amorim signed a two-and-a-half year contract with United when he was appointed as Ten Hag’s replacement last November but the club finished 15th last season, their worst top-flight finish since the team was relegated in 1974.
United have invested £256.82million in six signings on Amorim’s watch but the team have plunged to 14th following Saturday’s loss.
Sunderland travel to Old Trafford next week before the October internationals and United resume their schedule against Liverpool at Anfield on October 19.
United are winless in their last ten at Anfield and have not won there since January 2016.
Asked if he can turn it around at United, Amorim replied: “I’m always confident as I know what to do.
“When you lose, you go back to the same place and you fight again for one win that can help you to create the momentum.”
7
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola completes Man Utd’s shortlistCredit: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
7
Gareth Southgate’s star is waning in United’s eyes and there are concerns over his compatibility with the club’s summer transfer approachCredit: Stu Forster/Getty Images
7
Xavi is said to be interested but there are no indications that that interest has been reciprocatedCredit: AP
But it’s not really a surprise, as back in the Seventies Chelsea’s players, including Alan Hudson and Peter Osgood, were known as the kings of the King’s Road for their fashionable sense of style.
And the club’s 21st-century fans have maintained the tradition, according to research by betting site freebet.com, with 16 per cent getting suited and booted for a big night.
While fans of Newcastle, Burnley and Wolves were in the relegation zone with just one per cent being bothered to look smart.
The table shows there’s a clear North/South divide when it comes to off-the-pitch style.
The top seven spots are filled by teams from London and the south, with Man City and Leeds sharing eighth place with Brentford and West Ham with five per cent.
Spokesman Tim Agnew said: “Our research shows Chelsea fans are the best dressed fans in the Premier League.
“They already had a reputation for wearing Gucci and Prada and our research confirms Chelsea fans like to look sharp.”
Chelsea plunged into crisis at BOTH ends ahead of huge Liverpool clash
6
Actor Phil Daniels supports the West London clubCredit: Getty – Contributor
6
Celeb chef Gordon Ramsey is also a fanCredit: Getty
6
Chelsea footballers John Hollins, Terry Venables, Ron Harris, George Graham and Eddie McCreadieCredit: Getty
IT’S opening night at football’s multi-billion dollar circus and spending has gone through the big-top roof.
So despite an almighty spree of his own, Arne Slot believes his Liverpool side will face tougher competition than ever if they are to retain their Premier League title.
7
Arne Slot admits he will do well to keep his hands on the Prem trophyCredit: Getty
7
Florian Wirtz has been brought to Anfield as part of a massive spree that may not be over yetCredit: Mark Pain / Premium Sports Images
7
Chelsea will be looking to challenge after spending nearly a quarter of a billionCredit: Getty
7
Could Viktor Gyokeres be the missing piece for Arsenal as they chase a long-awaited title?Credit: Getty
Play Dream Team now!
Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season
And as the defending champions roll up to Anfield to face Bournemouth, kicking off another season for the greatest show on Earth, the Dutchman expects the title battle to be fiercer than ever.
But world champs Chelsea have spent another quarter of a billion, followed by Manchester United (£200.5m), Arsenal (£181.8m) and Manchester City (£150.1m for a total of £324m in the calendar year).
And Slot said: “The reason why it’s so difficult lies mainly with the fact there are so many that can win the league over here.
“To win it once is very special, if you can win it twice in five years like us — and City did even better — then that is unbelievable.
“And probably this year’s going to be harder than any year before because every team brings in new players. Our main competitors definitely did as well.
“The challenge in the Premier League is always the teams. We start with Bournemouth — the most intense in the league in terms of running and also playing style — and after that it’s Newcastle and Arsenal.
“That sums up this league and the challenges we have.”
If winning the title is a serious achievement, retaining it is far tougher — only Pep Guardiola’s City, Sir Alex Ferguson’s United and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have won back-to-back Premier League crowns.
Meet the Premier League’s newest wags after their star partners transfers including nurse, lawyer & make-up expert
7
Slot would be walking among giants if he wins a second title in two seasons.
And while the signings of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez provide a major platform, he still wants Newcastle striker Isak as well as Guehi, the England defender who skippered Crystal Palace to beat the Reds in Sunday’s Community Shield.
Perennial runners-up Arsenal are in a major recruitment drive too — adding Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Cristhian Mosquera ahead of a critical campaign for Mikel Arteta.
As ever, Chelsea have bought in bulk — with strikers Joao Pedro and Liam Delap joining wingers Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian, left-back Jorrel Hato and midfielder Dario Essugo at a club powered by its own brand of chaos.
Guardiola’s City — four-in-a-row champions before last term — have made four big signings in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford, to add to their January quartet.
With United’s attacking overhaul bringing Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in, never before have all of England’s major clubs seen such change.
Europa League winners Spurs have spent £100m-plus, with more to come — with even promoted Sunderland well over nine figures.
The league is increasingly competitive. The Liverpool-City duopoly — when two near-perfect teams needed close to 100 points to take the crown — is over.
No longer does one defeat spell disaster, yet fewer fixtures are a formality for any title-chasers.
With Liverpool making so many changes, Slot faces a different pressure to when he inherited Jurgen Klopp’s squad last summer.
He said: “I took over a team with only two weeks to prepare due to the Euros and Copa America.
“This year we’ve brought in very good, intelligent players who need to integrate. Bournemouth will bring a big challenge but everyone is looking forward to it.”
Roll up, roll up — tonight’s the night we begin to find out if they all have more money than sense.
7
Man United fans will be praying that Sesko hits the ground runningCredit: Getty
7
Guardiola has spent around £150m in a bid to get the title back to the EtihadCredit: AFP
A MAJOR UK TV provider is scrapping a popular sports app in just weeks, in a major blow to football fans.
Customers will lose access to the service before the end of the Premier League, with Brits urged to upgrade to avoid missing out.
1
Affected devices will no longer show TNT Sports on demandCredit: TNT
From September 22, a number older of EE TV boxes will stop supporting the Discovery+ app, the streaming home for TNT sports content.
You will still be able to watch shows in real-time, but all on-demand content will be removed from your TV box.
That means customers will no longer be able to access Premier League highlights, catch up on missed Champions League matches, or watch any of their favourite Discovery+ reality or entertainment shows on demand.
The EE TV devices that will lose support for the Discovery+ app are:
4K Recordable TV Box
TV Box
Recordable TV Box
The newer devices, TV Box Pro, TV Box Mini, and the custom Apple TV 4K EE Box will continue working as normal.
Following the changes, your subscription won’t be cancelled, and you can still watch Discovery+ and TNT Sports on other devices.
If your TV box is affected, then you will need to upgrade, or find an alternative means of watching.
To upgrade to a newer model, all you need to do is call EE.
The device will typically be sent to you for free, however, you will usually need to begin a new 24-month contract to get the upgrade.
TNT Sports will be broadcasting multiple football games from top compitions in the coming season
However, it is important to note that any recordings on your older device will not be switched over to the new device, so you should make sure to watch them all before making the switch.
If you don’t want to upgrade, you can still watch Discovery+ on your Smart TVs, tablets and laptops and smartphones.
If you’ve got a Smart TV, you can watch TNT sports and Discovery+ using that, and use your EE TV box for everything else.
Alternatively, you could switch to another TV subscription service instead.
EE TV (formerly BT TV) is a service available to BT and EE broadband customers.
It offers various packages ranging from a £20 a month entertainment package to an £80 a month Full Works plan.
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ruben Amorim admitted he could not guarantee Rasmus Hojlund’s Old Trafford future – despite the Dane’s dazzling display in the Windy City.
Hojlund opened the scoring in the 4-1 trouncing of Bournemouth before creating space for the third – which he claimed but was not awarded – when Amad Diallo fired through a crowd and into the net.
3
Rasmus Hojlund put in a timely reminder of what he can do as a strikerCredit: Getty
3
But Ruben Amorim admitted he doesn’t know what the future holds for the DaneCredit: Getty
Play Dream Team now!
Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season
“The important thing is that the strikers that are here are working really well, are improving, are helping the team and that is the most important thing.”
Amorim added: “People focus on the goals and we have suffered a lot because of the lack of goals.
“But it’s not just the goals with Rasmus. It’s also about the way he connects the play.
“Every time we have to clear the ball, we are doing so under pressure.
“His ability to hold the defender off and to connect with the support is helping us a lot to play better.
“And we are playing better because he is playing better.”
United were far too good for the sub-par Cherries, with the excellent Patrick Dorgu storming through to claim the second and teenage substitute Ethan Williams netting the fourth with his first touch.
Bournemouth’s reply was a late own goal by Matthijs de Ligt, who had replaced Harry Maguire at half-time, but Amorim allayed concerns about the England centre-back.
Man Utd & Newcastle in £40M Tug-of-War for Bundesliga Wonderkid!
He explained: “He had an issue during the holidays, during training.
“Harry’s come a little bit late, so we have to be careful with him. It’s just a little bit of fatigue with the training.
“We are trying to control everything and saving all the players to give them the exact number of minutes they need.”
Fatigue was also the reason that Brazilian Matheus Cunha was not involved at Soldier Field, but a delighted Amorim said: “It was a good game.
“We played with intensity. We were aggressive and that is something that we needed to improve on from last season.
“Overall, we had better possessions compared to the last game, so they are listening.
“Of course, scoring first in the beginning of the game can change the confidence of the team. It was a good test, a good day.
“It was just a pre-season game. But if you look at us, at the same players from last year, it looks like a different team and that is a good sign.”
3
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
ARSENAL are considering a shock move to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, according to reports.
Kepa, 30, spent this season on loan with Bournemouth, where he kept eight clean sheets in 31 Premier League appearances.
3
Arsenal are interested in signing Kepa ArrizabalagaCredit: Getty
The Spanish shot-stopper is surplus to requirements at Chelsea, who signed him for £72million in 2018 – a record fee for a goalkeeper.
But his time with The Blues didn’t go to plan and Kepa has since been on loan with Bournemouth and Real Madrid, last playing for Chelsea in 2023.
It now looks like a permanent exit is on the cards after Sky Sports revealed that Arsenal are interested in signing Kepa to provide backup for David Raya.
Kepa is thought to be available for just £5MILLION thanks to a release clause in his contract that was agreed prior to his loan move to the Cherries last summer.
Should the Gunners convince Kepa to jump ship to North London, they would be securing his services for over 14 TIMES less than Chelsea payed for him at first.
Kepa’s current contract with Chelsea expires in 2026.
Bournemouth keeper Neto spent last season on loan with Arsenal, making just one appearance across the entire campaign.
Arsenal had been linked with a move to sign Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia this summer, but the La Liga gloveman now looks set for a move to Barcelona.
3
Kepa spent last season on loan at Real MadridCredit: Getty
3
David Raya has won consecutive Golden Glove awards since joining ArsenalCredit: Getty
Mikel Arteta and his team are hoping to add depth in between the sticks, but are thought to still see David Raya as the number one.
Raya has won consecutive Golden Glove awards since his arrival from Brentford, forming the base of the Premier League’s most formidable defence this season.
David Raya reveals Arsenal career changed overnight following two-hour meeting
For Arteta, the main focus will be on bringing in a centre-forward.
Reports have suggested that one of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko or Sporting bagsman Viktor Gyokeres will come through the door at the Emirates in the coming months.
However, both deals are likely to be expensive and neither player is without suitors from other top clubs around Europe too.
IN the wee small hours of Sunday at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Paris Saint-Germain’s players were celebrating the greatest achievement of their lives.
Paris Saint-Germain won their first Champions League crown on SaturdayCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
10
Luis Enrique will take his side to the Club World Cup in the USCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
But if Luis Enrique and his side had wanted to put their feet up and bask in this ultimate glory, then they were sadly mistaken.
Almost immediately after their 5-0 win, Enrique and his stars would be peppered with questions about their prospects at the Club World Cup — a 32-team, month-long tournament designed to carpet-bomb TV schedules with even more football, starting on Sunday week.
Does the Club World Cup now represent ultimate glory, rather than the Champions League?
Is that, in the words of Finchy in The Office, ‘the real quiz’?
Because football — even in the odd-numbered summers which used to give us a brief respite from the thing — must never, ever rest.
And so next week, PSG will go to America, where they will play the Urawa Red Diamonds, The Last Shadow Puppets and the Seattle Sounders — only one of which is really the name of an English band.
And on Sunday week, Bayern Munich will play Auckland City in Cincinnati.
And there is nothing we can do to stop them playing. Even though we already know Bayern Munich are significantly better than Auckland City.
And Harry Kane will play. Even though his body is creaking.
Chelsea finally discover Club World Cup opponents as former star, 38, assists dramatic winner to set up reunion
Even though he hasn’t had a proper rest in years. Even though he surely can’t think of anything worse than having to play Auckland City.
Because Fifa are offering $1BILLION in prize money.
And two days later, you can watch in HD as Ulsan HD of South Korea play Mamelodi Sundowns, who are possibly an indie band who have an afternoon slot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, or might be a football team from Pretoria in South Africa
Because in football there must be no sundown. Only the Mamelodi Sundowns.
And Manchester City and Chelsea will be there too, due to some convoluted Uefa qualification system which it’s best not to ask about.
And Inter Miami will be there — not because of any system but because they employ Lionel Messi, who turns 38 this month and must be tired but must never, ever rest.
And the whole thing will go on for every bit as long as an actual World Cup, with countries, used to go on for.
10
The Club World Cup is set to commence on Sunday weekCredit: AFP
10
Lionel Messi will play in the revamped tournamentCredit: Getty
Although not as long as next year’s actual World Cup, which will have 48 nations and 104 matches in it and will go on for even longer.
Oh and there will still be a third-place play-off.
Because what else would we do with ourselves on Saturday July 18, 2026, if we couldn’t watch another game of football between two utterly deflated, exhausted teams?
But that doesn’t matter because, after the worst season in their modern history, United’s players travelled 14,000 miles to play post-season friendlies in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong so that the club could fulfil £10million worth of sponsorship commitments.
And yes ‘net zero’ is supposed to be an environmental policy rather than United’s goalscoring output against the ASEAN All-Stars. During the half-time interval of that 1-0 defeat in Malaysia, Andre Onana, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot were substituted so they could board a private jet to Mumbai to promote Apollo tyres.
Because people in Mumbai will choose Apollo tyres if an error-prone Cameroonian goalkeeper tells them to.
And Michelin and Bridgestone and Pirelli won’t get a look in, just so long as Dalot presses home Apollo’s core messages, which are ‘Going The Distance’ and ‘Conquer Every Road’.
10
Man Utd played two post-season friendlies in AsiaCredit: AP
10
Harry Kane seemingly never gets a summer offCredit: AP
While Maguire was flying to India, to tell people that ‘the journey is as important as the destination’, Amad Diallo was still in Malaysia, where he was giving the middle finger to a fan who had apparently abused his mother.
And then issuing a social-media apology, in which he said he didn’t actually regret giving the finger.
Because it isn’t enough that Amad’s mother is abused during the football season.
She needs to be abused during the close season as well. And her son needs to retaliate.
Because there needs to be online content and, if the internet never sleeps, then why should football sleep, along with its content-creating by-product, the abuse of really tired footballers?
Last year, Tottenham and Newcastle made a 21,000-mile round trip to Melbourne to play each other, six weeks after they had previously done so. And the Toon won on penalties.
But is that really enough, when these footballers travelled in first-class luxury and stayed in excellent hotels?
The BBC’s Race Across The World is an extraordinarily successful TV show because contestants must travel on overnight buses and then muck out animals to raise extra cash.
10
Man Utd lifted the Defining Education Challenge Cup after beating Hong KongCredit: Getty
10
Tottenham played Newcastle in Melbourne in May 2024Credit: Getty
Why shouldn’t footballers do the same on post-season and pre-season tours? Wouldn’t that provide better content?
This Saturday, England will play a competitive match against Andorra, which won’t be competitive.
And next Tuesday, England will play Senegal, when they won’t really be England because so many of their players will be heading to the Club World Cup.
But it’s not as if we’d have to wait long for football without this new thing.
Because why wouldn’t we want to watch Bournemouth play Everton in July — even if, when the fixtures come out in a fortnight, we might find out that they are playing each other in August?
The thing is, Bournemouth versus Everton has been far too parochial until now.
When Bournemouth are at home, only 11,000 people get in to watch it.
What about the blue-collar workers of New Jersey, the people Bruce Springsteen writes ballads about?
Don’t they deserve their fix of Bournemouth versus Everton, instead of just shotgun, teenage weddings and dreaming about escaping from small towns on motorbikes, kind of stuff?
And the answer is, yes, they do deserve Bournemouth versus Everton. Just like you deserve Red Bull Salzburg, the second best team in Austria, versus CF Pachuca, the eighth best team in Mexico.
That one’s on Wednesday June 18 at 11pm. Followed by Al-Ain versus Juventus at 2am.
Eyes down, look in. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.
10
Fans in the US will be able to get a glimpse of James TarkowskiCredit: Getty
10
Bournemouth are set to be a hit across the pondCredit: Getty
NOTTINGHAM FOREST would have earned a Champions League spot at the expense of Newcastle if VAR did not exist.
And the Magpies’ escape from any consequences for their home defeat by Everton is put into even starker content as they would have missed out on European football altogether without the technology.
3
Nottingham Forest would have earned a Champions League spot if VAR did not exist
3
Newcastle would have missed out on Europe if VAR did not exist
SunSport have analysed all 380 Prem matches this term and worked out how the table would have looked if the original on-field decisions had not been overturned after intervention by the Stockley Park video booth.
Our number crunchers found that Eddie Howe’s men were by far the biggest beneficiaries of VAR changes.
Newcastle had a staggering 13 decisions changed in their favour, with just five reversals hurting them.
That brought a net figure of +8, with Aston Villa and West Ham next in the benefits column with each having four more interventions in their favour than against them.
Our analysis, which assumes every penalty that was initially awarded and then wiped was scored, suggests that without VAR Newcastle would have picked up four fewer points – dropping them to eighth in the table – and conceded seven more goals.
Forest, whose home defeat by Chelsea left them in the Conference League slot, would have finished fifth in our “No VAR” table.
And Bournemouth, ninth in the actual table, would have been preparing for a first continental campaign in the Europa League without the technology changes.
Andoni Iraola’s side had 11 VAR changes against them and just three in their favour, costing the Cherries EIGHT points and seven goals.
The study of the 111 changed decisions cannot determine definitively what would have happened in real life if the initial decisions had not been overturned.
But one of the most contentious calls saw Dango Ouattara’s last-gasp “winner” against Newcastle in August chalked off for a handball PGMOL chief Howard Webb subsequently conceded was wrongly overturned after the VAR intervention.
Taiwo Awoniyi seen for first time since horror injury as he receives hero’s welcome at Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
Over the course of the season there were 12 goals and 25 penalties awarded through VAR intervention – with 21 of those spot-kicks converted – compared to 48 goals and 11 penalties disallowed.
Liverpool’s 10-point advantage over Arsenal at the top of the pile would have been reduced to just two without VAR, as the Gunners lost eight points from the six overturns against them – including “winning” goals against Chelsea, Fulham and Aston Villa.
Chelsea and Manchester City swap places, with the Londoners up to third, with Villa down one to take the Conference League slot.
The top seven are guaranteed to be playing European football next season, but there is a scenario that eighth could also join, which Brighton and Brentford are battling for.
Elsewhere, Liverpool will lift the Premier League trophy in front of a packed Anfield for the first time following the conclusion of their fixture against recently crowned FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
Kick off times: 4pm BST
TV channels: Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event
