Collins

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins on Saturday said that a “steady, gradual path seems appropriate” of modest interest rate hikes is the best way forward for monetary policy and the economy.

Speaking Saturday morning at a conference

Arsenal contact Bournemouth about midfielder Alex Scott, Manchester United add two defenders to list of potential targets and Aston Villa weigh up move for Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia.

Arsenal have joined Chelsea and Liverpool in contacting Bournemouth about a move for 23-year-old England midfielder Alex Scott, whose contract runs until summer 2028. (i Sport), external

If Mauricio Pochettino becomes Manchester United manager, US Soccer want former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to replace him as head coach of the USA men’s team. (Talksport), external

Chelsea, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are monitoring Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 27, with the hopes of completing a move for the Spaniard in January. (Independent), external

However, Zubimendi says he is “happy” in London and surprised by the rumours about his future as he has not contacted anyone about a move. (Marca – in Spanish), external

Liverpool are preparing to offer Trey Nyoni, 19, a new contract as a reward for the England Under-20 midfielder’s performances so far this season. (GiveMeSport), external

Manchester United have added Brentford and Republic of Ireland centre-back Nathan Collins, 25, and Fulham‘s 26-year-old Nigeria international Calvin Bassey to their list of potential defensive targets, which also includes Everton and England defender Jarrad Branthwaite, 24. (Mail – subscription required), external

Bournemouth, Everton and Nottingham Forest are all pursuing a move for Vasco da Gama striker Andres Gomez, 24, with the Brazilian side valuing the forward at about £17m. (ESPN – in Portuguese), external

Brentford are prepared to rebuff all interest from Liverpool in left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, 21. (Football Insider), external

Aston Villa are considering a move for Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, 22, with Unai Emery a big admirer of the Belgian. (Fussball News via Teamtalk), external

Juventus are targeting a loan move for 25-year-old Manchester City and Algeria left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

However, Barcelona are also keen on Ait-Nouri as 23-year-old Spain left-back Alejandro Balde could leave the club in the winter window. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Chelsea and England defender Levi Colwill, 23, is attracting interest from Barcelona but the Blues are insisting he is not for sale. (Football Insider), external

Manchester United contact Didier Deschamps, support for Michael Carrick remains at Old Trafford, Arsenal are interested in Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi.

Manchester United have contacted former France coach Didier Deschamps with current boss Michael Carrick’s future in doubt. (Foot Mercato – in French), external

However, there is still support among the Manchester United hierarchy for Carrick, with Sunday’s game against Aston Villa seen as key. (Sky Sports), external

Tottenham retain the right to match a bid made for England striker Harry Kane, 33, as part of his new deal at Bayern Munich. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Arsenal and Manchester United are tracking Bournemouth midfielder Marcus Tavernier, 27. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are among the European clubs interested in Club Brugge striker and Germany Under-21s international Nicolo Tresoldi, 22. (Tuttomercato – in Italian), external

Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are tracking Eintracht Frankfurt and Germany defender Nnamdi Collins, 22. (Fussball News – in German), external

Liverpool are poised to step up their interest in English Fenerbahce full-back Archie Brown, 24. (Teamtalk), external

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, 34, is attracting interest from Flamengo in his native Brazil. (Sport Witness), external

Newcastle United have set their sights on signing England striker Ivan Toney, 30, from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli in January. (Football Insider), external

Eintracht Frankfurt are hopeful of re-signing Nottingham Forest‘s French forward Arnaud Kalimuendo, 24. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Chelsea‘s English winger Jamie Gittens, 22, is one of the options Roma are considering in order to strengthen their squad in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

AC Milan are in talks with France midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 31, about extending his contract. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

LEWISTON, Maine — Maine Republican Susan Collins has promoted her reputation as one of the most independent U.S. senators and she is using the waning days of the election season to sell that message to voters by campaigning with a former colleague who has endorsed her.

Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, and on Wednesday she made appearances with Joe Manchin III, a West Virginian who was a Democrat then became an independent late in his career before retiring.

After stopping for breakfast at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston, Collins spoke of how she and Manchin were “part of every piece of bipartisan legislation that passed and became law” during their time together in office.

Manchin said to lose Collins would be “to lose the soul of the Senate.” He praised her independent streak, her willingness to buck Republican President Trump and her record of fighting for Maine’s interests.

“This is a true blue-blooded Maine person who knows exactly where she came from,” Manchin said.

They planned a stop later at a New Balance shoe facility in Norway. Jackson, 58, is scheduled to campaign Thursday in Portland with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman from New York.

Collins, 73, is in what may be her toughest reelection fight as she seeks her sixth term.

It’s only the second time that she has sought reelection in a midterm with a sitting Republican president, and the national trends are much less favorable to the GOP than they were the last time she did so, in 2002. Trump’s approval has fallen well below where it was when he took office last year, and a recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of voters want change in Washington.

Collins has been working to persuade voters that she is independent of Trump and willing to break with him. In Manchin, she enlisted a politician who was one of the most moderate voices in the Senate. Manchin said in 2023 that Trump would “ destroy democracy in America” if he was elected to a second term.

Among the few dozen Collins supporters at the Lewiston event was Mike Marcotte.

“I may not have always been a fan of her complete package of votes, but when I look at the vitriol that’s in the U.S. Senate right now, we need more people like Susan Collins,” he said.

Jackson got a late start on campaigning after the party’s initial nominee exited the race but trails Collins in the money race by less than $3 million after an aggressive quarter in which he raised more than $20 million. Jackson has campaigned relentlessly and his events have drawn hundreds. Collins has largely stuck to smaller appearances.

Some of Jackson’s backers demonstrated across the street from the hot dog stand. A few held signs bearing the face of Brett M. Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court justice whom Collins voted to confirm and whose vote eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

“Someone needs to stand up and be a check on Donald Trump and his harmful policies,” said David Sysko.

Collins has broken with Trump and Republicans over the years. She voted to convict him at his impeachment trial in 2021. Increasingly during the campaign, she has worked to distance herself from the president as Democrats argue that she is too close to him.

Collins said in early October that she is “not exactly his favorite senator,” and that she did not expect Trump to campaign in Maine. He has steered clear of the state with the Nov. 3 election nearing.

Pinning Collins to Trump is central to the Democrats’ strategy. In one ad, a nurse says the state is in a healthcare crisis “because of Susan Collins and Donald Trump,” citing Collins’ vote for Trump’s push for Medicaid cuts. Collins did vote to advance the bill but ultimately voted against it.

Trump also was a major focus of four contentious debates between the candidates this month, where Collins sought to distance herself from the president and Jackson repeatedly accused her of doing Trump’s bidding.

Asked at the final debate to name a time in which she bucked her own party and succeeded, Collins gave the example of rallying support against Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed as Defense secretary.

Democrats seized on the moment and released a statement that said the exchange “underscores a central question in the Maine Senate race: Does Collins, a Republican in a state that disapproves of President Donald Trump and has grown bluer in recent years, stand up to her party enough to earn the independent streak she has staked her career on?”

Jackson has characterized Collins as out of touch with the struggles of working-class people in Maine. He has described Collins as a “rubber stamp” for the president and criticized her votes on Kavanaugh and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s second-term Health secretary. Collins has said she does not regret either vote.

Republican ads against Jackson, a logger from northern Maine, have focused more on accusations of his having a volatile personality and behaving like a bully with female colleagues. Jackson has denied those accusations.

Collins distanced herself on Wednesday from a Republican super PAC attack ad that she said “should be taken down.”

The senator was a top target of Democrats in 2020 when she defeated challenger Sara Gideon by nearly 9 percentage points. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England, a distinction she has had since January 2013.

Whittle writes for the Associated Press.