First it was Andrei Kanchelskis, then David Beckham and then Cristiano Ronaldo. For the best part of two decades, Manchester United were alright on the right. For periods in that time, the player on the flank – in two cases, in the iconic No 7 shirt – was arguably the best in the team; possibly, in a couple of seasons, the best in the world. Now two of the five most expensive signings in United’s history joined as right wingers. Both are unavailable. There are different reasons why Antony and Jadon Sancho are absent but if, after having spent almost £160m on the pair, the right wing should be one of the strongest departments of the United team, it was shaping up as a problem position even when manager Erik ten Hag could pick from both. Antony is currently taking a leave of absence after allegations of assault from three women; if, as he insists, he is innocent, he needs to clear his name while, if guilty – and so far police in both England and Brazil are investigating but no charges have been brought – his disappearance could, and many would say should, become a permanent affair. Sancho was omitted from the squad for the defeat to Arsenal because of his performances in training, Ten Hag said. The England international responded with a pinned tweet saying he had been made a “scapegoat”; United were willing to sell him for a suitably sizeable fee to Al-Ettifaq but only received a loan offer. For now, Sancho has been given a personal training programme as United decide which disciplinary action he should face. If, with Antony out of the picture, there is added scope to reintegrate Sancho, Ten Hag seems to deem his public criticism too great a transgression to ignore. So far, though, United have derived too little benefit from either. Antony has one goal in his last 26 league games. In all competitions, he has eight in 48 United appearances and just three assists: a habit of cutting infield to shoot suggests he is scarcely likely to get too many more. The footballing verdict may be that he is one-footed, one-dimensional and at times, one-paced as well. Sancho’s statistics are barely more impressive, with 12 goals and six assists in 82 games. If each forms a contrast with a more productive past – Beckham got 20 assists in one Champions League-winning season, 1998-99, and Ronaldo 42 goals in another, 2007-08 – there is a difference with Sancho’s own history, with his 17-goal, 16-assist Bundesliga campaign with Borussia Dortmund in 2019-20. There is the sense each has been miscast: Antony as a United player, with Ten Hag’s fondness for his former Ajax player prompting them to pay an exorbitant £86m, and Sancho as a right winger, when he looks better equipped to operate from the left and where, rather than using raw pace to sprint into space, he is better at close-combination play. If the evidence is that Ten Hag does not believe Sancho is quick enough to be his type of winger, a recurring theme at Old Trafford is an imbalance, with a host of attackers preferring to play from the left than the right: in recent years, they include Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Daniel James and Ronaldo. One exception, even if his long-term future seemed destined to be as United’s centre-forward, was Mason Greenwood, who brought more goals from the right than either Sancho or Antony. If United were far too slow to realise the 21-year-old could not resume his career at the club, belatedly aborting plans for his comeback, it could mean they have lost three options for the right flank in a matter of weeks. Which leaves Ten Hag with a problem as Brighton and Bayern Munich beckon. Of the youthful understudies, Amad Diallo (two Premier League starts in his career) is injured while Facundo Pellestri (none) is fit. Rashford or Martial could be moved into what is only the third-best position for each. United rebuffed suggestions they could sign the free agent Anwar El Ghazi; that they were mooted indicated how plans have gone awry. So an internal answer is required. Christian Eriksen had a profitable time for Tottenham when deployed off the right, though often as more of a No 10. If he was younger then and plays deeper and more centrally now, it may offer a hint to the best potential stand-in. Ten Hag showed an occasional willingness to use Bruno Fernandes from the right last season, often with a licence to come infield. Amid the question of how to accommodate the captain and Mason Mount, and whether the deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat should give the midfield more ballast by partnering Casemiro at the base, a way to do it would be to field one of the attack-minded players, whether the Englishman or the Portuguese, as a nominal right winger. Mount is not fit yet, but Eriksen could play centrally and Fernandes on the right in the meantime. As Fernandes looked more creative than Antony on the right last season, it may add to a regular theme at Old Trafford: if something needs doing, ask Bruno to do it. The reality that it is less than ideal to shift United’s premier No 10 is augmented by the fact United’s best attacking right-back, Diogo Dalot, who could have overlapped before if the supposed winger was in midfield, is actually playing left-back now because of injuries there. There may be compromises across the team. But then United have been making do on the right flank for various points in the 14 years since Ronaldo first left. There have been periods of excellence – Antonio Valencia won player of the year in 2011-12, Juan Mata excelled in 2014-15, albeit when the costlier Angel Di Maria was dropped, Greenwood delivered goals for a while – but if Sancho was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preferred solution and Antony was Ten Hag’s expensive answer, now United find themselves with a familiar dilemma: who is the right man for the right? Read More Erik ten Hag consulted as Antony put on ‘period of absence’ from Man Utd amid abuse allegations Man Utd punish Jadon Sancho over Erik ten Hag comments What next for Jadon Sancho after his public fall-out at Manchester United? Man Utd punish Jadon Sancho over Erik ten Hag comments Harry Maguire says he can deal with pressure after ‘banter’ from Scotland fans Manchester United announce new shirt sponsor for 2024/25 season

Mason Mount could be out until the October international break following reports of hamstring injury and up to six week absence.

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The first press conference to promote KSI’s fight against Tommy Fury in October descended into chaos on Tuesday, when Tommy’s father John Fury fumed at the “antics” on-stage and flipped a number of tables in anger – but one UFC fighter believes Fury should now “follow it up” and “smack someone”. The comments from Darren Till, a British mixed martial artist with an 18-5 win/loss record, come as the “absolute horse s***” event also saw Dillon Danis walk on wearing a Toy Story alien hat (in reference to Logan Paul’s infamous 2017 ‘suicide forest’ video) and Paul bring out a birthday cake for his rival depicting a bloodied Danis on the canvas. Till told gambling website SafeBettingSites: “The press conference was everything we expected: cringeworthy and embarrassing. “I thought Tommy and Dillon came across better than I expected. John’s John isn’t he? He likes to make a kerfuffle and do nothing about it, so what can you say? “It’s big John Fury! We all have to love him.” The UFC middleweight, who has been filmed sparring with Tyson Fury in the past, added: “Obviously I'm mates with Tyson and the Fury family and they’re a good bunch but how many outbursts can you have without actually doing something? “Now it’s time for him to follow it up and have an outburst and then smack someone!” In further surprising remarks from the fighter, Till claimed Danis – who had to pull out of a fight against KSI earlier this year – “100 per cent” won’t show up for his fight against Paul on 14 October. “He’s not going to take the fight, I’m sure of that, but I’m ready to step in any time and they can contact me or my management. All the details are on Twitter [X].” And then, in comments which will likely irritate KSI, Till noted the YouTuber did “look a little bit scared” during his face-off against Tommy Fury and that “Jake Paul’s probably the only guy who’s beating any real fighters at the moment”. While KSI co-founded Prime with former boxing opponent Logan, the YouTuber has had a long-running feud with Jake ever since he defeated content creator Joe Weller in 2018 for his first fight and called out the “It’s Everyday Bro” rapper in an interview afterwards. After Jake Paul took on Tommy Fury himself in a boxing match earlier this year, and secured his first loss, KSI released a video in which he said, while bursting out laughing: “They said you can’t beat a professional fighter, and they were right! You couldn’t!” Previous opponents for the younger Paul brother have included former basketball player Nate Robinson, ex-MMA star Ben Askren and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. While KSI claimed during Tuesday’s press conference that “people are going to look at me differently” if he is victorious, Tommy Fury insisted “YouTube boxing will be done” if he defeats the rapper. However, Till believes the form of boxing is “here to stay”. “Jake’s at the forefront and Tommy’s already beaten him, although it was a close fight. I think influencer boxing is here to stay and we just have to make do with it because it's where the money is,” he said. KSI and Logan Paul take on Tommy Fury and Dillon Danis respectively on 14 October in Manchester. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Manchester United have entered talks with Fenerbahce over goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

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Jonquel Jones scored 25 points, including five in the final minute, and New York earned its first trip to the WNBA Finals in 21 years with an 87-84 win over the Connecticut Sun

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A superb display ensured the Lionesses reached their first ever World Cup final – dumping the old enemy and host nation Australia out of the tournament in the process. Goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo gave England a 3-1 win over the Matildas in Sydney on Wednesday. Thousands of fans across the UK took time off work to watch the game – with many singing, dancing and slamming tables at fan parks. England cricket fans took great delight in the Lionesses getting one over the Aussies, with the Barmy Army tweeting: “Oh bye bye Aussies, bye bye” towards the end of the game. Fans at BoxPark Croydon had a few nervy minutes after Sam Kerr’s stunning strike levelled the tie in the second-half. But there were jubilant scenes as the final whistle blew and many fans embracing each other ahead of the final against Spain on Sunday. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live