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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits they have not had time to properly assess where World Cup-winner Alexis Mac Allister fits into their side. The Argentina midfielder has started all seven of the club’s Premier League fixtures since arriving from Brighton in a cut-price £35million deal, but has been deployed in the nominal holding role after the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia left them short in that department. Mac Allister has shown he is far more effective further forward in one of the attacking midfield positions, and while he has done a job for Klopp, it appears unlikely he is the long-term solution. He was even substituted at half-time of the win at Wolves, having flown back from Bolivia after the international break after looking well off the pace. Nevertheless Klopp is satisfied with what he has had from the 24-year-old so far. “We didn’t even look for his best position yet. We just use him,” he said. “He is a fantastic player, I love everything about him: super-smart tactically and off the pitch as well, so that is really nice to work with. “If we as a team defend well, he can play definitely the number six. Did I know that before? I had a guess but I was not sure because I did not know exactly how all the other boys would do defending. “Because we defend more compact and better than in our bad phases last year, we have small spaces and then it is really good because he sees the situations really well. We didn’t even look for his best position yet. We just use him Jurgen Klopp on Alexis Mac Allister “We have a really good footballer and it is really cool but best position? He is too young for me to know it but he is a midfielder, I can tell you that. “He is a midfielder and I am happy about having him.” Mac Allister is one-third of a midfield rebuild this summer with Dominik Szobozslai the other mainstay after his £60m arrival from RB Leipzig. Forward Cody Gakpo, another new signing Wataru Endo – the one genuine number six in the squad – and Curtis Jones have filled the other space in midfield in Premier League matches this season. However, the gradual emergence of Ryan Gravenberch, a deadline-day arrival from Bayern Munich, points towards the 21-year-old staking a claim to be the third man alongside Mac Allister and Szobozslai, who are destined to be locked in for the long term. The Dutchman scored his first goal in the 2-0 Europa League victory over Union Saint Gilloise as his integration into the side – he has started three non-Premier League games but has only been a substitute at weekends – continues to grow apace. For a relative youngster, Gravenberch has a certain presence on the pitch and Klopp expects him to grow further with more experience. “Raw power – I am not sure a lot of people would have described him in the past like that,” said the manager. “He is technically incredibly good. The first touch is insane, the speed is top class, really good shooter. “Yes he came late and yes we play slightly different and yes he needs time to adapt, and that is what we can give him, thank God. “He is completely happy with that and in the groove; he realises in each training sessions he is treated completely like others, if he starts or not. “He gets even more information in specific moments. He can see what the other boys do in similar positions, he can watch it, he learns, he is a smart boy, everything goes in the right direction and that is really nice to see. “He has had assists in the other games and now he has his first goal. Now it is good, long may it continue, he is very important for us.” Read More Willie Peters wants Hull KR to become established top-four Super League club James Lowe insists Ireland are far from ‘invincible’ ahead of Scotland showdown Wigan using Challenge Cup ‘heartbreak’ as motivation ahead of Hull KR play-off Mike Forshaw expecting ‘ferocious 80 minutes’ when Wales face Georgia Eddie Howe says becoming Newcastle head coach was ‘life-changing’ Newcastle defender Tino Livramento returns to England Under-21s squad

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted Luka Modric 'is not happy' with his current role at the club, though insisted he will not leave in the January transfer window amid links to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

The top Fantasy Premier League captain picks for FPL Gameweek 8, including Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. Powered by Fantasy Football Hub.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed the key reason why he did not join Arsenal early in his esteemed career.

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Eddie Howe wakes every morning happy with the “life-changing” decision he took to become Newcastle’s head coach. The 45-year-old accepted the Magpies’ offer of employment in November 2021, just weeks after Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium had completed its takeover. Staveley and her partners will celebrate two years at the helm on Saturday with the club having been transformed to the extent that they sent shock waves across Europe on Wednesday evening with a 4-1 Champions League rout of Qatari-funded Paris St Germain. Asked where he would rank his decision to take on the job, Howe said: “I knew when I took the job – the moment came when I was offered the job and I was going to say yes – that it was a life-changing moment for me. “Thankfully it has been a great journey so far. I have loved every second of it. “I said when I arrived I was very proud to be Newcastle manager and I’ve never woken up without that feeling. The feeling that I am doing something very special in my life is always there and it’s never something I take for granted.” Howe’s decision thrust him into the centre of a geopolitical minefield and he has found himself repeatedly facing questions over the Saudi regime and its links to the club through the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80 per cent stake, and accusations of ‘sportswashing’. We’ve got to try to work towards that, and these things take time. There is no magic wand Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe PIF governor and Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has made no secret of his ambition, saying in the Prime Video documentary ‘We Are Newcastle United’ that he ultimately wanted to establish the club as number one in the world. Howe, who met the chairman briefly after the PSG game, has been consistent in taking a measured approach to development despite hefty, if astute, investment in the squad since the takeover. But asked if there was any reason why the Magpies could not be the biggest club in the world, he said: “No, but we’re not the world’s number one club at the moment. “We’ve got to try to work towards that, and these things take time. There is no magic wand. Being smart, making good decisions and working hard every day… “If that is the ultimate aim, then we will try our best to try and get that. “We have to be calm and recognise we are in the early stages of the season. We’ve got a lot to prove before we can say anything about what we’ve done. We’ve just put ourselves in a good position in our Champions League group and we are still formulating our Premier League position.” That process will continue with Sunday’s visit to West Ham, a game for which Anthony Gordon is suspended after reaching five bookings for the campaign, while Callum Wilson and Joelinton remain doubts and Sven Botman is out. Read More Coco Gauff extends winning run to 16 by beating Maria Sakkari in Beijing Newcastle defender Tino Livramento returns to England Under-21s squad George Ford and Owen Farrell reunited – England v Samoa talking points 5 talking points as Wales face Georgia in final World Cup pool match Government pressed for answers on Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Chicago Bears pay tribute to ‘ultimate Bear’ Dick Butkus after his death aged 80

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Tottenham are monitoring Conor Gallagher's contract talks with Chelsea and believe he would prefer to join them if granted permission to leave. Bayern Munich, Brighton, Newcastle and West Ham are also interested.

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has tweeted his apparent support for Kevin Keegan’s assessment that he doesn’t enjoy female footballers talking about men’s football. The former Newcastle, Fulham and England national team boss was talking to an audience in a Bristol event recently and made the comments saying he doesn’t like to “listen to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.” Keegan’s comments drew ire from support groups and female fans, but Barton took to X/Twitter to issue a terse few lines of support, seemingly in agreement with Keegan’s sentiment that former Lionesses and their peers shouldn’t be joining in the assessment of men’s action. “Kevin Keegan. Ballon D’or winner 1978. England manager. He’s bang on,” Barton wrote on social media. Keegan had insisted he was a fan of women’s football in general and backed the presenters themselves as being of the highest calibre - Gabby Logan was singled out by Keegan at the time as a top example. “The presenters we have now, some of the girls are so good, they are better than the guys. It’s a great time for the ladies,” he added. “But if I see an England lady footballer saying about England against Scotland at Wembley and she’s saying, ‘If I would have been in that position I would have done this,’ I don’t think it’s quite the same. I don’t think it crosses over that much.” Keegan added he saw it as “a great time for the ladies’ game” in general and that the standard of play when he visited the Lionesses while England manager was higher than he had expected it to be. Barton has his own long history of making headlines, from altercations on the pitch and in dressing rooms as a player to more recent episodes as a manager. Last year he told the FA to “stop rewarding failure” and sack Gareth Southgate from the England national team job, while across 2021 and 2022 he was cleared of assault against both another football league manager and against his wife, the latter after a judge ruled he could not have a fair trial because prosecutors would not call the alleged victim to give evidence. Several years ago Barton, then Fleetwood boss, made a comment saying women’s football was essentially a “different sport” and should be tailored accordingly with smaller balls and goals, to avoid it remaining “an inferior product”. More recently, he was reported this season to have called one of his own players at Bristol Rovers an “idiotic young boy” for contributing to conceding a goal while injured, insisting his team needed to remove such “weak, feeble-minded individuals” to achieve promotion. Read More Kevin Keegan ‘has a problem’ with ‘lady footballers’ as TV pundits Government pressed for answers on Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Rumours: Brazilian is Liverpool’s January target and City want Haaland renewal

The Government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour assisted wealthy Russians it has sanctioned in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates. Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, should be identified as a ‘designated person’ subject to financial sanctions under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. As of last week, the UK Government said more than 1,800 individuals had been sanctioned under the regulations, with more than 1,600 of those sanctioned since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That number includes former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His assets, including Chelsea, were frozen, with a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly taking over last summer. The request for an update on Sheikh Mansour follows an initial letter from the lawyers, Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers and Ben Keith from 5, St Andrew’s Hill Chambers, on behalf of their client which was sent to Cleverly in September last year. The Foreign Secretary can only designate a person if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual is “an involved person” in the destabilisation of Ukraine. Involvement is defined as someone who is responsible for, engages in, provides support for, or promotes any policy or action which destabilises Ukraine or undermines or threatens its territorial integrity. If Sheikh Mansour was designated as an individual subject to Government sanctions, it would disqualify him as an owner under the Premier League’s updated rules on its owners’ and directors’ test which were published in March. The new letter, sent to Cleverly on Thursday and seen by the PA news agency, states: “Sheikh Mansour is a particularly high-profile individual and as the owner of one of the United Kingdom’s most celebrated football clubs, is a person who ought to be subject to reasonable scrutiny by the UK Government. “For the avoidance of doubt, we make no allegations as to any particular conduct of Sheikh Mansour. Nevertheless, in light of the wealth of evidence in the public domain tending to link Sheikh Mansour with the accommodation of wealthy Russians in the UAE, we respectfully suggest that there is a prima facie basis for the UK government to conduct an investigation.” The new letter has been sent as the UAE prepares to host the COP28 climate change conference between November 30 and December 12 and notes that Sheikh Mansour is likely to play a “visible role” in the event. “The bloodshed caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues,” the letter stated. “You are asked to note that, as set out in our earlier correspondence, notwithstanding the robust nature of the British response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Russian oligarchs appear to have found a home for their wealth in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi apparently being particularly attractive to those individuals. “In light of the global attention which will be focused on both the UAE and Sheikh Mansour at the forthcoming COP28 event, we write to you to enquire what steps you have taken further to our request of September 30, 2022 to open an investigation into the conduct of Sheikh Mansour. “You may recollect that we invited the UK government to consider whether or not the conduct of Sheikh Mansour is such that he is a suitable person to be designated, pursuant to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. “In the circumstances, it is critical that the UK Government takes all necessary steps consistent with its statutory and international obligations.” The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Manchester City have all been contacted for comment. Read More Chicago Bears pay tribute to ‘ultimate Bear’ Dick Butkus after his death aged 80 Chicago Bears defeat Washington Commanders to snap 14-game losing streak Peter O’Mahony targets more Ireland milestones as he reaches 100 caps Jurgen Klopp hails Ryan Gravenberch’s talent in win over Union Saint-Gilloise Respect matters says Unai Emery after late goal gives Villa an important win Nothing’s changed with VAR, says Gareth Southgate

Manchester United host Arsenal in an early meeting of two Women’s Super League title challengers. United finished second to Chelsea in the WSL title race last season with Arsenal third, and both clubs will be looking to stop the Blues from winning a fifth consecutive title this campaign. Marc Skinner’s side found an injury-time winner to defeat Aston Villa away from home in their opening fixture last weekend, while Arsenal were stunned by Liverpool in front of a record WSL crowd at the Emirates. The Gunners will therefore need to respond and a second consecutive defeat to start the season would be another early setback to their WSL title hopes. United, who won both meetings against Arsenal last season, will also come up against former striker Alessia Russo, after the England star switched to the Gunners at the end of her contract this summer. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Women’s Super League clash and get all the latest football odds and tips here. What time is Manchester United vs Arsenal? The match will kick off at 7:30pm BST on Friday 6 October and will be played at Leigh Sports Village. How can I watch it? The WSL clash will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with build-up starting on the latter at 7pm on Friday night. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. What is the team news? Manchester United lost Scotland international Emma Watson to an ACL injury before the start of the season but have reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of facing Arsenal. The new signing and Brazil international Geyse had her first start of the campaign against Villa and is set to stay in Skinner’s line-up. Arsenal striker Alessia Russo should start against her former club. Beth Mead is close to a return but remains out for his one, as are Leah Williamson and Vivianne Miedema. Predicted line-ups Manchester United: Earps; Blundell, Le Tissier, Turner, George; Ladd, Zelem; Garcia, Toone, Galton; Geyse Arsenal: Zinsberger; Lacasse. Wubben-Moy, Ilestedt, Catley; Walti, Little, Maanum; McCabe, Foord; Russo Prediction Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal Read More Arsenal break Women’s Super League record – but suffer shock Liverpool defeat Alessia Russo to Mary Fowler – five Women’s Super League players to look out for Can anyone stop dominant Chelsea? – WSL talking points ahead of new season Football rumours: Manchester City moving to extend Erling Haaland deal Jonas Eidevall: Alessia Russo won’t put herself under pressure on Man Utd return Man United and Tottenham eye move for Atletico Madrid’s transfer guru

What the papers say Liverpool have identified their prime target when the January transfer window opens. According to the Daily Mirror, Fluminense’s Brazilian midfielder Andre Trindade will be at the top of their list. Manchester City are turning their attention towards keeping hold of their talent. The Daily Telegraph reports the treble winners plan to open contract talks with striker Erling Haaland, 23, with Real Madrid showing interest. Chelsea are also looking to secure one of their young stars, according to the Daily Mail. They are planning talks with Conor Gallagher, 23, as the England midfielder nears the final 18 months of his contract. And Everton are also close to tying up Jarrad Branthwaite to a long-term deal, reports the Daily Mirror. Manchester United had reportedly been interested in the 21-year-old defender. Social media round-up Players to watch Jarrod Bowen: Liverpool and Newcastle are watching as contract talks for the England forward, 26, move slowly at West Ham. Xavi Simons: Manchester City are expected to face a fight from Barcelona for the Netherlands midfielder, 20, from Paris St Germain next summer. Read More Chicago Bears defeat Washington Commanders to snap 14-game losing streak Peter O’Mahony targets more Ireland milestones as he reaches 100 caps Jurgen Klopp hails Ryan Gravenberch’s talent in win over Union Saint-Gilloise