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Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks to sign Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze, as widely reported, and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has a price in mind.

Fabrizio Romano was among the reliable media outlets to confirm Spurs’ negotiations for Eze in a separate deal to their pursuit of Man City winger Savinho, with supporters now poised for a potentially exciting end to the transfer window.

“Understand Tottenham are also back in talks for Eberechi Eze in separate deal from Savinho,” wrote Romano on X.

“Spurs trying again for Eze while they work on Savinho, following Maddison injury and Son exit. Eze keen but deal depends on Palace as release clause expired.”

Interestingly, other reliable media sources differ with Romano about Eze’s £68 million release clause.

According to both talkSPORT and Standard Sport, the buy-out currently remains active and won’t expire until this Friday – potentially giving Levy and co a window of opportunity to trigger it and make Eze a Spurs player.

In a further bit of good news for Thomas Frank, who is in dire need of another creative attacking player after James Maddison’s ACL rupture, Eze is reportedly becoming open to joining Tottenham before the transfer deadline on September 1.

It is important to note that Frank’s side face stiff competition from north London rivals Arsenal, who have been in pursuit of the 27-year-old for well over a month after holding consistent talks with his representatives (Fabrizio Romano).

However, Arsenal currently have to make sales first (The Telegraph), and that may be stopping them from making a formal bid for Eze.

Their hesitancy could hand Spurs an advantage in the race for Eze, especially considering Levy and technical director Johan Lange were ready to splash £60 million on Nottingham Forest’s number 10, Morgan Gibbs-White, over a month ago.

The price Tottenham want to pay for Eberechi Eze

According to reliable journalist Ben Jacobs, Tottenham have a minimum valuation for the England international and an ideal price they’re willing to pay, as Levy looks to strike a deal quickly.

Taking to X, Jacobs reports that Levy wants to pay a similar fee to their deal for winger Mohammed Kudus – around £55 million.

That being said, Palace have been clear in their demands to sell their star attacking asset.

Given Tottenham’s glaring need for another forward option, after losing Son Heung-min to LAFC, Maddison to injury and being forced to deal with Dejan Kulusevski’s continued absence, it is imperative that Levy pulls no punches here.

Eze appears set to cost a similar price to what they were more than prepared to pay for Gibbs-White, so the Lilywhites clearly have the necessary funds to meet Palace’s valuation.

He’d be worth every penny, too, having averaged more shots, key passes and successful take-ons per 90 than any other Palace player in the Premier League last term – all whilst racking up 14 goals and a further 11 assists in all competitions.

Eze can also play on the left-wing when required, and you can make a serious case that he’s exactly who Frank is crying out for.

Manchester City may yet make some more first-team signings this summer, but Pep Guardiola will first push some of the flotsam out of the door.

The likes of Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips seemingly have no future of substance within the Etihad Stadium first-team, and will surely take their leave before the end of the month.

The Citizens have also rejected an offer from Nottingham Forest for James McAtee, though the Tricky Trees are expected to return.

Guardiola enjoys working with smaller squads; he’s been vocal on that matter. However, the Spanish tactician might be convinced to add one talented Premier League talent to his ranks before the market slams shut.

Man City considering Prem star

Manchester City’s interest in Morgan Gibbs-White this summer suggests that Pep would be interested in adding some robust technical quality to his midfield.

Exciting French talent Rayan Cherki arrived from Lyon earlier in the summer for £34m, but the 21-year-old isn’t a player who can shuffle between offensive and deeper-lying zones with the greatest ease, his exciting qualities best served toward the attacking third of the field.

That one appears to be dead in the water, but that’s not to say City wouldn’t push ahead with another deal, should Grealish and McAtee both leave.

Indeed, according to Globo Esporte in Brazil, Man City have revived their interest in West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta after the playmaker was exonerated in his high-profile spot-fixing case, which scuppered his £80m move to the club two years ago.

The 27-year-old is not priced in the sale towering ballpark anymore, with the Hammers seeking no more than £60m for his sale this summer.

What Lucas Paqueta would bring to Man City

Once hailed as a “magician” of a midfielder by reporter Robbie Mustoe, Paqueta joined West Ham from Lyon for a club-record £51m fee in 2021.

He’s since played 120 times for the Londoners, scoring 18 goals and providing 14 assists. The Brazil international played the assist into Jarrod Bowen’s path to win the Conference League in 2022.

Paqueta’s contentious reputation following the events of recent years, partnered with the fact that his departure wouldn’t carry the same poignancy for those of an Irons persuasion as with two years ago, could lead him to become Man City’s own version of Eric Cantona, whose finest days as a footballer were found on the red side of Manchester.

Cantona is considered one of the most notorious and talented players to have competed in the Premier League, joining the Red Devils from Leeds United for just north of £1m in 1992.

Though the move was met with fury from the Whites fanbase, it was maybe an astute piece of business given that he was a turbulent part of the squad.

Hailed as being “the catalyst that really galvanised the team for the next 25 years” at Man United by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Frenchman was the real deal, posting 145 goal contributions from 185 matches in the nineties.

Could the £150k-per-week Paqueta have a similarly talismanic effect on this City side? They are hardly in disarray, but perhaps in need of some added inspiration and creative flair across the coming terms to reinstate this outfit as the indomitable force at the pinnacle.

Paqueta is confident and mature at 27. Likewise, Cantona was in the senior stage of his professional career when he made his big move, at 26 years old.

Paqueta lacks the same invincibility he might have felt when he wrapped up the 2023/24 season under David Moyes’ wing, having stumbled and fallen to the wayside over the past year.

But he’s now picked himself back up, absolved of wrongdoing in his recently closed court case. It means that Paqueta can focus solely on his football across the next few years of his prime, and where better to see those terms out than at Man City?

He remains one of the most talented and well-rounded midfielders in the Premier League, and a player who City could utilise to restore some of their former strength over the coming year – he’s proven in England’s top flight, as was Cantona, after all.

Perhaps Paqueta lacked fluency and focus last season, but he didn’t endure a drastic drop-off, retaining the core elements of his skill set, which Pep could surely bring back to the fore. At his best, the one-time Flamengo man is Cantona-esque, with a certain Paul Scholes having even made that comparison:

As per FBref, Paqueta ranked among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues last season for passes attempted, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 3% for tackles, and the top 3% for ball recoveries per 90, highlighting the wide breadth of skill and style that would be woven into the City fold.

Ultimately, Man City have so much quality in their ranks, and they would enrich that quality further still by signing Paqueta. However, Guardiola would also add a player with a combative mindset whose signature comes attached with more than a measure of controversy.

But, with Kevin De Bruyne having departed at the end of his contract, this might be a fantastic move to make for City as they gear up to reclaim their Premier League title.

After all, Paqueta was profiled comprehensively two years ago, and he could be a fantastic addition to a team in transition.

Bigger English talent than Trafford: Man City still pursuing £50m sensation

Man City are hoping to sign more players after Trafford

1

By
Joe Nuttall

Jul 31, 2025

Greg Shipperd, the doyen of coaching in Australian domestic cricket, has signed a two-year contract extension with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers for the BBL.Shipperd, 68, is one of the most renowned coaches in the country and has been a key mentor to swathes of Australian players and coaches including the current national men’s coach Andrew McDonald.Having coached Tasmania and Victoria with great success, including four Sheffield Shield titles, he was tasked with a caretaker role with New South Wales in 2022-23 in conjunction with his Sixers role that he has held since 2015.He was made the permanent head coach of NSW in May of 2023 and will extend his tenure in NSW to four years, and his time with Sixers to 12, after signing a two-year extension.”You have to be careful not to overstay your welcome,” Shipperd told ESPNcricinfo. “But I’m particularly thrilled in being involved with Cricket New South Wales. It’s steeped in history and it’s got high expectations, and I like to operate within that framework. We’ve got an exciting opportunity with an emerging group of players to build a foundation that can stand the test of time.”The mind still is going at 100 miles an hour, but the body’s slowing down. But I’ve got some wonderful support coaches around and the system itself behind the Blues team that represents in the Shield and other competitions is first-class.”Shipperd’s record with Sixers has been remarkable as they have not finished lower than third in the eight team competition over the last six seasons, and have finished top two on the table in each of the last five, winning the title twice and finishing runner-up once in that period after also losing the final in his second season in charge in 2016-17.But his work with NSW remains unfinished, particularly in the Shield. He took over when the Blues finished last in 2022-23 for the first time in 13 seasons. NSW have ended third and fourth in the last two Shield seasons having been in the hunt for the final in the last round of both campaigns. They also lost the final of the Dean Jones Trophy (Australia’s domestic 50-over tournament) in 2023-24 to Western Australia and just missed the final last year.”Progress is being made,” Shipperd said. “We had some real challenges in terms of the depth of our squad and our Australian player representation across the course of the year took away some of our next level players in [Sean] Abbott, [Ben] Dwarshuis, and [Tanveer] Sangha, and so for us to be playing off for a grand final spot in the last game of both competitions meant that we’re very, very competitive. And so I’m really pleased about that.”The next step for us is to win those crunch games more often than we did, in particular at the back end of last year.”

Track the squads ahead of the new seasons as clubs build their lists

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2025 • Updated on 25-Aug-2025

Adelaide StrikersMen: Hasan Ali (Pak), Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Mackenzie Harvey, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton (Eng), Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Henry Thornton, Luke Wood (Eng)
In Jason Sangha (Thunder), Mackenzie Harvey (Renegades)
Out Brendan Doggett (Renegades), Jake Weatherald (Hurricanes)Women: Jemma Barsby, Tammy Beaumont (Eng), Darcie Brown, Sophie Ecclestone (Eng), Anesu Mushangwe, Tahlia McGrath, Bridget Patterson, Madeline Penna, Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Laura Wolvaardt (SA)
In
Out Katie Mack (Scorchers)Related

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Brisbane HeatMen: Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pak), Tom Alsop (Eng), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Lachlan Hearne, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Colin Munro (NZ), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth
In Lachlan Hearne, Hugh Weibgen (Thunder)
Out Mitchell Swepson (Stars)Women: Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Lucy Bourke, Nadine de Klerk (SA), Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Chinelle Henry (WI), Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Jemimah Rodrigues (Ind)
In TBC
Out Laura Harris (Thunder)Hobart HurricanesMen: Rehan Ahmed (Eng), Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Rishad Hossain (Ban), Chris Jordan (Eng), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Mac Wright
In Jake Weatherald (Strikers), Beau Webster (Stars)
Out Caleb Jewell (Renegades)Women: Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Nat Sciver-Brunt (Eng), Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Linsey Smith (Eng), Molly Strano, Elyse Villani, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
In TBC
Out TBCCaleb Jewell has moved from Hurricanes to Renegades•Getty Images

Melbourne RenegadesMen: Jason Behrendorff, Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Brendan Doggett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Caleb Jewell, Hassan Khan (Pak), Nathan Lyon, Fergus O’Neill, Ollie Peake, Mohammad Rizwan (Pak), Tom Rogers, Tim Seifert (NZ), Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa
In Jason Behrendorff (Scorchers), Brendan Doggett (Strikers), Caleb Jewell (Hurricanes)
Out Mackenzie Harvey (Strikers)Women: Alice Capsey (Eng), Emma de Broughe, Deandra Dottin (WI), Tess Flintoff, Milly Illingworth, Sophie Molineux, Naomi Stalenberg, Georgia Wareham
In Tess Flintoff (Stars)
Out Ella Hayward (Stars), Georgia Prestwidge (Stars)Melbourne StarsMen: Austin Anlezark, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (Eng), Tom Curran (Eng), Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Haris Rauf (Pak), Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson
In Liam Hatcher (Thunder), Mitch Swepson (Heat)
Out Beau Webster (Hurricanes), Joel Paris (Scorchers)Women: Sophie Day, Kim Garth, Dani Gibson (Eng), Ella Hayward, Amy Jones (Eng), Marizanne Kapp (RSA), Meg Lanning, Rhys McKenna, Ines McKeon, Georgia Prestwidge, Sophie Reid, Annabel Sutherland
In Ella Hayward (Renegades), Georgia Prestwidge (Renegades)
Out Tess Flintoff (Renegades), Hasrat Gill (Thunder)Perth ScorchersMen: Ashton Agar, Finn Allen (NZ), Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Laurie Evans (Eng), Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Bryce Jackson, Matt Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Lance Morris, Joel Paris, David Payne (Eng), Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner
In Joel Paris (Stars), Bryce Jackson
Out Jason Behrendorff (Renegades)Katie Mack has signed with Scorchers•Getty Images

Women: Chloe Ainsworth, Maddy Darke, Sophie Devine (NZ), Amy Edgar, Mikayla Hinkley, Ebony Hoskin, Alana King, Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Paige Scholfield (Eng), Chloe Tryon (SA)
In Katie Mack (Strikers)
Out TBCSydney SixersMen: Sean Abbott, Babar Azam (Pak), Jafer Chohan (Eng), Sam Curran (Eng), Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, Steven Smith
In Kane Richardson
OutWomen: Caoimhe Bray, Maitlan Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Sophia Dunkley (Eng), Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Elsa Hunter, Amelia Kerr (NZ), Ellyse Perry, Courtney Sippel, Mady Villiers
In Elsa Hunter
Out TBCSydney ThunderMen: R Ashwin (Ind), Tom Andrews, Wes Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings (Eng), Ollie Davies, Lockie Ferguson (NZ), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan (Pak), Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner
In
Out Liam Hatcher (Stars), Jason Sangha (Strikers), Hugh Weibgen (Heat)Women: Chamari Athapaththu (SL), Samantha Bates, Ella Briscoe, Hannah Darlington, Sienna Eve, Hasrat Gill, Laura Harris, Shabnim Ismail (SA), Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Taneale Peschel, Georgia Voll, Tahlia Wilson
In Laura Harris (Heat), Hasrat Gill (Stars)
Out Sammy Jo-Johnson (retired)

Manchester United are set to battle Tottenham for the signing of a player with a £60m+ release clause, according to reports.

Man Utd transfer rumours

A new era of sorts is set to begin at Manchester United this summer with the 2024 transfer window set to be Sir Jim Rattclife's first since becoming part owner of the Red Devils. Despite an 8th-place finish in the Premier League, manager Erik ten Hag was able to keep his role for the time being and is reportedly set to pen fresh terms with the club.

With new backing from Ratcliffe, Ten Hag is no doubt eager to see an ageing, out-of-form Man Utd squad transformed over the summer as he looks to push the Red Devils up the table and into a battle with England's top sides.

In terms of potential incomings, a recent report linked Manchester United with a move for Bayern Munich stalwart Leon Goretzka. The Red Devils are also interested in signing striker Maximilian Beier. One of the Manchester outfit's main transfer targets at present, though, appears to be Everton stopper Jarrad Branthwaite, with it reported this week that United have agreed terms with the Englishman over a contract worth between £150-160k a week.

Elsewhere, journalist David Ornstein recently told The Athletic FC podcast that Man United want a centre-back, a midfielder and a striker – while a move for a left-back could also transpire.

Ratcliffe now set to sell £90k-p/w Manchester United regular for just £20m

It is the latest in a long line of brutal decisions being taken upstairs at the club.

ByBen Browning May 15, 2024 Man Utd ready to pay £60m+ to sign attacker ahead of Tottenham

Over the weekend, meanwhile, a fresh update on another of Manchester United's summer transfer targets has emerged. The player in question is Crystal Palace and England midfielder, Eberechi Eze. United's links to the attacking midfielder have continued over the last week and now, Football Insider have shared an update on the situation.

As well as Manchester United, fellow Premier League giants Tottenham are also looking into the potential signing of Eze, with both clubs said to be willing to pay his release clause, which is an initial £60m plus add-ons payable down the line.

Despite Crystal Palace's struggles during the first half of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, Eze scored 11 and assisted four in 27 league outings for the Eagles, with his superb form earning him a call-up to the England side for Euro 2024. As a result, it is not too surprising to see FI claim both United and Spurs think Eze's release clause is on the lower side for a player of his quality.

Eze is 25 years of age, which means, on paper, he could be about to enter his prime years, hence why he is believed to 'tick a lot of boxes' when it comes to the new-look recruitment at United.

MatériaMais Notícias

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Boletim 11h: O Ministério Público de Portugal investiga um suposto esquema ilegal na negociação do jogador Evanilson, entre o Porto (POR) e o Tombense (MG), em função das comissões milionárias da transferência. Na NBA, o astro Michael Jordan afirmou que apoia a decisão da liga em exigir que os atletas entrem em quadra vacinados contra a Covid-19. Essas e outras notícias você pode assistir em um minuto no LANCE! Rápido (veja o vídeo acima).

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Borussia Dortmund are closing on an agreement with Wolves to sign forward Fabio Silva in a deal that could cost €25 million (£22m/$29m).

• Wolves and Dortmund have agreed a transfer fee of €25m
• Silva has agreed a contract until 2030
• Dortmund close to signing Chukwuemeka and Anselmino

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to Sky Germany, a deal is imminent as Dortmund have agreed personal terms with Fabio Silva on a contract until 2030 and are in advanced talks with Wolves.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Silva, signed from Porto for €40m (£34m/$46m) in 2020, struggled to make the expected impact at Wolves. He had loan spells at Anderlecht, PSV and Rangers before he was sent to Las Palmas last term, where he recorded 10 goals and three assists. Silva was also considered by Roma as a Plan B to Claudio Echeverri, but were knocked as he joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan from Manchester City.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Dortmund are also set to announce the permanent signing of Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka and are close to finalising a loan deal for Aaron Anselmino from the Stamford Bridge club.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR SILVA AND DORTMUND?

  Dortmund will hope that with the signing of Silva it will bolster their team to mount a Bundesliga title challenge. For Silva it will be a step up from Wolves where he will be competing with Dortmund in the Champions League.

He has not captained a state team at senior level before, and is also working on his bowling to become a more rounded cricketer

Shashank Kishore20-Dec-2024Rinku Singh has been appointed Uttar Pradesh captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s 50-over domestic competition, beginning on December 21. He takes over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who led UP at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that finished last week, where they lost to Delhi in the quarter-final.It’s the first time that Rinku will captain a state team at the senior level. Earlier this year, he led Meerut Mavericks to the UPT20 League title, scoring 210 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 161.54 largely as a finisher.”It was a big opportunity for me to lead Meerut Mavericks in the UPT20 League, and I am happy that I could deliver,” Rinku said ahead of their Vijay Hazare Trophy opener. “I really enjoyed captaincy as it allowed me to learn many things.”I did try my hand at bowling [offspin] too at the UPT20 league. Present-day cricket demands a full package – a cricketer who can bat, bowl and field. Now I am focusing on my bowling too. As captain of Uttar Pradesh, I have got a bigger role to play, and I’m ready for this.”Rinku’s promotion in the UP team comes at a time when Kolkata Knight Riders, his IPL franchise, are mulling their captaincy options ahead of IPL 2025. He has been part of the KKR setup since 2018, and was retained ahead of the mega auction in November, along with Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy and Ramandeep Singh.”I am not thinking too much about the captaincy of KKR in the new IPL season,” Rinku said. “I am focused on my plans for Uttar Pradesh, as I want my team to regain the trophy we had won for the first time in 2015-16.”The Vijay Hazare Trophy will help give the national selectors insight on players when they pick India’s ODI squad for the Champions Trophy in February. While Rinku has become a regular for India in T20Is, he has so far played just two ODIs, having made his debut a year ago in South Africa.Rinku’s overall List A numbers are impressive. He has scored 1899 runs in 52 innings at an average of 48.69, and has a strike rate of 94.8, with one hundred and 17 half-centuries. Rinku, though, isn’t looking at the Vijay Hazare Trophy as an India audition.”I believe in God,” he said. “I didn’t even think of being part of team India when I struck five consecutive sixes in the IPL last year. That turned out to be the biggest game changer in my life. Even now I feel that if God has decided something for me, I will get that surely. But at the same time, I also need to work hard on my job.”UP begin their campaign against Jammu and Kashmir on December 21, and then have games against Mizoram (December 23), Tamil Nadu (December 26), Chhattisgarh (December 28), Chandigarh (December 31) and Vidarbha (January 3).

Leeds United would have walked off at the end of a first-leg stalemate at Norwich City pleased with the grit on display in defence, even if their attacking game was somewhat non-existent.

The likes of Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu in the heart of the Whites back four ensured the Canaries were kept at arm's length throughout, receiving various plaudits after the dust had settled at Carrow Road.

Yet, there would have been some frustration amongst the Leeds fanbase at the lack of creativity on show when the visitors from West Yorkshire attempted to bomb forward with Wilfried Gnonto notably failing to spark into life in Norfolk.

Wilfried Gnonto's performance vs Norwich in numbers

The Italian winger was hauled off by Farke on the 70-minute mark, with his performance below-par compared to the standards he's set before down the flanks for Leeds.

Helping himself to nine goals during the regular campaign, there was no danger from a Canaries perspective that he would add more strikes to his account in the lunchtime kick-off with just one effort being registered which was blocked by a yellow shirt.

Only amassing 34 touches of the ball too, with nervy Whites goalkeeper Illan Meslier even bettering this lacklustre total with 46, the ex-FC Zurich dynamo was also quiet with his accurate passes tally only coming in at 13.

Leeds Live's Beren Cross dished out a poor 5/10 rating to Gnonto post-match as a result, with Cross stating that the out-of-sorts 20-year-old 'battled well' but 'never got' into dangerous enough positions to regularly test the home side's back four.

Minutes played

70

Touches

34

Accurate passes

13/17 (76%)

Shots on target

0

Successful dribbles

1/3

Duels won

4/10

Possession lost

14x

Stats by Sofascore

Giving possession up 14 times in total at Carrow Road also, Farke could now look to drop his usually dependable ace to freshen up the attack for the second leg.

The main option to come in as the Italian's replacement looks to be Daniel James, who will hope to battle back from his recent injury issues and become a key star in Leeds progressing to Wembley this coming Thursday night if selected.

The player that could replace Gnonto

Given a very brief three-minute run-out against David Wagner's hosts on Sunday lunchtime, James could now be drafted in from the start to give the Whites more energy and drive going forward to overwhelm a tricky Norwich side back in West Yorkshire.

The tenacious Welshman managed to win two duels despite only being on the pitch a matter of moments in the first leg, eager to leave his mark on proceedings in a more obvious way in the second match-up now.

When the two teams met in the regular season at Elland Road, James ended up assisted the only goal of the game to hand Leeds a narrow 1-0 victory – the ex-Manchester United attacker beautifully picking out Patrick Bamford with a sublime cross to head home.

Bamford won't be present owing to injury, but Farke will pray James can be as effective as he was in this close encounter back in January when push comes to shove in the playoffs.

Picking up a staggering 20 goal contributions from 44 clashes before these tense contests got underway, James will have the bit between his teeth to star in the second leg having had to become a background figure as of late with his injury troubles.

Whatever happens, Farke will just want a more open affair on home soil with Leeds potentially putting on a show to then seal a huge showdown at Wembley to be just one game away from a Premier League return.

Leeds star with 99% passing was Farke's best player vs Norwich

Leeds United will be the happier of the two sides after a defensive shut-out at Norwich City.

ByKelan Sarson May 12, 2024

Manchester United have made progress in their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, according to a report.

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United still pushing to sign Ugarte from PSGRed Devils feel the asking price is too highFrench side willing to come to a compromiseWHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Devils have been linked with a move for the Uruguay international in recent weeks but have so far been unable to come to an agreement with the French giants. However, reports that the two teams have accepted they will have to reach a compromise over a transfer fee, giving United a significant boost as they look to get a deal wrapped up.

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United's efforts to land Ugarte hit a snag because they felt PSG's demands of a £51 million ($67m) transfer fee were excessive. According to the report, the 23-year-old is 'desperate' to make the switch to Old Trafford and the English side reckon a £40m ($52m) fee would be a fair price for him, but PSG are not currently willing to accept that deal for a player they only signed last year.

DID YOU KNOW?

After signing Joao Neves from Benfica in a big-money deal, PSG are overstocked in midfield, with the likes of Danilo Pereira, Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Carlos Soler and Ayman Kari all available to play in central midfield. United, on the other hand, are eager to strengthen in the middle of the park to ensure coach Erik ten Hag has enough options at his disposal as they look to improve on last season's eighth-placed Premier League finish.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

The English and French clubs will continue negotiations over a potential deal for Ugarte as they look to get one over the line before the transfer window closes on August 30. In the meantime, Ten Hag and his players will continue preparing for Saturday's Premier League match against Brighton.