Manchester United are now racing to sign a “superb” midfielder alongside several Premier League rivals, according to reports.

Man Utd targeting key midfield upgrade

In the summer, INEOS rightly focused on Man United’s frontline. In came Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha as the Red Devils splashed out around £200m. Now, with that problem solved, the minority owners must address Ruben Amorim’s midfield when 2026 arrives.

The Man United boss has been forced to play Lisandro Martinez at the base of his midfield in recent weeks amid Bruno Fernandes’ injury and Bryan Mbeumo’s participation in AFCON which has forced a reshuffle.

Related Man Utd now rivalling Chelsea in race to sign Serie A defender in January

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Outside of the central defender, Amorim only has an ageing Casemiro, an out-of-favour Kobbie Mainoo and an untrusted Manuel Ugarte to turn towards unless he picks from the academy. In pursuit of Champions League football, that’s simply not strong enough.

It’s, therefore, no surprise that Man United have made Adam Wharton one of their top targets in 2026. Alongside Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, the Crystal Palace man is top of their list of options to revive Amorim’s midfield.

Other options that have been mentioned in recent weeks includes Ruben Neves. The Al-Hilal midfielder has opted against renewing his contract in Saudi Arabia and is reportedly eyeing a return to the Premier League amid interest from Old Trafford.

If the Portugal international lowers his wage demands then Man United could be perfectly placed to secure his signature as early as next month.

What’s more, according to TeamTalk, Man United are also racing to sign Kees Smit from AZ Alkmaar in a deal that would hand them an alternative to Wharton.

Man Utd racing to sign "superb" Smit

The 19-year-old is one of the brightest prospects in Europe and has attracted interest from Man United, Liverpool, Manchester City and several others as a result. As upgrades go, he would instantly take Ugarte and Casemiro’s place at the heart of United’s midfield whilst also potentially ending Mainoo’s Old Trafford career.

One scout told TeamTalk that the Dutchman is a player that “everyone is watching” ahead of 2026 as one of the most hectic transfer battles begins to form.

Worth around £65m, all signs are pointing towards a top talent and one that INEOS should go all out to sign if they miss out on Wharton next summer.

Pakistan women eased to a six-wicket victory over West Indies in a warm-up game at Basseterre. In a fourteen-member-a-side match, the home side posted 117 after choosing to bat, with in-form opener Stafanie Taylor top scoring with a brisk 41. Medium-pacer Sania Khan and legspinner Urooj Mumtaz combined for five wickets to derail the West Indies middle order after Taylor provided a solid start. Pakistan had little trouble chasing down the target, after each of their top three made substantial contributions. Opener Nain Abidi shepherded the chase with a patient 48, and was only dismissed in the 19th over with victory two runs away.New Zealand maintained their Twenty20 dominance of Australia with an 18-run win in Molyneaux. Opener Suzie Bates made a half-century to guide New Zealand to a competitive 136, a total boosted by the 20 wides bowled by Australia. Sarah McGlashan also chipped in with 29 and was involved in a 56-run stand with Bates for the second wicket. Australia’s reply got off to a poor start as they slipped to 24 for 2. Shelley Nitschke (31) and Alex Blackwell (44*) tried to revive the chase, but the scoring wasn’t at quick enough a pace to force a win.World champions England had an easy outing against India, winning by 25 runs at Basseterre. England’s openers, Sarah Taylor and Charlotte Edwards, put on 46 at nearly a run-a-ball after they chose to bat. The dangerous Claire Taylor was bowled by Amita Sharma for a duck, but Edwards’ 41 took England to 133. India looked in with a chance only during the 48-run third wicket stand between perennial top scorer Mithali Raj (44) and Harmanpreet Kaur (28). With none of the other batsmen making it to double digits, India’s hopes faded and they finished well short.In a low-scoring match at Molyneaux, Sri Lanka pulled off a four-wicket victory over South Africa. After being sent in, Trisha Chetty and Susan Benade were the only South African batsmen to cross 10, which meant they could only set a small target of 94. Medium-pacer Eshani Kaushalya did the damage for Sri Lanka, taking four wickets in two overs to limit South Africa to only 13 runs in the final four overs after they had been 80 for 4. She then helped put Sri Lanka on course for victory with a patient 18 after coming in at 13 for 2. Suwini de Alvis made 31 to guide Sri Lanka before Deepika Rasnagika’s eight-ball 16 sealed the win.

Leeds United have been backed to sign RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson this summer because of the seemingly imminent appointment of Jesse Marsch.

The Lowdown: Marsch on the verge of replacing Bielsa

Marcelo Bielsa was relieved of his duties as Whites manager on Sunday after a poor run of form, in what was a sad day at Elland Road.

It looks as though former RB Leipzig and Salzburg boss is now almost certain to replace the Argentine, with reports on Monday saying that the deal could be completed later today.

Should the American arrive in Yorkshire, it could be the case that his compatriot and former Salzburg player Aaronson joins as well, having been strongly linked with a move to Leeds in recent months.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Aaronson backed for summer Leeds move

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones stated his belief that Aaronson could head to Elland Road in the summer if his former Salzburg boss is appointed as Bielsa’s successor.

The reporter said of the 21-year-old: “I think if Marsch were to go to Leeds, he would jump at the chance to do so.”

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The Verdict: First-choice target?

It makes perfect sense for Marsch to bring Aaronson with him to Leeds, having clearly valued him during his time at Salzburg and the 21-year-old starting all seven of his team’s Champions League games this season.

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An attacking midfielder who could bring lots of guile to the Whites’ game in the middle of the park – he has averaged 1.6 key passes per game in the Champions League this season, bettered only by Raphinha at Elland Road – the youngster would appear to be a tailor-made addition if Leeds can persuade him to join.

Aaronson would likely have been a transfer target even if Bielsa had stayed put, but the expected arrival of Marsch only seems to increase the chances of him switching to Leeds, given the duo’s prior working relationship.

In other news, a key Jesse Marsch update emerged on Monday. Read more here.

Wolves took a big knock to their hopes for securing European football by the end of the season after losing their midweek Premier League match against Arsenal thanks to a crushing last-gasp winner from Alexandre Lacazette.

As well as the disappointing result, Bruno Lage’s side were also struck with an injury blow in the second half when full-back Nelson Semedo was forced off with what Tim Spiers identified on Twitter as a leg issue.

Opportunity knocks

Assuming the injury the Portuguese defender picked up is a serious one that could force him to miss the Old Gold’s next game against West Ham United at the weekend, this could pave the way for one figure in Lage’s squad to come in and show what he’s capable of.

With just six league appearances and two starts under his belt this season, Ki-Jana Hoever has found regular game time hard to come by in this campaign, mainly as a result of Semedo’s prominence in the team.

Even though the 20-year-old hasn’t been in Wolves’ two previous matchday squads and Lage chose to pick Jonny Otto to replace the injured full-back against Arsenal last night, the 45-year-old should definitely consider bringing the Dutchman back into the frame, especially if Semedo isn’t available at the weekend.

Also, having made his return to action in midweek after a long-term knee injury, Jonny may not be the best option to start against the Hammers on Sunday compared to Hoever.

The former Liverpool youngster’s previous appearance in the league saw him start and play the full 90 minutes in their 0-0 draw against Chelsea back in December where he managed to show how capable he is on the ball by completing 23 passes and two successful dribbles.

He also managed to show his defensive talents by racking up four clearances, three interceptions and three tackles as well as winning five out of the nine duels he was involved in, ultimately earning himself a solid overall match rating of 7.1/10 from SofaScore.

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Labelled as a player that can be “aggressive” on the pitch by Lage, Hoever may not have a better opportunity to really stake a claim to be in the team if Semedo can’t play and should therefore grab any chance he gets with both hands and make the most of it.

In other news: Forget Hwang: “Phenomenal” Wolves gem who won 77% duels was Lage’s shining light v AFC – opinion

While Newcastle United might finally be beginning to thrive under a new manager and ownership, there may still be one player who they look at right now with a tinge of what could have been: Adam Armstrong.

The striker came through the academy set-up at St James’ Park, but despite proving to be a prolific goal-scorer at U23s level – he bagged 17 goals in just 26 games – he didn’t get much of a look-in with the first-team.

Armstrong made just 21 senior appearances for the Magpies before finally sealing a permanent move away to Blackburn Rovers for a reported £2m.

Since that switch, the now 25-year-old has come on leaps and bounds, becoming a real goal-scoring sensation at Championship level – last season saw him score a remarkable 28 goals in just 40 league games, despite Rovers finishing mid-table in the division and well off the play-off places.

It was no surprise then that form earned him a high-profile move to Premier League side Southampton, and while his debut campaign with the Saints has been hardly anything to write home about with just two goals and three assists in 19 games, he’s clearly got the quality to become a real success at this level.

Dubbed a “special” talent by former Rovers team-mate Richie Smallwood, his former manager at Ewood Park, Tony Mowbray, gushed: “He’s a goalscorer. He always has been. I took him to Coventry because I saw him score some amazing goals for England Under-19s. He scores off both feet, he’s electrically fast off the mark, he’s got all the attributes.

“As long as you’ve got players who can slide him in, put passes over the top, put the ball in space for him he’ll score goals. His explosive pace at the top end of the pitch allows you to play both ways. it’s a devastating effect for the team.”

Indeed, before his move to Southampton, former Newcastle star Steve Howey threw his weight behind a potential St James’ Park return for Armstrong, even insisting that the striker himself would “relish” the opportunity to play in the black and white of Newcastle again.

He said: “I think he’d relish the chance of coming back and he’d be desperate to score goals because he is a goalscorer and we’ve seen him score some excellent goals from Blackburn.

“I think he’d be desperate for the chance to come back but it’s just whether the club are prepared to make that move.”

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Sadly for the Magpies, they missed the boat on that opportunity, and the striker is now worth a whopping 500% more than what they sold him for at around £12m according to CIES.

Given he’s now featuring regularly for a Premier League side, and was once an exciting academy prospect, Newcastle are facing something of a nightmare in seeing one of their own line up in another colour.

Meanwhile, this Newcastle star has been a dream signing…

As we hit the business end of the season, things are not looking good for Leeds United, even despite a desperate change in management.

New Whites boss Jesse Marsch was keen to play down today’s encounter against fellow relegation rivals Norwich City as a crucial six-pointer but it’s hard to argue against that after they were thrashed by Aston Villa only a few days ago.

A 15th defeat in their 28th league game of the campaign sees the Yorkshire outfit sit only two points above the drop zone and six points adrift of the rock-bottom Canaries, who can halve the gap with a victory at Elland Road this afternoon.

“Someone said it’s like a final, but no. I understand the vernacular. Every point is valuable. Every moment on the pitch is incredibly valuable. Every point massive. Focusing on those things will only disrupt our ability to achieve those things,” the American told reporters (via LeedsLive).

He ought to get it spot on with team selection today then.

And the 48-year-old could well do so with a key change in attack as Marcelo Bielsa favourite Jack Harrison is in grave danger of losing his place after another poor performance without the Argentine.

The former Manchester City ace lasted only 58 minutes before he was hooked by Marsch in what was Leeds’ sixth straight defeat.

To be quite frank, it was an absolutely shocking showing from Harrison – in less than an hour on the pitch, he made only 55% of his 22 passing attempts, failed to deliver a single accurate cross from two attempts and won just one of five duels (20%), as per SofaScore.

Bielsa was sacked after a 4-0 whitewash by Spurs with Marsch’s first game being a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City, where the 25-year-old failed to inspire once more, managing only 76 minutes.

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The £13.5m-rated lightweight has failed to provide a goal or assist in eight straight league games but without his former manager, his performances are slipping, and evidently, as is his game time.

That American link isn’t working out thus far, so Harrison is one name that shouldn’t be named amongst the starters when Marsch names his lineup in west Yorkshire later today.

AND in other news, Leeds United dealt late setback ahead of Norwich City clash…

West Bromwich Albion secured a point in dramatic fashion at Bristol City on Saturday as Adam Reach’s 93rd-minute goal saw the Baggies clinch a 2-2 draw at Ashton Gate.

Nahki Wells had put the hosts ahead in the first half before Karlan Grant equalised from the penalty spot with 22 minutes to go. However, Andreas Weimann must have thought that he’d won it, with the former Aston Villa player scoring in the 85th minute, only for the Robins to lose their grip on victory at the death.

It’s another point for Steve Bruce’s side, who are now unbeaten in four matches after a rocky start to life under the 62-year-old as they picked up just one point in his first five matches in charge. However, having beaten league leaders Fulham on Tuesday, dropping points against 18th-placed Bristol City would certainly have been a disappointment.

No Albion player excelled in the West Country today, but young midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman particularly struggled.

Gardner-Hickman struggles

Rated at 6.4/10 by SofaScore, only Grady Diangana and Sam Johnstone were deemed to have had worse games for West Brom than the 20-year-old, who had just 44 touches – a low tally given his position – and lost the ball on 11 occasions.

Moreover, the midfielder won just two of his ten duels during the 90 minutes, a win rate of just 20%, and committed three fouls. Gardner-Hickman also struggled to contribute defensively, offering no tackles, clearances, blocks or interceptions, whilst also being dribbled past once.

From a more positive outlook, the 20-year-old posted a 78% passing accuracy, but he will certainly be keen to do better in that department also.

The youngster is certainly a bright prospect, having now started West Brom’s last four matches in what has been the Englishman’s breakthrough campaign.

Having now made 15 first team appearances, being named in the matchday squad in a further 12 games, Bruce clearly thinks highly of the youngster – as did former Baggies manager Valerien Ismael, who handed him his senior debut.

What also makes Gardner-Hickman’s rise impressive is that that he was initially a right-back and has now developed into a central midfielder. However, there’s no doubt that his poor performance cost his team against the Robins, which was a shame after solid displays against Hull City, Huddersfield Town and Fulham.

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With experienced midfielders such as Jake Livermore and Alex Mowatt at The Hawthorns, the 20-year-old will certainly need to learn quickly to maintain his place in the team.

There is no doubt that Gardner-Hickman will learn from today’s performance, which is all part of the process of developing into a regular first team player at a high level. However, Bruce will need to make a decision on whether or not he can rely on the young midfielder, with the Baggies still boasting an outside chance of sneaking into the play-offs with eight games to go.

In other news: WBA had huge transfer howler over “outrageous” machine whose value has rocketed 307%

Old Trafford has been home to many huge football superstars over the years, and it’s not often that Manchetser United get it wrong when they make moves for players to bring into the club.

However, Ed Woodward had an absolute howler in letting one player slip through the cracks, and the United board will surely regret not taking the player’s potential more seriously.

Former Red Devils scout Jorge Alvial revealed to Manchester Evening News that the powers at Old Trafford ignored the chance to sign Bayern Munich superstar Alphonso Davies on numerous occasions, ignoring 40 reports on the talent before he signed for the Bundesliga giants.

Eventually the club did offer Davies a trial, but the 17-year-old rejected the offer and committed his immediate future to Vancouver, with the player reflecting on the interest from English clubs when he signed for Bayern Munich two years later.

He revealed to the Daily Mail: “I know there were rumours about England. I know different teams had approached my agents. My full focus at the time was Vancouver and trying to get into the play-offs.”

At this point, the left-back has become one of Europe’s hottest prospects, winning 12 trophies with Bayern Munich since he joined in 2019, including a Champions League and three Bundesliga titles. Therefore, the United board must be having nightmares over relinquishing the opportunity to sign the 21-year-old when they had their chance.

Another kick in the teeth for the Red Devils will be the fact that the German champions signed Davies from Vancouver for just £9m, and according to Transfermarkt as of December 2021, the young player is now worth an astonishing £63m, a 600% increase in value in just three years.

When you compare Davies to United’s most recent left-back signing Alex Telles this season, the Bayern Munich star has made 23 more ball recoveries, completed over 200 more passes, has a better pass accuracy, completed 55 more take-ons and won 55 more ground duels according to Squawka.

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Davies, who was hailed the “Usain Bolt of football” by Rio Ferdinand, clearly has a bright future ahead of him, and United must learn from the decision to ignore the young star as they move into their new era with a new manager at the helm this summer.

In other news: Man Utd suffer major Ten Hag setback which will have Red Devils fans worried

Everton have been struggling this season and are currently tangled in a difficult relegation challenge, which has led to a number of players’ futures being brought into question with the chance of relegation at its highest right now.

Frank Lampard will be relieved that his team managed to secure a victory over Newcastle United before the international break, which has put the Toffees three points clear of the relegation zone as it stands, but there is still a lot of work to do to secure safety in the Premier League over the remaining fixtures.

The Merseyside club have only themselves to blame when it comes to their current situation, conceding 47 goals this season so far and only scoring 29, leading to only seven wins and a staggering 16 defeats, with only 11 games left to go in the league, the team must pull together to maintain their status in top-flight football.

With that being said, there are key players who could be on their way out of the club regardless of the outcome this summer, both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been heavily linked with moves away from Goodison Park, and Jordan Pickford could be set to follow them, which would be an absolute nightmare for the club and the manager.

The £110k-per-week keeper who was hailed “magnificent” by Ian Wright after his England performance this weekend, was linked to a move to Tottenham Hotspur recently, and there is no doubt that Pickford’s future at the club will come into question this summer if the side are relegated at the end of the season.

The England number one has had his ability questioned numerous times over the last few seasons with Everton’s defensive play absolutely abhorrent. Indeed, commentator Ross Dyer called him a “huge liability” earlier this season while more commentary from BBC Radio 5 Live said that he’d made a “terrible” mistake in the game vs Spurs a few weeks ago.

However, this consistent and faultless performances for his national side have resulted in the ‘keeper guiding England to a World Cup semi-final and Euro final in recent years which rebuttal the doubts of his capabilities.

His most recent performance for England vs Switzerland last weekend further proved he is clearly not the problem at Everton and that he is exposed by the defenders ahead of him, with BBC reporter Phil McNulty defending Southgate’s choice to continue playing Pickford despite the problems at Goodison.

“Under the radar, he has been consistent in a desperately mediocre Everton side since the second half of last season.”

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The Everton defenders have let Pickford down time and time again, with Michael Keane scoring multiple own goals, red cards picked up by Jonjoe Kenny and Mason Holgate, as well as numerous injuries to the experienced players in the back-line with Yerry Mina missing for large parts of the season so far, so it would be unfair to blame the 28-year-old for the issues.

Lampard must do everything he can to keep one of his most experienced players in the team next season, and the club must work hard to convince the keeper that his future is best spent at Goodison Park.

In other news: Insider claims £110k-p/w Everton star is “certain to go” this summer, it’s a disaster

Everton failed in their quest for points today, as West Ham United got the better of them in a 2-1 affair that saw a Michael Keane red card as a result of two yellows.

The loss means that Lampard’s side have taken just three points from a possible 15, with their form potentially leaving them relegation-bound if they continue down this path.

The loss leaves them in 17th place and, although they are just three points away from the relegation zone, they do at least have two games in hand on Watford and Norwich respectively.

It is worth noting that whilst the Toffees find themselves four points above 19th place Burnley, the Clarets also have two games in hand on relegation rivals Watford and Norwich and could close the gap between themselves and Everton to just one point with a win when the two sides meet in three days time.

The next game against Burnley is crucial for Lampard’s men, and with the performance that he saw today, he will be no doubt be worried over the Toffees’ chances of ensuring their Premier League status, come next season.

Calvert-Lewin’s lacklustre display

Whilst it seemed like an odd decision from Lampard to bring off a player who has proven himself as an out-and-out goalscorer throughout the season prior, he had valid reason to do so.

Although he was replaced by Anthony Gordon with 22 minutes to go, Dominic Calvert-Lewin had plenty of time to assert his authority on the game.

But unfortunately for Lampard, he failed to repay his faith in starting him.

With just 23 touches, he failed to get into the game to the extent that both goalkeepers, Lukasz Fabianski and Jordan Pickford, alarmingly each had more touches than the 25-year-old.

Calvert-Lewin came close as he hit the woodwork, though it is worth noting that the shot had an xG total of 0.09 due to the crowded position that the Englishman struck it from.

Although they were in and around the same position, Richarlison had a much more positive impact on the game and registered 56 touches and 24 passes, as opposed to Calvert-Lewin’s measly 11 passes.

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With Calvert-Lewin failing to score in yet another game, it means he is still yet to grab a goal in 2022.

Another disappointing display from Lampard’s Everton side, with the £72k-per-week forward offering very little.

In other news – Lamps can finally axe £30m “liability” as Everton plot bid for colossal 6ft6 ”monster”