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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on BT Sport, former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has admitted he feels sorry for the club’s youngsters.

What did he say?

The Red Devils have endured a poor start to the season, registering just nine points from their opening seven Premier League games. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men also produced a disappointing display against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday night, and Hargreaves has now revealed he sympathises with the situation surrounding the club’s academy prospects.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

He said (as quoted by The Manchester Evening News): “I actually feel sorry for some of these young kids because they have to carry the burden of one of the biggest brands in the world at 18-years-old.

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“Mason Greenwood, he is good, but he shouldn’t have to be in that position at 18-years-old. Even Rashford you could put into that category as well. These guys aren’t ready to carry the brand of one of the biggest clubs in the world and it’s not really fair on them.”

Sign of the times

Whilst Hargreaves’ comments are entirely understandable, United simply don’t have any choice at the moment but to turn to their numerous academy products. The mess they have created in recent transfer windows has essentially forced them to use the likes of Greenwood, Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong, amongst others.

It is absolutely a sink-or-swim moment in their careers. If they can ride out the storm and come out the other side, then the experience they will have gained of playing under such intense pressure will stand them in good stead. If they crumble under the weight of expectation, then so be it. The Red Devils have no one but themselves to blame for getting into this position.

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West Brom’s official Twitter account have played on the heartstrings of the Hawthorns faithful with their latest post.

A video of defender Ahmed Hegazi has appeared with the player featuring in training yesterday.

The 28-year-old has so far missed all of the current campaign after it was decided he needed surgery to resolve an injury that had bothered him for quite some time.

Hegazi played 40 matches last season as the Baggies made the Championship playoffs, but their run faltered at the first hurdle, losing to eventual winners Aston Villa.

He had also featured for Egypt in the summer’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

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This season, Slaven Bilic’s men are yet to keep a clean sheet, so he could be a welcome return at just the right time.

One supporter joked that promotion should be announced already upon hearing the news, which was backed up by another who posted a meme of similar nature.

The Egypt international could turn West Brom into serious title challengers if his impact can resolve the issue of them leaking goals – they are currently unbeaten this season after all.

Other fans just couldn’t contain their excitement at Hegazi’s imminent return by posting a range of GIFs.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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It seemed likely that Dejan Lovren would leave Liverpool before the European transfer window closed earlier this week, but the deadline passed before a deal could be concluded.

The Croatia international has expressed his relief that the saga is now over and simultaneously spoke of his discontent for his current standing at the club.

“I am not one of those who wants to sit on the bench for two years and take money. I just couldn’t do that. 

“Yes, some people have told me, whatever you care about, you’re in the biggest club, take the money and keep quiet. I told them, people, that’s not what I want. I am a man who loves inner happiness.”

Unless there is a dramatic change in the pecking order at Anfield, one which sees Lovren looking vertically up at the likes of Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, who appear to be Jurgen Klopp’s primary defensive options, a sale could be looming on the horizon.

Lovren may not have overwhelmed the supporters with his ability nor commanded a sense of respect and trust that even remotely resembles that which van Dijk proudly dons on Merseyside, but his legacy should be one defined by respect and admiration no less.

After all, he has won the Champions League during his time at Anfield and furthermore been involved in two other European finals. In his five years at Liverpool, he has done nothing but wear his heart on his sleeve and given his all.

It will be intriguing all the same to detect the faint trace of sarcasm in many of the farewells.

That’s because during the centre-back’s tenure he has been sometimes excellent and even very occasionally imperious. But he has also been rash, and when he has been rash his head has ‘gone’, making him a liability for the duration of that particular game.

At times he has been comically bad, usually as a result of complicating a simple art. It has not been unknown for Lovren to find himself in no man’s land, leaving his attacker in an acre of space. It has not been unknown for him to attempt a fancy flick or turn when the coaching manual demanded row Z.

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He leaves as the last of Liverpool’s infamously shaky defence, that which once contained Alberto Moreno in constant fancy-dress as a headless chicken, and Simon Mignolet, flappy and uncertain.

Going back a little further there was Mamadou Sakho too, who tested nerves as par for the course.

He leaves as a failure, in context at least.

When he arrived from St Mary’s it was on the back of a tremendous campaign where he spearheaded the Saints’ charge to eighth. He was a warrior then. A combative warrior with the ball-playing skills of a midfielder, achieving a pass success of 82% in 2013/14.

However, he never played ten consecutive games for the Reds. In the event, his name would so often be greeted with a murmur of anxiety after being announced on the Anfield tannoy.

There is lastly one other thing: he will leave as a semi-ironic legend.

Partly, that’s because the calamities can be laughed at – even loved in a weird way – in hindsight. Mostly though it’s because it would be quite unfair to paint the defender as too much of a flop. As stated, he could be imperious on his day too.

Check out fan reaction to Liverpool’s Super Cup win in the video below…

In April 2016 an unbelievable contest saw Liverpool stage a dramatic comeback over Borussia Dortmund to make progress in their Europa League quarter-final possible.

At 3-3 they still needed a fourth goal and time was nearly up. It was Lovren who rose to a corner to thunder it home and he ran roaring in celebration, deranged. He owned Anfield in that moment. He was a warrior.

Only last summer he was appearing in a World Cup final.

Indeed only last summer he was insisting he was ‘one of the best defenders in the world’. Now a downgrade to Serie A has eluded him and he has been left as the club’s firm fourth choice option in his favoured position.

Where did it all go wrong for him? Did it even go wrong at all?

Like every fascinating player, the answers are hard to man-mark.

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Arsenal may have made a positive start to the season, but they will face their first true test against Liverpool on Saturday.

A lot of the Reds’ success last season as they finished as Premier League runners-up relied on their scintillating front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, and the trio are in line to start against Unai Emery’s side this weekend.

With such quality in attack, Arsenal will need to be at the top of their game defensively if they are to get anything out of the fixture, and some of the club’s supporters have suggested that the best way to go about that is with three centre-backs.

That’s certainly not out of the question. Arsenal do have three centre-backs available – David Luiz, Sokratis and Calum Chambers – and Unai Emery used such setups at times last season, including against Chelsea in the Europa League final, although this season he’s only used 4-2-3-1.

Gunners supporters have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments below.

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Arsenal got off to a nightmare start in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon as they conceded a sloppy early goal courtesy of Christian Eriksen.

The Dane had been out of favour at Tottenham this summer so it was rather typical that he popped up on the big occasion to score for Spurs.

However, it wouldn’t have come about if it wasn’t for a succession of errors from the Gunners defence.

A long ball forward from the visitors was rather strangely contested by two Arsenal players, Sokratis and Granit Xhaka, before Erik Lamela was set free.

His effort was then spilt straight into the path of Eriksen by Bernd Leno, as Mauricio Pochettino’s men took the lead.

Consequently, a host of Arsenal fans slammed Sokratis for his role in the goal. One supporter said that he was having a shocker as another claimed he wasn’t any better than Shkodran Mustafi.

Another individual branded him a complete clown as the Greek took plenty of stick on Twitter.

He was even described as a dreadful footballer.

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The 31-year-old played 25 times in the Premier League last term and has so far started each league outing this season too.

Here’s some of the discussion.

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Another injury setback for former England captain leaves her sweating on involvement at World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2025Heather Knight faces a race against time to be fit for the Women’s World Cup in India in September, after suffering a “significant tendon injury” in her right hamstring during her matchwinning innings against West Indies last week.Knight, England’s former captain, made 66 not out from 47 balls in the third T20I at Chelmsford on Monday to set up their 3-0 clean sweep of the series. However, she was visibly hampered by a hamstring injury for the latter part of her innings and did not take the field for the second half of the match.A subsequent MRI scan has now revealed the full extent of the injury, and she has been ruled out of the remainder of the international summer, including this week’s ODI series against West Indies and the visit of India in June and July, as well as the Women’s Hundred in August.Knight will now undergo further assessment with the England Women’s medical team to determine the next steps of her rehabilitation.”Although no return date can be set at this stage, it is hoped Heather will be available for selection for the ICC Women’s World Cup in September 2025,” said the ECB in a statement.Responding to the news in an Instagram post, Knight wrote: ” It was fun whilst it lasted…”Unfortunately l’ve damaged my right hamstring tendon pretty badly and I’ll miss the rest of the international summer and the hundred, but l’ve got the World Cup in my sights.”Pretty gutted, it’s not the best timing, but I’ll be doing everything I can to get back asap.
I’ve been here before and I’ll face this head on like all the challenges l’ve had in my career.”Knight had already been replaced in England’s ODI squad by Alice Capsey, who made 4 in her only innings of the T20I leg of West Indies’ tour, also at Chelmsford.However, her vast experience will be harder for England to replace, as they continue their rebuild under the new captaincy of Nat Sciver-Brunt, who took over the role in April after Knight’s nine-year tenure was brought to an end.”It’s pretty obvious that the senior players are going to have to step up and help Nat out,” Kate Cross, England’s seamer said. “Nat’s learning to be an international captain now. So she’s not the finished article, I think she’ll admit that herself, but we all want to help out where we can, and try and take a bit of the burden off her.”We’re obviously all devastated for Heather,” Cross added. “We’re all sending her lots of love. We know how hard she works and how diligent she is with her fitness. She’s no stranger to injuries, but I don’t think that makes it any easier. But having that big competition and trophy in mind will give her the motivation to make sure that she’s there for it at the end of the summer.”Despite her injury, Knight was the stand-out performer at Chelmsford, guiding her side to a competitive 144 for 5 in the first innings, as England’s dominance was challenged for the first time in the series.”Her innings was pretty special to get us up to that total, being a competitive and winning score in the end,” said Sciver-Brunt, who was England’s next-best batter for the match with 37 off 40. “That just shows her class and experience.”Her calm influence in the field was arguably missed as well, with England dropping three catches in as many balls in West Indies’ run-chase – an echo of their terrible display against the same opponents at the T20 World Cup in Dubai last year, when Knight had once again suffered an injury while batting and could not take the field.In 2022, Knight underwent hip surgery on a labral tear that had been hampering her for several months, and which caused her to miss that summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – another tournament in which England under-performed in her absence.The World Cup in India is the first big staging post for England’s rebooted regime under new head coach Charlotte Edwards. The tournament, which England last won under Knight’s leadership in 2017, gets underway on September 29, with the final slated for Mullanpur on October 26.

Notts seamers each bag five-fors as Warwickshire shot out for 93 in first innings

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay19-Apr-2025Top-drawer seam bowling by Fergus O’Neill and Brett Hutton put Nottinghamshire in command against Warwickshire on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship at Edgbaston.Aussie import O’Neill took 5 for 19 and Hutton 5 for 38 as the home side floundered to 93 all out. Only Sam Hain, with 43 in 81 balls, offered sustained resistance as the visitors rapaciously made up for time lost on the first day when just 56 balls were bowled.Nottinghamshire than advanced to 204 for 5 by the close of the second day with captain Haseeb Hameed carrying his team’s reply with an adamantine unbeaten 75 (136 balls). When they passed Warwickshire’s total for the loss of just one wicket, a mighty lead beckoned and, though the home bowlers struck back with four wickets in the last session, Hameed’s side remains very strongly placed.Nottinghamshire’s cricket in a first session trimmed at both ends by rain was exemplary. Warwickshire resumed on 34 for 2 then scored 58 for 5 in 24.2 overs before lunch against an attack that applied relentless pressure. Overnight pair Hamza Shaikh and Hain took the score to 60 but five wickets then fell for 31 runs in 13.5 overs.Shaikh left a gap between bat and pad and Hutton found it to bowl him. Dan Mousley did the same and O’Neill powered an in-ducker on to off-stump. When Ed Barnard drove hard at the Aussie, Freddie McCann held a screamer at second slip.Hain, a habitual plunderer of Nottinghamshire with an average of 59.7 against them across the formats, batted with as much assurance as possible in tough conditions but then copped a ferocious in-ducker from O’Neill and fell lbw. After another rapid delivery ripped out Michael Booth’s off stump, O’Neill lunched on 12.4-4-19-4.From 92 for 7 at lunch, Warwickshire swiftly declined to 93 all out as both bowlers completed five-fors. O’Neill’s came when Ethan Bamber edged behind. Hutton’s followed with wickets in successive balls as Kai Smith skied a slog and Vishwa Fernando missed a straight one.Lady Luck then shone on Nottinghamshire as their reply began in the game’s first two hours of sunshine. Hameed and Ben Slater took advantage to raise 50 in 67 balls and 81 in 87 before Slater was lbw to Bamber on the stroke of tea.In the last session, the Bears’ bowlers, without building the same pressure as their Notts counterparts, struck sporadically. McCann nicked Fernando behind, Joe Clarke edged Booth to third slip and Josh Haynes fell lbw to Olly Hannon-Dalby, providing the Yorkshireman’s 332nd wickets in his 100th first-class match for county.Kyle Verreynne contributed a punchy 29 before top-edging a pull at Booth to deep square leg but Hameed’s concentration was total and his true captain’s innings kept his side emphatically on top. On the evidence of these two damp days in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire could be surprise title-contenders this season.

This was always going to be the year when Mason Greenwood made his mark. In May the 17-year-old was named as the Jimmy Murphy Youth Team Player of the Year while a trio of first team appearances at the tail-end of the season dropped huge hints to his explosive pace and immense promise.

Then came the £73m sale of Romelu Lukaku to Inter and not only did Manchester United choose not to replace their goal-scorer-in-chief but talk began to circulate that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was planning to prioritise on youth this season.

Confirming this, the United boss said this summer: “Mason will definitely play more games” while scoring the winner in a pre-season friendly – ironically to Inter – will have aided the youngster’s chances no end.

So who is this striking prodigy set to terrorise defences at Old Trafford and beyond? Football FanCast sought out the thoughts of those who know him best to find out.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – Manchester United coach

We’ll begin at the top, with the man entrusted to drip-feed Greenwood into the pressurised environs of the Premier League.

Solskjaer is clearly a big fan, to such an extent that in the quote below he fails to hide his excitement at the sheer scale of emerging talent he has at his disposal. As per the Manchester Evening News, Solskjaer said after Greenwood scored against Leeds in pre-season…

“He’s more than capable and will always be there, in and around the box, creating chances. If he keeps going as he does it’s difficult to keep players out who perform well. I think his movement, his cleverness: he’s going to be a very good player, the young boy.”

Marcus Rashford, team-mate

If Greenwood’s development is a cause of feverish anticipation for the fans so too is a potential partnership with another academy product in the form of Marcus Rashford. It is safe to assume that the England international was suitably impressed by the teenager’s 30 goals scored across four age groups last term. Here though he trumpets the natural style that lies behind them. As per the club’s official website:

“Mason is quite laid-back. He just likes to enjoy his football. I always think to myself that he’s not someone who you would necessarily give loads of information to. Just tell him a few bits and let him just play; that’s how he gets about with his football.”

Ole back at the wheel? Check out what Man Utd fans are saying in the wake of their 4-0 win over Chelsea in the video below…

Clayton Blackmore – ex-Manchester United midfielder

There is however far more to the Bradford-born forward’s repertoire than his clinical finishing, namely the flourishes attached. Clayton Blackmore picks out one such embellishment that makes Greenwood unique. As per Manchester Evening News, he said back in 2018…

“We don’t know how good he is going to get. He’s still growing. He’s great on the ball and very good with both feet. He’s the first person I’ve seen that takes penalties and free-kicks with his wrong foot. I’ve never come across anyone like that!”

Verdict

United have been stung before when hyping up one of their young stars – Federico Macheda anyone? – but in Greenwood they seemingly have a player with all the attributes needed to reach the very top.

Tournament chief Arun Dhumal says they are working with the government on how to move forward

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2025IPL 2025 will continue for the moment despite mounting tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of missile strikes carried out by the Indian army in the early hours of Wednesday on sites across the border. The Indian government said Operation was its response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, where 26 civilians were killed, in April.While the BCCI has not issued any public statement yet, doubts had surfaced over whether the two IPL matches scheduled this week in the north Indian town of Dharamshala, the second home venue of Punjab Kings (PBKS), will go ahead. PBKS are scheduled to play Delhi Capitals (DC) on May 8 and then Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 11.MI, who lost a last-ball thriller at home against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday, were scheduled to land in Dharamshala by Thursday, but it is understood their travel plans have been put on hold owing to the Kangra airport shutting down. Even the Chandigarh airport, which is the nearest to Dharamsala, has been closed according to which has reported that the Indian government has temporarily shut down at least 18 airports in the north and west of the country including Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Shimla and Jamnagar.According to Arun Dhumal, the IPL chairman, the Thursday evening fixture between PBKS and DC is currently scheduled to go ahead.”We will abide by the Indian government advisory,” Dhumal told ESPNcricinfo. He confirmed that as of Wednesday morning there had been no directive issued by the government. Dhumal said the IPL operations team was coordinating with the concerned government agencies to figure out how to get teams in and out of Dharamshala. PBKS have been based in Dharamshala since last week and won their most recent home game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Sunday.Asked whether there was a possibility of shifting the May 11 match between PBKS and MI elsewhere, Dhumal said the IPL team was “working on the logistics” and if there was any “alternate planning” needed, they would be prepared.

Worcestershire lose eight for 46 in 25 overs to concede big first-innings lead after Jordan Thompson’s 70

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay12-Apr-2025Yorkshire claimed eight Worcestershire wickets during a rampant second-afternoon performance as their seamers helped gain a stranglehold on this Rothesay County Championship match at Headingley.Jordan Thompson was Yorkshire’s standout player, but he wasn’t head and shoulders above the rest having completed a swashbuckling 70 at the start of day two before returning 3 for 27 with his seamers. There were a number of impressive performances.In reply to Yorkshire’s 456 all out, Worcestershire had reached 90 without loss shortly after lunch, but they lost eight wickets for 46 in 25 overs to slump to 136 for 8 at tea and were later bowled out for 162, conceding a lead of 294.The hosts, however, opted against enforcing the follow-on, and increased their lead in the day’s remaining 19 overs. They closed on 61 for 1 – 355 ahead.The day started with Yorkshire advancing their first innings from an overnight 425 for 8. Ben Allison struck twice to finish with an impressive three-for, while the excellent Ben Coad also completed a useful 31 amidst a ninth-wicket stand of 75 with Thompson.Coad, 22 with the bat overnight, also added a superb 4 for 39 from 15.3 overs later on.New-ball partner Jack White claimed two wickets and George Hill one, with Yorkshire’s catching behind the wicket particularly impressive. They took five slip catches added to two for wicketkeeper-captain Jonny Bairstow.Worcestershire captain Brett D’Oliveira suffered a dislocated thumb whilst trying to take a diving catch in the outfield before lunch, and he only batted at eight rather than his usual number six before losing his off-stump to White.The Pears had started their reply strongly through openers Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick, who posted 53 and 37 respectively on a pitch which has offered something for everyone. Good pace and carry is its most obvious feature.During the action-packed afternoon, the home attack were right at it. They hardly gave their visitors a moment’s breathing space.Yorkshire’s breakthrough came when White had Roderick caught at second slip by Adam Lyth, who also helped Coad remove Libby at 101 for 3 in the 37th over. Thompson forced Kashif Ali to play on to his leg-stump in between.Hill also held a juggling catch at first slip to help Coad remove ex-Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Waite for one. Waite was the hero of last week’s draw with Somerset at Taunton, unbeaten in both innings for 32 and 87.Worcestershire suffered a first-innings collapse in that game of all 10 wickets for 84 but dug themselves out of a hole second time around. Whether they can do the same here remains to be seen.Thompson had Ethan Brookes caught at mid-on for 19 after tea before Coad wrapped things up when Jacob Duffy edged behind.The only wicket to fall in Yorkshire’s second innings went the way of Allison as Fin Bean played on for 14. Lyth will begin day three on 32.Thompson ensured an entertaining start to the day, moving from 48 not out to help Yorkshire secure their fifth batting bonus point for passing 450. The visitors also secured their third bowling point.Yorkshire lost Coad caught behind off Allison, leaving the score at 435 for 9.But Thompson took two sixes in an over off another Worcestershire seamer Tom Taylor – one pulled, the other reverse scooped over the wicketkeeper’s head. The second took his side beyond 450. He also reached his fifty off 48 balls.Yorkshire’s innings, however, was wrapped up when sub-fielder Rob Jones took a superb juggling catch on the deep square-leg boundary to help Allison remove Thompson, whose influence on the day was far from done.