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Wolves and their search for a new manager took a dramatic twist on Saturday with news of Rob Edwards standing down from the dugout for Middlesbrough’s clash against Birmingham, but he hasn’t been the only tactician on the Old Gold’s shortlist.

Their disastrous season has plunged from bad to worse, with the club now desperately scrambling to appoint Edwards after Vitor Pereira was sacked on November 2.

Wolves’ winless start has left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, and they remain the only side without a victory in England’s top four divisions, having taken just two points from their opening 10 top flight games.

History is firmly against them – no club has ever survived with two or fewer points at this stage of a Premier League season — a stat which seriously threatens to condemn Wolves to relegation after eight straight years in the top tier.

Wolves have also become only the third side in Premier League history to concede 20 or more goals in their opening 10 games of two consecutive seasons, shipping 27 last season and 22 this campaign.

After Pereira’s dismissal, and following their week-long managerial search, Fosun have now turned their attention to Edwards.

The 42-year-old was once part of the club’s coaching staff, working with the U18s in 2014 before being promoted to a first-team coaching role in 2015. Since then, Edwards guided Luton Town to Premier League promotion in 2023, and made a fine start to life at Boro this season.

However, he could now be on the move just months after signing a three-year contract.

The situation reached breaking point today when Edwards was stood down from taking charge of Boro’s home game against Birmingham amid continued interest from Wolves. Edwards also didn’t take Boro training on Friday, and his pre-match press conference was cancelled, after Boro rejected Wolves’ approach seeking permission to hold talks on Thursday (Sky Sports).

Now, it is believed that Edwards is “looking likely to join Wolves” as he eyes a return to the top flight.

Boro released a statement today too, confirming that they’ve now granted Edwards permission to speak to Wolves.

All of this comes after Wolves initially explored bringing back former manager Gary O’Neil, but he withdrew from the race citing a timing issue.

Major twist on Gary O'Neil's future after advanced talks to re-join Wolves

Now, as per TEAMtalk, there’s been a “major twist” on O’Neil’s own future after his “advanced talks” to re-join Wolves.

According to their information, following a “dramatic U-turn” over returning to Molineux, with O’Neil once believed to be closing in on an agreement, it is now believed that Southampton is his most likely destination.

The Saints have made an approach to O’Neil, and talks are expected to intensify in the coming days as all parties seek to reach a swift deal.

Taking this into account, it is a wonder why O’Neil ruled himself out of the Wolves job but could now take up a position with the struggling Championship side.

O’Neil was appointed Wolves head coach in August 2023 and led the club to a 14th-placed finish and the FA Cup quarter-finals in his first season. More impressively, despite inheriting a squad in turmoil just days before the season began following Julen Lopetegui’s abrupt exit, and with minimal transfer backing, he steered the side to a respectable finish and earned plaudits for steadying the ship.

His first season included victories over Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, with Wolves reaching eighth at their peak that campaign.

O’Neil apparently remains “highly respected” in Premier League circles too (Miguel Delaney), but after his rejection, Edwards appears to be closing in on the role.

League Two side Newport have confirmed the appointment of Premier League winner Christian Fuchs as their new manager. The Exiles relieved David Hughes of his duties over the weekend after a 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury left the club four points from safety at the foot of England's fourth tier. The appointment marks Leicester City legend Fuchs' first managerial job since calling time on his playing career in January 2023.

• Fuchs takes up first managerial role

  The Austrian left-back was a key member of the Leicester team that claimed their 5000-1 Premier League title triumph in 2016 before he left the Foxes for Charlotte FC in 2021. Fuchs then retired in 2023 to take up a role as assistant coach for the MLS side, but has now stepped out on his own and accepted the top job at Newport.

  The Exiles are in danger of dropping out of the football league after winning only three of their opening 16 games in the 2025-26 season. The defeat to Shrewsbury means they sit bottom of League Two with just 11 points to their name, and four points off Harrogate Town in 22nd.

  "Newport County is delighted to announce the appointment of Christian Fuchs as the club’s new manager," Newport posted on their official X account on Thursday afternoon. "Welcome to Rodney Parade, Christian"

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  'Christian wants to manage in the Premier League'

  On the decision to appoint Fuchs as Hughes' successor, Newport chairman Huw Jenkins said: "We see Christian as the sort of man to lead our club forward. I believe he matches our ambition and goals for Newport County.

  "I do feel we can now look forward with a great deal of optimism. We'll look to improve our current situation in League Two and take things from there. Christian is ambitious and wants, one day, to manage in the Premier League. We believe he shares our strong belief in what Newport County can eventually become."

  In the wake of the choice to axe Hughes last week, Jenkins admitted that the decision was "disappointing" despite change being needed. "Everyone is disappointed that it didn't work out with David Hughes," the Exiles chairman said.

  "He's a genuine person who's interacted with the supporters, and we could see what he was trying to do on the pitch but with a small budget and a lot of injuries too. But football is a results business and we haven't won enough points – and the performance especially in the second half at Shrewsbury on Saturday was very flat.

  "Everyone was thinking we need to change something and usually the attention turns to the manager."

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  Fuchs' first game comes against Oldham

  Fuchs kicks off his time as Newport boss with a trip to Oldham, who sit nine points above the Exiles in League Two. The Latics have won just one of their last seven league matches following their 0-0 home draw with Crewe last weekend, though in turn have lost only once in that time.

  Micky Mellon's side are unbeaten in five at Boundary Park, but have won just the once at home in League Two this season. Following the trip to Oldham on Saturday, Fuchs then oversees his first home game as Newport boss when they welcome Barrow to Rodney Parade to see out November.

  Barrow saw a seven-game unbeaten run come to an end at high-flying Bromley last time out, and they'll seek to return to winning ways when they face Cambridge this weekend ahead of their trip to Newport.

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• Former side Leicester struggling in mid-table

  Fuchs' former side Leicester aren't faring particularly well in the Championship this season, with the Foxes currently 12th in England's second tier. Head coach Marti Cifuentes took over at the King Power Stadium over the summer following Ruud van Nistelrooy's exit, but the Midlands side's season isn't quite going as many had hoped.

  A 2-1 win at lowly Norwich ended a five-game winless run, and was just Leicester's second in their last 11 league matches. Cifuentes will hope to oversee a second successive league victory when his Foxes side host high-flying Stoke on Saturday afternoon.

  Leicester then round off November with a trip to Southampton and a home game against relegation-threatened Sheffield United. 

Aaron Judge did not receive a favorable strike zone in his first at-bat against Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello on Friday night. Judge, hitting third in the order for the Yankees' second game of a weekend series against Boston, did not swing at any of the four pitches he saw in the at-bat and none of them were in the zone.

Rather than give Judge a walk, home plate umpire Lance Barrett sent him back to the dugout without having seen so much as a single strike.

Looking at the recap of the at-bat, none of the calls were that far outside the zone and any one of them on their own wasn't that egregious.

We tend to measure over rates in terms of overs lost per day; it belies a lack of both empathy for players and understanding of the issue at hand

Sidharth Monga20-Jul-20252:55

Harmison: ‘Stokes will go over broken glass to make sure his team wins’

On day one of the Lord’s Test, 83 overs were bowled with the addition of the extra half-hour. Seven overs lost, never to come back. On day two, India ended England’s innings within the first 30 overs, and England bowled 43 overs by stumps, again with the use of the extra half-hour. Fifteen overs lost, never to come back. On day three, India batted for another 77 overs and bowled one at England in the scheduled six hours plus the extra half-hour. Ten overs lost never to come back.There has been widespread hand-wringing and criticism of the teams, the match officials, and the ICC for “robbing” patrons of cricket. Is it fair to look at over rates through the lens of overs lost, though? What does it say about our empathy for players and our understanding of Test cricket’s competitive framework?Over rates are not calculated every day or even every innings, but across a match. If a bowling side is able to bowl the opposition out in under 80 overs, that innings is not considered for calculations unless the over rate goes beyond the required 15 per hour.Related

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Note the intrinsic understanding of the ICC: if you bowl your opposition out in under 80 overs, you are providing the patrons enough entertainment so they don’t feel “robbed” of the extra few overs. At any rate, unless you get wickets with the last ball before a break, you get an allowance of 18 minutes for taking nine wickets, not counting the one that ends the innings. Drinks breaks are worth four minutes each.So, assuming you have bowled a side out in 80 overs in six-and-a-half hours, you can directly chop off the extra half-hour as allowance for wickets and drinks. Add DRS reviews – at least three because the batting side generally exhaust theirs if they are bowled out – injury timeouts, ball changes, and running repairs, and you lose about 15 minutes in a day. So the over rate here is 80 divided 5.75, which is close to 14 an hour, which isn’t as shabby as the crude boiling down to ten overs lost that viewers will never get back.It is important to remember that even the ICC doesn’t expect teams to bowl all 90 overs in a day if they are using a lot of fast bowling. Match referees privately say that 90 overs of predominantly fast bowling is too much to expect, and needs a review. The question we need to grapple with here is: do we want generous amounts of part-time spin to complete the chore of 90 overs every day, or do we want Test cricket at its highest intensity?Umpires and referees tend to lean towards the latter, which is why they are lenient towards players taking frequent breaks, be it to change sweaty gloves or worry about the ball’s shape. Even gamesmanship, as in the dying moments of day three at Lord’s, can create intense drama between two competitive teams doing what they should: England wanting to face as few deliveries as possible and India trying to bowl as many as possible. These are Test cricketers, not obedient schoolboys who should meekly face two overs or quietly bowl just one when denied the chance for another.More of this, or more overs from part-timers to meet over-rate requirements?•Getty ImagesThe ICC is not saying it in as many words because it will attract even more criticism, but the playing conditions and the track record of match officials tend to suggest that expectations for overs bowled in a day are realistic at a time when draws without weather interruptions are extremely rare, even on flat Bazball pitches, and when Test cricket is being played at a higher intensity than ever before.It is easy to bowl 90 overs in a day when the batters are letting you bowl to a plan unchallenged. Batting is more attacking than even before, and asks the bowling team to think on their feet and make more fielding changes to counter it. It is no surprise that all the recent instances of teams being docked World Test Championship (WTC) points for over-rate offences have either come in high-scoring games, or Tests involving a lot of fast bowling, or both. Before Lord’s, Pakistan were the last team to be penalised: they went for 615 in Cape Town, where they had only one spinner in a five-man attack. Before that, both England and New Zealand were penalised in Christchurch: again lots of runs and lots of fast bowling.Another argument does hold some merit: there is competitive advantage to be gained by bowling too slowly, either as gamesmanship or by way of hiding a lack of fitness and conditioning. This is perhaps a more salient cause for concern and more relevant in limited-overs cricket – as is the general over-rates problem – but we can trust the match officials for that. They are consistent with the allowances they make. They don’t want the spotlight on them, so they push teams less conspicuously than by waving their arms and sending back drinks on live TV.The Lord’s Test showed us that even time-wasting can make for breathtaking theatre•Getty ImagesThere remain concerns to be addressed. The penalties for slow over-rates seem to be disproportionately harsh given the otherwise empathetic attitude of match officials. England’s over rate cost them a sixth of the WTC points they earned for winning the Lord’s Test. Then again, you can argue that teams should pay dearly if they are still slow after all the allowances they get, and after the introduction of stop clocks.The over rates at Lord’s were fairly similar in the first innings, but India used more spin in the second innings – not to make up time but because their spinners became threatening – and went past 15 overs per hour and improved their overall over rate for the match.While England, too, bowled India out in less than 80 overs in the second innings, they couldn’t go past 15 per hour with an injured spinner in their ranks. So their second-innings over rate had no impact on the overall calculations.Teams playing more often in conditions that call for predominantly quick bowling find themselves under more pressure on over rates. The ICC is not unaware of this. Perhaps a solution will be worked out by the next WTC cycle. Until then, if we take a moment to appreciate how much Test cricket has changed and how over rates are really calculated, we will be less angry about overs lost.

Litchfield and Mooney’s half-centuries for Australia went in vain

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2025Alice Capsey and Sarah Glenn headlined England’s four-wicket victory over Australia in their Women’s World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru. After the legspinner claimed 5 for 32 to dismantle Australia’s middle and lower order, Capsey anchored the chase with an unbeaten 88.After a shaky start, Australia found stability through Phoebe Litchfield’s 71. However, after her dismissal, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Beth Mooney was forced to come in unusually low at No. 9, where she counterattacked with an unbeaten 59 off just 42 balls. Despite her efforts, Australia were bowled out for 247 in 34.4 overs.In reply, England suffered an early collapse, slipping to 32 for 3, but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb steadied the innings with their half-centuries. But it was Capsey who was the difference-maker, pacing the chase well to take England home with 5.3 overs to spare.Kim Garth was the pick of the Australia bowlers, taking 2 for 17, but lacked support as the English batting line-up found its rhythm.

Bayer Leverkusen stunned Manchester City with a memorable 2-0 Champions League win on Tuesday, punishing Pep Guardiola’s heavily rotated side with a disciplined and fearless performance. Kasper Hjulmand’s team pulled off a surprise victory at the Etihad Stadium as they outplayed the European giants, who were left to reflect on a risky selection that backfired badly.

• Leverkusen punish Guardiola’s gamble with historic victory

  City stepped onto the pitch expecting a routine Champions League outing, but Guardiola marked his 100th game in the competition with the club by fielding a heavily rotated XI, a gamble that backfired badly. The Catalan coach made 10 changes, resting Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias, and his second-string side struggled from the opening minutes.

  Leverkusen seized control instantly. Alex Grimaldo fired the visitors ahead with a superb strike, and Patrick Schick doubled the lead with a smart header in the second half. Guardiola responded by bringing on Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki and eventually Haaland, but the damage had been done. Even the Norwegian striker couldn’t change the momentum, missing City’s clearest chances late on.

  As the final whistle approached, the mood inside the Etihad shifted dramatically, a stunned home crowd witnessing one of City’s most surprising defeats in the Guardiola era, paving the way for Hjulmand’s proud post-match message.

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  Hjulmand overjoyed with Leverkusen’s courage

  Hjulmand spoke with clear emotion after one of the biggest wins of his coaching career, praising his squad’s bravery and execution against one of the most dominant teams in Europe. He highlighted how the result reflected the team’s spirit and belief, elements he insists have been building with every match. 

  “This is a night we will remember for a long time,” said the Dane after the unexpected 2-0 win. “I am very proud of the team and the way we played. We showed a lot of courage. Great respect for my players. We played against one of the best teams in Europe and had to find our philosophy. I think we have done that.”

  He added: "Hopefully, this victory will give us clarity about what we want to achieve and fuel our development. We can still achieve a lot. We can still improve. I think we're seeing a team that's growing together from game to game. This potential is fantastic for me. It makes me very optimistic about this project." 

• Guardiola takes responsibility after rotation gamble fails

  Guardiola’s post-match reaction was one of accountability, with the City manager openly admitting that his rotation the most dramatic of his Champions League career was a mistake.

  "I take full responsibility," Pep said. "Too many changes. I always had the belief it’s a long season and everyone has to be involved but maybe it was too much. It was the first time in my life I’ve done it and it was too much. I take responsibility but I saw them and I like everyone to be involved."

  "When you are a football player and don’t play for five, six, seven games it’s tough but maybe it was too much. Always I like to be too nice and involve everyone because I have the feeling after the international break there are games every three or four days and there is no human being who can sustain that. We were at home, in a good position in the Champions League and I thought ‘let’s try and let’s have weapons on the bench’. It didn’t work and we have to accept it."

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  Leverkusen boost qualification hopes after statement win

  The victory lands Leverkusen a huge advantage in their push for the knockout phase. After a shaky start to their European campaign – two draws, followed by a heavy 7-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, doubts had begun to spread about their ability to progress. Few expected City to be the opponent that restored faith.

  Hjulmand’s side, however, produced their most complete performance of the season, and with eight points from five matches, they are firmly on course for the last 16. The result also arrives at a critical moment, improving morale before they shift attention back to the Bundesliga and a key clash against Borussia Dortmund.

Historically, the winner of Game 1 of the World Series has gone on to win the Fall Classic 64% of the time.

That's good news, of course, if you're a fan of the Blue Jays, who emphatically captured Game 1 of the 2025 World Series on Friday night by a final score of 11–4.

Here are three takeaways from Toronto's series-opening win.

The Blue Jays grinded out at-bats against Blake Snell that paid dividends later in the contest

The single biggest storyline entering the World Series was the Dodgers' starting rotation and its dominance throughout the postseason. Entering Game 1, Los Angeles's starters boasted a 1.40 ERA this postseason, and were coming off a dominant NLCS in which they held the Brewers to a .118 batting average as a team.

Getting to the Dodgers' bullpen was going to be paramount for the Blue Jays, not only against Los Angeles ace Blake Snell in Game 1, but throughout the series.

Snell pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game, but Toronto made him work. The Blue Jays put runners on base in each of the first three frames, driving Snell's pitch count up in the process. In the fourth, the tough early at-bats paid dividends. Trailing 2–0, Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk singled before center fielder Daulton Varsho took a Snell four-seam fastball deep to dead center to tie the game.

The game was all square, which of course was only a precursor for what was to come in the sixth.

The Dodgers' bullpen? Not as good as their starters!

This was a big storyline heading into the World Series. Could the Blue Jays get into the Dodgers bullpen and make the unit pay? As previously mentioned, the Los Angeles starting rotation entered the Fall Classic with a 1.40 postseason ERA. The bullpen, on the other hand, had a 4.88 ERA.

The sixth inning of Game 1 provided a blueprint for how Toronto could win the World Series. Grind out good early at-bats against the Dodgers starters, then attack the bullpen. The Blue Jays posted a nine-spot in the sixth, blowing the game open with the most runs scored in a single inning of a World Series game since 1968. The grand slam from Toronto utilityman Addison Barger – which effectively put the game away – was the first pinch hit grand slam in World Series history.

Three of the nine runs in the sixth were charged to Snell, the remaining six were courtesy of the Los Angeles bullpen. You can't ask for much better than that if you're a fan of the Blue Jays.

The Dodgers need more from the top of their lineup in Game 2 (and beyond)

The Dodgers need more out of the top of their lineup, starting in Game 2. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, which came with Los Angeles trailing 11–2. Toronto fans are certainly happy that Ohtani's biggest hit of the night came with the game well in hand. He finished 1-for-4. Shortstop Mookie Betts and first baseman Freddie Freeman were a combined 1-for-7 on Friday night, underscoring the Dodgers' struggles at the plate.

The track record of those three players is way too good to expect another pedestrian performance in Game 2. More tone-setting at the top of the lineup will be something to keep an eye on for the Los Angeles on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger revealed his World Cup favourites and shared his verdict on England's chances of breaking their major tournament curse in 2026. In Wenger’s eyes, England stand on the cusp of something special, but does not deem them as outright favourites. For all the painful near misses of recent years, he believes a breakthrough is within touching distance.

• The Southgate years and the search for a final step

  Gareth Southgate's England failed to claim silverware at Euro 2024, as Spain outclassed them in a final that brutally exposed the difference between nearly champions and definitive ones. That defeat prompted the FA to embrace a change of direction, bringing in Thomas Tuchel. And while the qualifying campaign did not always sparkle, the end product was historic. England not only topped their group but did so perfectly, winning all eight matches and, incredibly, doing so without conceding a single goal. Even the grinding, laboured outings against ultra-defensive sides such as Andorra could not overshadow the seismic statement of a 5-0 dismantling of Serbia, which showed that they are capable of something far more imposing than their doubters expected.

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  Wenger weighs on the World Cup favourites

  Wenger said: "England are one of the favourites of the World Cup. They are always nearly there. And they have to make the step. They have the quality to win."

  Despite praising England’s evolution, Wenger stopped short of placing them at the very summit of the contenders. That honour, he insisted, sits squarely with France. He highlighted an unrivalled depth of elite forwards as the primary reason Les Bleus are a little ahead of Tuchel's troops. 

  "By trying to be as objective as possible, I think France are the super favourites. Just for one reason," he argued. "They have more world-class strikers than any other country. To have such a bench and such quality will make the difference."

  His reasoning is hard to refute. With Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe leading a cohort that also includes Ousmane Dembele, Marcus Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Desire Doue and Hugo Ekitike, France possess an attacking armoury unmatched anywhere in international football. Both nations enter the draw as top seeds, meaning they cannot cross paths until the final. 

• Alexi Lalas does not want an England victory

  American football icon Alexi Lalas, with 96 caps to his name, offered a typically candid view, balancing admiration with patriotic unease. Lalas conceded that England are "really good" and arguably more finely tuned than at any previous World Cup in the modern era. But with the tournament falling on the symbolic 250th anniversary of America’s independence, he joked that the sight of the Three Lions celebrating a triumph on U.S. soil would be a scenario that needs to be avoided. 

  He said: "As an American here, it pains me to say this publicly but England are really good. And they are coming over here next summer to the World Cup, on our 250th birthday. If it is coming home next summer on our shores, we cannot have that. We can absolutely not have that but they are very, very good."

  Within the England camp, optimism has grown visibly during Tuchel's early months in charge. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham described Tuchel’s arrival as a jolt of energy that has swiftly permeated the squad.

  He said: "Thomas has come in and really hit the ground running brilliantly. You can feel the brilliant energy in the camp and see that the players are really responding well to him. So we’re looking forward to the tournament. We know for European teams it’s obviously going to be hard in the heat, but we’ll do everything we can and we’re looking forward to it."

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  A chance to rewrite history

  Many criticised the decision to appoint Tuchel as the manager of The Three Lions, since he holds a German passport. However, given the results in the qualifiers, the FA stands vindicated. And as anticipation builds ahead of Friday’s draw, a familiar question hangs over England’s campaign: whether this is finally the moment the country sheds its decades-long burden and wins a major trophy again. A kind group stage draw will be the first step in that direction. 

The players and umpires congregated near the pitch while the stands emptied quickly after the 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit part of Bangladesh and India

Mohammad Isam21-Nov-2025Play had to be halted for three minutes after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake caused severe tremors in parts of Bangladesh and India in the morning session of the third day of the ongoing second Test between Bangladesh and Ireland in Dhaka.There was immediate panic in the stands as the jolts were felt, and the players and umpires gathered near the pitch. Both dressing rooms emptied at around 10.38am (10.08am in India). The small crowd looked for open areas to escape to. Some went out of the stadium while others tried to get close to the ground. The media centre, a five-storey building at the north end of the stadium, also emptied quickly as people tried to go out to safe spaces.While there was some confusion about the magnitude of the earthquake, local media in Bangladesh has reported that it was recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in Madhabdi, a municipality around 40 kilometres east of Dhaka. There have been reports of at least two damaged buildings in the capital city but no confirmed reports of casualties.”I have been personally involved in in a couple of earthquakes,” Ireland coach Heinrich Malan said after the day’s play. “I have lived in New Zealand for a while. It’s never a nice feeling. You are trying to understand what is happening at the minute around you. But also you have to think about some bigger impacts, about where the earthquake obviously struck, and hopefully that’s not too bad. Everything stood still for a couple of minutes, and we got back to business. We are just thinking and hoping that there wasn’t too much damage done. We will obviously find out about what that happens as we go.”Reports from Kolkata, across the border from Bangladesh in India’s West Bengal, said tremors were felt there too, as was the case in Guwahati, the venue of the second Test between India and South Africa from Saturday, and in other parts of northeastern India.Play resumed in the Dhaka Test after the pause, with Ireland losing two more wickets in the first session to go to lunch on the third day at 211 for 7 in reply to Bangladesh’s 476.

Manchester City have now moved into pole position in the race for a “superstar”, and they are now ready to make a bid of over £65m.

Pep eyeing long-term additions to his defence

Pep Guardiola has made it clear he is a huge admirer of Matheus Nunes this season, saying: “He can be an incredible right-back,”

“Matheus is a holding midfielder with incredible physicality and as much as he is focused, he can become one of the best [right-backs].

“He has special attributions to play in the sides, and in the last two or three games he has played unbelievable.”

Nunes has remained a key player for Man City in recent weeks, starting the last three games, with Abdukhodir Khusanov also capable of slotting in at right-back, doing so in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen back in November, while also impressing against Arsenal.

Despite Pep being blessed with a number of options in defence, the City boss remains keen on making long-term additions to his backline, according to a new report from TEAMtalk, which states he views Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento as the complete package.

The Blues have now moved into pole position in the race for Livramento’s signature, despite interest from a number of Premier League clubs, and they are ready to make a bid of more than £65m, which could include add-ons, while summer signing James Trafford may also be used as part of a swap deal.

"Superstar" Livramento may find it difficult to dislodge Nunes

Lauded as a “superstar” by Newcastle content creator Kendall Rowan, there are signs the right-back could be a good fit in a Guardiola system, with his passing ability particularly impressive over the course of the past year.

Pep has been keen on signing the full-back for quite some time, and he is now vastly experienced in the Premier League, having made 103 appearances in the competition, while he has also tested himself in the Champions League for the second time this season.

The 23-year-old could be able to push for Nunes’ place in the starting XI before too long, but it will be difficult to dislodge the Portugal international, given that the City star is arguably a more well-rounded right-back at the moment.

Man City offer Real Madrid shock swap deal to sign "the next De Bruyne"

He’s impressed under Xabi Alonso.

By
Tom Cunningham

3 days ago

The 27-year-old has displayed a keen eye for creating chances this season, chipping in with one goal and three assists in the Premier League, while Livramento has just four goal contributions in 93 games for Newcastle.

As such, the Engand international may have to improve the attacking side of his game if he is going to take Nunes’ shirt.