Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has forgiven Spurs star Son Heung-min for Asian Cup final moment.

What moment is Ange Postecoglou referencing?

The Australian manager is referring back to the Asian Cup final in 2015, when as manager of the Australian National Team, he faced off against the Son-led South Korea.

The game was a classic, and in the 92nd minute, with Australia leading 1-0 and on the brink of securing the trophy, the then Bayer Leverkusen player was played in and fired South Korea level.

The game went into extra time, and a lone goal from Australian James Troisi won the match for Postecoglou and his side, whilst Son is still yet to win the tournament, but he will have the chance to do so this season with the tournament taking place from January-Feburary 2024.

Eight years on from that memorable final, The Australian manager is set to coach the South Korean goalscorer and has jokingly revealed that he had forgiven him for that late equaliser in a fan Q&A on the Tottenham Hotspur official YouTube channel.

The new manager was asked a question by the Spurs official South Korean supporters club about his personal relationship with the late great Ferenc Puskas, and before answering the question he said:

"First thing is I also have a relationship with Sonny, because he scored against me for Korea in the Asian Cup final. We were one minute away from winning it and Sonny scored the equaliser. Then we got him in extra time, so I've already said to him, he's forgiven for that."

Where will Son Heung-min play under Postecoglou?

Postecoglou is expected to bring the biggest overhaul to Tottenham tactically since the arrival of Jose Mourinho back in 2019.

Spurs have mainly deployed a back three in recent seasons, however, the Australian could be set to play his preferred set-up of 4-3-3 that he showcased at Celtic.

Not only does this change directly impact the defenders, but the forwards at Spurs could also benefit from this change in setup, with the addition of a third midfielder opening up a wider range of possibilities in the attacking phase of play.

At the moment, it looks like Son will play in his preferred role, the left-hand side of a front three, with Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski the most likely to join him in completing that front three.

Postecoglou has shown at Celtic that he has the ability to unlock the potential in wingers, with Al Ittihad's newest signing Jota being the finest example of this. Last season the Portuguese winger enjoyed the finest season of his young career, scoring 11 and assisting 11 in 33 appearances, earning himself a WhoScored average rating of 7.48 which was the highest in the entire Bhoys squad.

Son had a disappointing campaign last time out by his usual high standards, scoring only 10 goals in 36 games which was his second-lowest goal return in his Spurs career. In previous years under Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho when employed as an inside forward, the South Korean produced his two best seasons, with 23 goals and 17 goals respectively.

Should Son manage to return to his previous high standards, Postecoglou could help further unlock the quality of the 30-year-old in the clubs quest to return to the top four.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group B matches played on March 1, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2017

Tripura needed only two bowlers – pacers Abhijit Sarkar and Ajoy Sarkar – to sweep Himachal Pradesh away for 68 in 15 overs in their 138-run victory in Cuttack.Abhijit was on a hat-trick twice in Himachal’s innings. He began the innings with two wickets off the first two balls and then, in the 11th over of the innings, took wickets off the second and third deliveries. The 11th over ended as a triple-wicket maiden and, with Ajoy having taken a wicket on either side of that over, resulted in a slump where Himachal lost five wickets without adding a run on the board. Abhijit ended with career-best returns of 6 for 31 in eight overs, while Ajoy took 4 for 37.Earlier, Tripura recovered from a shaky 54 for 4 to post 206 runs after being put in to bat. Nirupam Sen Chowdhary (51 off 72 balls) was the common factor in two partnerships that helped Tripura recover. He added 41 for the fifth wicket with captain Yashpal Singh (47), followed by a sixth-wicket partnership off 55 with Gurinder Singh (33).Four wickets from Shrikant Mundhe led Maharashtra to their fourth straight win, when they beat Tamil Nadu by 22 runs at the DRIEMS Ground in Cuttack. Chasing 271, Tamil Nadu got decent starts from the top three batsmen but Mundhe dismissed two of them by the 21st over. The middle and lower orders were led by B Indrajith’s 49 even though he was running out of partners as Nikit Dhumal and Shamshuzama Kazi struck twice each. Once Indrajith was gone for 49 in the 41st over, leaving them on 193 for 8, M Mohammed scored a quick 33 off 24 but they were bowled out with five balls to spare.Maharashtra were steered by opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s half-century after they opted to bat even though Vijay Zol, Ankit Bawne and Kedar Jadhav scored only 48 runs among them. Once Gaikwad fell for 82 off 76, Naushad Shaikh’s quick 68 off 66 took them past 250 before they were dismissed in 48.5 overs.Uttar Pradesh registered their first win of the tournament by amassing 387 for 5 with the help of Akshdeep Nath’s 143 off 117 before bowling Kerala out for 142 at the KIIT Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Once UP captain Prashant Gupta was dismissed early, Nath stitched partnerships of 142 with Shivam Chaudhary (63) and 135 with Eklavya Dwivedi (75) as he scored his maiden List A hundred. Once Nath fell after smashing 19 fours and three sixes, Sarfraz struck an unbeaten 45 off 22 and Rinku Singh chipped in with 29 off 12 to lead UP past 350.Five Kerala batsmen scored in double digits, including their top three, but none of them could convert them into big scores as Piyush Chawla dismissed three of the top four batsmen. Shivam Chaudhury removed Sachin Baby and Sanju Samson with his offspin in consecutive overs, leaving them on 141 for 6 and the last four partnerships could only survive 14 more balls to score one run, being bowled out in 32 overs.

Celtic officially completed a deal to bring Brendan Rodgers back to Parkhead for a second spell in the dugout last month to replace Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian head coach opted to move south of the border and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond wasted little time in snapping up the Northern Irishman to take his place.

Hopefully, the 50-year-old boss will be able to build on the immense success he enjoyed during his first stint in Glasgow. He won seven domestic trophies in less than three seasons before his move to Leicester City in 2019.

The ex-Liverpool manager worked with some terrific talents during his time with the Foxes; including the likes of James Maddison, Wesley Fofana, Harvey Barnes, and Jamie Vardy.

Rodgers could now find his next version of Fofana at Celtic by securing reported Hoops transfer target Xavier Mbuyamba before the deadline.

Who is Xavier Mbuyamba?

The 21-year-old central defender currently plays for FC Volendam in the Eredivisie and could arrive at Parkhead as a future star who could also make an immediate impact on the pitch.

Mbuyamba averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.99 across 28 top-flight appearances last season and made an outstanding 2.3 tackles per game, 0.9 more than any Hoops centre-back managed during the Scottish Premiership campaign.

The 6 foot 5 colossus also made 5.4 clearances per outing – 1.2 more than any Celtic player – while the young talent was able to hold his own in physical battles with a duel success rate of 53%.

These statistics suggest that the towering Dutchman has the potential to be an excellent addition to the squad, whilst having the potential to improve in the future.

Such numbers outline him as a player who could well be Rodgers' next Fofana.

The former Swansea head coach signed the French ace from Saint-Etienne at the age of 19 in the summer of 2020. Upon the defender's arrival at the King Power, the Northern Irishman claimed that he was "excited about developing his talent".

The impressive centre-back played two seasons with Leicester before he sealed a mega £70m switch to Chelsea during the summer of 2022, which was a £33.5m profit on the initial £36.5m they spent on him – indicating that the manager was able to develop the right-footed enforcer during their short time together.

Fofana averaged a Sofascore rating of seven over 28 Premier League appearances during his debut Premier League campaign with the Foxes. The now-22-year-old showcased his defensive strength and awareness as he won 58% of his duels to go along with 1.8 tackles per game for his side.

His form in the English top flight was not a million miles away from the level of performance that Mbuyamba showed for Volendam last term. The Dutchman is another centre-back who has displayed impressive consistency in a big European league at a young age.

Therefore, the 21-year-old titan, who was described as "elegant" and "dominant" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, could be Fofana 2.0 for Rodgers.

Indeed, he possess the potential and talent to be a central defender who comes in and develops over time before being sold for a huge profit in the future.

Liverpool are interested in signing Rennes and Belgium attacker Jeremy Doku in the summer transfer window, according to a fresh claim.

Have Liverpool been linked with Doku before?

The 21-year-old has been seen as a potential target for the Reds in the past, although a move for him has never materialised over the years, as he forges an impressive career for himself.

Currently plying his trade at Rennes, Doku has become a key player for the Ligue 1 side, scoring six goals and registering two assists in the league last season, as well as two of the latter in the Europa League. The winger has also caught the eye for Belgium since making his debut, netting twice in 14 caps, and possibly being seen as a long-term starter as he matures with age.

With Liverpool looking to enjoy a busy summer in the transfer market, it looks as though their interest in Doku isn't yet dead in the water.

What's the latest on Doku to Liverpool?

According to journalist Mohamed Toubache-Ter on Twitter [via Get French Football News], the Reds' level of intrigue is "powerful", suggesting a move is far from out of the question this summer.

Not a huge amount else is provided on the matter, which suggests a bid hasn't been tabled, but it certainly looks as though Anfield is a potential next destination for the Belgian.

Doku is a massive talent who could have a big future in the game – journalist Robin Bairner has described him as "devastating" in the past – so in many ways, it is exciting to see him being linked with a move to Anfield. That being said, there have to be questions marks over whether Liverpool actually need to bring him in right now, considering they already have Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo as strong attacking options.

It is hard to see where Doku would fit in, especially in terms of playing regular football, with his preferred right-sided role filled by Salah, who is one of the most indispensable players at the club and has been a regular over the years, scoring 186 Liverpool goals in 306 appearances.

If the Rennes star was happy to warm the substitutes' bench most weeks, possibly playing a role as an impact substitute looking to break through down the line, then a move that could work out – he could be viewed as a long-term starter – but the Reds' money could be spent on more pressing areas of the pitch, such as midfield.

Newcastle United may finally find out what their chances are of landing Kieran Tierney this week, with Football Insider reporting that the defender will decide on his future in talks with Mikel Arteta.

What is the latest Newcastle United transfer news?

There has been plenty in the pipeline for the Toon this summer, with the Premier League outfit clearly realising the need to improve their squad for a campaign spent in both the top flight and European competition. The Magpies will be eager to ensure they can compete on all fronts, and that has led to interest in numerous players already this transfer window.

One of the deals that appears to be advancing is for Harvey Barnes, with Newcastle now in contact with Leicester over a potential deal for the winger. Having impressed for the Foxes during his time in the top tier, he could now find an escape route back to the Premier League with Eddie Howe's side.

There is no official bid on the table for the Englishman yet, and another forward option they are looking at is Federico Chiesa at Juventus, with the Toon set to open fresh discussions with the Italian outfit and the winger's representatives over a potential transfer deal.

Is Kieran Tierney joining Newcastle United?

However, one name that has seemingly been linked with a switch to St James' Park since the beginning of the summer is that of Kieran Tierney at Arsenal. The defender has been on Newcastle's wanted list since the end of the 2022/23 season, and it seems as though the St James' Park outfit are still in pole position to land him, despite competition from Celtic.

Now, according to a report from Football Insider, the 26-year-old is set to hold talks with current boss Arteta and his future "will be decided this week".

The left-back could still decide to stay on at the Emirates – and if he did, Newcastle will have to move on to alternative targets quite quickly, but the report reaffirms that the Magpies are still the front runners to get a deal done.

Tierney has been praised highly in the past by boss Mikel Arteta too, so perhaps the Spaniard won't want him to leave unless he doesn't see a place in the squad for him. He stated that the left-back was "fantastic" during a performance against Crystal Palace and despite affording him limited game time last season, the Scot did impress when given the chance.

Indeed, going by FBRef's metrics, comparing the 26 year-old with others in his position across the top five European leagues, Tierney ranks highly for non penalty goals, assists, progressive passes and progressive carries, suggesting he could bring a lot more attacking impetus to the left flank on Tyneside than Dan Burn, who is of course naturally a centre-back.

That is why there are teams seemingly so keen to snap up the player this summer – and if Newcastle do manage to land the 26-year-old, it could really bolster their backline ahead of a daunting season in four competitions.

As Football FanCast previews the opening weekend to the 2023/24 Premier League season, we’ve taken a look at Newcastle United vs Aston Villa in a game between two sides who unexpectedly impressed in the last campaign.

When is the match and is it on UK TV?

Newcastle vs Aston Villa plays host to the season’s first Saturday Night Football installment on Sky Sports on Saturday, August 12, 5:30pm BST.

The fixture kicks off Unai Emery’s first full season in charge at Aston Villa after a stellar stint in charge so far, which saw the Villains go from relegation contenders to qualifying for the Europa Conference League by the end of the season.

Eddie Howe, meanwhile, will be hoping for a repeat from his side, as they look to make it back-to-back top-four finishes.

Every Opening day premier League fixture in full

Who is Newcastle United's key player?

When thinking of Newcastle United’s key players, it’s hard to look past Callum Wilson.

The England international had a season to remember last time out, scoring a total of 18 Premier League goals.

With that confidence, Wilson should only enjoy a repeat in the forthcoming campaign, too, as should Newcastle, as a whole.

As Alexander Isak continues to offer plenty of competition, Wilson may well step things up another gear or two, resulting in even more goals for the Magpies.

Who is Aston Villa's key player?

Just like Newcastle, Aston Vila’s key player comes from within their frontline, with Ollie Watkins the dangerman.

Under Steven Gerrard, some may have been worried about the direction in which Watkins was heading. Since the arrival of Emery, however, the former Brentford striker has been a man transformed, ending the season on 15 Premier League goals.

Watkins’ battle against fellow England striker Wilson will certainly be an interesting one on the opening day.

How will Newcastle United line-up?

With a long summer ahead, Newcastle may well introduce some fresh faces on the opening night of the Premier League season.

The biggest move that the Magpies have been linked with so far is for Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella.

According to Luke Edwards, Mike McGrath and Matt Law of The Times, Newcastle are closing in on a move for the midfielder this summer, in what could be one of the deals of the transfer window.

With that said, here’s how Newcastle could line up against Aston Villa: Nick Pope; Kieran Trippier; Sven Botman; Fabian Schar; Dan Burn; Nicolo Barella; Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes; Miguel Almiron, Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson

How will Aston Villa line-up?

Having already signed Youri Tielemans on a free deal this summer, Emery has the option to throw the former Leicester City midfielder straight into his Aston Villa side to face Newcastle on the opening day.

The Frenchman will also be boosted by the return of a fully fit Diego Carlos, who missed the majority of last season through injury after signing for the club last summer.

It remains to be seen who else Villa will welcome this summer, but here’s how they could line up against Newcastle: Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash; Tyrone Mings; Diego Carlos; Lucas Digne; Douglas Luiz, Youri Tielemans; Emi Buendia; John McGinn; Jacob Ramsey; Ollie Watkins

What were the last five meetings between the two teams?

In the last five meetings between these two sides, both Newcastle and Aston Villa have two wins apiece with one solitary draw.

The last time they squared off, of course, saw Villa shock Howe’s side by brushing them aside to comfortably win 3-0 at Villa Park.

There’s no doubt that Newcastle will be looking for revenge after an afternoon to forget last time out.

A positive for the Magpies is the fact that Villa’s last trip to St James’ Park ended in a 4-0 victory.

With that said, here are the last five results:

April 2023: Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle United October 2022: Newcastle United 4-0 Aston Villa February 2022: Newcastle United 1-0 Aston Villa August 2021: Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United March 2021: Newcastle United 1-1 Aston Villa Who is going to win?

No doubt a tight affair, given how impressive both sides were last season, we could be in for a blockbuster opening to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

As both sides look to pick up where they left off, we can’t see past an entertaining draw between two of the most exciting teams in the league when they are in their best form.

FFC predicts: Draw

West Bromwich Albion's focus heading into the summer transfer window was to offload players before even thinking about recruiting as they looked to balance the books.

However, after getting a lot of deadweight out of The Hawthorns in the early stages of the summer, and bringing in £7m through the sale of Dara O'Shea to Burnley, the Championship outfit can perhaps now start to bring in some of Carlos Corberan's targets.

Who is West Brom target Josh Key?

According to Football Insider reporter Pete O'Rourke, West Brom are in talks to sign versatile star Josh Key from League One side Exeter City.

Key is out of contract with Exeter and is therefore available on a free transfer, making him an ideal option for Albion as they look to strengthen in multiple positions.

Given his performances in the third tier, plus his contract situation, Key is understandably attracting plenty of interest. It is claimed that Championship pair Plymouth Argyle and Swansea City are also in for the 23-year-old, with the latter already making a compensation payment offer to Exeter.

Where would Josh Key fit in at West Brom?

Whoever wins the race for Key will be signing an extremely versatile player. The youngster started his career at right wing-back and featured there seven times last season, as per WhoScored, but he is also comfortable playing at centre-back (10 appearances), where a position has opened up at West Brom.

Key's versatility does not stop there, though, as he was also used in more advanced positions under Gary Caldwell last season, featuring on both the right and left wings, as well as in central attacking midfield and even as a striker.

"He is an amazing football player who can play in a number of positions and it is about how we utilise him in different games," Caldwell said in December.

Caldwell also praised Key's ability to get past an opponent, which is reflected in the fact that no City player attempted more dribbles (1.6) per game last season.

Key ultimately started out as a defender, and it may well be that it is at the back he finds himself should he join Albion, with Corberan feeling the need to overcome the exit of O'Shea. The Torquay native is just as strong in that side of the game, highlighted by his 1.6 tackles per game – only Alex Hartridge (1.8), who played exclusively at centre-back last season, could better than among Exeter regulars.

Should he arrive, it is clear that Key would not exactly be a like-for-like replacement for O'Shea. However, the former Tiverton Town loanee more than holds his own in certain areas when compared to the now-Burnley man.

For example, O'Shea averaged 1.1 tackles per game last season, while Key averaged 0.5 dribbles to the Irishman's 0.2. The latter did come out on top in terms of interceptions (1.8 v 0.7), but that can partly be explained by Key playing out wide and further up the field last season.

The pair are also different in stature, with Key – on a reported weekly wage of £1.1k per week during his time at Exeter – measuring in at 5 foot 10 and O'Shea at 6 foot 1.

Whether it is as a centre-back, right-back, on the wing or attacking midfield, it might just be that Joshua holds the key to unlocking a promotion-winning team under Corberan.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:09

Chappell: India lacked proactivity against spin

Bounce giveth, and bounce taketh away. Nathan Lyon took his opportunity to use the extra vertical lift available in Dharamsala and work his way through India’s middle order, but a pair of dropped catches from Matt Renshaw at either end of the day prevented Australia from getting full reward from their toil on the second day of the fourth Test.

Five 50s, no 100s

• 5 Scores of 50-plus for KL Rahul in this series – the joint-most by an India batsman without scoring a century. Before this series, Rahul had converted four of his five fifties into centuries.

• 1316 Runs for Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests in the 2016-17 season – the second-most for any batsman in a season. The highest is Ricky Ponting’s 1483 in 2005-06. Pujara’s 12 50-plus scores in the season are also the joint second-most.

• 54 Runs for Karun Nair in four innings – with scores of 26, 0, 23 and 5 – since his unbeaten triple-century against England.

• 63 Wickets for Nathan Lyon against India – the joint second-most for any spinner. He is equalled with Lance Gibbs and trails Muttiah Muralitharan by 42 wickets.

• 10 India players to achieve the double of 1000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets in Tests. Ravindra Jadeja became the 10th to do so. He also completed 500 runs and 50 wickets in the 2016-17 season.

The pitch offered more bounce to the touring bowlers than at any other time in the series, while Dharamsala’s altitude helped the ball swing more or less all day. Lyon duly adjusted his approach to seek maximum overspin, and in a long spell after tea claimed four wickets to reduce India’s chances of building a substantial lead.It might have been even better for Australia, were it not for Renshaw at first slip failing to react in time to a KL Rahul edge while the ball was still new in the first hour, then making a mess of a more straightforward chance offered up by Wriddhiman Saha in Pat Cummins’ first over with the second new ball. Cummins’ anguished reaction underlined how hard he and Josh Hazlewood had toiled, in defence of a total that has left the game open to either side with three days remaining.Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara played India’s most substantial innings’, while the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane offered an approach of polar opposites – attacking the pacemen and offering a dead bat to the spinners. Pujara had seemed capable of emulating his Ranchi effort, but fell prey to Lyon’s bounce shortly after tea as Australia’s No. 1 offspinner found lovely rhythm to pose questions to all comers.Hazlewood came exceptionally close to a wicket with his second ball of the day, when M Vijay’s checked drive fell fractionally short of David Warner at mid-off. It was not a moment representative of the rest of the morning, as the ball flew through to Matthew Wade with more venom that at any other time over these four Tests.Amid the occasional verbal barb from bowler to batsman, Vijay edged Hazlewood just short of Wade, before touching another delivery behind that carried rather more comfortably to present Australia with their first wicket. Next over, Renshaw was unable to get more than fingertips to a flying edge from Rahul.Nathan Lyon claimed four wickets after tea•Associated Press

There were more good deliveries to follow and scoring was slow, but Pujara and Rahul were happy to reach the break without further loss. They accelerated notably on resumption, threatening momentarily to take control of the game.Cummins was recalled to the attack to try to make something happen, and he obliged by getting at Rahul with a combination of short balls and verbal rejoinders. Eventually, Rahul was coaxed into trying a hook shot at a bouncer pitched well outside off stump, and the resulting toe-end miscue lobbed gently to an exultant David Warner.Runs became harder to come by after an initial burst from Rahane, as Lyon and Steve O’Keefe concentrated on economy. But only one chance of any sort was generated – an lbw appeal by Lyon against Rahane that was turned down by the umpire Ian Gould and not reviewed. Ball-tracking showed the delivery would have gone on to strike the top of leg stump but remained umpire’s call.Australia did not have long to wait in the evening session, however, as Lyon’s bite drew an inside edge onto pad from Pujara that was well held by Peter Handscomb diving forward from short leg. Karun Nair, never comfortable at the crease this series, fell in similar fashion albeit on the back foot rather than the front.Lyon’s attack on Rahane was fascinating, as he varied quicker, straighter deliveries threatening the outside edge with loopier stuff devised to spin and catch the inside edge. Ultimately, it was one of the former offerings that found the edge and was exceptionally taken by Smith at slip, just as Rahane and R Ashwin had been threatening to build a partnership of value.Ashwin had played his best innings of the series, but then failed to get forward far enough to avoid being given lbw by Gould. A review showed the ball had struck Ashwin marginally in line with the stumps and was going on to strike middle. Lyon’s first ball to Jadeja then turned and kicked, striking Wade in the shoulder.A pair of meaty blows from Jadeja in the thin Himalayan air were enough for Smith to call upon Cummins to take the second new ball, and an exploratory first five deliveries led to a perfectly-pitched sixth that Saha edged. It sailed at comfortable catching height to Renshaw, but bounced out of his hands. A pensive Australian viewing area were left to hope that this would not be a pivotal moment of the match and the series.

Former England goalkeeper David James has questioned why Declan Rice would choose Arsenal over his old side Manchester City this summer.

What did James say about Rice?

The Declan Rice transfer saga has been in full flow for weeks now, with news that Manchester City are ready to enter the race for the midfielder's signature only furthering the discourse.

Arsenal have seen two bids rejected for the 24-year-old already and their attempts to sign Rice have just been made significantly harder as Man City have joined the hunt for the West Ham captain.

The choice will prove to be a difficult one for Rice too, who has a big decision to make ahead of one of the most definitive periods of his career. However, David James sees no difficulty in the decision whatsoever, questioning why the 42-cap England international would choose the Emirates over the Etihad.

"I would rather that he went abroad, not that he's listening, because then he won't be in a team that might want to beat West Ham, and that would be something a lot of West Ham fans wouldn't like," said James.

He continued: "Declan Rice is top drawer and Man City are the best team in Europe, probably going to be the best team in the world in a few months after they win the World Club Championship. If Declan Rice is part of that it's because he deserves to be."

When quizzed on whether he thought Arsenal or Man City would be a better fit, James replied: "Why would he want to play for Arsenal? One team is the European, FA Cup and Premier League champions, the other is neither, or none".

James is likely to haves stoked the social media fire with his words, although they were said behind a broad smirk. Given that James featured a combined 202 times for Manchester City and West Ham, it is unsurprising he feels a move to the Etihad would be more sensible.

Are Man City signing Rice?

Much like the Premier League title race last season, it appears to be Arsenal vs Manchester City in the battle for Rice. Similarly to that title race, it could end with Man City getting their prize in spite of Arsenal leading the race for so long.

While Man City have always kept themselves in the loop in regard to Rice, their interest has accelerated over the past few days, although no official bid has been registered yet.

The midfielder is believed to be open to a move to either club, making his decision based on what Arsenal and City will do in the coming days and weeks to convince him.

Manchester United tying down Marcus Rashford to a new deal at Old Trafford will be an 'exception to the rule' regarding any notion of a salary cap at the Red Devils, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest news involving Marcus Rashford?

According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano writing in his exclusive column for Caught Offside, Rashford is now close to finalizing new terms at Manchester United.

Romano detailed: "I can confirm that Marcus Rashford is really close to signing new long term deal at United, though when it’ll be announced is up to the club. It’s technically not done yet, some details have to be clarified soon but talks are very advanced. Man United believe this is like a new signing because Rashford was out of contract in 2024 and many top clubs including PSG were keeping close eye on Marcus’ situation."

The Daily Mail also report along similar lines, revealing that Manchester United are in the latter stages of being able to tie Rashford down on a new deal and that discussions between the club and Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund are continuing to take place.

Capology understand that Rashford earns around £200k-a-week on his current terms at Old Trafford that are set to run until June 2024.

Back in January, The Daily Mail indicated that Manchester United had introduced a new salary cap dubbed the 'Ronaldo rule' that would forbid playing staff from earning over £200,000 per week.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones believes that any notion of a salary cap would exclude Rashford due to his importance at Manchester United.

Jones said: "I was always told as part of this is the general salary cap, yes, will be £300,000, but there always has to be, one, two or three players that are an exception to the rule.

"Marcus Rashford is absolutely an exception to the rule. This is a player that you can't allow to leave the club."

Should Marcus Rashford be excluded from Manchester United's salary cap?

In short, Rashford, who has been hailed as a "standout" player by Declan Rice, is too important to Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag to have any limits bestowed upon his attempts to make sure the England international stays at Old Trafford for the long term.

Last campaign, Rashford racked up 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils, as per Transfermarkt.

The 26-year-old was also Manchester United's third most consistent performer during the season gone behind Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, picking up an average match rating of 7.08/10 for his exploits on the field, according to WhoScored.

FBRef illustrate that Rashford played a crucial part in chance provision for the Red Devils as well, successfully carrying out 120 shot-creating actions in total.

Manchester United fans will be relieved to see Rashford being on the verge of signing a new contract at his boyhood club, as his goals proved vital to their eventual qualification for Champions League football in 2023/24.

All focus at the club will now be on trying to improve on their efforts in the 2022/23 campaign and seeing how close they can push their rivals for the Premier League crown.