Manchester United are interested in signing Serhou Guirassy from Stuttgart in January as the club looks to add competition for Rasmus Hojlund.

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Man Utd in contact with Serhou GuirassyWant competition for HojlundCould get striker for a very low feeGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

With 15 goals in only eight Bundesliga starts, Guirassy has had an incredible start to the season, propelling Stuttgart into the Champions League discussion. As per The Guardian, the Red Devils are extremely interested in Guirassy's services as the Guinea international's contract with Stuttgart contains a meagre €17.5 million (£15m/$19m) release clause. It is believed that United has been in touch with Guirassy's representatives to discuss a possible transfer after Hojund had a challenging start to his Premier League career and has failed to score or assist in the competition.

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Guirassy would be a more seasoned supplement for Hojlund. However, the Guinean attacker could miss a month of club action as he is anticipated to travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in January with Guinea. It has also been reported that Guirassy is on Newcastle's shortlist as Eddie Howe tries to bolster his offensive options. West Ham, Fulham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth have all been connected to Guirassy in the past.

DID YOU KNOW?

This season, Guirassy set a new record for goals scored after seven fixtures of a Bundesliga campaign after scoring 13 times, breaking Robert Lewandowski’s landmark of 11 goals

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR GUIRASSY?

Erik ten Hag's side are still some way away from actually making a move for the Guinean, if they do decide to do so. Meanwhile, the forward will continue to perform with Stuttgart starting with their weekend clash against Werder Bremen.

Manchester United are reportedly close to signing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Urawa Red Diamonds.

What’s the latest Man United transfer news?

The Red Devils and Erik ten Hag are making preparations ahead of the new season, with Mason Mount confirmed as the first signing of the summer. The midfielder has arrived from Premier League rivals Chelsea at a cost of £60m, penning a five-year deal in Manchester.

It looks as if Mount could be the first of many through the door at Old Trafford, with a new goalkeeper on the agenda after David de Gea’s contract expired at the end of June.

Inter Milan’s Andre Onana has been heavily linked with a move to reunite with Ten Hag following their time at Ajax. The Cameroon international is keen to make the move to Manchester if a fee can be agreed on, with personal terms already sorted between player and the Red Devils.

Man United have had an opening bid worth €40m plus €5m add-ons rejected by Inter Milan, but it looks as if they are having more success when it comes to a move for Suzuki.

The Metro relayed an update from Sponichi regarding Man United and Suzuki, claiming a shock move to England is close to completion after a formal £5m offer was made.

It is believed that the Red Devils have been scouting the goalkeeper since 2017, and should a £5m transfer go through, it would represent a record J League departure, surpassing the £4.5m Celtic spent on Kyogo Furuhashi. Talks are reportedly progressing smoothly, and a deal is thought to be imminent.

Who is Zion Suzuki?

Suzuki is 20 years of age and was actually born in the United States of America. He has been on the books with Urawa Red Diamonds for a number of years, though, and has made 28 senior appearances for his current employers.

The ‘keeper has turned out at youth level for Japan and can even represent Ghana, should he wish, and Suzuki will be out of contract with Urawa Red Diamonds early next year.

In the media, Suzuki is ‘widely considered as one of the most exciting goalkeeping prospects coming out of Japan’. His ‘distribution is exceptional, he makes passes which would be talked about for weeks if it were Ederson’. Therefore, he could be an ideal addition at Old Trafford alongside someone like Onana, viewed as a potential star in years to come.

If De Gea finds a new club and Dean Henderson joins Nottingham Forest as has been speculated, United would be left with just Tom Heaton as their only senior option. That shows how more than one goalkeeper could be of use to Ten Hag ahead of his second season in charge, especially with the Red Devils back in the Champions League.

Who knows, Onana could arrive as first choice with Suzuki playing second fiddle in domestic cup competitions, looking to develop his game at Carrington ahead of a long-term future at Old Trafford, and by the looks of things, the Urawa Red Diamonds shot-stopper could soon be on the move.

Neymar posted a message of support to Santos after his former team were relegated from the Brazilian Serie A for the first time in their history.

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• Santos relegated on last day of Serie A
• First time club have been demoted
• Neymar posted supportive message to club

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Sao Paulo side were beaten 2-1 by Fortaleza while Bahia beat Atletico Mineiro 4-1 and Vasco da Gama bested Red Bull Bragantino to overtake Santos and confirm the fate of Neymar's former team. Had Santos won or either Bahia or Vasco failed to beat Atletico, the club would have avoided the drop to Serie B.

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• WHAT NEYMAR SAID

  Neymar posted images of himself during his time at Santos, adding the caption: "Santos always Santos".

• WHAT RODRYGO SAID

  Alongside Neymar, Real Madrid sensation Rodrygo, who came through the ranks at the Brazilian club before leaving in 2019, wrote his support on Instagram: "I’ll be Santos even if the ball doesn't go in, even if the stadium remains silent, even if the Sacred Mantle fades, even if victory is far away. I’ll be Santos, whether the journey is long, if the journey is hard, Santos in my chest & my soul, my chants & in my palms.”

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  This is the first time Santos have ever been relegated from the top-flight in their history. Their demise is one of the more eye-opening outcomes of a chaotic Serie A campaign. At the other end, Botafogo surrendered an incredible 13-point lead at the top of the table to end up losing the title to Palmeiras.

ScorecardA match that might have finished in an historic tie just went the way of Middlesex after a tense and absorbing conclusion, providing the defending champions with only a second win of the season and the hope that they might yet claw back more of the space that opened up between them and leaders Essex with last week’s thumping defeat at Chelmsford.None of the ties in first-class cricket has featured identical totals in both innings, yet that prospect was on the cards here as Middlesex, who had looked as though they would reach their target comfortably while Nick Compton and John Simpson were together, began to lose wickets with disconcerting regularity in the post-lunch session.Warwickshire fought as you would expect from a side desperate for a win and stand-in captain Jonathan Trott was never without an idea that might make something happen, but they are now 48 points adrift from safety,They gave themselves a substantial shot of hope and adrenalin before lunch when Jeetan Patel managed, seemingly against all probability, to draw Compton out of his crease and had him stumped.Until that moment, Middlesex looked in command, needing 112 with six wickets in hand. Yet Warwickshire, who have not enjoyed too many good moments in a largely dismal season, used that wicket as a motivational factor and had a fresh determination as they emerged for the afternoon session.Ryan Higgins at first maintained Middlesex’s momentum but Warwickshire somehow kept themselves in it. A fine catch by William Porterfield, diving forward from gully, removed Simpson off Rikki Clarke. And from 170-6, needing 64, Middlesex stumbled three more times.James Harris was unable to get out of the way of a super ball from Boyd Rankin – among a mixed bag of a performance, it has to be said – and gave a catch behind at 193-7, Higgins popped up a bat-pad short-leg catch off Patel at 210-8 and, tantalising Warwickshire fans even more, Ollie Rayner stepped across one from Rankin to be leg before, leaving his side nine down with seven still required.Tim Murtagh and Tom Helm kept their nerve admirably, however, taking four singles off Clarke before Murtagh found a gap on the offside against Rankin and took three runs to the longer boundary.Dawid Malan, Middlesex’s acting captain, believed the key phase of the match had been the last session on day three, when Tom Helm dismissed Trott for 99 and rapidly cleaned up the tail, leaving Warwickshire at least 20 or 30 runs short of where they had hoped to be.”I think the way Tom plus Tim Murtagh and Ryan Higgins bowled at the end of day three – their spell set it up for us because at tea they had been in the driving seat and we probably bowled them out for a lot less than they should have got,” Malan said.”We desperately needed that win. We haven’t been playing our best cricket so far and have not been able to string four good days together.”We have won two and lost two of our last four which is disappointing on the loss side because we pride ourselves on being hard to beat, but positive on the winning side.”To get a win moving forward with guys due to come back from injury and England duty when the Championship starts again we are in a good position to get a few wins in a row and be pushing for the top.”The concern for Warwickshire, of course, is about finding a way somehow to get away from the bottom, although with only six matches left time is running out.Yet coach Jim Troughton still believes his team’s character remains intact, even though results suggest that time is catching up with some of the senior members of their dressing room.”Yes, we probably need to win at least half our remaining games but in 2010 we needed to win four out of five and if there is one thing you can always say this team has been good at, over the years of winning trophies and getting to finals and bringing this club a lot of success, it is being up for it in the big games that matter.”We always knew that we were hitting a period of transition and that this season was going to be tough and we’ve had some performances this season we have not been proud of, where we have crumbled under pressure or drifted through sessions.”But this is a league in which anyone can beat anyone. Somerset have shown that up at Scarborough. And in this game we have gone toe to toe with a good side so we have to take positives from that.”We need to keep asking questions of the older players. We need to compete over all four days of games and to walk off at the end of the game knowing we have given everything and (on this occasion) I don’t need to question that.”He could not question the passion of some of those players, either, as was evident in the scenes on the third evening, before and after Stevie Eskinazi was dismissed for a duck – the score at which Warwickshire had been convinced he was out in the first innings before going on to score the match-winning individual score.The umpires had to intervene, asking Rikki Clarke and Keith Barker in particular to calm down, giving Trott another challenge as captain he might not have bargained for. Troughton admitted the incident had been a cause for concern.”We had a chat with the umpires and recognised that the passion probably bubbled over a little bit,” he said.”Our members maybe sometimes ask where’s the fight, where’s the passion in our team. They definitely saw it there but to people watching without knowing the context it does not look great. So we talked about being competitive and hitting them hard but not stepping over the line.”

A back inflammation has ruled James Pattinson out of the Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-20170:44

Quick Facts – Bird’s impressive figures

Fast bowler Jackson Bird has replaced James Pattinson in Australia’s squad for their upcoming tour of Bangladesh. Pattinson has been ruled out of the tour with inflammation in his back.The loss of Pattinson is the second blow suffered by Australia’s pace attack in less than 24 hours, with Mitchell Starc also ruled out, having failed to recover fully from a long-term foot injury. Legspinner Mitchell Swepson replaced Starc in the squad.Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Bird are now the only three frontline pace bowlers in Australia’s squad. The Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at the MCG last December was Bird’s last Test appearance. He was part of Australia’s squad on their tour of India in February-March, but did not get to play a Test.Australia will start their tour with a two-day warm-up game in Fatullah on August 22 and 23. The first of two Tests starts in Mirpur on August 27. After months of doubt over whether it would go ahead or not, the tour got its green signal following the resolution of the contracts dispute between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.Australia squad: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Jackson Bird.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte believes his decision to join the French champions over Chelsea was '100 percent' the correct one.

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Chelsea and PSG had vied for Ugarte's signatureUgarte signed for PSG for €60mUgarte has become key player in ParisWHAT HAPPENED?

Ugarte revealed how pleased he was to be at PSG, who sit top of Ligue 1, and believes he made the right decision in moving to Paris, not London. The 22-year-old was at the centre of a tug-of-war between PSG and Chelsea before the French giants eventually landed him for €60 million (£52m/$65m).

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Speaking to , Ugarte said: "I am 100% convinced that coming here was the best choice. PSG, for me, is something incredible. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I am here because before coming I did not imagine the scale of this club, its worldwide fame, its supporters… I am enjoying this incredible experience enormously, while focusing on achieving of our objectives.”

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Ugarte may well be thinking 'what could have been' had he joined Chelsea in the summer. With the Blues once again struggling this season, languishing in 10th in the Premier League, he can be forgiven for his relief at not moving to west London. The Uruguayan has started each of PSG's five Champions League fixtures and has become a constant presence in the club's midfield this season.

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WHAT NEXT FOR UGARTE?

Ugarte's PSG sit top of Ligue 1 by four points ahead of tonight's home fixture against Nantes. The Parisians then travel to Dortmund on Wednesday, knowing they must match or better Newcastle's result against AC Milan to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds.

Newcastle United "remain in talks" with Monaco centre-back Axel Disasi over a summer move to the club, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

How much does Axel Disasi earn?

The 25-year-old is currently earning £18,000 per week at Monaco and has matured into an important player who generally walks into the starting lineup week in, week out. Last season, he started an impressive 37 out of 38 Ligue 1 matches, highlighting both his influence at the back, and also his fitness levels and consistency.

Disasi could feel that now is the right time for him to enjoy a fresh challenge, however, and there is plenty of interest in him from Premier League clubs. Newcastle are one of them, seeing the Frenchman as a strong to bring in and make them even more formidable defensively, having only conceded 33 goals in the league in 2022/23.

He still has two years left on his current Monaco deal, but there could well be a temptation from the French side to sell him this summer, in order to receive a big amount of money, rather than a smaller fee in 2024, or even worse, losing him for free 12 months after that.

What's the latest on Axel Disasi to Newcastle?

Taking to Twitter, Romano dropped a brief update on Newcastle's interested in Disasi, claiming that talks are ongoing over the signing, although Manchester United are also in the picture:

"Newcastle and Man United remain in talks for Axel Disasi deal, as reported two weeks ago."

Disasi may not necessarily be a household name compared to some centre-backs across Europe, but he is someone who could be a superb addition at Newcastle, having impressed so much more Monaco.

At 25, he is still relatively young, especially for a player in his position, and he could be viewed as Sven Botman's centre-back partner for the next five or six years, assuming the Dutchman stays put at St James' Park.

Disasi averaged 2.9 clearances per game in Ligue 1 last season, and also completed 84.7% of his passes across eight Europa League appearances, showing that he can impress both in and out of possession. He won 2.6 aerial duels per match in the former, too, with such dominance in the air something that is needed in what is a physical Premier League.

The fact that United are also competing for Disasi's signature is a potential issue, considering their continued reputation as one of the world's biggest clubs, but the days are gone of them having such a big advantage of Newcastle when it comes to signing players, with the Magpies now back in the Champions League and only going from strength to strength.

Joining this exciting project at St James' could appeal to the Monaco ace even more than a switch to Old Trafford, and he arguably has more chance of being a regular for the Magpies, too. Manager Jean-Luc Vasseur has said that the player's "great quality is his intelligence" in the past, further showing what a shrewd addition he could be to Newcastle's back-line.

West Indies coach Stuart Law has revealed that Shai Hope was confident in victory at Headingley before the final day started

George Dobell at Lord's05-Sep-2017Shai Hope has the potential to be a “great” player, according to West Indies coach Stuart Law.Hope came into the series against England averaging just 19.57. But he played a huge role in the victory at Headingley with a century in each innings and has impressed Law both with his talent and temperament.While 23-year-old Hope had long been recognised as a talent within Caribbean cricket, there were a couple of moments at Headingley when Law was impressed by his composure under pressure and his hunger for further success.One of those came before play on the final day.”I remember sitting down next to him in the dressing room before the last day and said ‘Look, the plan is we’ll bat to tea, see where we are and if we’ve got wickets we’ll work out if we’re going to have a go or not’,” Law said.”He looked at me and I said ‘What’s wrong with that?’ He looked at me again, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders and I said ‘Okay, what’s your plan?'”‘We’re going to win’, he said. That’s God’s honest truth. And he went out and won the game.”He’s a rock. He’s a guy with a lot of talent who looks very good at the crease. We hadn’t seen that in international cricket, but Headingley showcased his talent.”The other moment that impressed Law came after victory was achieved. Instead of wild celebrations, Hope remained calm and controlled.”I think the fact he wasn’t over the top in his celebrations just means he’s hungry and he’s driven,” Law said. “He doesn’t want to stop where he’s at now; he wants to keep going. I think that’s a great sign.”The challenge for Shai is to stay fit and healthy. If he does that, with the drive he’s got and the mental toughness and will to work, that will just make him better and better. He’s pretty good now, but he’s got the potential to be great.”Law hoped the success of Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite would inspire their team-mates and suggested the side’s success might convince some of their detractors – not least Nasser Hussain, who wrote a newspaper column that underwhelmed the West Indies dressing room – to think again.”There’s probably a couple that doubted their ability to cope at this level,” Law said. “But I hope those doubts are now well and truly put to bed and they can start flourishing.”I thought guys like Chris Woakes, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad bowled the house down at Headingley. And we had answers to them. It’s not the fact that they under-estimated us: we actually stood up and competed against some high-quality batting and bowling, so credit where credit’s due.”Nasser’s entitled to his opinion: people make assumptions all the time. But he doesn’t know the group of players. I think it was great we sent a big humble pie to go and chomp on in the commentary box.”Meanwhile West Indies captain Jason Holder reassured the people of the Caribbean they were “in our thoughts and prayers” as they prepare for Hurricane Irma.”Please take all necessary precautions as you prepare for this hurricane,” Holder said. “Our love and our wishes go to everybody in the Caribbean as you go through this tough time.”

With a prolific 2016-17 domestic season and now an impressive summer in England, George Worker is eager to return to the international side after missing out on the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2017

As New Zealand’s limited-overs tour of India comes closer, George Worker is looking to push for a place in the squad after he followed a prolific 2016-17 domestic season with an impressive club season in England.Worker, who is currently touring India with the New Zealand A side, was the highest run-scorer in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition last summer with 659 runs in 10 games at an average of 82.37. Even though that earned him a recall to the ODI side after nearly two years for two matches in the tri-series against Ireland and Bangladesh in May, he was left out of the Champions Trophy squad the next month.”I guess there’s a few spots available for that ODI tour after the A tour,” Worker told . “I won’t be worrying about it. I’ll be going out there trying to perform and carry on my good form like I have over the last couple of seasons.”Worker, 28, hasn’t been able to nail down his spot in New Zealand’s limited-overs side after his ODI debut against South Africa in 2015. He has played only four ODIs and two T20Is, with one half-century in each of the formats.During the English summer this year, Worker represented Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club in the Birmingham Premier League. He scored 1569 runs, including nine centuries, at an average of 142.64 in 15 innings during his stint. Having accounted for 28 dismissals at an average of 12.75 in the league, including his best figures of 7 for 32, Worker’s left-arm spin could further strengthen his case for a place in the limited-overs side for the conditions in India.”Hopefully, I’ll just have to see. The conditions will be favourable to a bit of spin,” Worker said. “The standard of club cricket is pretty good. It’s renowned as the best in England.”The one thing that helped me was the pitches were good. You come across wickets that are a bit green and a bit wet and you have these slow dibbly-dobbly bowlers. It does make a difference because the wickets are good.”Worker was prolific with the bat in New Zealand’s first-class competition too – the Plunket Shield – last summer, scoring 486 runs from eight innings at an average of 60.75, including four half-centuries and one hundred.

Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, is currently a part of the ICC’s Elite Panel of match referees

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2017Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson has been appointed match referee by the ICC for the three-match T20 Independence Cup between Pakistan and the World XI side – the first instance since 2009 of an ICC match official overseeing cricket in Pakistan.Richardson has been a member of the ICC’s Elite Panel of match referees since January 2016 and has officiated in 11 Tests, 19 ODIs and 18 T20Is till date. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the ICC’s decision in a press release on Tuesday. “The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced that the International Cricket Council has appointed Sir Richie Richardson as match referee for the Independence Cup to be played between the World XI and Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium on 12, 13 and 15 September.”The ICC has thrown its weight behind this series, working closely with the PCB to tackle security which satisfied the standards of the players’ body, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).Zimbabwe’s tour in 2015 – the only international tour by a Test-playing team since the terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009 – had gone ahead with local umpires and match officials. Prior to Zimbabwe’s tour, several countries had refused to play in Pakistan, in the aftermath of the attack in Lahore. The PCB, however, has been gradually pursuing more matches in the country. Earlier this year, a few international players turned out in Lahore for the final of the Pakistan Super League.