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Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has revealed the club blocked Erik ten Hag from signing Randal Kolo Muani before spending £72m on Rasmus Hojlund.

Ten Hag was keen to bolster his attacking options in the summer of 2023 and eventually welcomed Hojlund to Old Trafford from Serie A side Atalanta.

But McCarthy says PSG forward Kolo Muani, currently on loan at Tottenham, was Ten Hag’s first-choice target that summer.

Ten Hag and his coaches ‘really liked’ Kolo Muani, according to McCarthy, but were ‘overpowered’ by the club who prioritised a deal for Hojlund.

‘We wanted to sign Randal Kolo Muani, he was a player that we really liked,’ McCarthy told Best Betting Sites.

‘We looked at his profile, and just before we started looking at him, he’d had a huge impact with France at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

‘He was quick, strong, he was a goal threat. I think that was the kind of player that we kind of looked at and thought that profile really would suit the young team that we had.

‘So obviously Erik asked me just to really just focus on getting the right players. So it was Randal Kolo Muani – he was probably top of the list of strikers which I thought would come in with his experience, and what he’d done at Frankfurt at the time.

‘l thought he was probably best suited to play alongside the likes of Rashford, Bruno and Garnacho at that time.

‘Then obviously Rasmus Hojlund was also in the frame. I think the club, the scouting department, decided otherwise and wanted Hojlund.

‘They felt that Rasmus Hojlund was the better profile, younger as well, with longevity. It could give the club more value going forward.

‘Because of those reasons, the scouting department overpowered basically what the manager wanted. The club obviously went according to the scouting reports and we missed out on Kolo Muani.’

Kolo Muani was in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt when Erik ten Hag tried to bring him to Manchester United.

The World Cup finalist completed a £76m move to PSG later that summer but struggled at the French giants.

Tottenham signed Kolo Muani on a season-long loan deal in September but the 26-year-old is yet to make a significant impact for Spurs, making just two Premier League appearances.

Hojlund, meanwhile, scored 16 goals during his first season at Old Trafford before enduring a miserable 2024-25 campaign.

The Denmark international was offloaded to Napoli last summer after Manchester United brought in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

McCarthy was disappointed to see Hojlund depart and says he and Sesko could have made a ‘good striker pairing’.

‘I think Sesko and Rasmus Hojlund would have been a good pair, to have two top strikers at the club,’ he said. ‘Both young, of course, both foreign, both from outside England.

‘They have to adapt. They need to adapt to their new environment. But I think once they both get going, it could have been a really good pair for United like they had back in the day.

‘They had Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Teddy Sheringham. They had four really top-class strikers and you just have to try and make it work.

‘And I think United would have had a similar situation if they had kept Rasmus Hojlund. But I understand, players want to play.

‘When you make that bold move to come to United, you don’t want to be sharing the load with somebody else or sitting on the bench while the other one plays and vice versa.

‘So, yeah, tough decisions, but the club ended up offloading Rasmus Hojlund, and he seems to be very happy where he is, and he’s playing and he’s gaining valuable experience and he’s scoring goals.

‘It’s good for his confidence and he’s still a United player. At the end of the day maybe he’ll come back from this loan and then hopefully he’ll be ready then to kick on for United.

‘Then he and Benjamin Sesko can work together. For Sesko, he’ll have to adapt to the way of playing, and he’s already scored two goals now in the last three games.

‘So once he can hit the ground running, United will have really good pedigree up front and they are relatively young footballers.’

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Eberechi Eze admits he was ‘prepared’ to join Tottenham before his ‘dream’ move to Arsenal.

England forward Eze looked set to join Thomas Frank’s Spurs from Crystal Palace and had agreed personal terms over the move.

But Arsenal hijacked Tottenham’s move at the last minute to bring him to the Emirates Stadium in a deal worth more than £60m.

Eze has only scored one goal for new club Arsenal but has helped the Gunners climb to the top of the Premier League and enjoy a perfect start to the Champions League group phase.

The 27-year-old was ‘prepared’ to join Spurs, who only finished 17th in the Premier League last season but are playing in the Champions League courtesy of their Europa League win, but had no hesitating rejecting Tottenham for Arsenal.

Eze spent five years in the Arsenal academy as a child before being released at the age of 13 and ending up at QPR before his successful spell at Crystal Palace.

‘I was prepared to go to Tottenham, but from the moment Arsenal came, it was always going to be them,’ Eze said ahead of Sunday’s clash against his former club Palace.

‘My first [senior] Arsenal game was special. It almost didn’t feel real because it’s something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.

‘Playing for Arsenal from eight to 13, it’s been in the back of my mind wanting to go back. It felt like the realisation of a dream.’

Arsenal have won six games in a row ahead of Sunday’s clash against London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners thumped Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League during the week in a result that was widely described as a ‘statement’.

Crystal Palace have largely impressed under Oliver Glasner, winning the FA Cup last season and recently enjoying a 19-match unbeaten run.

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But the Eagles have lost two of their last three games ahead of the trip to north London to face Premier League title favourites Arsenal.

Palace’s impressive unbeaten run was ended by David Moyes’ Everton before the international break and the south Londoners were also beaten by Cypriot side AEK Larnaca on Thursday night.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late goal earned Palace a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in this fixture last season.

Arsenal thrashed Crystal Palace 5-1 away from home, with injured striker Gabriel Jesus scoring twice, and also beat the Eagles in the Carabao Cup.

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Thomas Frank has provided an injury update on Cristian Romero after he was injured in the warm-up prior to Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Romero had not missed a minute of Premier League football this season, having taken on the captain’s armand following Heung-min Son’s departure over the summer.

The Argentine international was named in the starting lineup for Sunday’s clash with Villa, but headed down the tunnel early after pulling up during his side’s warm-up.

Romero was subsequently replaced by Kevin Danso in the starting lineup, with Micky Van de Ven taking the captain’s armband.

Asked about the nature of Romero’s injury at full-time, Frank told Sky Sports: ‘Minor abductor injury. He felt a little bit the past few days. We expected him to be fine but he wasn’t. I don’t think it is too big.’

The timing of Romero’s injury is far from ideal for Spurs, given Sunday’s match is their first of seven matches in the next 22 days.

The north London side travel to face Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday, with games against Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United on the horizon in the coming weeks.

There was more bad news on the injury front prior to the game when Destiny Udogie was not named in the matchday squad.

Frank confirmed that the full-back had picked up a knock while on international duty with Italy, but insisted it was ‘nothing major’.

On the pitch, it was no better for Spurs as they slid to a 2-1 home defeat to Unai Emery’s side and missed out on the opportunity to temporarily go second in the table.

The hosts went ahead after just five minutes through Rodrigo Bentancur, but were pegged back before the break as Morgan Rogers’ superb striker levelled things up.

And it would be Villa who continued to raise their levels in the second half, and the visitors found the winner in the 77th minute when Emi Buendia curled a superb finish into the bottom-left corner.

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‘It was exactly the game I expected it to be, against two good teams, very tight,’ Frank added.

‘There weren’t too many chances. I think overall it could’ve gone either way. I think 1-1 would’ve been a fair result.

‘Villa scored two goals from outside the box in moments where you wouldn’t expect them to score. Fair play for their moments of quality. We also easily could’ve won.

‘Villa produced two goals out of nothing and we had four or five moments where we couldn’t produce. If you told me before the game that these players will be shooting from these positions I’d have said ‘happy days’.’

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Djed Spence fired a light-hearted dig at his Tottenham teammate Brennan Johnson after England’s win against Wales on Thursday night.

First-half goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka sealed a 3-0 victory for Thomas Tuchel’s side at Wembley.

Spence, meanwhile, earned his second England cap after making his debut for the Three Lions in the 5-0 win against Serbia last month.

The Spurs defender celebrated England’s latest victory with a post on Instagram with a post which was captioned: ‘Very Happy to get my first England start with a great win.

But alongside the pictures of the game at Wembley, Spence also included the Grand Theft Auto meme where he superimposed Johnson’s head on the dog.

Spence also wrote in his caption: ‘But forget about all that emotional stuff for a second .. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE INEVITABLE. LETS TAKE A WALK TO THE PENITENTIARY BROTHER.’

Elsewhere, Tuchel hit out at England supporters over the lack of atmosphere during the game against Wales.

‘We had one and a half training days to prepare against a well-trained team and we did very well,’ Tuchel told ITV.

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‘We could have been 5-0 up at half-time. We couldn’t score the fourth and fifth ones. The stadium was silent. We didn’t get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win.’

Asked if he expected more from fans inside Wembley, Tuchel replied: ‘Yes. What more can you give in 20 minutes? We didn’t let them escape.

‘If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it’s sad because the team deserved more support today.’

England play Latvia in their next World Cup qualifier on Tuesday evening.

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Veteran Premier League manager Sam Allardyce remembers a time one of his players refused to play for him, and it was a man currently in charge of a top flight club.

The 70-year-old took charge of Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton, West Brom and Leeds in the Premier League.

He also had the briefest of stints in charge of England in 2016, which lasted just one match.

It is no surprise that Big Sam has experienced an awful lot in the game and when asked if a player had ever refused to play for him, he did have an example to hand.

Allardyce didn’t last long in his stint as Newcastle boss from May 2007 to January 2008, but it was a Magpies player who said he wouldn’t play for him – current Burnley boss Scott Parker.

‘Scott did it when I was at Newcastle,’ Allardyce told the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast on whether a player had ever refused to play for any of his clubs.

‘It wasn’t too bad. It was a straightforward, I need to leave and you need to get rid of me as quickly as you possibly can.

‘And I’d only been in the job for, I don’t know, a day, two days. And I think that there were two reasons for that. I understood the first reason, which was he felt that the Newcastle fans didn’t like him.

‘And the Newcastle fans, if they don’t like what they see, show their disapproval, rightly so. But they also get behind you extremely well, if they do like what you do. And so I was faced with the fact that they, I think it was his first, he’d only been there one season.

‘Good player, of course, obviously. And what do you do? Can’t stay here, can’t cope with it, need to move.’

Allardyce has spoken about Parker’s departure from St James’ Park before, telling the Mirror in 2010: ‘Fan ­pressure there is ­hostile ­towards the players.

‘They don’t really ­support the team as they should, they’re very critical and the players can’t handle that. That’s what Scott Parker couldn’t cope with. He said he couldn’t play at ­Newcastle.’

Parker has also admitted that he had to leave, such was his feeling that the fans in Newcastle had turned on him after a positive start after joining the club from Chelsea.

‘I went up to Newcastle and was playing some of my best football,’ Parker said in 2020. ‘Every week I gave nothing but my everything and ended up being captain of that football club.

‘In a very, very short space of time, it changed very, very quickly for me. It went the other way, for some reason.

‘Obviously, we were in a bit of a bad turn at the time in terms of results but nothing that was too much of a crisis. It did turn and before you know it, I had to leave.’

Parker left for West Ham in the summer of 2007 after two seasons and 73 games for Newcastle.

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Major League Soccer side Inter Miami are close to completing the signing of former Manchester United and Tottenham full-back Sergio Reguilon.

The six-cap Spain international is still just 28 years old but is looking for a new club after leaving Spurs at the end of last season.

The left-back joined Tottenham from Real Madrid in 2020 and featured regularly in his first two seasons at the club.

However, he fell out of contention and went on loan stints with Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford.

The Spaniard was back at Spurs last season, but made just six appearances in all competitions and was released at the end of the campaign.

The Athletic report that Reguilon is now on the verge of a move to the States, close to agreeing a deal to join Inter Miami.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Reguilon has offers from La Liga clubs and Iranian outfit Persepolis, but Inter Miami was his first choice.

The team, managed by Javier Mascherano, is in need of a new left-back after Jordi Alba announced his retirement is set for the end of the season.

The 36-year-old wrote on Instagram: ‘The time has come to close a truly meaningful chapter of my life.

‘I do so with complete conviction, with peace, and with happiness. I feel I’ve walked this path with every ounce of passion I had.

‘And now it’s the right moment to open a new chapter and close the previous one with the best possible feeling.

‘Thank you to all the fans for your kindness, you taught me that the shirt isn’t just worn, it’s felt. Today I close this chapter knowing I’ve given it my all, football has been and always will be an essential part of my life. Thanks football for everything.’

Another legendary player competing with Inter Miami, Sergio Busquets, is hanging up his boots at the end of the season as well.

On the prospect of becoming a coach, the Spanish midfielder said: ‘I think in the future, yes, but for now I’d rather take a sabbatical.

‘It’s a long time, with hardly any weekends. Like any footballer, obviously, playing for the national team and everything gives you another plus, but you also have less time.

‘You want to enjoy time with your family, time for me, for them, seeing my children, being with them, traveling more, watching football from a different perspective. And then, in the future, we’ll see.

‘In theory, yes, but let’s focus on the present, as there’s still a long way to go.’

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Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are locked in a transfer race to sign AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, according to reports.

Semenyo has been in incredible form for the south coast club this season, conjuring up six goals and three assists in seven Premier League games.

The Ghana international was linked to United and Spurs in the summer transfer window but stayed with the Cherries, signing a new contract.

But according to talkSPORT, United and Spurs are ‘continuing to monitor’ Semenyo ahead of the January window, with Liverpool also now keen.

Bournemouth believe Semenyo is worth upwards of £75m and it’s thought any bid below that asking price will be instantly rejected by the Cherries.

Football pundit and former Bournemouth star Jamie Redknapp labelled Semenyo as ‘unique’ after Friday’s stunning performance against Fulham.

Semenyo registered two goals and an assist in the 3-1 victory over Fulham as Bournemouth continued their remarkable start to the 2025-26 season.

Andoni Iraola’s side, who have never finished higher than ninth in the top-flight in their 126-year history, are fourth after their opening seven games.

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Interestingly, Arsenal were not mentioned by talkSPORT as being one of the clubs interested in signing Semenyo.

The 25-year-old is known to be an Arsenal supporter and some Gunners fans have urged the club to join the race for Semenyo on social media.

‘I am an Arsenal fan,’ Semenyo told The Athletic last year. ‘I don’t conflict the two with my job.

‘It is great to play against Arsenal, a team I have watched all my life and I want to play for the top clubs as well.

‘In order for that to happen I need to prove it.’

Quizzed if moving to a club like Arsenal would be ‘a dream come true’, Semenyo added: ‘Yeah, any team that plays Champions League, Europa (League) – that’s the aim.

‘I know that’s not going to come with a click of my fingers, it’s going to take some time. It’s going to take goals.

‘It’s going to take a lot of consistent performances. But I’ve worked all my life for that and I’m just going to continue working hard. That’s my mentality.’

Semenyo is a versatile attacking player who can be deployed as a left winger, right winger or centre-forward.

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Tottenham defender Rad Dragusin will not join up with the Romania national team after Spurs made it clear they do not want him to.

The centre-back has been out of action since January due to a serious knee injury suffered in a Europa League game.

The 23-year-old damaged his ACL in a match against Elfsborg and has not been back on the field since, although he is closing in on a recovery.

There is hope that the Romanian could return to the pitch by the end of October, with Spurs boss Thomas Frank talking positively about his progress.

Speaking last week, Frank said of Dragusin: ‘He’s progressing well. He’s been on the grass for three weeks now. He is on track. It will be some weeks before he is able to be involved.’

With that in mind Tottenham were not thrilled to see Dragusin named in Romania’s preliminary list of overseas-based players for their fixtures in the upcoming international break.

Mircea Lucescu’s side take on Moldova in a friendly on October 9 and then Austria in a World Cup qualifier three days later.

It was pretty ambitious of the Romania manager to include Dragusin on his preliminary list and he admits that he will now not end up calling up the defender to his squad after Tottenham made their feelings clear.

‘I spoke with him,’ Lucescu told Fanatik of Dragusin. ‘He was very happy for the national team comeback but I don’t think I will call him. Tottenham wasn’t so happy to let him come now at the national team.

‘He needs one more month to play again. Radu wants to come, but others warned us it is better to let him train with Tottenham now.’

Dragusin’s move to Spurs from Genoa in January 2024 made him the most expensive Romanian player ever, wit the deal worth a guaranteed £21.5m and £4.3m in add-ons.

He made nine Premier League appearances before the end of that first season and was used regularly over the last campaign before his injury, making 28 appearances in all competitions.

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have forged a successful partnership at centre-back for Spurs but Dragusin will be challenging for a place inn the heart of the defence again when he is back to fitness.

Frank will be without Romero in the Champions League against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night, saying that the Argentinian’s absence is ‘just precaution.’

Speaking ahead of the trip to Norway, Frank also ruled out striker Dominic Solanke, who is dealing with an ankle injury and faces an operation.

‘Dom, you know, got that ankle issue that’s been bothering him for a little while,’ he said. ‘So now we decided to make a minor surgery. It’s a small procedure. So that will mean he’s not ready for today, of course. And of course, Leeds he’s out as well.

‘We will have more news about time frame after the international break. But I don’t expect it to be long.

‘[Randal] Kolo Muani, I think now we’re finally on top of his dead leg. So there’s also progress there. So that’s good. And Cuti [Romero not travelling] was just precaution.’

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Xavi Simons’ agent insists the new Tottenham midfielder has no regrets about the collapse of his proposed transfer to Chelsea.

The Netherlands international joined Spurs late in the summer window having previously been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s loss already appears to be the gain of their north London rivals with Simons impressing on his first two appearances for the club.

After starring in last week’s win over West Ham, the 22-year-old claimed it has always been his dream to represent Spurs but it could so easily have been a different story.

‘Tottenham and Chelsea are both fantastic clubs with solid projects and there was real interest from both sides,’ said Simons’ agent Ali Barat.

‘But Chelsea was always clear with us, they had certain constraints that made it difficult to move forward with discussions.

‘So when the talks with Tottenham started, it became clear that this would be a project that would be a perfect fit for Xavi.’

Speaking after last week’s victory over the Hammers, Simons outlined his delight at finally getting to play in the Premier League having regularly been linked with a move to England.

‘I’m really happy with the win, and making my debut in the Premier League is such a special moment,’ Simons told Sky Sports.

‘It’s always been a dream of mine to play on the biggest stage in the best league in the world, and I’m with a magnificent team.

‘Even teams who are struggling in the table have top players. Even [West Ham] today have top players. I’m trying to adapt as quickly as possible.’

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Thomas Partey is available to play for Villarreal against Tottenham on Tuesday night, just hours before he is due in court to face rape and sexual assault charges.

The 32-year-old left Spurs’ north London rivals Arsenal over the summer at the end of his contract after five years at the club.

He joined Villarreal on a free transfer two days after he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 5, charged with five counts of rape against two women and one count of sexual assault against a third.

The Ghana international was granted bail and is due to appear at Southwark crown court on Wednesday morning to answer the charges.

Incredibly, that will be just a matter of hours after he could appear against Spurs for his new club in a Champions League group stage match in north London, which kicks off at 8pm.

Villarreal boss Marcelino has not confirmed whether he will pick Partey on Tuesday night, but he says it is an option and the midfielder is ready to face a fiery reception in the clash with Spurs.

‘I am totally convinced that he is mentally prepared and technically prepared to play tomorrow night,’ Marcelino said of Partey.

‘For sure he will be ready. We are very happy Thomas is with us for his football capacity, football ability and his presence as a human.

‘He is a great player with a lot of experience. He has played for a lot of top clubs. We know he has a great level.

‘I think he will get back to a top level. I am very happy he is with us in the team.’

Marcelino seemed frustrated with the questioning on Partey’s availability amid the ongoing legal case, saying: ‘We’re interpreting stuff about and talking about a player that could be totally innocent.

‘We’re playing a game of football tomorrow where the important thing is football. This is where football was invented after all. Do you understand me? Thank you.’

He added: ‘He is with the group, he is available and tomorrow if nothing happens to a player in terms of fitness, he will be with all of us.

‘We are talking more about Thomas than the game.’

The charges relate to alleged offences which took place between 2021 and 2022 when Partey was an Arsenal player.

Partey’s lawyer Jenny Wiltshire has previously stated that her client ‘denies all the charges against him’ and welcomes ‘the opportunity to finally clear his name’.

The midfielder has already played four times in La Liga for Villarreal since his summer switch, although just once appeared in the starting XI.

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