Calum Preston Kelly

Jude Bellingham has been named England's Men's Player of the Year for the 2024/25 season. The 22-year-old Real Madrid star wins the award for the first time, beating out Harry Kane and Declan Rice in the process. Bellingham scored once and registered three assists for the Three Lions in eight appearances over the season to secure the award, while Kane scored eight goals in 11 matches, including five in six in 2025 under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has questioned Reds boss Arne Slot's tactics after the Premier League champions lost 1-0 at Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek, their second consecutive defeat after going down in stoppage time against Crystal Palace. Slot opted to start Mohamed Salah on the bench in a series of mistakes Crouch cited by the Dutchman, who has faced little scrutiny so far in his tenure having won the league title in his first season in charge.

The true consequences of Chelsea's gruelling 2025 are beginning to emerge, as it has revealed that multiple first-team stars are playing through pain after a physically challenging few months which included the Blues winning the Club World Cup in difficult weather conditions in the US. Enzo Maresca's side were barely given enough time for a pre-season as a result and several injury issues have followed. Further first-team stars have had to push through the pain and continue to play.

Pep Guardiola was not impressed by suggestions that his Manchester City side were pegged back late on at Monaco in the Champions League due to the replacement of Rodri with Nico Gonzalez in midfield. The City boss defended the contribution Gonzalez made off the bench after coming on in the 61st minute, while he conceded that Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is not yet fit enough to play 90 minutes multiple times a week and "needs protecting" from recurring injury issues.

Manchester United and Chelsea both continued their unbeaten starts to the Women's Super League season as a stunning Anna Sandberg strike earned the Red Devils a well-deserved 1-1 draw against the champions, who dropped points for the first time this season. Wieke Kaptein scored an early opener for the Blues and both sides could have gone on to clinch victory in an entertaining encounter between the two early pace-setters.

Barcelona are believed to be delighted with Marcus Rashford's progress and are considering sealing a permanent transfer for the Englishman next summer, following an impressive start to life in Catalunya. Rashford joined on an initial loan deal from Manchester United in August, with Barca bosses said to be wary that the deal seemed "too good to be true". The 27-year-old has proven his worth, particularly as he fired La Blaugrana to victory at Newcastle in the Champions League, and he may see his Barcelona story stretch beyond next summer.

England can secure their qualification for the 2026 World Cup with two matches to spare if they beat Latvia on Tuesday, with Thomas Tuchel's side taking the trip at Daugava Stadium boasting a 100% record in their qualifying campaign thus far. Victory would secure the Three Lions' place at the tournament in North America next summer, while a draw would all-but seal qualification due to a superior goal difference over second-placed Albania.

Manchester United came from behind to win in convincing fashion as Everton were put to the sword 4-1 in the first Women's Super League fixture to take place at Hill Dickinson Stadium, largely thanks to goals by Melvine Malard and substitute Jess Park. The Toffees had taken the lead in the first half through Honoka Hayashi, but Malard equalised before Hikaru Kitagawa put through her own net to turn the game around. It would then be Park who sealed the day with two strikes off the bench.

Ruben Amorim has urged Manchester United fans to calm their expectations of young goalkeeper Senne Lammens, after the 23-year-old shined on his Red Devils debut against Sunderland prior to the international break. The United head coach suggested that the Belgian has not yet earned comparisons with club legend shot-stoppers such as Peter Schmeichel, but that he showed "a lot of composure" and could start against Liverpool on Sunday.

Randal Kolo Muani is set to be in contention to make his Premier League debut for Tottenham Hotspur during Sunday's fixture against Aston Villa in north London, head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed. The French forward joined on loan from PSG on transfer deadline day but has been out injured since mid-September with a dead leg, meaning Spurs fans have yet to see what he can do for the club.

Chelsea are reportedly 'in discussions' to appoint former Liverpool director of scouting and recruitment Dave Fallows to a senior sporting leadership role at Stamford Bridge. The 45-year-old spent 12 years with the Reds, departing in October 2024, and played an instrumental role in signing the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, who would spearhead the club's first Premier League title win in 30 years.

Barcelona have recorded a net loss of €17million (£14.7m/$19.8m) for the 2024-25 season, despite bringing in a huge €994m (£862m/$1.16billion) in revenue across the campaign. The mouth-watering figures signal a slight downturn from 2023-24, where both Barca's income and expenditure were under €900m and they recorded a marginal net profit of €5m (£4.3m/$5.8m) overall.

Praise continues to flood in for Manchester City phenomenon Erling Haaland, who surpassed 10 Premier League goals in the first eight games of a season for the third time in his career with both goals in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Everton at Etihad Stadium. The 25-year-old has already scored an astonishing 23 goals in 13 matches for club and country this season.

Sean Dyche is reportedly now the front-runner to be named Nottingham Forest's new manager in the coming days, as owner Evangelos Marinakis looks to move quickly to bring in a replacement for Ange Postecoglou. The greek-Australian was sacked on Saturday just 18 minutes after Forest lost 3-0 at home to Chelsea, and this may have opened the door for Dyche to make a return to the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes will continue as Manchester United's first-choice penalty taker, despite costly recent misses against Fulham and Brentford in the Premier League. The Portuguese has scored just one of three from the spot so far this season, the decider at home to Burnley, but Amorim maintains full faith in his club captain ahead of the Red Devils trip to face Liverpool on Sunday.

Jack Grealish still has a lot of work to do if a return to Manchester City is to become a reality, claims Sky Blues legend Sergio Aguero. Grealish has shone thus far in his loan spell at Everton, for which Aguero was full of praise for, but he branded any talk of a swift return to the Etihad as "premature" for the winger, who has yet to force his way back into the England squad under Thomas Tuchel.

Manchester United COO Collette Roche has outlined the profound impact which building a new stadium at Old Trafford would have not only on the football club but on the prosperity of the surrounding area and beyond. A 100,000-seater plan has been touted to replace the ageing Red Devils stadium, which would make it the biggest stadium in Europe, though slightly below Barcelona's expected 105,000-seater redeveloped Nou Camp.

Harry Kane created England history during Tuesday's 5-0 win over Latvia, as the Bayern Munich striker scored more than one goal for the 13th time in his Three Lions career. His brace in Riga beat Nat Lofthouse's record of 12 times achieving the feat, and took the 32-year-old to 76 England goals in 110 appearances. The Three Lions' record goalscorer looks set also to become record appearance maker before too long.