Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has taken aim at Manuel Ugarte, insisting that he is simply not good enough to be playing for the club. Indeed, Butt believes that the former Paris Saint-Germain star is emblematic of a dismal transfer policy at Old Trafford.

Evan Ferguson has been urged to consider a sensational switch to Wrexham to reignite his stalling career. Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes the ambitious Welsh club could provide the perfect platform for the Roma striker to rediscover his goalscoring touch and fall back in love with the game after a difficult period in Italy.

United States Women's national team star Sam Coffey has completed a move from the Portland Thorns to Manchester City, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the current Women's Super League leaders.

Manchester United have confirmed key attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo have returned to training after the pair were eliminated from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The Red Devils have been without the duo since a 4-4 draw with Bournemouth in mid-December, when previous manager Ruben Amorim was still in charge. United won only one of the six games where Mbeumo and Amad were absent after they went away with Cameroon and the Ivory Coast respectively, but both look to be in contention to play in the upcoming local derby with Manchester City.

Marcus Rashford has been brutally told that his Manchester United career is finished, with former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy insisting there is no way back for the forward at Old Trafford. Despite the sacking of Ruben Amorim and the arrival of Michael Carrick as interim boss, the 28-year-old has been warned that the bridge with his boyhood club is burned, even if his current loan spell at Barcelona does not result in a permanent transfer.

Manchester United have funds available to attack the January transfer market but are set to keep their powder dry under new interim boss Michael Carrick. Despite a willingness to trigger a £65 million release clause for Antoine Semenyo and a shortlist of midfield targets including Adam Wharton and Alex Scott, club chiefs are prioritising a major summer overhaul instead of panic buying this winter.

With all the data and all the video footage you could ever hope for, there really shouldn't be many secrets left in the world of youth football. Sure, progress isn't linear and some players' attributes translate better to the adult game than others, but for most teams, picking and finding the best young talent still feels like a bit of a lottery, at least from the outside looking in.

Rennes are no strangers to producing some of the best players around, and Mohamed Kader Meite looks primed to become the next elite talent to step off the conveyor belt after the likes of Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Eduardo Camavinga. Still just 18, the towering striker is already said to be turning heads across Europe.

From Ibrahima Konate winning the title with Liverpool, to William Saliba anchoring Arsenal's charge to the top of the table or Leny Yoro's big-money signing for Manchester United, French centre-backs have had a massive influence in the Premier League's recent history. Now, the race to sign Les Bleus' next great defender is on as the top clubs from England and beyond circle Tylel Tati.

A modern remake of the iconic adidas FINALE 1 has been launched to mark 25 years of adidas and the UEFA Champions League, blending heritage design with elite match-day performance.

Here’s how you can book tickets to one of Tottenham’s biggest matches this season

Here’s how you could be seated at some of the upcoming standout European fixtures

One of the best midfielders of his era, perhaps the greatest crosser of a football ever and a free-kick taker to rival the best the game has ever produced, David Beckham was a special player to say the least. And yet due to his off-field impact, one of the sport's great champions of the past 30 years is generally forgotten when it comes to referencing the true legends of the game.

Romario moved around the penalty area with the stealthy gait and sly gaze of a panther, ready to suddenly accelerate as soon as the ball came his way, to disorient the opposing defenders with a couple of feints, to pounce on the ball, which inevitably ended up at his feet, as if magnetised, and finish with an unstoppable shot of pure technique or power, or alternatively serve up a perfect assist for one of his team-mates. He was a Hall of Fame striker if ever there was one.

Describing Roberto Baggio to those who did not experience him is a sort of generational challenge, an arduous attempt at conveying something that is too difficult to explain in words. But we will try - because Roberto Baggio was, especially for Italians, a symbol, a standard-bearer, an icon and an emotion.

Rebel United introduces players who prefer to swim against the tide, such as Barcelona and Spain legend Gerard Pique, who has achieved great significance beyond the pitch thanks to his Catalan pride and innovative spirit...

"La France, c'est vous." Translated as 'France, is you', that was what French president Charles de Gaulle told footballer Rachid Mekhloufi in 1968. Mekhloufi had just led his Saint-Etienne side to the double, and the reward was an audience with the most powerful man in the country. For Mekhloufi, this sentence brought things full circle. Now he was both Algerian and French; 10 years earlier, he had - in a sense - been neither.

In the latest from our series focusing on players who swam against the tide during their careers, we take a look at one of Germany's great sporting rebels

On September 15, 2018, N'Golo Kante walked off the Stamford Bridge pitch, satisfied. As was often the case, the Frenchman had just covered every blade of grass over the course of the 90 minutes. And, as was so often the case, he was not one of the major speaking points at full-time. Not right away, at least.

Anyone that manages to carve out a career for themselves in professional football is ridiculously talented. The standard at the highest level is just so high that it is simply impossible to 'fake it 'til you make it'. However, not everyone is as prodigiously gifted as Lionel Messi or Lamine Yamal. Your average player will require some time to get to grips with the rigours of the elite game.

Player development in football follows many different paths. Some exceptional talents, such as Lamine Yamal and Estevao, make an impact at the highest level at a very young age. At the same time, countless players need more time before their qualities fully emerge.