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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior says striker Joao Pedro belongs in the same “category” as world‑class forwards Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

The 24‑year‑old Brazil international scored a hat‑trick in Wednesday’s 4-1 win at Aston Villa, taking his tally to 17 goals in all competitions this season.

None of his 14 Premier League goals this season have come from the penalty spot and only Haaland, with 19, has scored more non‑penalty goals in England’s top flight this season, while across Europe’s top five leagues Kane leads the way on that basis with 20 for Bayern Munich, and Mbappe has 15 for Real Madrid.

Asked whether Joao Pedro is operating at such a level, Rosenior told reporters: “Joao is in that category now. In the two months I’ve been here, he has consistently shown he is a world‑class striker.

“I talk about my players; it’s disrespectful to Erling to compare them. I don’t know Erling very well, but from the outside he looks a magnificent, world‑class striker.

“I wouldn’t swap Joao for anyone at this moment – he is showing all the qualities and attributes I want to see.

“The great thing for Joao is his age – he can still improve, and I’ve already noticed several areas where he can get better. But the level he’s operating at now is world class, and it’s my job, the club’s job and his job to keep him there.”

Chelsea, who face Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday, are looking for Joao Pedro to become their first out-and-out striker to reach 20 goals in a season since Diego Costa in 2016-17.

It is clear Joao Pedro is delivering a comparable impact to Europe’s best in terms of non‑penalty goals this season.

When penalties are included, Joao Pedro has eight fewer league goals than Haaland (22), nine fewer than Mbappe (23) and 16 fewer than Kane (30).

Penalty duty to help him move nearer the likes of Kane and Mbappe is unlikely to come Joao Pedro’s way any time soon.

Palmer predominantly takes penalties for Chelsea and has missed just one of 19 since his debut for the club in September 2023.

In terms of league assists, Joao Pedro has five – more than Mbappe and level with Kane – while Haaland has seven.

Joao Pedro has also taken far fewer shots than his rivals, registering just 57 attempts, which is significantly lower than the next‑lowest total, Kane’s 96.

It means his shot‑conversion rate of 24.6% is actually better than Haaland’s and Mbappe’s – 22.5% and 20.7% – but still falls short of Kane’s 31.3%.

His first season at Chelsea is proving to be Joao Pedro’s most clinical to date – but Haaland, Kane and Mbappe have far exceeded his output over multiple years.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season – when he moved from Watford to Brighton – Joao Pedro has scored 33 league goals, including 24 non‑penalty goals, and provided 14 assists.

In each category, the Brazilian trails his peers. Kane leads the way with 92 goals, 68 non‑penalty goals and 21 assists – more than Joao Pedro, Haaland or Mbappe in each metric.

Several names – including those of two former club heroes – are in the running to take the reins at Tottenham, while Serie A champions Napoli are looking to secure the future of Scott McTominay.

Tottenham have held talks with former Marseille boss Roberto de Zerbi about a summer appointment if they stay in the Premier League. (Telegraph – subscription required)

Former manager and player Glenn Hoddle has offered to ensure Tottenham avoid relegation should interim boss Igor Tudor be sacked after losing his opening three games. (Mail)

Another former Tottenham player, Robbie Keane, has also emerged as one of the leading candidates if the north London side axe the Croat. (TeamTalk)

Napoli hope to move quickly to secure the long-term future of Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay, 29, amid interest from the Premier League. (Goal)

Newcastle United striker William Osula says he does not know what the future holds, but his focus for now is on Tyneside. The 22-year-old Dane has previously been linked with Stuttgart. (ChronicleLive)

Antoine Griezmann, 34, has decided not to leave Atletico Madrid mid-season; Orlando City had showed strong interest in the former France forward. (L’Equipe – in French, subscription required)

Manchester City are sure to offer England international Phil Foden a new contract when his current one expires at the end of next season, but negotiations will not be easy given the 25-year-old midfielder’s inconsistent form. (The Athletic – subscription required)

England midfielder Mason Mount, 27, has no intention of forcing an exit from Manchester United this summer. (Football Insider)

Manchester United have been informed that Trabzonspor are not willing to pay the club’s valuation of £40m to £43m for Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana, 29, this summer. (MEN)

Betfred Super League

York (18) 30

Tries: Jones-Bishop, Balmforth, Mata’afa, Vaughan, Harris Goals: Richardson 5

Warrington (22) 38

Warrington Wolves maintained their 100% start to the Super League season by holding off a spirited York Knights side in an electric high-scoring encounter.

The 30-38 scoreline included 12 tries shared between the sides, with a manic 40-point first half.

Josh Thewlis and Sam Stone arguably made the difference for the visitors, contributing a pair of tries each.

There was a special moment for Ben Currie too, who scored his 100th try for Warrington in the second half.

With a quarter of an hour on the clock, it looked as though the first Super League meeting between these two sides would be a very one-sided affair.

Stone, Thewlis and the impressive Cai Taylor-Wray gave the visitors the perfect start with three quick scores, as the Wolves twice barged through the home defence either side of Taylor-Wray collecting a neat pass to go over in the corner.

Fifteen minutes later, Warrington, incredibly, found themselves behind following a storming resurgence from the home side.

Ben Jones-Bishop got the Knights on the board, before Denive Balmforth went over following smart hands from full-back Tom Mata’afa, who scored a try of his own moments later to complete the turnaround.

The lead changed hands again minutes later, Stone scoring his second try to send the Wolves in 22-18 at the break.

The second half mirrored the first, as the hosts came out of the traps slower than their more experienced Super League opponents. George Williams crossed to score before Currie brought up his century of tries for Warrington, from under the posts.

Still the hosts refused to accept defeat, as Paul Vaughan, against his former side, and Liam Harris claimed tries to bring the Knights within two points of their opponents.

Thewlis went over again with 10 minutes to go, and Marc Sneyd converted the extras as the Wolves saw out victory.

York head coach Mark Applegarth told BBC Radio York:

“Fair play to Warrington, congratulations to them. They started really strong in both halves and we got caught.

“I was really proud of the spirit we showed and how we got back into it, but there were some valuable lessons for us in all of that.

“If you score 30 points in a game, that should be enough to win it, but I thought we left some soft tries out there.

“I thought we looked fantastic on the front foot, but the momentum shifts at this level are massive, and these teams can post some big scores pretty quickly.

York: Mata’afa; Jones-Bishop, Wood, Williams, Nofoaluma; Richardson, Harris; Martin, McShane, Vaughan, Field, Dee, Thompson.

Interchanges: Griffin, Balmforth, Va’a, Sangare.

Warrington: Taylor-Wray; Thewlis, King, Hopoate, Smith; Williams, Sneyd; Yates, Walker, Byrne, Harrison, Stone, Currie.

Interchanges: Powell, Sipley, Philbin, Tanginoa.

Hungary’s Panna Udvardy says she was sent “disturbing” messages, including a picture of a gun, warning her family would be harmed unless she lost a tennis match.

Udvardy, ranked 95th in the world, said she received the WhatsApp messages on her personal phone from an unknown number on Thursday night, along with images of her family members and claims “they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers”.

The 27-year-old said the consulate in Turkey sent three police officers for her quarter-final match at WTA 125 in Antalya on Friday, while police also protected her parents’ and grandmother’s homes.

Udvardy, seeded second at the tournament, lost the match 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Udvardy claimed she had been told similar threats have been made against other players.

It comes days after Italian tennis player Lucrezia Stefanini said she received threats before a qualifying match for Indian Wells.

“The person told me that if I didn’t lose my match today, they would harm members of my family. They said they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers,” Udvardy wrote on Instagram.

“They even sent photos of my family members and a picture of a gun.

“It was honestly very scary to receive something like this.”

Udvardy said she has filed a police report in Turkey.

“I want to say something clearly: this is not normal,” she added.

“Even as athletes or public figures, it’s not acceptable to receive threats against our families, especially not on our private phone numbers and alongside disturbing images. We should not normalise abuse like this in sport.

Men’s Six Nations

Ireland (12) 27

Tries: Stockdale, Crowley, Conan, Osborne Cons: Crowley 2 Pen: Crowley

Wales (10) 17

Ireland kept alive their slim hopes of reclaiming the Six Nations title with a bonus-point victory over spirited Wales in Dublin.

A fortnight on from dismantling England in ruthless fashion, Ireland were prevented from producing another statement performance by a hard-hitting Wales team who were chasing a first championship win since 2023.

Andy Farrell’s home side ultimately dug deep to pick up the five points they needed, with tries from Jacob Stockdale, Jack Crowley, Jack Conan and Jamie Osborne.

After the scores from Stockdale and Crowley, prop Rhys Carre breathed new life into the Welsh cause with an excellent solo try to leave just two points in it at the break.

Undeterred by Conan’s early second-half try, Wales hit back through James Botham and retained hope of completing a huge shock.

However, they were condemned to a 15th successive Six Nations loss when Osborne went over for Ireland’s bonus-point score.

The result leaves Ireland a point behind France, who would win the title with a game to spare with a bonus-point victory over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday (14:10 GMT).

Hoping to build on their momentous victory at Twickenham, Ireland got up and running quickly when in-form centre Stuart McCloskey teed up Ulster team-mate Stockdale for his first Test try since July 2021.

Stockdale’s score came after Wales kicked the ball dead and Ireland won the resultant scrum, suggesting a long night was in store for the visitors.

However, after a Jack Conan try was ruled out for Tom O’Toole’s knock-on, Wales grew in confidence with a couple of mood-lifting turnovers from captain Dewi Lake and Alex Mann as Edwards’ straightforward penalty put them on the board.

A sustained spell of pressure from the away side failed to yield their first try after Carre was held up on the line by Caelan Doris, James Ryan and McCloskey.

After a stout display of Irish defending, Wales landed some big hits on the hosts at the other end before Crowley darted through a gap for a well-taken try that he failed to convert.

But after riding an early wave of Irish pressure, Wales got the try their display warranted in spectacular fashion.

Taking a pass from scrum-half Tomos Williams, Carre feigned a pass to the left wing before switching direction to outfox Rob Baloucoune, breeze clear of Tadhg Furlong and score a superb solo try – his third score of the tournament.

When Conan crashed over and survived another TMO check early in the second half, Ireland threatened to pull away from Wales, but the visitors refused to wilt.

Following a scrappy, disjointed period, Nicky Smith won a scrum penalty off Furlong and gave Wales – who last won a Six Nations match in Dublin in 2012 – an attacking opportunity from which Botham’s converted try brought them back to within two points.

With 20 minutes remaining, the sense of nervousness among Ireland fans in the stadium was palpable until Osborne raced through at the end of a flowing attacking move to put daylight between the sides after an impressive break down the left from impressive replacement lock Joe McCarthy.

Wales’ misery was compounded by Williams being sent to the bin, and although Crowley missed a straightforward conversion, the fly-half made up for it with a late penalty that completed a hard-fought win for Ireland.

Having led Scotland for the most of the game two weeks ago, it was another night when Wales threatened to break their duck only to fall short.

Ireland: Osborne; Baloucoune, Ringrose, McCloskey, Stockdale; Crowley, Gibson-Park; O’Toole, Kelleher, Furlong, Ryan, Beirne, Conan, Timoney, Doris (capt).

Replacements: Stewart, Milne, Clarkson, McCarthy, Van der Flier, Doak, Farrell, Frawley.

Wales: Rees-Zammit; Mee, James, Hawkins, Adams; Edwards, T Williams; Carre, Lake (capt), Francis, D Jenkins, Carter, Mann, Botham, Wainwright.

Replacements: Elias, Smith, Griffin, Beard, Cracknell, Hardy, J Evans, Hennessey.

Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)

Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) & Damian Schneider (Arg)