Category News

Manchester United close in on Matheus Cunha, Arsenal open talks with Viktor Gyokeres and Aston Villa consider selling Ollie Watkins.

Manchester United are nearing an agreement with Wolves and Brazil striker Matheus Cunha, 25, but will still need to activate his £62. 5m release clause. (Daily Mail)

Manchester United have sent scouts to watch Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa, 25, as they look for a replacement for Cameroon international Andre Onana, 29. Manchester City are also interested in Costa, who has a release clause worth £64. 3m (75m euro). (Correio da Manha – in Portuguese)

Arsenal have opened talks to sign Sporting CP and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 26, early in the summer transfer window. (Football Insider)

Arsenal consider Athletic Bilbao and Spain winger Nico Williams, 22, a key target, but the player is undecided as to whether he wants to leave the club this summer. (GiveMeSport)

Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly, 20, will sign a new contract with the club after Chelsea showed interest in the England under-20 midfielder. (Fabrizio Romano)

Manchester United have maintained contact with the agent of RB Leipzig and Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, 21, since he rejected a move to Old Trafford in 2022. (Manchester Evening News)

Manchester City and Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 30, is set to be the subject of interest from Barcelona once again this summer. (GiveMeSport)

Tottenham Hotspur are weighing up a £30m summer offer for Chelsea and Portugal midfielder Renato Veiga, 21. (Football Insider)

Spurs and Manchester City are set to battle it out for Lazio’s Mario Gila, 24, but the Premier League duo will face competition from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for the Spanish centre-back. (Caught Offside)

Manchester United are expecting to receive several loan offers from Championship clubs for England Under-18s full-back Harry Amass, 18, this summer. (GiveMeSport)

Aston Villa are exploring the possibility of selling England striker Ollie Watkins, 29, for £50-60m and sign loanee Marcus Rashford, 27, from Manchester United on a permanent basis. (Football Insider)

Halo World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 May

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s return after three months away from competitive action is the headline attraction on a star-studded fourth day at the World Snooker Championship.

Seven-time champion O’Sullivan will appear at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the 33rd consecutive year when he takes on two-time runner-up Ali Carter in the first round on Tuesday (14:30 BST).

The 49-year-old has not played a competitive match since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

Before the tournament, he told BBC Sport that “to come here is an achievement in itself for me” as he documented his struggles to find his best form in recent years.

Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport – which owns a majority stake in the World Snooker Tour – is pleased O’Sullivan has chosen to take part.

He told BBC Sport: “I know what the game and this event means to him and it would be a shame if he wasn’t here.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to compete. Life’s about being happy, not just doing what people want you to do. Everybody wants him to be here but it’s got to come from his own accord.

His first-round opponent Carter reached world finals in 2008 and 2012, losing to O’Sullivan at the final hurdle on both occasions.

Ranked 18th in the world, the 45-year-old Englishman was the highest-ranked player to progress through qualifying.

O’Sullivan said: “It’ll be a tough match. Ali had a tough start to the season but it looks like in the past two or three months he’s been cueing well, playing well and enjoying it again, which is the most important thing.

Analysis: Jamie Broughton, BBC Radio 5 Live snooker reporter

O’Sullivan gave some very honest and revealing answers when we spoke before the tournament.

The greatest star in the history of the sport has not been happy with some technical aspects of his game over the past four years, despite winning a number of big titles during that time.

He explained that his reluctance to play on tour since January, when he deliberately broke his cue at an event in Leicester, was the result of that frustration. He also admitted that he had suffered stage fright and maybe even lost his bottle.

But make no mistake, he has been practising hard before the World Championship, including playing on a few days with Barry Hawkins, and he will believe he can play his way into the tournament as he looks to challenge for a record eighth title.

Trump, 35, has won 30 ranking titles during his decorated career but his 2019 victory at the Crucible is his sole World Championship triumph.

He defeated fellow Englishman Hawkins to win a second UK Championship title in December, a success that helped him to break the record for the most prize money won in a single season.

He plays China’s Zhou Yuelong in round one (19:00), while Murphy starts his best-of-19 match against Crucible debutant Daniel Wells in Tuesday’s morning session (10:00).

It is 20 years since Murphy, now aged 42, won the 2005 World Championship as a qualifier and his form in recent months has given him confidence for another shot at the sport’s biggest prize.

“In previous years I’ve come here hoping for a good performance, whereas this year I know I’m going to play well,” the world number 15 told BBC Sport.

“My game’s in really good shape and I’m really looking forward to getting going. Does that mean I’ll be here come the weekend? Who knows?

10:00 BST

14:30 BST

19:00 BST

Halo World Championship

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 May

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s return after three months away from competitive action is the headline attraction on a star-studded fourth day at the World Snooker Championship.

Seven-time champion O’Sullivan will appear at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the 33rd consecutive year when he takes on two-time runner-up Ali Carter in the first round on Tuesday (14:30 BST).

The 49-year-old has not played a competitive match since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

Before the tournament, he told BBC Sport that “to come here is an achievement in itself for me” as he documented his struggles to find his best form in recent years.

Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport – which owns a majority stake in the World Snooker Tour – is pleased O’Sullivan has chosen to take part.

He told BBC Sport: “I know what the game and this event means to him and it would be a shame if he wasn’t here.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to compete. Life’s about being happy, not just doing what people want you to do. Everybody wants him to be here but it’s got to come from his own accord.

His first-round opponent Carter reached world finals in 2008 and 2012, losing to O’Sullivan at the final hurdle on both occasions.

Ranked 18th in the world, the 45-year-old Englishman was the highest-ranked player to progress through qualifying.

O’Sullivan said: “It’ll be a tough match. Ali had a tough start to the season but it looks like in the past two or three months he’s been cueing well, playing well and enjoying it again, which is the most important thing.

Analysis: Jamie Broughton, BBC Radio 5 Live snooker reporter

O’Sullivan gave some very honest and revealing answers when we spoke before the tournament.

The greatest star in the history of the sport has not been happy with some technical aspects of his game over the past four years, despite winning a number of big titles during that time.

He explained that his reluctance to play on tour since January, when he deliberately broke his cue at an event in Leicester, was the result of that frustration. He also admitted that he had suffered stage fright and maybe even lost his bottle.

But make no mistake, he has been practising hard before the World Championship, including playing on a few days with Barry Hawkins, and he will believe he can play his way into the tournament as he looks to challenge for a record eighth title.

Trump, 35, has won 30 ranking titles during his decorated career but his 2019 victory at the Crucible is his sole World Championship triumph.

He defeated fellow Englishman Hawkins to win a second UK Championship title in December, a success that helped him to break the record for the most prize money won in a single season.

He plays China’s Zhou Yuelong in round one (19:00), while Murphy starts his best-of-19 match against Crucible debutant Daniel Wells in Tuesday’s morning session (10:00).

It is 20 years since Murphy, now aged 42, won the 2005 World Championship as a qualifier and his form in recent months has given him confidence for another shot at the sport’s biggest prize.

“In previous years I’ve come here hoping for a good performance, whereas this year I know I’m going to play well,” the world number 15 told BBC Sport.

“My game’s in really good shape and I’m really looking forward to getting going. Does that mean I’ll be here come the weekend? Who knows?

10:00 BST

14:30 BST

19:00 BST