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Manchester United have been a club in transition over the last 12 months, after Ruben Amorim was appointed as their new manager back in November 2024.

The 40-year-old arrived with huge expectations after his spell in Portugal with Sporting CP, which saw him claim the Liga Portugal title on two separate occasions.

However, his 3-4-2-1 system has failed to have the desired impact at Old Trafford, which has often led to supporters getting frustrated with his stubbornness to change shape.

The fanbase have also been crying out for the likes of Kobbie Mainoo to gain more game time, with the Englishman often having to settle for a place on the bench in every Premier League game this campaign.

He may have opened up a new can of worms over the last couple of weeks, after making some unpopular comments about multiple players on the books at Old Trafford.

Why Chido Obi and Harry Amass are unlucky to play under Amorim

The academy has often played a huge part in United’s success in years gone by, but Amorim has done himself no favours with his comments over recent weeks.

He was asked about the potential of utilising some youngsters within the first-team ranks in the near future, with Chido Obi and Harry Amass two of the names suggested to the boss.

He stated that the left-back was struggling in the Championship during his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday, but he’s been one of the standout players for the Owls.

The 18-year-old has already featured on 16 occasions in England’s second tier, and even managed to score his first senior goal against Southampton.

As for Obi, Amorim claimed he’s struggled to start in the U21s side this campaign, but the 18-year-old has already racked up a total of 13 appearances across all competitions.

The Danish youngster has already scored on five occasions, including three in three starts in the U21 Premier League, subsequently demonstrating his clinical nature in front of goal.

However, the manager’s recent comments highlight the lack of faith he currently has in the youth players at United to make the step up and feature in the first-team.

The United star who’ll never play for the club again

The aforementioned academy duo aren’t the only ones who have struggled to make their impact at United over the last couple of months, with Mainoo unable to get into Amorim’s plans.

Like Amass, he’s a product of the Red Devils’ academy, but he’s been restricted to 11 substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, with none of which coming from a starting role.

The player himself has covered his displeasure over his lack of first-team action, subsequently leading to the youngster asking for a move away from his boyhood club.

However, such a move has been rejected, with the Red Devils wanting to keep hold of the youngster despite his lack of action throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

He’s not alone in struggling to make an impact, with centre-back Tyler Fredricson potentially already playing his last game for his boyhood club under Amorim.

The 20-year-old managed to break into the senior ranks last season, subsequently making two appearances in the defeats against Brentford and Wolves.

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He’s also only made one senior appearance this time around, featuring for just 45 minutes in the now infamous Carabao Cup Second Round defeat against League Two outfit Grimsby Town.

Fredricson may have appeared on the bench against Bournemouth on Monday night, but unfortunately for his sake, he’s been overtaken by Ayden Heaven in the pecking order.

Such a situation, coupled with the manager’s lack of faith in the youngsters at his disposal, could well spell the end of his career at Old Trafford – under Amorim at the very least.

Tyler Fredricson – stats against Grimsby

Statistics (per 90)

Tally

Minutes played

45

Touches

50

Passes completed

37

Tackles won

1

Blocks made

0

Interceptions

0

Fouls committed

1

Yellow cards

1

Stats via FotMob

His showing against Grimsby at the start of the season is evidence that, unfortunately, he’s not up to the standard required in the Premier League, given the current situation.

It’s a real shame to see the club’s academy setup going to waste at present, with such a decision potentially being a deciding factor in his spell at the club.

However, for the players currently on the books, it will no doubt spell bad news, which could lead to the departure of Fredricson alongside Amass and Obi.

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	Tawanda Mupariwa injured his left ankle during the fielding session and will be replaced by Christopher Mpofu for the fourth ODIattempting a catch during practice today© AFP

Tawanda Mupariwa, Zimbabwe’s fast-medium bowler, will miss the fourth ODI against Pakistan in Faisalabad on Wednesday (January 30) after spraining his left ankle during a training session.Mupariwa bagged a career-best 4 for 46 in the third ODI in Multan, his first outing of the series, including the wicket of Younis Khan off his first delivery. He fell over after stepping on the boundary rope while attempting a catch during practice today. Mupariwa was immediately put under the supervision of Amato Machikicho, the team’s physio, with further checks scheduled for tomorrow.Christopher Mpofu, dropped from the side after giving away 72 runs in his ten overs in the series opener, will replace Mupariwa. Zimbabwe have decided against making any other changes to the side that lost by 37 runs in Multan.The tourists are already without Prosper Utseya, their captain, who failed to recover from the ankle injury he aggravated while batting in Hyderabad. Hamilton Masakadza will lead the side tomorrow with Utseya set to undergo an assessment just before the final ODI in Sheikhupura onSaturday.

Rain put paid to any chance of play in the Standard Bank Pro20 Series match between the Fidentia Warriors and the Nashua Dolphins in East London on Friday.The dreary drizzle arrived like a hungover hobo soon after lunch on Thursday, and refused to leave. A howling westerly, which duly brought more rain, only added to the dismal scene at Buffalo Park as the sun set somewhere beyond the smothering clouds on Friday.Sensibly, the match was abandoned an hour before the scheduled start. That left an inflatable igloo behind the pavilion unrelieved of its cargo of luridly green hardhats. Nary a ripple ruffled the surface of the dunk tank, and not a bubble was launched from the strangely silent foam pit.Most tellingly, the stands and grass banks were deserted as East Londoners pursued their other options for a damp and drizzly Friday evening

Younis Khan: ‘I’ve been constantly disturbed by the crowds making demands for big hitting’ © Getty Images

Younis Khan, Pakistan’s vice-captain, has admitted that pressures from the crowd distracted him and affected his batting during Pakistan’s 4-1 one-day series loss to India.”People need to understand that every player has his own style of playing,” Younis told the . “I’m neither Shahid Afridi nor Mahendra Singh Dhoni; I like to bat more in the mould of Rahul Dravid: staying around, accumulate runs and hit out at the right time. That’s the way I play my game.”Younis, the star of Pakistan’s 1-0 Test victory with 533 runs, said that he was sick of hearing taunts from the crowd yelling for him to get on with it. “Unfortunately throughout the series against England and India I’ve been constantly disturbed by the crowds passing personal remarks and making demands for big hitting,” he said. “I would like to appeal to the people to understand that I like to bat my own way and so far it has paid off for my team.”Younis also made it clear that he had no problems batting at any position in Tests or one-day internationals. “I want to clear this misconception that I like to bat at No.3 in Tests but not at the same position in the one-dayers,” he added. “I will bat wherever my captain or coach wants me to; I have no problems with that at all. My job is to make runs for my team. There are no personal preferences involved.”Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bob Woolmer have been derided by critics for ‘shielding’ Younis down the order in the one-day series, but Younis remained supportive of the decision. “Look, I agree to what Imran Khan says; the theory is simple: Tests and one-dayers are totally different in nature,” he said. “In one-day matches the game plan should be the in-form players should go up and play maximum overs. But if the captain and coach think otherwise I’ve no problems with that. And to be honest Shoaib Malik did get runs at number three. Now that we’ve started losing everyone is raising this issue.”On Pakistan’s dismal performance in the series, Younis maintained that the absence of Shoaib Akhtar was key. I think the biggest factor was the injury to Shoaib Akhtar. It cost us a lot,” he said. “If you look at the way Shoaib bowled against England and then in the Tests against India he was our main striking force. His injury did allow the Indians some breathing space. “No matter what the Indians say but we know they were not comfortable facing Shoaib. He didn’t take too many wickets but the pressure created by him allowed the other bowlers to break through.”He also added that there was pressure on the team and the management from critics and the media. “I think that sort of pressure leads nowhere because after all the common aim is the team should do well. I think the management should be left alone to take its decisions,” Younis said. “The team does not turn bad overnight. This very team has been performing well in the last one year or more. But yes we need to sit down and see where we went wrong. I think we need just one good match to turn things around and it should happen in Sri Lanka. We need to regroup strongly and quickly.”

England A 118 for 5 (Shah 27*, Dawson 0*) trail Sri Lanka 145 (Bell 4-18) by 27 runs
ScorecardFifteen wickets tumbled on an absorbing first day of the second unofficial Test between England A and Sri Lanka A at the Nondescripts’ Cricket Club ground in Colombo. By the close, England still held the upper hand, but their position was considerably less secure than it ought to have been.By bundling the Sri Lankans out for 145, with the captain, Ian Bell, taking the lead with 4 for 18 from nine overs of medium pace, England had a golden opportunity to stamp their authority on the match and push for a 2-0 clean sweep. Instead, they themselves slipped to 118 for 5 in reply. Owais Shah was 27 not out at stumps, but had Sri Lanka’s captain, Jehan Mubarak, held on at leg slip in the closing overs, England’s position would have been all the more precarious.The day began well for England. Despite losing the toss for the second match running, England’s bowlers took advantage of some slap-dash batting, on a juicy track that was offering assistance from the earliest overs. Rikki Clarke made the first breakthrough, having Ian Daniel caught behind for 9, and though Sri Lanka recovered to 79 for 2, Sajid Mahmood made two important breakthroughs in the middle order, including Mubarak for 11.Bell then swept through the tail, with assistance from the two spinners, Richard Dawson and Graeme Swann. The last seven wickets fell for 48 runs, and only a quickfire 21 from Suraj Mohamed added a sheen of respectability.Sri Lanka’s efforts, however, were soon put into context. Vikram Solanki was caught and bowled for 15 by Nandika Ranjith, but from 77 for 1, England themselves had a dose of the wobbles. Malinga Bandara and Mubarak combined on three occasions to remove Alistair Cook, Michael Powell and Clarke, while Bell was stumped off Suraj for 31. The upshot was that a fascinating second day lies in store.

Despite on-the-field success, things are far from rosy at Gloucestershire, where an operating loss of £22,000 has been announced for 2003.The figures were worse than 2002, but there were underlying reasons. The levy received from the ECB was cut by £30,000 midway through the season, and the 2002 figures included a one-off donation of £100,000.”There is not enough money coming into the game in terms of people coming to watch,” Jim Harris, the county’s honorary treasurer, admitted. “It is essential that we provide the type of entertainment that crowds will want to watch and at a time they are able to attend.”Harris said that membership and admission fees would increase "substantially", but he explained that the cost of watching cricket remained cheap when compared with other sports. "I hope that members and spectators will accept that it is essential that we take this action," he added. " Running a first class cricket county in this century is not cheap if we wish to maintain the highest standards."

New Zealand could take part in a tri-series with Pakistan and Australia in Pakistan in August this year.New Zealand are already touring Pakistan for a Test and one-day series tour in April-May but NZC chief executive Martin Snedden has offered New Zealand to Pakistan for a pre-ICC Knockout tournament.Pakistan are considering New Zealand’s offer at the moment.In return, New Zealand’s tour in April-May may be reduced by one Test match with Snedden offering to catch-up the days missed with the one-day series in August-September, or before their scheduled tour of Sri Lanka in 2003.The ICC Knockout has not been confirmed for Sri Lanka yet but it is anticipated the tournament will be played between September 13-30 this year.”We would be going in cold to that tournament and we need some time somewhere in Asia,” Snedden said.The idea of a three-way tournament with Australia was possible because Australia are to tour Pakistan around that time.No formal invitation to a tri-series has been sent to Australia yet and Pakistan Cricket Board officials are understood to be checking weather patterns in the region for August to see where such a tournament could be played.Pakistan are to celebrate their Test cricket Golden Jubilee next summer and the tri-series is seen as a potentially key part of the celebrations.

Having lost just one wicket during the final session of day one of their Pura Cup clash against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, Western Australia will head into the second day comfortably placed at a score of 4/273.Star batsman Justin Langer said the match, played by two full-strength teams, was a good practice for Australian players gearing up to face an international season agianst the West Indies and Zimbabwe. And, for much of the day, it looked it – with Western Australia being made to work hard for its runs and the visitors finding it difficult to take wickets.After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Warriors scored at a solid rate, but lacked the extra edge to lead them to the three-hundred mark by the end of play. They will be hoping for a big score from Damien Martyn when play resumes tomorrow – the Australian Test hopeful having finished the day on 56.Martyn, who toiled for 186 minutes to post his 50 off 161 balls, struck six boundaries for the day. He will resume tomorrow with Tom Moody by his side, the captain on 47 off 97 deliveries.The pair were joined with the team on 4/190, when Simon Katich fell lbw to Peter McIntyre. Katich, one of Australia’s most exciting young batsmen, played a slow innings today – finishing on 25 from 60 balls, with two fours.Earlier in the day, the crowd of 900 was entertained by a breezy 60 from Langer, but not before he had endured an early scare.After scoring three ducks from three innings so far this season, Langer nearly departed for another today, when a Gillespie yorker went straight through him. “It was an absolute beauty,” he said of the ball that almost sent the speedster on his way to a hat-trick. “Most times when you get out in batting, it’s batsman error, but had I have got cleaned up that first ball, I’d definitely say that I could’ve done too much about it, it was a great ball,” he said.But the 29-year-old was glad the ball didn’t crash into the stumps after missing his edge. “Yeah it was good to get off the mark. You’re always a bit nervous when you come off a couple of ducks, but you know, for me, it was a bad week at the office really. Most people have a week at the officebut mine becomes public that’s all. I wasn’t too worried about it, I know I’ve been batting well. When you play every week of the year, you’ve got to have one bad one in 12 months, so I’d like to just put that behind me and get on and have a good season now.”In the first session of the day, Western Australia had fallen just shy of the one hundred mark, going to lunch at 1/99. The Redbacks then swung the momentum their way, with Jason Gillespie and Paul Wilson picking up the wickets of Langer (60) and Mike Hussey (48).Fittingly, Jason Gillespie, the hardest-working of the Redbacks today, was involved in each of the first three dismissals – snaring Campbell and Langer’s wickets and assisting Wilson with a regulation catch to end Hussey’s marathon innings.Looking sharp and dangerous, he was the pick of the South Australian attack today, finishing with a miserly 52 runs off his 26 overs, including ten maidens. Wilson was the next best, with one wicket, five maidens and 49 runs off his 20 overs. Blewett, with 24 runs from his three overs, and Young,with 62 from 21, were the most expensive. McIntyre also had a disappointing day (his only consolation Katich’s wicket in the last session) and was hit for 70 runs off 23 overs.

One of the best players in the world over the last year has certainly been former Leeds United winger Raphinha.

Over the last couple of seasons in a Barcelona shirt, the Brazilian has 69 goals and assists for the La Liga giants, forming a largely unstoppable wing pairing with Lamine Yamal.

That sort of form earned the Blaugrana winger fifth place in the Ballon d’Or rankings, which is arguably lower than he deserved given the sheer weight of goals and assists he registered.

Incredibly, he was not included in Fifa’s The Best team of 2025, despite such a stellar year.

Whilst Raphinha is dominating world football, Leeds fans will no doubt look back fondly on his time at Elland Road.

Raphinha’s best moments for Leeds

It is hard to pinpoint the Brazilian winger’s single best moment during his time in West Yorkshire. Raphinha donned that famous White shirt 67 times over the course of two seasons, bagging 17 goals and assisting a further 12.

It is surely not too far-fetched to say his biggest contribution came in the 2021/22 campaign, in what turned out to be his final game for the club.

In a season where the Whites were threatened with relegation, Raphinha scored his 11th goal of the season, a penalty, to help them beat Brentford and survive in the Premier League.

There were other moments which stood out, too. The former Sporting CP star loved a goal against Everton, bagging three times in four appearances against the Toffees. That included this stellar strike in 2021.

Described as an “absurd” player by former teammate Crysencio Summerville, it was certainly deserved that the Brazilian donned the number ten shirt at Elland Road.

The numbers he put up and the level of performance certainly warranted such recognition.

Raphinha was sensational for Leeds, and they might finally have a player more exciting than him coming through the ranks.

Leeds’ best talent since Raphinha

In the past couple of years, Leeds have had some exciting footballers who have been either bought or produced via the academy.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

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Raphinha, of course, is one who was brought into the club, but the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray are academy graduates.

Well, the academy has yet again produced another exciting talent. Harry Gray, the younger brother of Archie, is a “special” prospect according to football scout Ben Mattinson, and is on the cusp of the first team at his boyhood club.

Gray is a striker by trade and has been on fire this season.

In 13 appearances across all competitions for the Whites’ academy this term, he’s bagged ten goals, showing just how clinical he can be in front of goal.

Gray record per competition 2025/26

Competition

Games

Goals/assists

Premier League 2

6

5G, 1A

EFL Trophy

2

2G, 1A

Premier League Int. Cup U21

2

0

National League Cup

2

3G

FA Youh Cup

1

0

Stats from Transfermarkt

Perhaps the highlight of his season so far was a hat-trick against Scunthorpe United in the National League Cup.

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The 17-year-old showed excellent instinct in the box for his first strike, before bagging twice from outside of the box, including a sensational free-kick, to take home the match ball and secure a 3-1 win for Leeds.

His talent has already been recognised by manager Daniel Farke. The German gave him a debut last season in the Championship, and included him in the matchday squad in the Carabao Cup and once in the Premier League.

There is a case to be made that Gray is the best attacking talent since Raphinha was at Elland Road. He is clearly an excellent player, proven by the fact that he’s already made his first-team bow and is a real goal machine.

Yet, Leeds haven’t had an attacker who has exploded in the Premier League like the Brazilian since he departed. It is a long season and Gray might get the chance to do that this time around, or, failing that, get his chance in 2026/27 if they stay up.

He is certainly a brilliant talent and could be the most exciting attacker since their former number ten left the club.

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	RP Singh led the Indian attack with figures of 4 for 68 as Australia were bowled out for 212 © AFP

Two months ago, one of India’s selectors, looking ahead to the Australia tour, said: “Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel would be a great combination, especially in Perth.” None landed up at the WACA and a second-string attack was left to shoulder the burden on a day when the skin threatened to peel off. They didn’t just stand up, they soared.A year back you wouldn’t have thought RP Singh would get a Test. Ditto Irfan Pathan, who seemed to have lost his way after a fine arrival. At the same time Ishant Sharma was taking his first steps in domestic cricket. Here they were, like rookies in a bullring, against the most formidable batting line-up. Australia’s batsmen probably thought they were facing India’s ODI attack – their innings lasted exactly 50 overs.They bowled as a team. Pathan swung the new ball as superbly as RP Singh swung the old. Ishant didn’t just hit the deck, he also straightened the ball off the narrow. Importantly, they held their nerve during a mid-afternoon lashing. They made the batsmen play more often than their Australian counterparts and did better in partnerships. It was the most heartening pace-bowling effort since Nottingham last year, the last time they won a Test overseas. It was Australia’s shortest innings since Nottingham two years earlier, the last time they lost a Test.The game turned on several pivots but it was the half hour either side of lunch that cracked the contest open. India had lost four quick wickets and Australia went back into the dressing room with a spring in their stride. A new opening combination walked in with an air of expectation. Running in from the Marsh-Lillee end, Pathan didn’t just swing the ball to get rid of Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques, he changed the momentum.Nobody should be surprised with India’s young bowlers accepting responsibility readily. Look through the last five years and you have tyro after tyro taking the leap. The problem hasn’t been so much about bowlers being intimidated early as about keeping them injury-free. Pathan and L Balaji burst on to the scene sensationally, Sreesanth surprised with seam movement and Munaf with pace. Faisalabad may top a vote among bowlers as the venue to skip but not only did RP Singh debut there, he picked up a Man-of-the-Match award.Ishant, thrown into the cauldron in Sydney, ended the first day as their most impressive bowler. He ended wicketless but bowled with pace and heart. He showed gumption with the bat, scoring more runs in an innings than he had in his first-class career, and didn’t flag through the game. He didn’t try anything fancy here, and even showed he possessed the lethal ball that left the right-hander.Ponting might have received better deliveries in his career but rarely would have been so outfoxed by a 19-year-old. Harbhajan Singh wasn’t around but Ishant made sure he did some sort of impersonation of the celebration: running ecstatically towards the dressing-room. “He’s learnt which areas one needs to bowl in,” Kumble said about Ishant defying expectations. “Look at the way he’s bowled in the last two Tests. He’s ready to bend his back and looks like he belongs to this arena.”From a purely bowling point of view, this series is pretty neck and neck. Australia have had the more accomplished attack but India’s young men have not been cowed down. At the most bowler-friendly surface of the series, they’ve won the first innings. “They utilised the breeze well,” he said, “and bowled with a lot of control. It was commendable to see the way they controlled the swing.” RP Singh was asked if he was tempted to pitch the ball short and use the bounce at the WACA to scare the batsmen. His reply came with a smile: “Not really.”