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Glasgow Rangers made it four wins from four matches in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday when they beat Livingston 2-1 at Ibrox, thanks to goals from Emmanuel Fernandez and Mohamed Diomande.

Danny Rohl, who has now won all of his league games in charge of the club so far, was not entirely pleased with his team’s performance in the narrow win against Livi, though, as evidenced by his post-game comments below.

The former Sheffield Wednesday head coach wants to see improvement from his players in the weeks and months to come, as the Light Blues look to ensure that they can make something successful out of this campaign.

Rangers are already nine points adrift of first place in the Premiership, per Sofascore, but they are still in the Europa League and have the SFA Cup to play for in the second half of the season.

As Rohl said after Saturday’s game, the Light Blues simply need to improve their performances if they want to be in contention to win things by the business end of the season.

That means that individuals need to step up and become reliable performers, as too many of them have been inconsistent at best. One of those inconsistent players has been summer signing Djeidi Gassama.

Why Rangers should be concerned by Djeidi Gassama's form

After a return of four goals in six Champions League qualifiers, per Transfermarkt, the French forward looked like he was a steal of a signing at £2.2m from Sheffield Wednesday.

He was a shining light in those European matches during Russell Martin’s dismal tenure, and even added a goal in the league phase of the Europa League against Sturm Graz in a 2-1 defeat in the manager’s penultimate game in charge.

Unfortunately, though, Gassama has been unable to deliver consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in his time in the Premiership so far, with one goal and one assist in 12 appearances in the division, per Sofascore.

After his stunning start to life at Ibrox in the early European games, there may have been some hope that he could kick on to become the club’s new Ryan Kent, who produced 33 goals and 56 assists in 218 outings for the Light Blues, per Transfermarkt.

Appearances

12

Starts

11

Goals

1

Minutes per goal

972

Conversion rate

4%

Big chances created

0

Key passes per game

0.8

Assists

1

As you can see in the table above, Gassama has not provided a Kent-esque presence on the left flank for the Scottish giants in the Premiership this season, with two goal contributions in 12 matches.

His inconsistency, as evidenced by his contrasting form domestically and in Europe, should be a concern for Rangers, given that he is starting almost every league game yet failing to deliver quality on a consistent basis.

This is why Rohl may need to look at alternative options in the left wing position in the coming weeks, as the Gers may need a new starter in that role if Gassama is unable to add more consistency to his domestic displays.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The Daily Record recently noted that Wales international Rabbi Matondo has returned to training after a lengthy injury lay-off that had seen him unavailable for the entirety of Martin’s tenure, and speculated that he could be in for a chance under Rohl.

Why Rangers should give Rabbi Matondo a chance to shine

It would be completely understandable if any Rangers supporters were not too enthused by the prospect of the Welsh forward returning to the team to get another chance, given that he has played zero minutes this season and spent the second half of last season on loan at Hannover.

However, if he is now back in training and is fit and available for selection, the German head coach should provide him with a chance to shine, because it has been his availability rather than his ability that has been an issue throughout his career in Scotland.

Per Transfermarkt, Matondo missed 20 games in his first season at Ibrox through injury, then 19 in his second, and 23 for Rangers and Hannover combined in the 2024/25 campaign, which shows that he simply has not been available enough in recent years.

When fit, though, the former Manchester City youngster has shown that he has the quality to be a difference-maker on the left flank, with eight goals and 11 assists in 64 appearances, per Transfermarkt, for Rangers.

Matondo, who was once lauded as “electrifying” by former manager Ryan Giggs, has averaged a goal or an assist for the Gers every 139 minutes on average, per Transfermarkt, which is an incredibly impressive return.

Appearances

218

24

67

Minutes

17,732

1,823

2,641

Goals

33

6

8

Minutes per goal

537

303

330

Assists

56

2

11

Minutes per assist

317

911

240

Minutes per goal contribution

199

228

139

As you can see in the table above, Gassama and Kent have both failed to deliver goals and assists as frequently as the Wales international in their respective Rangers careers.

One area in which Gassama particularly struggles is the creative side of the game, as evidenced by his return of an assist every 911 minutes, whilst Matondo has assisted goals even more regularly than Kent did.

This does not mean that the Welsh whiz will automatically become a star if he stays fit and plays week-in-week-out for Rohl, because he has not played a single minute this season and could need time to settle back in to playing competitive football.

However, his statistics for Rangers throughout his career suggest that he has the potential to be Rohl’s own version of Kent as a lightning-quick winger who can provide a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals, which is something Gassama has failed to do so far.

Fewer touches than Butland: Rohl must bin "missing" Rangers flop after Livi

Rangers did claim another league win over Livingston on Saturday, but one player went “missing” at Ibrox, registering fewer touches than Jack Butland.

Nov 23, 2025

Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman made the most of Queensland’s butter fingers before Corey Rocchiccioli guided the tail home in a thrilling one-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland.Set 272 for victory from 90 overs on Friday at the WACA Ground, WA went from a comfortable 155 for 2 to a shaky 249 for 9 as Queensland’s attack put the squeeze on.Related

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But Rocchiccioli (24 not out off 37 balls) and No.11 Cameron Gannon (10 not out off 13 balls) showed nerves of steel in an unbeaten 23-run final-wicket stand to guide WA to their first win of the season with 7.3 overs remaining.Whiteman, in his 100th Shield match, was the rock at the top of the order, with his knock of 81 off 170 balls helping set up victory. But he had some luck along the way.The 32-year-old was yet to score when he was dropped at second slip by substitute fielder Hugh Weibgen, who was on the field for the rested Matt Renshaw (knee).Whiteman was dropped again on 47, this time in the deep by another substitute fielder – Benji Floros.Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright and Cameron Green failed to go on with their starts, while Cooper Connolly was out for just 2 as Queensland worked their way back into the contest.Xavier Bartlett loomed as the biggest threat to WA’s victory hopes, with the home side going from slipping to 159 for 4 when he struck twice in the space of three overs by having Green caught on the pull and Connolly flashing a top edge to the keeper.Whiteman’s luck finally ran out when he hooked Gurinder Sandhu to the deep and Angus Lovell took a tumbling catch, reducing WA to 180 for 5.WA still needed 55 more runs for victory when Aaron Hardie fell for 12, and when Josh Inglis departed for 28, WA’s tail was well and truly exposed.But Rocchiccioli and Gannon stood up when counted, reviving WA’s season after they began with two losses and a draw.It wasn’t only Queensland’s dropped catches on Friday that proved costly.They were cruising at 183 for 4 in their second innings late on Thursday before a collapse struck. Player of the match Rocchiccioli snared four quick wickets as Queensland slumped to 187 for 8 by stumps.Rocchiccioli claimed another wicket on Friday morning to help dismiss Queensland for 203.

تحدث الألماني توني كروس، لاعب ريال مدريد السابق عن مستوى الفريق الحالي تحت قيادة تشابي ألونسو، الموسم الحالي 2025/2026.

وخسر ريال مدريد صدارة جدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني في المباراة الماضية بعد التعادل أمام جيرونا بهدف لكل منهما.

وقال كروس، في تصريحات عبر صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “لا يجب أن نتحدث دائمًا عن اللاعبين السابقين، فهذا لا يفيد أحدًا، لا أريد أن أسمع أن الناس يفتقدونني، يجب أن يكون التركيز على الحاضر لا على الماضي”.

وأضاف حول أمنية يتمنى حدوثها عن هذا الحديث: “أنا أول من يُفضل فوز ريال مدريد حتى يتوقف هذا الوضع”.

وأكد كروس: “مغادرتي لريال مدريد؟ لقد غادرت بابتسامة ولقب رائع لا يُنسى”.

وأوضح: “ريال مدريد قادر على شق طريقه الخاص بتشكيلته الحالية، عليهم إيجاد طريقة للفوز بتشكيلة متنوعة من اللاعبين”.

اقرأ أيضًا | برشلونة يعلن سبب غياب دي يونج عن مباراة برشلونة وأتلتيكو مدريد

واستطرد: “توتر داخل الفريق؟ ربما تسير بعض الأمور على ما يُرام والبعض الآخر لا، لكنني لم أرَ أحدًا متوترًا بشكل خاص، لديهم لاعبون قادرون على الفوز بكل شيء، الأمر يتعلق بإيجاد طريقة”.

وتابع كروس أيضًا عن عمله كمدرب والاختلافات بين كرة القدم للناشئين والنخبة بالنسبة له، قائلًا: “يلعب الأطفال بشكل أفضل عندما يلعبون بحرية دون خوف من ارتكاب الأخطاء”.

وأردف: “أصبح مدربًا؟ أنا سعيد بمكاني الحالي، ليس لديّ خطة لأقول إنني سأستمر في هذا المجال بعد عشر سنوات، الأمر الأكثر واقعية هو أنني ما زلت هنا”.

وعن فينيسيوس جونيور أتم: “لقد كان من الرائع مشاهدة تطوره، نعم لا يزال يمكنه تحسين بعض الأمور لكن يجب أن نأخذ في الاعتبار الضغط القادم من الخصوم والجماهير، كلاعب هو من الطراز الرفيع، كشخص فهو رائع لقد كان من دواعي سروري أن أتواجد معه داخل الملعب وخارجه”.

Celtic were saved by their captain yet again on Saturday night when they were heading for a drab 0-0 draw away at St Mirren before Callum McGregor stepped up with seconds remaining.

The Hoops skipper picked the ball up from range in the 95th minute and unleashed a screamer of a shot that nestled in the top corner to secure all three points for the visitors.

Up until that point, Martin O’Neill’s side had struggled to show much in the way of quality against St Mirren, despite holding 73% of the possession, per Sofascore, which is why the game was tied with seconds remaining.

The hosts even created a ‘big chance’ from one of their 13 shots on goal, but, thankfully, they were unable to convert any of the opportunities that they created on the night.

Celtic, meanwhile, did not create a single ‘big chance’ from their 16 efforts against St Mirren, per Sofascore, which is why they needed a long-range strike from their captain to win the match.

Whilst McGregor’s sensational strike from distance bailed the club out in general, the skipper also bailed out several of his underperforming teammates on the night.

Celtic's worst performers against St Mirren

It would be remiss of us to speak about the worst performers on the night without starting with the player who was withdrawn from the match after 45 minutes, Johnny Kenny.

The Ireland international, who scored four goals in four matches for Celtic before Saturday’s game, won just one duel and lost possession six times from 17 touches in the first half, per Sofascore, as he failed to provide a focal point up front.

Kenny’s withdrawal meant that Daizen Maeda moved into the centre-forward role, after starting out wide. However, he ended the 90 minutes with two out of seven duels won, no key passes, and no shots on target, per Sofascore, which illustrates his ineffectiveness in the final third.

Minutes

67

90

Shots on target

0

0

Key passes

1

0

Big chances created

0

0

Dribbles completed

2/6

1/2

Duels won

3/11

2/7

Possession lost

14x

12x

As you can see in the table above, Sebastian Tounekti and Maeda both struggled out wide, and the latter up front in the second 45, throughout the game against St Mirren.

These statistics show that all three of the forwards who started on Saturday night failed to do enough to suggest that O’Neill should keep them in place for the club’s trip to play Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Tounekti, Maeda, and Kenny were not the only underperforming Celtic players who failed to provide enough quality on the pitch against the Saints, though, as one Hoops flop is now looking like the new Luis Palma.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Supporters will likely remember Palma, who is currently on loan at Lech Poznan, as a player who made a fast start to life in Glasgow before falling off and eventually being deemed surplus to requirements.

The Honduras international produced seven goals and nine assists, with 14 ‘big chances’ created, in 28 Scottish Premiership games during the 2023/24 campaign for the club, per Sofascore.

Unfortunately, though, the winger followed that up with a return of zero goals and zero assists in eight league matches the following season before being sent out on loan to Olympiacos for the second half of the campaign.

Whilst his fall-off this term may not be quite as drastic as Palma’s was, Celtic central midfielder Reo Hatate appears to be heading in the same direction.

Why Reo Hatate should be dropped by Celtic

The Japan international was a sensation in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants in the 2024/25 campaign with a return of nine goals and 14 ‘big chances’ created in 37 outings in the Premiership, per Sofascore.

Hatate provided regular quality at the top end of the pitch with his ability to make a difference as both a scorer and a creator of goals, as evidenced by his statistics, and that made him a vital player for Brendan Rodgers.

This season, however, the 28-year-old star has failed to deliver consistent quality in midfield for Celtic, with the clash against St Mirren being his latest underwhelming performance, which is why he should be ruthlessly dropped by O’Neill.

The Japanese midfielder, who was described as “sloppy” by ex-Hoops boss Neil Lennon during the game against Sturm Graz in the Europa League, ended the night with no shots on target, no ‘big chances’ created, and a duel success rate of 20% (1/5), per Sofascore.

This shows that his performance was lacking in both quality and physicality, as he lost 80% of his physical tussles without providing any moments of genuine quality on the ball, and that has not been a rare occurrence for him this season.

Appearances

37

10

Goals

9

1

Minutes per goal

241

708

Conversion rate

14%

10%

Big chances created

14

2

Assists

4

1

Dribble success rate

70%

57%

As you can see in the table above, Hatate’s performances have dropped off since the end of last season, as he is scoring and creating goals far less frequently for the Premiership champions.

The Japan international’s last league goal for the club came against Aberdeen on the 10th August, and he has only produced two goals – including one penalty – and one assist in 18 appearances in all competitions this term, per Transfermarkt.

His concerning drop-off in form this season suggests that he may be on the road to becoming the next Palma, as a once supreme talent who now looks too inconsistent to be reliable to the Celtic manager.

Therefore, O’Neill should ruthlessly drop the central midfielder from the starting line-up to face Feyenoord away from home, as the Hoops may need quality and physicality to beat their Dutch opponents, and Hatate did not show either against St Mirren.

Nancy can forget Maeda by making £325k-per-week star his 1st Celtic signing

Celtic’s potential new manager could forget about Daizen Maeda by signing this reported transfer target.

ByDan Emery Nov 18, 2025

This might be the first international break in some time that West Ham United fans can’t wait for it to end.

The East Londoners are still in the Premier League relegation zone, but following back-to-back wins, there is a sense of optimism that they can avoid a protracted fight for survival this year.

After all, Nuno Espirtio Santo took Nottingham Forest from near the bottom of the table to Europa League football in a season and a half; why can’t he achieve something similar at the London Stadium?

However, before fans get carried away, there are still a number of players who need to be moved on from the squad, including one flop previously compared to Andrea Pirlo.

West Ham's biggest losers since Nuno arrived

After a slightly rocky start, Nuno does look to have finally stabilised and improved things at West Ham.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.

However, while the team appears to be somewhat on the up, and the fans are starting to feel justifiably optimistic about what the rest of the campaign could bring, some players have lost out due to the appointment of the Portuguese coach.

For example, while James Ward-Prowse was a constant feature in Graham Potter’s midfield, he hasn’t played a minute under the new regime.

In fact, the former Southampton captain hasn’t even been named in a single squad, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering Nuno also froze him out when he was on loan at the City Ground last year.

Another Potter signing who has had no luck under the Sao-Tome-born boss is Igor Julio.

The Brazilian centre-back joined the Hammers on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion on deadline day, and so far has played 13 minutes of football under his new boss, which came in three short appearances off the bench.

What makes this worse is the fact that Konstantinos Mavropanos has been out injured for almost a month, and even so, he has still been limited to a bit-part role at best.

Finally, although this may be a bit harsh, the manager appears to have lost faith in Soungoutou Magassa.

The Frenchman started his first two games in charge, but has since played just 30 minutes of action across the last four league games, thanks to two substitutions.

With that said, he’s still young and clearly talented, so there is every chance Nuno will eventually use him more often, which cannot be said for a West Ham flop who was once compared to Pirlo, but now needs to be sold as soon as possible.

The West Ham flop compared to Pirlo

The midfield pairing of Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes, which has worked so well in recent games, has made it evident that West Ham need to get rid of their other midfield options, who have looked way off it this season: Andrew Irving.

The Hammers signed the Scotsman in the summer of 2023 from Austrian outfit Klagenfurt, and while it wasn’t really a big deal at the time, there was a hope he’d prove to be a bargain buy, especially as he’d been compared to the legendary Pirlo in the past.

Yes, while it was certainly tongue-in-cheek, he was given the nickname ‘Portobello Pirlo’ by the fans during his time with Scottish outfit Hearts, where he made 61 appearances, scoring five goals and providing 13 assists.

Unfortunately, while he was probably deserving of the comparison north of the border, he hasn’t shown any Pirlo-esque quality in the capital.

In fact, in the words of journalist Jordan Rushworth, he has looked more like a “National League standard” midfielder, adding that he “gets walked past every time an opposition midfielder has the ball.”

While harsh and probably a little over the top, the 25-year-old has looked miles off it in Claret and Blue, and was starting in the middle of the park during Nuno’s struggles against Brentford and Leeds United.

In fact, it was in the aftermath of the former that Jamie Carragher described the Hammers as “one of the slowest teams I’ve seen in Premier League history!”

This lack of dynamism in the middle of the park was largely down to the once-capped Scotsman, and his statistics from that game did not make for pleasant reading.

In his 61 minutes of inaction, he played a single key pass, misplaced four of five crosses, lost 100% of his tackles, didn’t make a single interception, clearance or block, and lost 100% of his aerial duels.

Irving vs Brentford
Minutes	61′
Expected Assists	0.02
Key Passes	1
Shots	0
Crosses (Accurate)	5 (1)
Ground Duels (Won)	4 (2)
Aerial Duels (Won)	2 (0)
Tackles (Won)	2 (0)
Clearances	0
Interceptions	0
Blocks	0
All Stats via Sofascore

Ultimately, Irving has been really quite poor for West Ham this season, and with far better options currently doing the business for Nuno, he should be sold in January.

£67m spent & no Wilson or Fullkrug: Nuno's dream West Ham XI after January

This is the dream West Ham starting line-up that Nuno could build in the January window.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Nov 15, 2025

Major League Baseball's postseason has been especially good on-field product this fall and has proven to be a ratings success at this point. ESPN enjoyed the highest numbers ever for the Wild Card round, averaging 2.823 million viewers, a 25% increase from last year.

That momentum continued through the Division Series portion of programming as baseball posted the best figures since 2017, an 18% bump from 2023.

The presence of two New York teams and one from Los Angeles certainly helps explain the additional eyeballs and the Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Guardians series went a full five games.

Those major market squads surviving into the ALCS and NLCS had Fox and TNT Sports salivating at even more juicy numbers and it certainly looks like they'll be getting those.

Fox reports that Game 1 of the NLCS between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers was the most-watched Game 1 LCS on any network since 2009. Which is even more impressive considering the fact baseball was going up against .

Every single possible permutation of a potential World Series matchup is attractive so the sky feels like the limit when it comes to baseball doing big business on television this October. This, of course, will do little to stem the pieces about how the sport needs to be saved and can't market itself but that feels like a lost fight anyway.

Baseball is having a much-deserved moment and a lot of people are catching it in real time.

Bangladesh completed their first T20I series win against Pakistan, after prevailing in an eight-run win in the second game. The packed Shere Bangla National Stadium got a thrilling finish with the hosts staving off a late Faheem Ashraf onslaught.Pakistan’s top six couldn’t reach double digits in this game, with five having missed out in similar fashion in the previous outing too. This time it was their bottom-half that gave them some hope. Ashraf top scored with his maiden T20I half-century, having added 41 runs for the ninth wicket with Abbas Afridi.Bangladesh however kept their cool, particularly their pace trio of Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Tanzim Hasan putting pressure on the visitors. Bangladesh’s start with the ball put them well in front, which also ultimately helped them get the win in the end.

Pakistan hit new low

Pakistan couldn’t have asked for a worse start to their 134-run chase as they slumped to 15 for 5, their lowest score after losing their first five wickets. Saim Ayub was run out in the first over after Rishad Hossain fielded superbly at deep point to create a mix-up between the two openers.Tanzim Hasan Sakib made it five down in the powerplay•AFP/Getty Images

Shoriful, replacing Taskin Ahmed for the match, struck with his third ball next over. He had Mohammad Haris pinned in front with a late-moving in-ducker for a golden duck. Fakhar Zaman, who top scored in the first T20I, fell in Shoriful’s next over, caught down the leg-side for 8.Tanzim’s double blow in the fifth over put Bangladesh further ahead. He had both Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Nawaz caught behind off consecutive deliveries, both falling for ducks.

Ashraf’s valiant effort

Pakistan looked doomed at 47 for 7 in the 12th over. With batters running out at the other end, Ashraf chose this point to launch into the Bangladesh attack. He had already slammed Mahedi over long-on for his first six before smashing Rishad for a four and two sixes in a 20-run over. Pakistan were in with a chance needing 52 off the last five overs.Shoriful removed Abbas Afridi at the start of the 17th over, but three balls later Ashraf slammed his third six. Shoriful could have settled matters by the end of the over, but Tanzim dropped a straightforward chance running in from long-on, with Ashraf on 38.Jaker Ali top scored with 55•AFP/Getty Images

Debutant Ahmed Daniyal picked up two fours off Rishad before Ashraf brought up his fifty with a six over long-on but fell next ball to a delivery that kept low. With 13 needed off the final over, Daniyal struck Mustafizur’s first ball for four but was then caught at the deep midwicket boundary, with Shamim Hossain taking the all-important catch.

Rookies lead Pakistan

Ashraf had also given Pakistan their first breakthrough of the match, before their rookies Salman Mirza and Daniyal rocked Bangladesh. Mirza had Litton Das caught in the deep before Towhid Hridoy was run out in the fifth over. Daniyal got into the act in the next over when Parvez Hossain Emon struck the ball down mid-on’s throat for 13. The dangerous Shamim also fell to Daniyal, when he inside edged in the 16th over.

Jaker goes big

Bangladesh usually expect Jaker Ali to get them out of trouble, and that’s exactly what he did. He waited seven overs before looking for his first big hit, as Bangladesh were reduced to 28 for 4. He started with a mow across the line, that caught the middle of his bat, landing deep into the backward square leg stands.Jaker added 53 runs for the fifth wicket with Mahedi Hasan, who contributed with 33 off 25 balls, with the help of two sixes. After he fell to Mohammad Nawaz in the 14th over, Jaker went for broke. He walloped Daniyal over midwicket for his second six, before Bangladesh lost three more wickets. Shamim, Tanzim and Rishad fell quickly, leaving Jaker with just the last two batters to work with.He struck three more sixes, depositing two more over midwicket, and then the last one down the ground to bring up his fifty. Those last few sixes boosted Bangladesh to an above-par T20I score at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

Despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s call for patience, Old Trafford legend Roy Keane has now named his dream replacement for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

Ratcliffe drops update on Amorim's Man Utd future

Whilst he did reiterate that improvement at Man United will take time, Ratcliffe also admitted Amorim has not had the best of seasons at Old Trafford. The former Sporting Club boss is yet to reach 10 Premier League wins in charge of the Red Devils and has overseen just three wins in seven league games so far this season.

As many begin to call for the boot, however, INEOS and Ratcliffe have urged for patience – claiming that the manager will be judged after three years in charge of the club.

Amorim will be relieved to hear public backing from his boss, but has not received the same patience from the likes of Gary Neville.

The former right-back took aim at the Man United manager after he put his side’s struggles in his system down to criticism from pundits, saying: “If pundits are getting into your head then you shouldn’t be playing for the club.”

Man Utd now battling Atletico Madrid to sign £20m+ La Liga defender for Amorim

He’s one to watch…

ByTom Cunningham Oct 9, 2025

Victory over Sunderland bought Amorim time, but that hasn’t stood in the way of Neville’s verdict or in the way of Keane, who has now gone as far as naming his dream replacement for the current Man United boss.

Keane names dream Amorim replacement

Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, Keane named Diego Simeone as his dream replacement for Amorim at Man United. The former Old Trafford midfielder was full of praise for the Atletico Madrid player and claimed his “big personality” was a major factor in his selection.

Keane said: “I’ve said it for years … I’d like to see Diego Simeone going there. I think he’d create havoc, but good havoc. I’d like to see his personality and his track record. They beat Real Madrid, they scored five … yes he likes his teams a bit defensive, but they have that fighting spirit. I like a big personality.”

Simeone would certainly turn United into fighters again, as more of a throwback manager. As things stand, however, he very much remains a dream option. No one has been able to lure the Argentine away from Spain. He is Mr Atletico Madrid as far as the rest of European football are concerned and that may not change with a call from Manchester.

Given their defensive frailties, though, it’s easy to imagine the transformative job that Simeone would complete at Man United, who desperately need Amorim to turn things around.