Manchester United are on the verge of moving to sign a £37m star who has the same agent as Bruno Fernandes.

Bruno Fernandes impressing in disappointing Man Utd season

It has been a disappointing campaign on the whole at Old Trafford under both Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim, however, the Red Devils still have the chance to win silverware in the Europa League.

Man Utd are set to take on Lyon in the quarter-finals after overcoming Real Sociedad in the last 16, with Fernandes scoring a hat-trick in the second leg.

The Man Utd captain has been a shining light in 2024/25 and recently picked up his 12th Red Devils Player of the Month award after joining back in the winter of 2020. Amorim has also been impressed by what he’s seen from his captain, stating recently that Man Utd “need more Brunos”.

“I will say, we need more Brunos. The character he has, the availability is so important and he is so decisive with and without the ball.”

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Fernandes is represented by the AS1 agency, and another star on their books, Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio, has been linked with a move to Man Utd.

Reports earlier this year stated that Red Devils officials were set to hold talks with Inacio’s agent ahead of a potential move. The centre-back has a €60m (£50m) release clause in his contract, but it looks as if he could be available for less.

Man Utd ‘on verge’ of moving for Goncalo Inacio

According to reports in Portugal, relayed by Sport Witness, Sporting CP want €45m (£37.5m) for Inacio, and it is claimed that Man Utd are ‘on the verge’ of turning their interest into a transfer swoop and effort to sign him.

Borussia Dortmund were keen on Inacio back in January, but in the Premier League, it seems as if the Red Devils are showing a strong interest ahead of the summer.

It was Amorim who brought Inacio through at Sporting and into the first-team, and since then, the 23-year-old has been a regular for the club ever since, making more than 200 appearances in all competitions for his current employers.

Inacio is under contract until 2027, and he is a defender who has an “insane” range of passing by journalist Antonio Mango.

Games

187

Goals

17

Assists

12

Yellow cards

24

Red cards

2

Minutes played

14,395

Meanwhile, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez has hailed Inacio previously, saying: “The player’s profile is important. Goncalo Inacio is the most researched profile in European football. Central, left foot, he can play inside, with quality, scores goals, has intelligence.”

Other England players, including Reece Topley, are also weighing up the merits of the move

Matt Roller25-May-20232:35

Roy contract termination a significant moment for cricket

England white-ball players are negotiating releases from their ECB contracts in order to take up lucrative offers to play in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States.English players on full central contracts are unlikely to feature in MLC this year but Jason Roy – who holds an incremental deal with the ECB – has confirmed plans to terminate his contract in order to play in the league.In a statement, the ECB said: “England men’s white-ball batter Jason Roy has informed the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that he wishes to take up an agreement with Major League Cricket in the USA later this summer. The ECB have agreed for him to play in the competition on the proviso that he gives up the remainder of his ECB incremental contract, which both parties have agreed to.”The ECB wish to clarify that this decision will not affect Jason’s selection for England teams going forward. We have absolute confidence and faith that Jason is committed to England cricket.”Reece Topley, Roy’s Surrey and England team-mate, is weighing up the merits of the same move, though his decision may depend on his fitness status after shoulder surgery last month.Related

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MLC is due to take place from July 13-30 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and has significant backing from both India and Australia: four of the six franchises have investors who own IPL teams, while Cricket Victoria and Cricket New South Wales have stakes in the other two.The league’s inaugural season features a minor clash with the English summer: the semi-finals and finals of the T20 Blast take place on July 15, while there are two rounds of County Championship fixtures between Finals Day and the start of the Hundred on August 1. But there are concerns within the English game that MLC is likely to expand in future and could clash directly with the Hundred.As a result, the ECB will not give No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) that would enable contracted players to feature in MLC. And while players are unlikely to negotiate a release from full white-ball contracts to play in the US, such a move would make financial sense for those on incremental deals.The ECB incremental contracts are worth around £66,000 per year and effectively act as a top-up to county salaries. Six players have such deals for the 2022-23 contract cycle: Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Matthew Potts, Roy, Topley and David Willey.ESPNcricinfo understands that Surrey are expecting Roy to play MLC – most likely for LA Knight Riders – between the end of their Blast season and the start of the Hundred, and that he would have to agree a release from his incremental contract to do so. If Surrey reach Finals Day, Roy will be available for them and miss the start of MLC.The player draft for inaugural MLC was held at NASA Space Center Houston in March•Peter Della Penna

Roy played for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 and is understood to have held informal discussions with the franchise about the possibility of a contract to play for their teams in other leagues, including MLC. His representative declined to comment.Topley has not signed a deal to play in MLC but is also understood to be considering his options. After leaving the IPL early with a shoulder injury, he underwent surgery last month and his contractual decisions will depend in part on the progress of his rehabilitation.Topley outlined his white-ball ambitions on Surrey’s live stream last week: “If you’d have asked me when I was young, I’d have said I’d love to play 100 Tests for England,” he said. “Now, if you asked me, [I’d say] I’d love to go to as many IPLs as I can. I don’t think the stigma around saying you want to play and be successful in white-ball cricket is that bad.”England contracts run from October to September, so requesting a release from an incremental deal at this stage of the year would cost players around £20,000. Each MLC franchise has a purse of $1.15 million (£930,000 approx.) – to cover between 16 and 19 players, of which nine can be from overseas – so any deals would offset the loss of earnings from leaving an England contract.The ECB is in the process of revamping its central contract system for the 2023-24 season to adapt to the growth of franchise leagues, and any decisions to leave incremental contracts will not be held against players in selection moving forward.Following other reports in various media outlets on Thursday, Roy issued a statement on his social media accounts which said: “Following a bit of unwanted speculation over the last 24 hours, I wanted to clarify that I am not and never will ‘walk away from England’.Jason Roy, who played for KKR in IPL 2023, is likely to represent LA Knight Riders in MLC•AFP/Getty Images

“Representing my country continues to be my proudest moment as a professional cricketer. I hope to play for England for many more years, that remains my priority.”I’ve had clear and supportive conversations with the ECB about participating in Major League Cricket. The ECB were happy with me to play in the competition as long as they didn’t have to pay me for the remainder of the contractual year.”As a single format player with no central contract I wanted to take the opportunity to play this competition as there are currently no scheduling conflicts with England. It benefits me as an England player to play as much competitive cricket as possible.”Just to be very clear, my priority is England cricket, especially with a World Cup soon upon us. It is for me, and for any player, the greatest honour to receive a cap to play for their country.”A Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo: “This is covered by the comprehensive standard playing contract agreed by the ECB, counties and the PCA. It is completely at the employers’ discretion whether players are issued an NOC in-season.”Several leading T20 players including Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje and Glenn Phillips have already been unveiled as overseas signings in MLC, with Trent Boult and Adam Zampa expected to join them in the coming weeks.

Glasgow Rangers and the transfer market have not exactly been the best of friends over the previous few years.

Since securing promotion back to the Premiership ahead of the 20161/7 campaign, the Ibrox side have made plenty of dismal signings. Where to start?

Pedro Caixinha spent money on the likes of Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, who both failed to live up to expectations, while even Steven Gerrard made a few howlers, especially during his early transfer windows.

The former Liverpool captain signed flops such as Umar Sadiq and Eros Grezda in 2018, a few years before spending money on Juninho Bacuna and Cedric Itten.

Sam Lammers, Ben Davies and Jose Cifuentes are just a few of the players who have been signed by managers since Gerrard left, with all three struggling to perform in Scotland.

While these types of signings typically outweigh the positive ones, when the club do sign a player who has excellent potential, it usually ends up rather well.

Joe Aribo was sold for around £10m in the summer of 2020, having cost the Gers just £300k three years previously. Of the current squad, Hamza Igamane looks certain to make the Light Blues a significant profit due to his performances this season.

One of the club’s finest signings – from a financial point of view anyway – was Calvin Bassey. The defender is now playing in the Premier League for Fulham, but Rangers gave him his big break.

Why Calvin Bassey was sold for a club-record fee

In the summer of 2020, Gerrard added a few players to his squad in a bid to challenge Celtic for the Premiership trophy during 2020/21.

Ianis Hagi signed permanently, while Cedric Itten, Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun also arrived at Ibrox. It was the deal to bring Bassey to Scotland which looked the most promising, however.

Due to cross-border rules, the left-back cost just £200k in a compensation fee from Leicester City, and he was one for the future.

Indeed, Gerrard utilised his talents on just 15 occasions throughout the 2020/21 season, but things were about to get better.

With a defensive injury crisis hitting the squad hard during the early stages of the following campaign, Bassey was deployed as a centre-back alongside Connor Goldson and it soon progressed into a solid partnership.

Calvin Bassey’s stats for Rangers in 2021/22 (per90)

Metric

Premiership

Europa League

Accurate passes

52.3

37.4

Tackles

1.5

1.6

Total duels won

5.2

4.1

Interceptions

0.7

1.4

Balls recovered

0.4

0.1

Via Sofascore

Once he got his chance in the starting XI, Bassey never left, making 50 appearances in all competitions as the Gers reached the Europa League final while winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years.

These performances would ultimately lead to the Nigerian international departing the club, with plenty of European sides showing interest that summer.

In the end, Ajax secured his services on a permanent deal for a fee of just under £23m, which was a club-record transfer.

It’s fair to say that he has been one of the finest signings of modern times, but is there a player in the current squad who has surpassed him recently?

Rangers' best signing since Bassey

Losing Scott Wright last summer meant Philippe Clement had a single right-winger in the squad – Ross McCausland – which meant this area needed a swift upgrade.

There were several players linked with a move to Ibrox, but due to limited funds being available, the Belgian manager had to rely on a loan signing, which saw Vaclav Cerny join the Light Blues on a temporary deal until the end of the current season.

Having scored five goals for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg during the 2023/24 campaign, Cerny looked like an exciting wide option for Rangers. He also scored against Celtic for Ajax, which would certainly help endear him to the supporters during his early weeks.

These first couple of weeks were mixed. The Czech star delivered a few decent displays, but he was poor against Lyon in a 4-1 Europa League defeat. He missed a big chance during that game and lost possession 11 times.

Two goals against St Johnstone just a few days later proved that his woeful European display was just a one-off and he has kicked on since then.

Overall, the loanee has netted an impressive tally of 17 goals across 44 matches, chipping in with seven assists too. The 27-year-old has saved his best football – minus the Lyon clash – for the Europa League, netting six goals in Europe’s secondary competition.

Furthermore, the winger has created two big chances, averages 1.3 key passes per game and succeeds with 2.3 dribbles each match, showcasing his skills against superior opposition.

Rangers won the recent Old Firm derby against Celtic 3-2 courtesy of a late winner by Igamane, who lashed in an effort when it appeared as though the match was going to finish as a draw.

The real hero of that game was Cerny, however, who ended up soaking Celtic supporters with a bottle of water while celebrating the goal.

Journalist Matthew Lindsay praised the winger, describing him as a “cult hero” following that “moment of madness”

According to Transfermarkt, Cerny is now valued at €9m (£7.5m) and, given his displays for the Gers recently, he will be a man in demand this summer.

Whoever becomes the new permanent manager of Rangers will have to decide whether spending money on Cerny is worth it, especially as there are other areas of the squad requiring some investment.

Cerny has endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful with his goals and antics during the latest derby win. If he did join the club this summer, could he be one of their best signings in recent memory?

The next few months will be interesting indeed.

Related Rangers loan star is now worth £27m more than Cerny after leaving in 2023

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Posts ByBen Gray Mar 21, 2025

Celtic were dealt a significant blow last summer when they lost their Player of the Year Matt O’Riley to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

The English club reportedly paid a fee in excess of £25m to secure the Denmark international’s signature, which made him the most expensive departure in Scottish Premiership history.

O’Riley had racked up 18 goals and 16 assists in all competitions for the Hoops from an attacking midfield position in the 2023/24 campaign, which made him the main man for Brendan Rodgers at the top end of the pitch.

The Hoops lost a lot of quality in the final third when his move to the Premier League was completed, which meant that the Scottish giants needed players to step up.

That is exactly what has happened, thankfully, as Japanese forward Daizen Maeda has emerged as a reliable forward for Rodgers in the current season.

How Daizen Maeda's improvement has helped Celtic

In the 2023/24 campaign, the Japan international managed a return of just six goals and four assists in 32 appearances in the Premiership and the Champions League combined, including zero goals and one assist in four European outings.

This shows that the 27-year-old forward was anything but consistent in front of goal for Rodgers, as he failed to offer a threat as a scorer or a creator on a regular basis from his usual position on the left flank.

Due to his lack of a clinical edge in the final third for the Hoops last season, not too many would have pinned their hopes on Maeda being the player to step up and replace the goals that were lost when O’Riley completed his move to Brighton.

However, that is exactly what has happened, and then some. The right-footed forward has scored 28 goals and provided nine assists in 42 matches in all competitions for Celtic, which means that he has already outscored O’Riley’s haul from last term.

His improvement in the Champions League, in particular, illustrates how much his progress at the top end of the pitch has helped the Scottish giants this season.

As you can see in the table above, Maeda offered significantly more in front of goal in Europe’s premier cup competition this term than he did for Rodgers in the 2023/24 campaign, which helped them to reach the play-offs after going out at the group stage last season.

The Celtic number 38’s exceptional form across all competitions for the club has also helped his market value to soar, making him one of the most valuable members of the squad.

Daizen Maeda's current market value

At the time of writing (23/03/2025), the 27-year-old sensation is valued at a whopping £9.3m by Transfermarkt, which is significantly more than he was at the time of his move to Parkhead.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Maeda joined the Hoops from Yokohama F. Marinos in the summer of 2022, signed by Ange Postecoglou, and was valued at just £2.9m by Transfermarkt at that time.

His soaring market value shows that Celtic struck gold by signing him ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, as he has developed into a far more valuable asset whilst delivering brilliant performances on the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, Maeda is now one of the most valuable players in the squad, at £9.3m, as only three players are worth more than him, as per Transfermarkt.

One of the players who is worth even more than the Japanese centre-forward is German attacker Nicolas Kuhn, who was signed from Rapid Vienna last year.

Celtic hit the jackpot with Nicolas Kuhn

Rodgers looked to bolster his options on the flanks in the January transfer window at the start of 2023 and ultimately swooped to sign the left-footed star from the Austrian outfit for a reported fee of £3m.

It was a gamble by the Scottish giants because he had only scored two goals and provided five assists in 16 matches in the Austrian Bundesliga up to that point.

Kuhn had a fairly quiet start to life at Parkhead in the second half of last season. He played 14 times in the Premiership in his first few months at the club, but only produced two goals and two assists in those matches.

The Northern Irish boss then claimed the “magical” star had come back “looking really sharp” in pre-season, which suggested that a big season was on the cards for the wing wizard.

He had those first five months or so to adjust to life in Glasgow and to the intensity and physicality of football in Scotland, in order to prepare himself for his first full campaign at the club.

This season, Kuhn has stepped up to become an important figure for Celtic in the final third, scoring vital goals – including a late winner against Ross County in the highlights above – throughout the campaign.

As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old phenomenon has been one of the top two performers in a host of key attacking metrics in the league this term.

His performances, as has been the case with Maeda, have caused his market value to soar and it currently stands at a whopping £10.1m, as per Transfermarkt, which is significantly more than the £3m that they paid Rapid Vienna for his services last year.

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Celtic once sold a defender whose value has soared since moving on from Parkhead.

3

By
Dan Emery

Mar 19, 2025

This suggests that Celtic, as they did with Maeda, have hit the jackpot with Kuhn because they have signed a winger who has contributed plenty on the pitch, whilst growing in value and developing into a player who could make the club a healthy profit in the future.

England captain aces the chase with 75* to level the multi-format series

Vithushan Ehantharajah12-Jul-2023England 267 for 8 (Knight 75*, Beaumont 47, Gardner 3-42) beat Australia 263 for 8 (Mooney 81*, Sciver-Brunt 2-38) by two wickets England have squared the women’s Ashes at six-all with victory in the first ODI in Bristol by two wickets. And they did it by securing their highest-ever 50-over chase, inflicting a third consecutive defeat upon Australia, something they have not experienced since February 2017.Australia led 6-0 after winning the Test match and first T20I, but three successive victories have England back on par with two to play. And you only needed to look at the reaction of a usually calm Heather Knight, tossing her bat away after punching the final boundary through cover point and embracing her partner Kate Cross, to understand just how much this meant, and how much England have achieved to keep the Ashes alive.Knight’s unbeaten 75 was indicative of what needed to be a one-woman show in pursuit of their target of 264. But just as she was running out of partners at the other hand to simply exist with her, Cross strode out to pull, drive and even scoop her way to 19 not out as victory was secured with 11 deliveries to spare.As ever with nervy affairs, mistakes came in abundance. And most of them from the hosts. Australia’s innings was littered with seven missed chances. Beth Mooney was the recipient of two such gifts on her way to 81 not out that allowed Alyssa Healy’s side to post 263 for 8.It looked above-par, and when England threw away a brisk start of 103 for 1 in the 13th over, a retention of the Ashes trophy looked on the cards, as did some introspection from Knight’s charges as to how they let it slip away. But thanks to her – and Cross – all that can wait.The England captain overcame a run of four failures since 57 in the first innings of the Trent Bridge Test at the perfect time with her 28th 50-plus score in ODIs. Similarly Alice Capsey, who refound her touch with 46 not out at Lord’s, carried her form over in a turbo-charged second-wicket stand of 74 from 56 deliveries with Tammy Beaumont.The pair came together in the fourth over upon the wicket of Sophia Dunkley, by which point Australia’s opening quicks Darcie Brown and Ellyse Perry had provided England with 18 of their 29 runs to that point through extras. By the 10-over mark, the hosts had a new record powerplay score of 84. They went past Australia’s equivalent total of 63 for 1 midway through the eighth over – which Capsey took for 16 on her own with four boundaries, including three in a row at the start to knock Perry out of the attack.When Beaumont struck the first delivery of the 12th over down the ground for the first six of the match to take England to 100, before Capsey registered the second over long-on with a fielder stationed back, a squared series with two to play looked like a foregone outcome.But Beaumont’s dismissal in between those strikes and Capsey’s inability to clear long-on for a second time gave Australia a whiff. And when a stalwart stand between captain and vice-captain ended on 42 with the latter – Nat Sciver-Brunt – reverse-sweeping Jess Jonassen to Georgia Wareham around the corner, a familiar tension set in.Ellyse Perry celebrates the dismissal of Sophia Dunkley•Getty ImagesHealy preyed on that anxiety, cycling through her options to frustrate and, eventually, draw a false shot from Danni Wyatt, who could not get enough on her shot to beat backward point, as Jonassen took a sharp low catch.Even at that stage, the ask was a manageable 70 off the final 16 overs. Knight found a four in each of the next two overs, meaning the wicket maiden Wareham sent down – accounting for Amy Jones – did not affect the required rate. A single to keep the strike with 11 overs to go took her to a half-century from 69 deliveries, with England still 47 away from victory.It was clear she would have to get the majority of them when Sophie Ecclestone, having been dropped on four, inexplicably went for a slog-sweep straight to the fielder at deep midwicket for five, and then Sarah Glenn punched straight to cover.But out came Cross, striking consecutive boundaries off Jonassen, who had only conceded a single four from her previous 38 deliveries. Knight slog-swept Ash Gardner over the fence at midwicket to shift matters England’s way, before Cross deftly guided one over the keeper and flayed the experienced Schutt through cover to level the scores. In a way, Cross leaving Knight to strike the winning runs off a full toss at the start of the next over encapsulated how considerate she had been to her captain at the death.Kate Cross nailed a lap-sweep to relieve the tension•PA Images/GettyFor England to have held their nerve was remarkable given they could not hold onto anything in the field. That they were not made to pay by a usually ruthless Australia is damning for the tourists’ stock in this series.A tacky pitch after heavy morning rains suited England’s spin-heavy attack, who made Australia work for their big shots. Cross’ removal of Healy in the first over – after the Australia captain had won the toss, opted to bat and hit two fours from the first three deliveries – ranked as a huge plus given this is the keeper-batter’s strongest format.But a litany of spurned chances, of varying difficulties, encouraged Australia to make England pay throughout. There were seven in total, though Cross’ full-length dive that just missed Perry’s shuffle-and-swat down the ground when the allrounder had 19, and Beaumont’s athleticism at backward point to stop a hard cut from Tahlia McGrath on seven were at the top end of the scale.Then again, so were some of those taken; Ecclestone leaping to pluck Phoebe Litchfield out of the sky at mid off with one hand, and Sciver-Brunt judging one over her shoulder running back from midwicket to eventually remove Perry on 41, after she had been missed again five runs earlier.Beth Mooney pulls one away•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThe costliest drops also happened to be the easiest ones. The first of Perry’s three lives came when Ecclestone put her down at first slip on six. But Mooney’s lives on 19 (dropped off a Glenn full toss by Cross at mid-off) and 39 (Jones missing a stumping after the left-hander ran past a delivery from Ecclestone) allowed her to see things through the 50 overs. From first miss to eventual dismissal, those two batters alone come to 97 extra runs together.The left-hander arrived at the crease at the start of the 13th over, and had to really work to squeeze every muscle and sinue to get what she got. Healy’s decision to bat first upon winning the toss was sound: the data backed up going first and getting a good total on the board, and without Mooney providing the backbone, the innings could have fallen away.That there were just six fours from her 99 deliveries spoke of the toil. Litchfield and Perry gave her a platform with a stand of 61 – the highest of the match – before Mooney ticked over with cameo innings from McGrath and Gardner.A minor blip of two wickets in three deliveries, as Gardner and Annabel Sutherland fell to Lauren Bell, was then negated by 55 runs between Mooney and Jonassen. And while they were kept under wraps for the final 10 overs, a burst of 29 from the final three, which included a brisk 12 off 6 from Wareham, pushed the total to 263.The women’s Ashes are not just alive, but all square. As we move to the Ageas Bowl for the second ODI on Sunday, there is one clear form team – and it is not the best team in the world.