Erik ten Hag hailed Antony as Manchester United s missing link after the forward marked his debut with a goal in Sunday s 3-1 win over Arsenal.
Antony only arrived from Ajax in an £86million (€100m) deal on Thursday but slotted straight into United s starting line-up in place of Anthony Elanga at Old Trafford.
Having already shown glimpses of promise early on, Antony required just 35 minutes to score his first goal for the club after being played in by Marcus Rashford.
The 22-year-old became the ninth Brazilian to represent United in the Premier League, and the first to mark his maiden appearance in the competition with a goal.
While pleased with an encouraging first display from Antony, Ten Hag insisted there will be more to come once the attacker ful…
Newcastle United have ended their search for a new head coach by appointing Eddie Howe on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Graeme Jones had been in temporary charge of the Magpies since Steve Bruce departed by mutual consent following a takeover that saw Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund take an 80 per cent share in the club, becoming the richest owner in world football.
Brendan Rodgers, Paulo Fonseca, Lucien Favre and Roberto Martinez were linked with role before Villarreal coach Unai Emery snubbed the Premier League strugglers.
Instead, former Bournemouth manager Howe was on Monday confirmed as Bruce s successor after he watched on from the stands as Newcastle drew 1-1 at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Howe has been out of work since leavi…
What the papers say
Many of the papers speculate over Kylian Mbappe‘s future after the striker told Paris St Germain he did not want to extend his contract beyond 2024.
Metro says Manchester United will lead the race to sign the 24-year-old if Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani completes his takeover at Old Trafford.
The Times reports Real Madrid is the France international’s “most likely destination”, although Premier League clubs including Chelsea are expected to register their interest. Manchester City had also previously shown an interest in the forward but have since signed Erling Haaland.
Elsewhere, Arsenal are seeking buyers for winger Nicolas Pepe and have no plans to reintegrate the £72 million club-record signing into their first-team squad ahe…
Saying FC Barcelona have an extremely crowded midfield depth, at this point, would be an understatement.
With the 2019-20 LaLiga season already running and with roughly two weeks left in the transfer window, Los Blaugranas have a logjam in the middle of the pitch. Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets, Arthur, Sergi Roberto, Carles Aleña, Ivan Rakitic, Frenkie de Jong and Rafinha are all vying for playing time, and that’s not even considering two youngsters who will also alternate in the senior squad: Riqui Puig and Álex Collado.
In other words, Los Blaugranas have eight central midfielders, but only three spots in the starting XI. It’s a typical case of simply having too many mouths to feed, but the solution is simple. Someone will have to leave the club in the next two …
Rafinha has returned to his native Brazil with Flamengo after eight years at Bayern Munich.
The right-back, 33, has signed a two-year contract with the Rio de Janeiro-based club.
Rafinha won seven Bundesliga titles while at Bayern after joining from Genoa, as well as eight domestic cups and the 2013 Champions League.
He began his professional career with Brazilian side Coritiba before joining Schalke in 2005 and spending five years in Gelsenkirchen.
Flamengo announced the signing on their website, stating Rafinha would have his presentation at the club on June 24.
His first-team opportunities were limited with Bayern last season, leading to his departure after their domestic double triumph.
He was joined by veteran wingers Arjen Robben…
Gabriel Magalhaes has signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal, the club announced on Friday.
While Arsenal did not specify the length of the new agreement, media reports suggest the contract runs until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Gabriel joined Arsenal from Lille in 2020 for a reported fee of £23million (€26m) and, after an initial season of adaptation, became a key player for Mikel Arteta last term.
The Brazilian made 35 appearances in the Premier League in the 2021-22 campaign as the Gunners narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification.
They are well on track to right that wrong this season, however, with Arteta s side top of the Premier League after 10 matches, sitting four points clear of Manchester City.
Gabriel has featur…
Pep Guardiola insisted he would not swap any of his Manchester City players as they chase treble glory – batting away speculation about Erling Haaland.
City could match Manchester United s 1998-99 feat of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in one season, and Guardiola is no longer ridiculing that possibility.
They are a nose ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League and through to the quarter-finals of both knockout competitions, achieving such success largely without a recognised number nine striker.
Haaland is the player most frequently linked with City, although Real Madrid and Barcelona are known to admire Borussia Dortmund s prolific marksman too. A decision could reportedly come soon regarding Haaland s future.
Since I m he…
Spanish prosecutors are believed to be seeking a 10-year prison sentence and a fine of more than €18million for Samuel Eto o over alleged tax fraud.
According to reports in EFE and El Pais, the ex-Cameroon international and his former adviser Josep Maria Mesalles are accused of defrauding the state of €3.8million from 2006 to 2009, during his five-year stay at Barcelona.
The charges relate to the alleged transfer of image rights to companies in Spain and Hungary to escape paying tax on endorsement deals, including the striker s lucrative arrangement with sportswear manufacturer Puma.
Prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Eto o, who nows plays for Turkish Super Lig club Antalyaspor, on those grounds in 2012.
Unlike other LaLiga players embroiled i…
Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku were on target as Inter moved top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory at Brescia.
Martinez opened the scoring with a deflected first-half effort before Lukaku got in on the act with a stunning 63rd-minute solo goal in Tuesday s clash at Stadio Mario Rigamonti.
Milan Skriniar s own goal 14 minutes from time gave Brescia hope, yet they were left to rue missed chances by Mario Balotelli on what proved a frustrating outing for the striker against the side where he made his name.
The win sent Antonio Conte s side two points above reigning champions Juventus at the summit, although the Bianconeri can reclaim top spot when they face Genoa on Wednesday.
Inter were deservedly ahead by the 23rd minute, although there was more t…
RB Leipzig are set to push Bayern all the way for the title and that s a good thing. (Photo: Eurosport)
One common complaint among football fans regarding the Bundesliga is the fear that Germany s top flight is turning into a one-horse league. Part of the appeal of the Premier League is the fact that theoretically, at least five teams have a realistic shot at winning the title. Over in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid have turned the La Liga title fight into largely a duopoly, with Atletico Madrid breaking that hegemony back in 2014. But in the Bundesliga, as well as France s Ligue 1 and to some extent Italy s Serie A, the commonly held belief is that one team are the ones that rule supreme and all the others are merely playing catch-up.
In Germany, of course, that no. …