MANCHESTER UNITED are drawing up plans to return to land No1 defensive target Jarrad Branthwaite, according to reports.
Ruben Amorim is set to take charge of his first game for the Red Devils against Ipswich on Sunday.
Jamie Carragher is intrigued to see how such a “radical” move with work mid-season, while Amorim himself has warned fans they will need to prepare for some “hard moments”.
Regardless, United transfer chiefs look set to press on with plans to sure up the defence despite landing three defenders in the summer.
According to the Daily Mail, United are considering whether to return to Everton‘s doorstep with an offer for Branthwaite.
They saw two bids for the Englishman, 22, rejected in the summer, with the latter reaching £50million including add-ons.
Braithwaite’s arrival would serve to bolster the defence for a three-player defence, with Amorim’s style seeing him play a 3-4-3 shape rather than the 4-3-3 previously seen under Erik ten Hag.
However, the report says United will need to sell players if they want to make this move in January or next summer.
Elsewhere, United remain in the race to land Bayern Munich left wing-back Alphonso Davies.
The Canadian’s contract with the Bavarians expires in the summer, and according to AS he has made no decision over his future.
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La Liga giants Real Madrid have been long-term admirers of Davies, 24, and are reported by the outlet to have transferred their offer to the player’s agent.
This being said, with Ferland Mendy at the Bernabeu, strengthening the position is not a priority and they are not willing to get into a battle with other clubs.
Bild reports the offer for the Champions League winner is worth just under £10m per year.
But Davies’ agent Nedal Huoseh has dismissed talk of an agreement and claimed it is actually Man Utd who are “bidding hard” to sign Davies.
With Luke Shaw‘s fitness once again proving to be unreliable this season and Tyrell Malacia only recently returning from a long-term injury, moving for Davies would make sense as an aggressive wing-back option for Amorim.
SunSport have taken an extensive look into how Amorim is expected to get the team playing in the latest edition of our Tactics Exposed series.
A win can put Man Utd seventh in the table if results elsewhere go in their favour.
RUBEN AMORIM has ruled out poaching any of his Sporting Lisbon players in the January transfer window.
But the Portuguese side’s chiefs expect Amorim will come calling in the summer – with his cheque book wide open.
Here’s are three Sporting starts United could swoop for… but they won’t come cheap:
VIKTOR GYOKERES
Age: 26
Position: Striker
Cost: £84million
Swede has shone since joining Sporting last summer from Coventry — catching the eye of all Europe’s top clubs.
Hit 43 goals in 50 games last season and boasts 18 strikes already this term.
GONCALO INACIO
Age: 23
Position: Defender
Cost: £50million
Ball-playing centre-back was handed his debut by Amorim and has since become a key figure in Sporting’s recent title successes.
Can also slot in at left-back if required and has 12 caps for Portugal.
MORTEN HJULMAND
Age: 25
Position: Midfield
Cost: £40million
Dane is one of the top holding midfielders in Portugal — and made skipper by Amorim.
He could be the man to replace Casemiro.
POP STAR Mabel has revealed that she is engaged to fiancé Preye Crooks after a shock proposal.
The Finders Keepers songstress, 28, shared the happy news on social media as she flashed her huge diamond engagement ring.
Mabel, who has been dating the son of Spurs legend Garth Crooks since 2021, was left over the moon when her partner got down on one knee.
The Brit Award winner hosted a big bash to celebrate with her close friends and family.
She wore a stunning candyfloss pink satin halterneck dress and had her dark tresses styled in a chic updo.
The singer beamed as series of photos as she showed off the big rock on her ring finger.
The pair looked over the moon as they cosied up to each other at the party, while enjoying glasses of bubbly.
Mabel’s new man, Preye, is an executive at Sony and runs the Strawberries & Creem Festival.
The Sun exclusively revealed in 2021 that the pair were dating.
A source at the time said: “They met through work, but it’s already going from strength to strength.
“They both work in the industry and have loads of common interests, he’s not threatened by her success and gets her hectic life-style. They’re a great match.”
Mabel, daughter of singer Neneh Cherry, has previously been linked with Robert Pattinson, rapper NOT3S and American actor Rome Flynn.
RUBEN AMORIM insists if he has not proved himself in two years he should leave Manchester United.
The new Red Devils boss says he is “the right guy” for the task at hand at Old Trafford.
But as he became United’s sixth new boss in 11 years, the Portuguese said the club can decide whether he is or not in a couple of years.
Amorim said: “In two years you will understand if I am the right man to be in this process.
“In two years you can understand if you want to continue on this path or you want to change.
“I know if you are at Manchester United you have to win games, so I will not tell you I need a lot of time.”
The former Sporting Lisbon coach, however, believes the club will soon realise they have made the correct choice.
While he did not quite quote his mentor Jose Mourinho by calling himself ‘The Special One’ he was not far off and says this is not the impossible job.
He said: “Call me naïve but I believe I am the right guy in the right moment. I truly believe I am the right guy.
“I am a little bit a dreamer and I believe in myself and I believe in the club.
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“I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
“I truly believe in the players also. I think we have room to improve and I want to try new things.
“You guys think it is not possible, I think it is possible.”
Amorim takes charge of his first game as the new United boss on Sunday away to Ipswich.
Кожна господиня знає, що бур’яни ростуть не тільки в городі, а ще проростають між тротуарною плиткою. Якщо на городі справиться мотика, то на тротуар потрібно буде менше зусиль. Ділимося з вами. Бур’яни на тротуарній плитці можуть зіпсувати вигляд навіть найкрасивішого двору. Але ви здивуєтесь, дізнавшись, що вирішити цю проблему можна за допомогою простих засобів, які […]
Процес зберігання моркви може бути добре організований та продуманий, але від певних форс-мажорів ніхто не застрахований. Так може статися, що заготовлена морква замерзла. Прикро, але і викидати коренеплоди не варто поспішати. Які умови зберігання моркви на балконі За своєю природою морква здатна переносити пониження температури, але до певної межі. Щоб уникнути промерзання потрібно прикрити ящики […]
TULISA Contostavlos has put herself front and centre, whenever any of her I’m a Celeb campmates have required a shoulder to cry on, or even a hug.
And it seems the caring and compassionate side to her character has been evident for many years, since becoming mum Anne Byrne’s primary carer at the tender age of 11.
Anne was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2007, a combination of bipolar and schizophrenia, which was covered in 2010 BBC documentary, Tulisa: My Mum and Me.
In her 2012 autobiography Honest, Tulisa, who used to live with fellow singer Anne, in a one-bedroom flat on a council estate in north London, wrote: “Mum was obsessive about locking our front door, and it was always locked from the inside with the keys still hanging in the door.
“One morning I noticed that although the key was in the lock, it hadn’t been turned, and the door was actually unlocked.
“Knowing that my mum would freak out and feel vulnerable if she spotted it, I turned the key and locked it myself.
“Within seconds my mum, hearing the jangle of the keys, came tearing out into the hall, screaming at me hysterically.
“I guess she thought I was trying to open the door and panicked, but went completely off the deep end, accusing me of wanting to make her ill, or even kill her, and it went on and on.
“Incidents like this were a regular occurrence in our house, along with temper tantrums and mood swings.”
Speaking in the BBC doc, Tulisa suggested the pressures of looking after her mum led to her joining a gang and turning to drink and drugs.
Things even got so on top of her that Tulisa tried to take her own life on more than one occasion.
It was when her mum’s medication no longer seemed to be working that the N-Dubz singer really started to struggle.
She said: “One of the worst things about dealing with my mum was how helpless and alone I felt at such a vulnerable age.
“The doctors didn’t seem to be able to stabilise my mother’s moods and I felt myself being dragged further and further down by the environment I was forced to live in.”
And Tulisa said it was only her aspirations of becoming a pop star that kept her going at that time.
“Music and my dream of becoming a success was all that kept me going through those very dark times.”
When her father Plato, a former keyboard player with the band Mungo Jerry, left home, that’s when Tulisa started staying at her aunt’s house more often.
And it was there that she realised she’d rather be living in a more stable environment.
She said: “My dad left home and it triggered one of her episodes.
“One minute she’d look all mournful as if someone had died, the next she’d be angry and aggressive, smashing cupboards and shouting.
“Inevitably, she went into hospital again and I stayed with my mum’s older sister, Louise.
“She had children of her own and it was felt she was more able to look after a young girl.
Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health problem where you experience psychosis as well as mood symptoms.
Some people have suggested that schizoaffective disorder sits in the middle of a spectrum, with schizophrenia at one end and bipolar disorder at the other. This is because these diagnoses share many similar symptoms. But schizoaffective disorder is recognised as a separate diagnosis.
You might have times when you struggle to look after yourself. Or when your doctors feel that you lack insight into your behaviour and how you’re feeling.
Symptoms can begin at any age, but usually start when you’re a young adult. Some people only experience symptoms of schizoaffective disorder once in their life.
Source: Mind
“I used to dread my mum getting better and coming home because it would mean I’d have to leave my aunt’s house where I felt safe and happy and normal.”
Since Anne’s diagnosis her behaviour has thankfully stabilised, but Tulisa is still concerned she might also be diagnosed with the same condition one day.
She said: “Medical experts don’t seem to know for sure whether this disorder is hereditary.
“My own feeling is that everyone has the ability to become depressed or go to a dark place, and whether that could trigger the type of behaviour and illness my mum suffers, who knows?”
A SMALL town outside Manchester is getting its first train station in 60 years.
The town of Golborne last welcomed trains in the 1960s, to which the rail services were scrapped.
The town has no direct bus or tram services to Manchester either.
The new project would see the station have new links to Manchester, replacing the original train station site.
The £32million station hopes to start works by 2026, and open the following year.
Along with two platforms, a new footbridge and car park along with walking and cycling routes to town are part of the designs.
A new hourly service would connect Wigan and Manchester Victoria, as well as go onwards to Stalybridge.
Journey times would be fast by around 30 minutes, and would connect the nearby town of Leigh – the largest town in the UK without a station.
Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham said: “It has taken a huge effort to get us to this point, but we have finally reached a major milestone on the journey to reconnect Golborne to the rail network for the first time in over 60 years.
“The proposal is based on extremely sound evidence and huge progress has been made with a planning application being submitted and overwhelming support from local residents.”
The proposal, which spoke to 3,000 people, received 90 per cent support.
Jo Platt, MP for Leigh and Atherton, added that they have been campaigning to reopen Golborne Station since 2017.
They said: “The area has been without rail connectivity for over 60 years, so I welcome the much-needed connectivity that this will bring to residents.
“It will better connect the local community to jobs, education and leisure activities, and is a major step towards making Golborne an even greater place to live and work.”
Golborne was once a mining and textile manufacturing town, although these have declined in recent years.
There are a number of new train stations opening across the UK.
Wixams Train Station hopes to open by 2026, and could connect people to the new Universal Studios theme park hoping to open in Bedford.
The £57million station was first planned 20 years ago.
Sun Travel's journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
Darlington Train Station, which first opened in 1841, has revealed plans for a £140million renovation.
And here’s what to expect from London Liverpool Street’s £1.5billion plans.
