The Angels were considering multiple former franchise stars to become their next skipper, but they reportedly ruled out two big names in their managerial search after Ron Washington and interim Ray Montgomery's departure.
According to a report from 's Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles has informed five-time All-Star Torii Hunter that he is no longer in the running to become their next manager. Earlier Monday, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that Albert Pujols have broken off talks on the role as he receives interest from the Orioles and Padres for their openings.
Neither former franchise star possesses experience as a manager at the MLB level, but Pujols has found quick success as a manager in his native Dominican Republic. He's slated to manage their national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Hunter joined the Angels as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian last year.
Who are the other candidates for the Angels' managerial vacancy?
Los Angeles could still look to a former player with Kurt Suzuki still in the mix, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Suzuki has served as a special assistant to Minasian as well. Bollinger mentioned Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde as well as former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as additional candidates linked to the Angels.
The Angels finished last season 72-90 and missed out on the playoffs for the 11th season in a row.
TORONTO — When it was over, when after 162 regular-season games and another 15 in the playoffs and now two excruciating innings, the Dodgers won Game 7, 5–4, to repeat as World Series champions, the man who won the game raced to the mound to grab the man who saved it.
It was Will Smith, the catcher, who launched the 11th-inning home run that stunned the sellout crowd of 44,713 at the Rogers Centre and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night. But it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Game 6 starter who got eight outs in Game 7 on no days’ rest, who gave him the chance. Twenty-five hours after he threw 96 pitches in Game 6, an outing that followed back-to-back complete games, Yamamoto all but forced his way into the game and threw 34 devastating pitches.
Manager Dave Roberts had tried not to use him at all, and then he tried to remove him after his second inning on Saturday. “Daijoubu,” Yamamoto said.
“It’s unheard of,” said Roberts, who struggled to explain how Yamamoto could possibly have done this. “I think that there’s a mind component, there’s a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there’s just an unwavering will. I just haven’t seen it [elsewhere]. I really haven’t.”
So the manager let him go back out and close the door for a team that just kept propping it open. The Blue Jays were two outs away from ending a 32-year World Series drought when an unlikely hero emerged. In a game that featured Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it was Dodgers glove-first second baseman Miguel Rojas, playing in his second game in three weeks, who lined a solo home run over the left field wall to tie the game.
Each team loaded the bases with one out—the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers in the top of the 10th—and failed to score. Smith, dragging himself around the field after catching all 72 innings of this epic World Series, dragged the Dodgers ahead.
It almost wasn’t enough. Guerrero, the face of a franchise and the face of a nation, doubled to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Isiah Kiner-Falefa sacrificed him to third. Addison Barger worked a walk. But Yamamoto broke Alejandro Kirk’s bat with one of his signature splitters, and Betts, the shortstop snagged the easy chopper, stepped on second base and fired to first for the double play. The Dodgers, who became the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat, were on the field almost before the Blue Jays understood what had just happened to them.
Smith tackled Yamamoto from behind. Their teammates raced in from the dugout and the bullpen to join them. They jumped up and down on exhausted legs and hugged one another with spent arms and screamed with hoarse throats.
Of course this World Series came down to extra innings in Game 7. It could not be contained by the laws of physics, the columns of scorebooks or even, at times, by the customs of human decency. At one point in Game 7, the only daylight between the teams came when the umpires pushed the players apart. Counting the 18-inning Game 3, this was the first Fall Classic that featured more than eight games’ worth of baseball. Only three of the games were truly close—Games 1, 2, 4 and 5 were decided by an average of five runs—but neither team ever seemed overmatched.
Still this one was loopier than most. The Dodgers used all four of their World Series starting pitchers, two—Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow—on no days’ rest. The Blue Jays used three of theirs. The fourth, Kevin Gausman, said he would have been available had the game continued.
And for a while it appeared it might go forever. The Blue Jays never seemed to go away. Twice the Dodgers won in what should have been backbreaking fashion—the 18-inning Game 3, and then the wild double play to snuff out a rally in Game 6—but Toronto just kept fighting. It won Game 4, and it nearly won this one.
Los Angeles’s roster boasts 44 All-Star Game appearances and 22 World Series rings. For the Blue Jays, those figures are 29 and three. The Dodgers’ record $328 million payroll has made some observers question whether they are ruining baseball. The Blue Jays were not interested in narratives, just in wins.
Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after his game-tying home run in the ninth inning. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Game 7 pitted two Hall of Famers against one another, one who had been preparing for this start all series and one who learned for sure he would get it after Game 6.
When manager John Schneider told Max Scherzer he would start Game 3, Scherzer said, “O.K., so 3 and 7.” The assignment made him, at 41 years and 97 days, the oldest pitcher to start a winner-take-all World Series game. When Schneider walked by him after Game 6, which the Blue Jays lost on a brutal game-ending double play, he said, Scherzer looked “ready to kill somebody.” Schneider added, “So you trust him to be ready for this environment.”
The Dodgers trust Shohei Ohtani as well, although they were not sure what to expect from him. After Game 6, they reviewed their options. Glasnow, the Game 3 starter, had gotten the final three outs that night. Blake Snell, who started Games 1 and 5, would be on short rest; Yamamoto, who started Games 2 and 6, would be on even shorter rest. Despite playing 18 innings—and reaching base a postseason record nine times—in Game 3, then receiving IV fluids and pitching six innings 17 hours later in Game 4, Ohtani assured them that he was available on the mound for Game 6. (This is a man who, offered the chance to come out of Game 3 in the 11th due to leg cramps that had him hobbling around the bases, declined, and who, asked in the sixth inning of Game 4 how many more frames he could go, said three.)
He might have been a more traditional option in relief. But there is nothing traditional about Ohtani. The Dodgers chose to start him largely because of the rule that allows him to remain in the game as the DH once he comes off the mound—but only if he starts the game. If he relieves, when he exits as a hitter, he exits as a pitcher. Between that regulation and the logistical nightmare of getting him to the bullpen to warm up in between at-bats, this pathway was the obvious choice. But Ohtani, still recovering from surgery to repair his left elbow, had only started on three days’ rest once in his career, and that came when rain cut the first outing to two innings and 30 pitches.
“This is Game 7,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of things that people haven’t done, and you’ve just got to trust your players and try to win a baseball game.”
Ohtani opened the game with a single, took second on a grounder to first and took third on a deep fly ball to center field. Betts grounded out to end the frame, which gave Ohtani two and a half minutes to dart into the dugout, remove his batting armor, grab his glove, huddle with pitching coach Mark Prior and bench coach Danny Lehman, and take the mound for his six warm-up pitches. Just under five minutes—and, it must be said, two and a half minutes after the rules stipulate—after he ran out Betts’s grounder, Ohtani threw ball one to George Springer. Springer, visibly wincing on every swing as he managed a right-side injury that cost him two games, singled but was retired on a strike-’im-out-throw-’im-out double play to end the inning.
Ohtani caught a break in the second inning. His secondary command was spotty, so he had to lean on his fastball. He walked Bo Bichette to lead off the frame and allowed a single to Addison Barger. With two outs, Ernie Clement knocked a single to right field, but the hobbled Bichette had to hold at third. Andrés Giménez waved at an inside fastball to end the threat.
Springer led off the next inning with another single. When Nathan Lukes bunted him over and he took third on a wild pitch, the Dodgers elected to walk Guerrero intentionally. That brought up Bichette. The first pitch he saw was a slider that slid right into the middle of the zone. As 44,713 roaring fans shook the Rogers Centre, Springer and Guerrero each raised their hands and jogged home. Bichette slowly limped after them.
Bichette knew he would be a free agent after the World Series ended. He knew aggravating the injury could hurt his long-term earning potential. He did not care. “It’s the World Series,” he said. “So none of that stuff really matters.”
The homer ended Ohtani’s night on the mound after 2 ⅓ innings pitched. The Dodgers manufactured a run in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, 194-pound floppy-haired lefty Justin Wrobleski buzzed 5’ 11” shortstop Andrés Giménez with an inside fastball. On the next pitch, he hit him. The benches—and the bullpens—cleared. The umpires issued warnings. The Dodgers scored another run in the top of the sixth; the Blue Jays did the same in the bottom of the frame. With his sixth-inning single, Clement set a record with his 10th multi-hit game this postseason; with his eighth-inning double, he set a record with his 30th hit.
To cap one of the finest offensive postseasons of all time—he had more hits this postseason (28) than swings and misses (25) and more homers (eight) than strikeouts (seven)—Guerrero dazzled with his glove. He made a diving stop and flipped to first in the first; snared a rope just beyond the foul line to end the fourth; and started a nifty double play to end the seventh. He roared after each one as if he’d hit the game-winning homer.
Both pitching staffs were topsy-turvy after such a grind of a series. Snell got four outs. The Blue Jays threw Louis Varland, presumably pitching in long sleeves to keep his right arm attached to his body, who set a postseason record by appearing in his 15th game (Toronto played 18); Chris Bassitt, the starter turned relief ace; and Trey Yesavage, the 22-year-old pitching on two days’ rest after yet another postseason masterpiece in Game 5, who allowed a home run to Max Muncy in the eighth inning that brought the game within one. Then came Rojas, and then came Smith.
And most of all, then came Yamamoto, who was named World Series MVP. The Dodgers did not, as it turned out, ruin baseball. In fact, they gave us more of it.
Treinador campeão do mundo com a Argentina em 1978, César Luis Menotti faleceu no último domingo (6). A divulgação da morte do veterano de 85 anos foi feita pela Associação de Futebol da Argentina (AFA).
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Embora não tenha tido um grande destaque como jogador, El Flaco, como era conhecido, teve uma passagem rápida pelo Brasil, tendo vestido a camisa da Juventus-SP. No entanto, o profissional tornou-se referência como técnico.
O primeiro grande trabalho do treinador foi com o Huracán, onde permaneceu entre 1971 e 1974. Nesse período, o comandante conseguiu tirar o clube de 45 anos sem conquistar um título nacional e venceu o Campeonato Argentino em 1973. Inclusive, esse foi o último troféu na elite do país.
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Devido ao grande trabalho com o El Globo, Menotti foi promovido a comandante da Argentina em 1975 visando a Copa do Mundo de 1978. E em casa, a lenda foi responsável pela primeira conquista da Albiceleste no maior torneio de futebol. E no ano seguinte, venceu o Mundial Sub-20 com os hermanos.
Referência em seu país, o treinador foi contratado pelo Barcelona, onde conquistou uma Copa do Rei, uma Copa da Liga Espanhola e uma Supercopa da Espanha. Após o período na Catalunha, o profissional passou por Peñarol, Boca Juniors, Atlético de Madrid, mas sem o mesmo sucesso em relação ao início de sua carreira.
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RELAÇÃO COM MARADONA
Maior ídolo do futebol na Argentina, Maradona recebeu sua primeira oportunidade com a camisa da Albiceleste sob comando de Menotti. Juntos, os dois conquistaram a Copa do Mundo Sub-20, além de terem trabalhado juntos no Barcelona.
No entanto, a relação dos dois foi um pouco estremecida pelo fato do técnico não ter convocado o camisa 10 para o Mundial de 1978. Ainda assim, o Dios cravou que El Flaco foi o melhor treinador com quem trabalhou na carreira em uma entrevista dada em 1996.
Manchester City starlet Reigan Heskey, the son of former Liverpool striker Emile, helped to give England lift-off in their U17 World Cup campaign as he inspired an 8-1 victory over Haiti. Having lost their opening game of the tournament in Qatar, the Young Lions knew that three points were imperative in their second Group E fixture. Neil Ryan's side ultimately eased over that line.
Young Lions plunder eight goals in huge win
Having fluffed their lines in surprising fashion against Venezuela, slipping to a humbling 3-0 defeat, it took less than 60 seconds for England to open the scoring against Haiti. Heskey was involved from the off, with his low cross being turned home by Tottenham No.10 Luca Williams-Barnett.
The tricky Spurs playmaker looked lively throughout the opening exchanges, with some neat footwork – which saw him skip and spin away from a couple of challenges – coming close to providing another sight of goal. At the opposite end of the field, Haiti posed a threat with pacey counter attacks.
England were, however, to see collective nerves settled further inside quarter of an hour. The match officials initially waved away Heskey’s claims for a penalty after he was sent tumbling inside the box by Emerson Alexis, but a VS review saw a spot-kick awarded – with coaches able to lodge two requests during any given contest.
Having earned the opportunity from 12 yards, Heskey stepped up himself and calmly sent Haiti’s goalkeeper the wrong way as he found the bottom corner. Ryan’s side were given a wake-up call in the 17th minute when their offside trap was beaten and Franco Celestin headed in off the underside of the crossbar from a matter of inches.
England’s two-goal lead was restored inside four minutes, with Heskey involved prominently once again as he teed up Chelsea’s Reggie Walsh for a composed finish. The heat and humidity was clearly becoming too much for Haiti, as they were left chasing shadows, with the Young Lions pulling away early in the second half.
Venezuelan-born Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez of Lyon opened his account for the tournament in the 55th minute, showing good strength to hold off his marker and drill low across goal and into the net. England’s fifth arrived three minutes later as Heskey set up substitute Chizaram Ezenwata of Chelsea for a shot that was fired through defenders on the line.
Haiti were then hit for six in the 64th minute when the impressive Williams-Barnet grabbed his second of the game. The 17-year-old once again showcased dancing feet as he found space where there was very little and completed a mazy dribble with a cheeky nutmeg.
Despite only being introduced in place of Rodriguez, exciting Stamford Bridge prospect Ezenwata helped himself to the match ball when completing his hat-trick with there still 10 minutes left on the clock. Two smart finishes, one in off the post and another across the goalkeeper, saw him to a memorable hat-trick at a prominent international tournament.
AdvertisementGettyThe MVP
Williams-Barnett looked very impressive – with Tottenham seemingly having a huge talent on their hands there – while Ezenwata claimed the match ball, but Heskey made the difference when England were looking to take control of proceedings.
He is not the same kind of player as his father – who was a powerful striker – with the talented teenager more at home on the flanks. He does, however, still boast an eye for goal – be that hitting the net himself or providing for others.
Haiti never got close to containing the threat that he posed before being replaced 11 minutes from time. Heskey helped to get the ball rolling inside the opening minutes, before firing home from the penalty spot himself.
He showcased his unselfish side when putting chances on a plate for Walsh and Ezenwata. He will be brimming with confidence ahead of England’s final group stage fixture against Egypt on November 10.
GettyThe big loser
It feels harsh to brand any of the Young Lions as a "loser" given how commanding they were across 90 impressive minutes. The only blot on an otherwise impressive copybook came in the form of Celestin’s first-half goal. Arsenal keeper Jack Porter – who was the Gunners’ youngest debutant before seeing Max Dowman break that record – will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet. He was worried at times during the opening 45 minutes, but was left with little to do as England put their foot on the gas and pulled away from Haiti in style.
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Trey Yesavage made his postseason debut on Sunday against the Yankees. The 22-year-old righty came into the game with just three MLB starts on his résumé and dominated the top-scoring regular season offense in baseball in Toronto's 13-7 Game 2 win.
Yesavage, who has an incredibly cool name on top of a nasty arsenal, showed very early in the game that he was not going to be intimidated or thrown off his game by anything New York did and lived up to his name in the process.
In the very first at-bat of the game, Yesavage jumped out to a 1-2 count against Yankees leadoff hitter Trent Grisham who hit 34 home runs this season. Grisham took his time getting back in the box for the fourth pitch of the at-bat and Yesavage did not move. With the ball in his hand inside his glove he stood on the mound like a statue while he waited for Grisham to step to the plate.
Once Grisham was ready Yesavage delivered an 85-mph splitter that made Grisham whiff.
Yesavage finished with 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays offense did the rest and Toronto now leads the series 2–0.
Ohtani on Thursday night captured his second straight National League MVP award—his third straight MVP award overall and fourth in his career—vaulting the Dodgers two-way star into some truly elite company while capping off yet another magical season that saw Los Angeles capture its second straight World Series title.
Ohtani was the unanimous choice for the 2025 NL MVP, earning all 30 first-place votes on the ballots voted on by the BBWAA. Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second with 260 points in the voting, and Mets outfielder Juan Soto finished third with 231 points.
Ohtani has won the MVP via a unanimous vote all four times he has earned the award in 2021, ‘23, ‘24 and ‘25.
Ohtani was his usual dominant self at the plate, posting an NL-leading 1.014 OPS while excelling in his return to the pitching mound after undergoing elbow surgery in 2023.
Ohtani makes history in plethora of ways by winning 2025 NL MVP award
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Shohei Ohtani has made MLB history by winning the NL MVP award. Just last year, Ohtani took home MVP honors in the NL and etched his way into the history books by becoming just the second player all-time (along with Frank Robinson) to win the MVP award in both the American and National Leagues. This year, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to win multiple MVP awards in each league.
Here are a few other notable ways Ohtani made history by securing the 2025 NL MVP:
Ohtani is the first Dodgers player to win back-to-back MVP Awards
Ten different players have won 13 MVP awards for the Dodgers. But no player, until Ohtani in 2025, had captured consecutive MVP awards. Ohtani also joins Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella as the only players in franchise history to win multiple MVP awards.
Equaling Barry Bonds in more ways than one
By winning the 2025 NL MVP, Ohtani became just the second player to win four MVP awards in a career, joining Barry Bonds, who won seven in his decorated—and pilloried—career. He also joined Bonds as the only players to win three straight MVP awards. Bonds accomplished the feat when he took home four straight MVP awards from 2001 to ’04. Pretty, pretty good.
Combining regular season and postseason excellence
Ohtani is the first player since 2010—Josh Hamilton—to win a LCS or World Series MVP and a regular season MVP in the same season, a feat that has been accomplished by just seven players.
Ohtani‘s MVP award comes on the heels of legendary postseason
After a bit of a quiet postseason for the Dodgers‘s in '24, Ohtani was a menace in '25, belting eight home runs and posting a 1.096 OPS while recording a 2–1 record as well as a 4.43 ERA (2.84 FIP) with 28 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings pitched.
During the Dodgers‘ repeat title run, Ohtani authored one of the greatest performances in sports history—it's difficult to think of one that tops it—by smashing three home runs and pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to power the Dodgers to victory over the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS and secure LCS MVP honors.
Ohtani then left his mark on a Dodgers‘ marathon victory in 18 innings in Game 3 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, belting a pair of home runs while reaching base an unimaginable nine times (a postseason record) thanks to five walks.
With yet another MVP award added to his trophy case, Ohtani continues to scale the mountain of MLB greatness.
Manchester City's star winger Jeremy Doku launched a scathing attack on his Belgium team-mates after the Red Devils threw away a chance to secure an automatic World Cup qualification during the weekend. The European giants failed to register a win against a 10-man Kazakhstan side as they came back from behind to play out a 1-1 draw in Astana on Saturday.
Belgium held to a draw
The Red Devils, who have now won just one out of their last three international games, were held to a 1-1 draw as they came back from behind against Kazakhstan. Rudi Garcia's side dealt with an early blow as Dastan Satpayev latched on to a loose ball at the back and handed the hosts the lead in the ninth. Belgium then staged a comeback early in the second half as Hans Vanaken equalised for his side from Timothy Castagne's assist.
Kazakhstan were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when striker Islam Chesnokov picked up a direct red card, but Belgium failed to take the man advantage and pile on the opposition's misery.
AdvertisementAFPDoku slammed Belgium team-mates
After the game, a frustrated Doku ranted against his colleagues as he told reporters: "We've already dropped too many points because we weren't good enough in a large number of matches. Our campaign hasn't gone well, no. Everyone needs to do better. The coach, me, everyone. Kevin, Romelu. Thibaut, if we need them to win against Kazakhstan, then we can't do anything at the World Cup. We looked at this team and thought they would play long but then they played short and started playing football. It was a completely different match than last time. Maybe we didn't analyse our opponent enough."
Defender Arthur Theate also expressed his frustration as he added: "If you feel like it, go ahead. It's not that I disagree. But if you concede a goal, that's the problem. If you don't score, it's the attack's fault. Of course, we shouldn't have conceded that goal but we haven't conceded many goals this campaign. Agreed, conceding three goals at home against Wales wouldn't have been right. 'But otherwise, we weren't put in much danger. But you can judge for yourself. I just think we're having a good campaign defensively."
Will Belgium qualify for the World Cup?
Belgium threw away an opportunity to secure a direct qualification to the World Cup next year but they still remain the favourites to book their berth in the flagship from Group J. With 15 points from seven points, Belgium stand at the top of their group, two points clear of North Macedonia.
A win against rock bottom Liechtenstein on Tuesday will help them secure World Cup qualification. North Macedonia and Wales, on the other hand, will clash in their final group game to secure a play-offs spot.
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GettyDoku's stellar run of form
Individually, Doku has enjoyed a purple patch in the 2025-26 campaign with Manchester City. He has featured in 16 matches across all competitions for Pep Guardiola's side where he has scored three goals and provided four assists.
Former City star Paul Dickov recently hailed Doku as the best winger in the world, as he told : “I would say he's probably the best in Europe at the minute. Not just of his performance against Liverpool, which was top drawer, but I said before the game, that despite Erling Haaland’s goals, Doku has consistently been City’s best player and biggest threat.
"People were forgetting last season. They were questioning his end product a little bit. And maybe he was doing all these dribbles and was playing at a mile-a-minute. Maybe his crossing and finishing suffered, but he’s worked so hard at his game. He’s only 23 years old. He’s a young boy, and he’s just impossible to defend against when he gets you one on one."
It would be fair to say that the atmosphere around Tottenham Hotspur is not a positive one at the moment.
Thomas Frank’s side might be sixth in the Premier League, but the performances so far this season have been hard to stomach, none more so than the one against Chelsea on Saturday.
Despite being at home, the North Londoners were utterly toothless, bereft of ideas, and the player who best encapsulated their dire display was summer signing Xavi Simons.
It’s still early in his Spurs career, but so far, the Dutch international has been a massive disappointment and should therefore be dropped for another young talent who could perhaps offer a little more urgency.
Simons' start to life at Spurs
Perhaps in part due to missing out on Eberechi Eze, there was a tremendous amount of excitement in the Spurs fan base when Simons was announced.
After all, he’s long been considered one of the most exciting young attackers in European football and, at one point, looked destined to join Chelsea.
Unfortunately, it would be fair to say that the 22-year-old has come nowhere close to justifying the hype so far this season.
In 12 appearances for the club, he has failed to score a single goal and has provided just one assist, which came in his first appearance, away to West Ham in gameweek four.
With that said, while that is a poor return, could it be that the former PSV Eindhoven gem is simply someone who starts seasons a little slower than most?
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
For example, in his first 11 games for RB Leipzig last year, before he got injured, the Amsterdam-born gem managed to score three goals and provide two assists.
Likewise, the campaign preceding that saw the youngster rack up an even better tally of four goals and five assists in his first 12 matches, excluding the curtain-raising DFL-Super Cup.
Therefore, while it would be nice to say that Simons is doing what he does every season and will therefore eventually come good, that is not the case.
Therefore, Frank should keep him on the bench for now and look towards the academy for a temporary solution.
Spurs' Simons solution
With Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison still out, Frank could and probably should look to the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar-Sarr to start ahead of Simons.
Chalkboard
However, there is another, far bolder option, one he could go with for the ‘easier’ games, or as a first option from the bench ahead of the Dutchman.
That option is Hotspur Way’s most exciting prospect since Mikey Moore: Luca Williams-Barnett.
Now, the first argument one might put forward here is that the Englishman is too young.
However, that would carry a lot more weight if the suggestion was to start the youngster in game after game, but that is not the case.
Instead, it might be worthwhile for Frank and the club to use the youngster as a substitute more often, and then potentially against the weaker teams, hand him a start.
After all, at 17 years old, he is two years older than Arsenal’s Max Dowman, and according to respected analyst Ben Mattinson, is “one of England’s best talents”.
Moreover, when you take a look at his form for the youth sides, it’s clear that he’s way beyond that level now and more than deserving of more senior football.
Team
U18
U21
Appearances
30
8
Goals
22
7
Assists
13
5
Goal Involvements per Match
1.16
1.5
For example, in 11 games for the junior side this season, he has scored eight goals and provided seven assists, which is an average of 1.36 goal involvements every game.
Last season, he was even more effective, scoring 20 goals and providing 12 assists in just 23 appearances, which works out to an average of 1.39 goal involvements per game.
Ultimately, even if it is not from the start, Williams-Barnett has earned the right to play some meaningful minutes for Spurs this season.
Moreover, picking him over Simons could be the wake-up call the Dutchman needs to start playing to people’s expectations.
Spurs have signed a frightening young talent who can end Kolo Muani's stay
Tottenham have some painful attacking teething problems under Thomas Frank.
A quick explainer for the controversy in the Asia Cup Rising Stars game and the new law for boundary catching
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2025There was controversy and confusion during Pakistan A’s win over India A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars on November 16, when a relay catch between India A fielders Nehal Wadhera and Naman Dhir was given not out by the third umpire.Pakistan A opener Maaz Sadaqat took on India A spinner Suyash Sharma at the start of the 10th over of the chase, looking to clear the cow corner boundary. Wadhera ran to his right from deep midwicket and caught the ball, but, before momentum took him over the boundary rope, lobbed it towards Dhir, who was running back from long-on.The third umpire deemed the catch not legal, because of the interpretation of the new ICC rules about fielders making contact with the ball after jumping from outside the boundary.The new rule, which has been in effect since June this year, states that if a fielder jumps from beyond the rope and makes contact with the ball, he then has to first land back within the field of play for it to be out.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn the case of the Wadhera-Dhir catch, Wadhera clearly caught the ball and released it while still within the field of play. Even though his foot was in the air over the rope, it was still considered within the field of play according to the rules, as he had not grounded his foot beyond the rope.He tossed the ball to Dhir and then stepped over the boundary rope and outside the field of play. It should not have mattered that he landed outside the rope as he was not in contact with the ball after going beyond the rope. It also should not have mattered that he was outside the rope when Dhir took the catch. So even by the new rules, the catch should have been given out.ESPNcricinfo checked with two experienced international umpires and both confirmed the decision taken was a misinterpretation of the laws by the third umpire to rule this not out.So Wadhera and Dhir were unlucky to have their catch disallowed. Subsequently, the umpires also incorrectly ruled it a dot ball, and not a six.Sadaqat, who was batting on 56 at the time, finished unbeaten on 79 as Pakistan A chased the target of 137 in the 13.2 overs.
Manchester United are now on red alert in the race to sign a Real Madrid star ahead of Manchester City in a shock £69m deal next year.
Amorim "angry" at "frustrating" West Ham draw
Like the rest of Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim was left angered by Man United’s 1-1 draw against West Ham. The Red Devils were in control for the large part and deservedly got their opener through unlikely goalscorer Diogo Dalot in the second-half, but that’s when things started going wrong.
With seven minutes remaining, the visitors sent a timely reminder of United’s struggles courtesy of Soungoutou Magassa, who scored his first Premier League goal to snatch a point for West Ham.
Amorim, left frustrated at full-time, told reporters: “Yeah, it’s frustrating, it’s angry. That’s it.”
The former Sporting CP manager also pinpointed where things went wrong, saying: “Yeah, but there are second halves that we lose control of the game.
“Today, I think it was not that case. Maybe after the first goal, we lost some second balls and Matheus [Cunha] won one or two second balls there and made it a transition.
“We try to defend all the time far from the goal because we knew it. They tried to make a cross, win a corner. Like it happened, long ball, they win a second ball against three guys of us in the defence. So, we need to be better in the second half.”
Any assumption that United have turned a corner under Amorim is quickly evaporating and the Old Trafford boss desperately needs further reinforcements in 2026.
Midfield stars such as Conor Gallagher and Elliot Anderson have already been mooted, but United could still set their focus on welcoming Rodrygo from Real Madrid. The Brazilian is attracting plenty of interest and could yet swap the Bernabeu for the Premier League.
Man Utd on red alert in Rodrygo race
According to reports in Spain, Man United are now on red alert in the race to sign Rodrygo next year and could land the talented winger ahead of rivals Man City, as well as a number of other Premier League sides.
The Brazilian has struggled for game time under Xabi Alonso – starting just three La Liga games all season – and looks destined to leave Real Madrid next year.
Sparking a flurry of interest, Madrid reportedly value their winger at around €80m (£69m). Whether INEOS and others deem that fee reachable for a player who’s yet to impress Alonso remains to be seen, however.
Man Utd now rivalling Liverpool to sign £87m forward who Klopp loves
The Red Devils have joined the race for a new attacker, who has made an impressive start to the campaign.
ByDominic Lund Dec 5, 2025
At his best, Rodrygo played a key part in Madrid’s success in the Champions League and in La Liga. Now, he’s been cast aside to hand United the opportunity to land arguably their best signing yet under Amorim.
Dubbed “spectacular” by former Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti in 2023, Rodrygo is still just 24 years old and is full of potential – even if he’s forced to realise it with a move to Old Trafford in 2026.
Amorim's £150k-p/w star just had his worst game for Man Utd vs West Ham